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History and traditions of the Maoris of the West Coast, North Island of New Zealand, prior to 1840

Chapter XVIII. — The Defence of Otaka or Nga-Motu Pa. — February, 1832

page 470

Chapter XVIII.
The Defence of Otaka or Nga-Motu Pa.
February, 1832.

Mr. W. H. Skinner describes the above event as follows (the Otaka pa, sometimes called Nga-Motu pa, is mostly built over by the Freezing Works):—

After the capture of Puke-rangiora, described in Chapter XVII., a discussion arose amongst the leaders of the invading taua of Waikato. Tu-korehu (of Ngati-Mania-poto) strongly advocated the following up of their recent advantage, as his revenge had not yet been satisfied. His plan was to push on and capture Otaka, where the head chiefs of Ati-Awa and the remnant of the tribe had sought shelter with Te Whare-pouri and his hapu and the English traders. Others of the Waikato confederation said—Puke-kohatu being the chief spokesman—the utu was sufficient, and that the men whom Tu-korehu was so eager to destroy had befriended him and saved him and his followers from extermination on a previous occasion.1 Tu-korehu was obstinate, and eventually gained his point.

Leaving Puke-rangiora, the invading host came on to the beach at Puke-tapu,2 which was quite deserted. Halting for a while at the mouth of the Wai-whakaiho river, they sent scouts forward to spy out the land. Among other chiefs of note in this taua, not already mentioned, were Porukoru, Rewi Mania-poto,3 Wetini Tai-porutu,4 Te Kanawa, and Kukutai (of the Ngati-Tipa tribe, from the mouth of the Waikato river).

At Nga-Motu all was activity and preparation. Warning had been

1 At Nga-puke-turua—see Chapter XIV.

2 Puke-tapu is one of the oldest and most extensive of the Ati-Awa pas on the sea-coast, Bell Block district, five miles north of New Plymouth.

3 Rewi died in 1894. He is best known as the defender of Orakau in the Waikato war of 1863-4 against the British troops under General Cameron.

4 Wetini was the leader of the Waikato party at Mahoe-tahi (near Waitara) in November, 1860, in the engagement against the British. He was killed here, and his remains were interred in St. Mary's Churchyard, New Plymouth.

page break
Map No 7Otaka orNgamotu PaSketched by W.H. Skinner

Map No 7
Otaka or
Ngamotu Pa
Sketched by W.H. Skinner

page break
Plate No. 16.Te Namu pa, from the north.

Plate No. 16.
Te Namu pa, from the north.

Plate no. 17.Te Namu-iti pa from the base of Te Namu, looking north-west.

Plate no. 17.
Te Namu-iti pa from the base of Te Namu, looking north-west.

page 471received of the invading taua by a messenger* a from the Ngati-Tama, and the fate of Puke-rangiora had been known for some time, as numbers of those who escaped from that pa had been coming in from day to day, and finally when the invaders decided to go on and attack the people at Nga-Motu, they sent messengers forward to warn the chiefs of their intention.

Leaving the Wai-whakaiho river, the taua advanced along the seashore until they came to the Hua-toki stream—the present site of the Railway Station, New Plymouth. Here the party divided for a while—part of them continuing by the beach, but the main body turned inland and proceeded by the old native pathway that led up about the present line of Brougham Street and through St. Mary's Churchyard, and on by way of O-tu-maikuku (Hospital Grounds) to Tukapo (Westown), thence crossing the Manga-o-tuku valley and eventually making their appearance on the Maunga-roa hill.5

Ati-Awa advanced to meet them from Otaka, but after a slight skirmish retired into the pa. The original small fishing or trading villages of Otaka and Matipu had been hurriedly enclosed within a single encircling line of palisading so as to give more room for the storage of canoes and accommodation for the fugitives that were constantly coming in from Puke-rangiora and other pas.6 The defences, consequent on their being rushed up in such haste, were very indifferent and scarce worthy of the name, and Otaka would have met the fate of Puke-rangiora had it not been for the determined stand made by the eight British traders and whalers living with the tribe under the leadership of John Love and Richard Barrett. The names of the traders as given by the natives were Haki-rau (John Love), Tiki Pareti (Richard Barrett), Piri (Billy Bundy), Harakeke (John Wright), and Tame-riri, Tiemi, Hari Pataraki, and E'Tori (or Lee), the cook (a man of colour)—the English names of whom were Bosworth, Oliver, William Keenan, and another. Love and Barrett

5 Maunga-roa, the hill just westward of the junction of South and Blagdon roads.

6 The great pas of Puke-ariki (Mount Eliot) and Pu-kaka (Marsland Hill) were deserted at this time, the inmates taking refuge at Otaka.

