Te Kawa

This old fort serves as another illustration of headland pa. Its situation is similar to that of Kumara-kaiamu, which lies at no great distance to the N.W., the situation being the top of a spur or point jutting out from a level plateau. The fortified area is of the same triangular form as that of Kumara-kaiamu, with deep gullies on two sides, the third side, or base of the triangle being represented by a deep fosse dividing the fortified area from the level plateau to the south.

The small area within the main defences was not sufficient to contain many people, hence the B C line of outer defence was erected in order to enclose a residential area of flat land. See Fig. 91, p. 333. This outer defence was evidently a light one and this area would be abandoned in case of a serious attack. The B C line is 67 yds. in length, and represents a shallow ditch from one to page 332three feet deep; evidently it has been filled up. On the inner side of the ditch are the remains of a low earthen wall, now one to three feet high. This parapet has probably been taken to fill up the ditch, presumably by Europeans. This wall or parapet is continued as far as A. South of the B C defence lies a level terrace for 100 yards, then another terrace some five or six feet higher commences. From C to D is a distance of 20 feet, and here we find no traces of any defences whatever; probably a stockaded entrance was here.

The probable lines of stockades are marked on the plan by means of dotted lines, and we see that they occupy two positions, the brow or edge of terraces and the maioro (parapets or ramparts). The heaviest defences of the position are naturally those on the southern side, where the land is level. The other two sides of the triangular fort show steep slopes down to small streams. The E F line shows a deep fosse some 57 yards long excavated across the base of the hill point, which fosse is in a fair state of preservation. It is from 9 ft. to 12 ft. wide across the bottom, its counter scarp is 10 ft. in height and the inner or northern scarp is 16 ft. at the western end and 12 ft. towards E, the eastern end being more abraded. The increased height of the northern scarp of the fosse is explained by the existence of a superimposed wall or parapet on that side. There is a considerable collection of detritus in the fosse and the original height of the inner scarp was probably 18 ft. to 20 ft., that of the outer scarp 12 ft. or 13 ft. The present brow to brow measurement is about 25 ft. This must have been a formidable defence in the days of native warfare, when the lack of missile weapons is considered. Some mahoe and karaka trees are growing in the fosse.

At F the fosse is not continued out to the edge of the hill but turns northward, increasing its width, to emerge on to the terrace near G, the counter scarp of this part of the fosse being 11 ft. in height. The inner scarp of the terrace extending from F to H and on to E shows much decay by erosion and abrasion. Proceeding from G towards H the terrace has, for thirty yards, been almost obliterated, a process much accelerated by the trampling of stock, which trampling destroys the protecting sward of grass; hence we see that the best preserved of native forts are those protected by a dense growth of forest, scrub or bracken. The inner scarp of this terrace is 18 ft. in height. Towards H the terrace is well preserved and from I Towards E is an outer wall now 3 ft. to 5 ft. high, the terrace enclosed by the wall running into the eastern end of the big fosse at E in the same way that it does on the western side. This is a feature in some native forts that is worth drawing attention to, viz., the gradual change of form that occurs where an open flat residential terrace page 333 page 334changes to a narrower terrace with a parapet along its outer edge, and which again gradually narrows and is merged into a fosse used for defence only. It is therefore difficult in some cases to determine where occupation by huts ceased and where the purely defensive fosse began.

It is also worthy of note that the terrace extending round the eastern and western faces of this position does not conform to the slope of the ridge summit, as is the case in many forts, but is practically level, which means that the inner scarp increases considerably in height towards the south. At J appearances of a former entrance to the summit area are visible. The entrance to the terrace from the outer area was probably at I, where the spur drops to the hill base, or on the I G side.

The scarps of Te Kawa were originally steep ones, but little removed from the vertical, as is shown in parts that are well preserved. It is well known by our road makers that some loose friable soils, such as pumice for example, suffer much less from erosion when given a steep batter.

From the corner of the terrace at I the narrowed spur drops sharply for about 80 yards to the road, and on the eastern side of this spur a small triangular terrace is seen. This is away from the defended area.

Old storage pits and hut sites exist on the summit area of Te Kawa, but all such signs have been obliterated from the terrace by debris from the upper scarp.

From this fort the Urenui pa lies a little west of north, Pohokura lies N.W. by N. and Kumara-kaiamu N.W. by W.

Lying about N.E. by N. from Te Kawa is a small pa named Pa-oneone, situated on the low lying end of a spur crossing the road line. The inner defences of this place enclose a habitable area of about 40 yds. by 23 yds. This summit area is flat and has ramparts on three sides. Outside these is a deep fosse, then the remains of a ponderous earth rampart, with another fosse outside it. Where the hillside is steep these earthworks are lighter. All these works are considerably dilapidated.

The situations of this and other old forts of the Urenui district are given on the sketch map, fig. 60, see p. 223.

On the top of the ridge about 300 yds. south west of Pa-oneone is an old pa known as Moeariki, which shows the simplest form of such places. It is unusually rectangular and symmetrical for a native work; the inner space of 40 yds. by 35 yds. being surrounded by a parapet or wall now much abraded and from 2 ft. to 6 ft. in height. Outside this is a trench 10 ft. wide, with an inner scarp of 8 ft. to page 33512 ft. and counter scarp up to 8 ft. This counter scarp shows, in places, some signs of a superimposed wall or parapet of inferior magnitude. The water supply of this place was a gully on the eastern side, about a hundred feet below the lines of defence.

Two other small fortified places were situated below Te Kawa, between the road and the river, as shown on the map.

The figure 6 on the map denotes the site of the old Maruwehi pa, now almost destroyed by the sea. Between it and 8 (Urenui pa) is the site of an unfortified village named after Maruwehi, occupied by local natives when they returned from the Chatham Isles, and from which they removed to their present location on the main road. The map shows the location of a considerable number of pre-European fortified places in the vicinity of Urenui. See p. 223.

With regard to the curious and symmetrical forms of oblate store pits, Dr. Buck, a native of Urenui, whose ancesters held the forts we have described above, informs us that he examined a double pit at Te Mimi in this district. This singular subterranean store pit showed one pit below another. As the entrance to the lower pit was through the floor of the upper one, presumably the latter would need to be almost emptied of its contents ere a person could gain access to the lower one, unless some special provision was made for a passage.