The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 12 (March 1, 1937)
Along the Lake Shore
Along the Lake Shore.
Te Toto (“The Place of Blood”), a pretty spot in the Government Grounds, now bears a much pleasanter name, Picnic Point. It is a shady retreat, close to a chain of shallow ponds near the lake shore. Arawa traditions tell of a battle which was fought here in the long ago between Ngati-Whakaue, the dominant tribe of Lakeland, and Ngati-Uenukukopako, another important local clan.
Te Paepae-Hakumanu (“The Place of Bird-snares”) is on the Rotorua shore at Picnic Point. Here, in former times, the Maoris set their snares of flax and cabbage-tree fibre loops to catch the birds that abounded in the manuka thickets and the wild ducks and teal on the marshy foreshore.