* This messenger was Kau-parera of Mokau, a man of some rank, related to Ngati-Mania-poto, Ngati-Tama, and Te Ati-Awa; hence was he sent on to give notice of the intended fighting in accordance with Maori custom. Kau-parera had a modern name—Hone Pumipi—by which he was known to Europeans. When he died, his jadeite mere, or club, was broken by his relations and cast into a deep hole in the Mokau river, near the South Head, for it was considered that none were worthy to use the weapon after Pumipi's death. He died in 1897.

page 472are well-known names in the early history of the Colony. Amongst the others, John Wright and Billy Bundy stand out conspicuously, and are spoken of with affection and admiration by the natives. Wright was a great fighter and the hero of the siege. He was one of the first Europeans to live at Nga-Motu, landing there in 1829. Of Bundy, it is told that some time prior to these events, and whilst whaling on the New Zealand coast, he had fallen into the hands of the natives. Lashed to a post within the pa, he watched the savages making preparations for his cooking. The oven was heated and ready, and he was on the point of being killed and cast into it, when the daughter of the chief rushed forward and, casting her mat or mantle over him, made him by this act tapu and his life was saved. This brave girl soon after became the wife of Bundy. Of Tame-riri, it is said he was "he rangatira o nga hoea"—a big man, a toa,—and the big guns were worked by him. He married a daughter of Tara-mai-nuku and after the siege went to Sydney and did not return. In the great heke (see Chapter XIX.) that went south in the June following this event, fighting occurred at Whanganui, and in the feast that followed, Keenan inadvertently partook of some human flesh, greatly to his disgust. The natives were highly diverted at this mistake and Keenan came in for a great deal of "chaff" over it.

The northern tribes having driven the Ati-Awa within the pa a regular siege was commenced. The besieging forces being disposed as follows: Ngati-Mania-poto occupied the ground on the south-west side of the pa, from the lower slopes of Puke-whiro along the Hongi-hongi and thence by that stream to the beach, and advancing by the lower terrace along the coast to within a short distance of the north-west angle of the pa, Waikato took up their position to the eastward, starting from the mouth of the Waitapu, and then curved back, following the course of that stream around the inland side of Otaka. Ngati-Apa-kura (of Kawhia) occupied the ground immediately Inland of the pa, connecting with the wings of Waikato and Ngati-Mania-poto.

In carrying out their plan of defence, the besieged made use of three small cannon, in the possession of the traders. No. 1, called Rua-koura, commanded the eastern side of the pa; No. 2, named One-poto, faced inland; No. 3, or Pu-poipoi, occupied the north-west angle of the pa, but was moved freely about to various parts as occasion demanded—it being, from its description, a small field-piece, mounted on wheels.7

7 Two of these guns—Rua-koura and One-poto—are now in the Puke-kura Park, New Plymouth, the breech of the third, Pu-poipoi, was discovered in 1900 whilst excavating the foundations of the Moturoa Freezing Works, and is now to be seen in the Museum at New Plymouth.

page 473Whare-pouri, 8 the Maori leader of the besieged, took up his position on a raised platform within the pa, commanding a view of the enemy, and from this stage directed the efforts of the Ati-Awa in repelling the different assaults of the enemy. Other leading chiefs, within Otaka were Tautara of Puketapu, the principal chief or ariki of the Ati-Awa tribe, Te Puni, Rawa-ki-tua,* and Nga-tata of the Rewarewa pa, Porutu, Poharama, Wi Hape,* Te Raru (a younger brother of Wi Tako), and others of Nga-Motu.

The first general assault on the position was delivered by the Waikato tribe on the north-east corner of the pa, known as Ukamokomoko. It was one of those early morning surprises so dear to the old time Maori. The karaka trees growing along the edge of the trenches at this point were rapidly felled against the palisading of the pa, thus serving the purpose of scaling ladders, up which the Waikato scrambled, and dropped down on the inner side of the defences within the pa. The alarm was quickly given, and after considerable loss on either side the attacking party was driven out.

The siege was pressed with great vigour, and the pa would have fallen before the overwhelming number of the invaders, had it not been for the heroic stand made by the whalers. Time after time the enemy succeeded in gaining an entrance, but they were in every case driven out with loss.

Polack in his account of the siege (Vol. II., page 304) says:—"The next day several shots were again exchanged. One chief of Ati-Awa, seized with a fit of valour, ran towards the enemy, discharged his musket, and as hastily ran back; but not before a ball was lodged in his back, and as he fell his party from the pa rushed forward to protect the dying man from being taken by the enemy. A skirmish followed in which many were killed on either side, but the body of the chief was carried within the pa."9 And again: "Several chiefs of the Waikato and allied tribes, who were known to be most bitterly disposed to the besieged, paid them a visitin the pa,

8 Te Whare-pouri, afterwards the well known chief of Port Nicholson, who with Te Puni, were the principals in the sale of Wellington to Col. Wakefield in 1839.

