Views from different directions of the pā Wharetaewa and Wharekaho in Mercury Bay

Left The view is to the east. Wharetaewa is the pā furthest out on the peninsula. Its large transverse ditch and bank described by Cook and Banks shows (just above centre) beneath two large pohutukawa and in line with the camera viewpoint. Several other pā including Wharekaho, not described by Cook, lie further inland along the cliff edge, bottom left. They may not have existed in 1769; alternatively, they may have been occupied earlier than 1769 and their wooden palisades had decayed or the earthworks were hidden in scrub at the time of his visit.

Right. Close-up view of the area of ditch and bank on Wharetaewa described by Cook and Banks. The interpretative drawing (below) shows how the key features such as the palisade and fighting stages relate to the archaeological features such as the ditch.