9 The name of this chief was Tohu-kakahi; he was a younger brother of Te Whare-pouri, and? father of the so-called prophet Te Whiti, This incident occurred about the present site of Barrett Road, and one hundred yards, or there-abouts, inland of the Railway crossing.

* Migrated shortly after to Kapiti, with the Tama-te-uaua heke.

page 474and entered into conversation as if they possessed sentiments of the purest affection towards each other. The enemy were politely allowed to view the guns; the few muskets they possessed compared with their assailants, was also fully discussed, and the entrenchments and weakness of the defences were pointed out." On the fourth day of the siege a surrender was proposed, which had probably been accepted but for the English. Tautara10 met Te Kanawa of Waikato on the sea-shore opposite the pa, to talk over the proposed terms of peace. The Waikato chief pretended to feel ashamed at the duplicity he had hitherto made use of, and promised to withdraw his forces immediately, but before doing so he requested to be allowed to enter the pa with his people to hold a tangi over the dead. As soon as this news was known in the pa, a number of the inmates determined to invite the Waikato and their allies to join in a friendly dance, but this was opposed by the greater number who suspected treachery. This difference of opinion caused serious quarrelling amongst the besieged. Two sisters fell out over this incident, one of whom called Te Whau, ran out of the pa, towards the enemy, whose part she had taken, but their pretensions, thus put to test, were thrown to the winds the moment they caught the woman. She was immediately killed, her body cut up in view of the pa, and the dismembered portions washed in the stream that the besieged drew their main supply of water from. By this act the stream was made tapu to the inmates of the pa, but they were successful in finding water along the foot of the seaward terrace upon which Otaka was built, by means of sinking a number of pits or shallow wells. These being well under the protecting fire of the pa, the besieged had no difficulty in keeping themselves well supplied with fresh water. After the incident just related a general assault was made on the position, which was successfully resisted. The enemy next attempted to undermine the palisading at the northwest corner of the pa; the remains of this mine are still to be seen at the point where the Barrett Road turns sharply down to the beach. To counteract this attempt the besieged excavated a new line of

10 Tautara, head chief of the besieged Ati-Awa tribes, was also closely related to those of highest rank of the northern invaders. He was thus able to meet these people on common ground. He tried to induce To Kanawa to withdraw Waikato from before Otaka, but without success. In the final repulse of the enemy, when they were badly beaten and suffering loss, Te Kanawa called out to Tautara to stop the slaughter and spare them, but the old chief replied, "No! it is now too late for that; you should have listened to me earlier. You must now take your well-deserved punishment."—Incident related to the writer by Tai-ariki of Pukerangiora, November 30th, 1899.

page 475trenches, thus frustrating Waikato's intentions. After this the enemy built earthen towers—taumaihi—for the purpose of sheltering themselves from the stones, etc., ejected by the cannon, and from which their best marksmen could fire into the pa, and from under cover of which blazing firebrands and pine splinters were hurled upon thatched whares within the pa, but to no purpose. Those whares that took fire were extinguished, but not without loss, for the musketry fire from the enemy's towers proved fatal to many. The Waikato, in their several assaults, lost men daily. In vain they professed regret for what they had done, striving for peace and friendship. The simple besieged in general believed what was said, and felt inclined to trust to their professions, and the place was often on the eve of being surrendered but for the interference of Love, Barrett, and their companions.

In the midst of the fighting the schooner "Currency Lass," of Port Jackson (Sydney), appeared in the roadstead. This vessel had put in to load with flax and oil for Sydney, and to bring to the European collectors fresh supplies of trade and necessaries. The Waikato attempted to capture the schooner, but were prevented by the vigilance of the master. Foiled in this, they determined to cut off all communication between the pa and the ship. But Love, evading their sentinels, swam off to the vessel, reaching his destination in safety in spite of the showers of bullets with which he was saluted. He told the master the state of affairs around Otaka, and advised him to put to sea. Love succeeded in gaming the safety of the pa again uninjured. On the following day another parley was held between Love and the chief of the enemy. Love was told that should they surrender, the lives of the white men would be held sacred; they only would be spared and taken as slaves to Kawhia; but the Englishman remembered that 'the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,' and it is scarcely necessary to say the terms of surrender offered were not entertained.

About this time a small reinforcement of thirty or forty of the Ngati-Tama tribe, under the leadership of the renowned warrior chief Te Kaeaea, or Taringa-kuri (Dogs' ears), came by canoe from Pa-tan-gata, the island pa at the mouth of Tonga-porutu river. With some difficulty they succeeded in entering Otaka, having in the first instance run ashore in the midst of the enemies at the mouth of the Hongihongi stream. It is said by some that this party left again before daylight, by others that Taringa-kuri and the main body remained and assisted in the defence of the position, a few returning to the Tonga-porutu with the canoe.

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The Europeans were now perfectly miserable—see Polack's account. Fatigued by continual watching, and fearful of a surprise, they sincerely wished for a pitched battle that their fate might be decided. Their own party of natives gave them no less anxiety than their avowed enemies without the pa; they were continually harassed by their mutual jealousy. No sentinel was kept in the pa; the natives slept as comfortably within the trenches as if they had no enemy to disturb their equanimity. Strange and incredible as it may seem, whilst all this fighting and bloodshed was going on around the pa, within, a brisk trade was carried on between the traders and their friends, on the one part, and the enemy on the other. The northern invaders possessed amongst them from three to four thousand muskets, partly originally purchased by them; others formed the spoils of the Puke-rangiora people. The besieged could scarcely muster one hundred of these weapons, and consequently there was a keen demand for them within the pa. They were soon supplied with as many as they required, and powder also, by their enemies, in exchange for blankets, tobacco, and other articles of trade. On one occasion, whilst a brisk business was being carried on between the opposing parties, a dispute arose respecting a musket and its payment in barter, a quarrel ensued, and three of the Waikato party were killed, the bodies being immediately cut up and roasted.

The siege had now lasted nearly three weeks and the enemy was becoming disheartened by their lack of success. Bad news had come from their own country; advantage had been taken by old foes in their absence to devastate their country, food was getting scarce, the last slave had been cooked and eaten, and their patience was now exhausted. At this stage, during an assault, one of the field-pieces—named Pu-poipoi11—within the north-west angle of the pa, burst. This was an omen of the worst description for the besieged, and so elated the northern invaders that they decided to make a general assault and take the pa by storm on the following morning. In accord with Maori custom, information to this effect was conveyed to the besieged. The tidings were received with apathy by the bulk of the garrison, who at night rolled themselves in their mats and slept with their usual comfort in the trenches. With the Europeans, conscious that the morrow would decide their fate, this tedious night was spent in the misery of suspense. They had been told they were to be

11 Others have told me that this gun was captured in an assault and dragged down on the beach below. Here it was loaded to the muzzle and pointed at the defences of the pa. By means of a long train of gunpowder the charge was ignited, but with disastrous results to Pu-poipoi, the gun bursting with the over charge.

page 477devoured, and the chiefs were pointed out into whose possession their heads were to be given and preserved by the process of steaming.

On the following morning at the earliest dawn the pa was assaulted by the whole force of the enemy. The attack was opened along the western front by Ngati-Mania-poto. Some of the old men of the garrison, who had been left on guard, fell asleep at their post, and the enemy were within the pa before the alarm had been properly given. The report of fire-arms aroused the inmates to a sense of their danger, and after a desperate struggle the attacking party was driven back. In the meantime the Waikato, as pre-arranged, assaulted en masse the Waitapu or eastern line of defence. The besieged, encouraged by their recent success, soon repulsed this attack with the aid of the gun Rua-koura, but not before Pehi-Tu-korehu—himself at the head of the whole strength of Ngati-Apakura—led the final assault along the inland face of the pa. The repulse of the two previous attacks allowed the besieged to concentrate their whole force in meeting this attack, and success added fuel to their valour. The assault was met with a fierceness and vigour that staggered the enemy, who wavered, turned, and fled, dragging their dead chiefs after them.

A panic seems to have taken possession of the invaders after this repulse of Ngati-Apakura. The bodies of those chiefs who fell on this fateful morning were gathered up and placed on the roofs of their temporary huts, fire was applied, and their camp on the instant became a mass of flames. This was done so that the bodies of their slain chiefs should be consumed by fire, and not fall into the hands of the enemy in the pa to be eaten and their bones turned to domestic and other degrading purposes. After the burning of the encampments, the whole force hurriedly retreated, leaving the dead and wounded—excepting the chiefs as stated above—on the field and along the line of retreat. Ati-Awa pursued only for a short distance, as far as Tara-whata, or Moon's reef, on the sea-beach. An incident is related of this retreat about a wounded chief of the invaders called Tamakahu. This man had been shot through the knee, and two of his people had fixed up a rough litter, carrying him for some distance until his weight began to tell. Ati-Awa were pressing close and the bearers told Tamakahu that he was too heavy to carry further; upon this he exclaimed, " No, I am not heavy; I am as light as the whau (New Zealand cork-wood)! Oh, do not leave me!" His entreaties were in vain; his tribesmen fled, leaving him to his fate, which was not long delayed by the avenging Ati-Awa. Another incident of the retreat told by Waikato is that Te Kaka—a celebrated warrior of Mokau Heads—killed, in a hand to hand combat, Tohu-kakahi, a chief of page 478Puke-ariki (Mount Eliot, New Plymouth) and father of Te Whiti of Parihaka.12

Polack says the invaders left behind them about three hundred and fifty dead and wounded, but this is probably an over-estimate. The Waikato account, given by Kau-parera of Mokau, who was present, says four chiefs of rank—Tawiwi, Weta-nui13 (son of Tu-korehu), Te Kaiamo, and Pongo, with sixty of lesser rank.

As usual on such occasions a scene of revolting cruelty and brutal lust followed, which the Europeans were powerless to prevent. Many prisoners but slightly disabled were put to death with dreadful torture, some being dragged and thrown alive on the large fires kindled by their enemies, with every mark of delight and sensuality. "One of the victors made one of the enemy fast to a gun, having captured him while in the act of escaping from the pa after the battle; he unloosened the fastenings and demanding of the hapless being what the enemy intended doing next. He received no answer, as the prisoner knew his doom was fixed. A tomahawk was held forcibly between his teeth and an incision pierced in his throat, from which this vampire slowly drank the blood. His body was then quartered and the heart sent as a present to an elderly chief as a delicious morsel."14 The appearance now presented by the pa was a sickening ordeal for the Englishmen. Human bodies cut in pieces and hanging opposite every house within the pa were disgusting to behold. Dogs feeding on the refuse, together with the sanguinary appearance of these extensive shambles, prevented the traders from pursuing their usual work for some time. The bones of the devoured to within recent years whitened the sand hills to the west of Hongihongi stream.

Other pas in the vicinity occupied at this time by Ati-Awa were Miko-tahi, Paritutu, Mataora, and Motu-o-Tamatea. Great inducements were held out to those on Paritutu to come down and have a friendly dance with Waikato, but the bait did not take. This fort was well supplied with food—the great trouble was with the water, which was obtainable only half-way down on the south-west face, three hundred feet below the summit. Their mode of getting this was as follows: Two, or sometimes four, large hue, or calabashes, were fastened over the shoulders of the man or woman told off to descend the cliff;

12 See page 473 for the Ati-Awa version of this man's death.

13 Weta-nui was in the habit of posting himself behind a large rock, which is still to be seen about high-water mark where the Barrett road comes on to the beach. Exposing himself from this secure shelter he was shot, to the great delight of the besieged, to whom his "sniping" ways had been a great source of annoyance.

14 Polack, Vol. II., p. 318.

page 479a strong rope was then made fast to the carrier, who also made use of a second stout rope, which was fastened to stakes driven securely into the face of the cliff. By this means they reached the spring, and after filling the gourds, they returned by the same way. This would be repeated perhaps several times during the night. Those living on, or occupying, the island pas of Mata-ora and Motu-o-Tamatea could prevent any depredation on this spring by the enemy, as it lay quite exposed to and within easy range of their musketry fire.

The bulk of the women and children, with the elders and noncombatants generally, took shelter on the semi-island fort of Mikotahi —an impregnable position in Maori warfare—remaining in safety here until the conclusion of the siege.

(With the exception of extracts quoted from Polack, the information given in the preceding narrative was obtained first hand from Piripi Ngahukn, a member of the Nga-Motu hapu, who was present all through the siege and afterwards assisted in the defence of Mikotahi, which fell to Waikato in 1833; and also from Watene Taungatara, who, escaping from Puke-rangiora, fled through the forest to Kete-marae (not far from Hawera), and with others, returned by the coast and threw in his lot with his relatives, occupying the fortified position on the summit of Paritutu. By the help of Ngahuku the outlines of the defences, the position of the cannon, the ground occupied by the different sections of the invaders, and the general topography within and around Otaka, were fixed as indicated on sketch plan of locality (see Map No. 7).

To Mr. Skinner's description above, I add the following:—Pehi-Tu-korehu, mentioned several times in this narrative, was a leading chief of Ngati-Mania-poto, and was a very great warrior in his time. As this is the last occasion but one on which we shall meet with him, it will be of interest to quote the following from the journal of the Rev. James Hamlin (in Dr. Hocken's library). Mr. Hamlin, then stationed at Manga-pouri, on the Waipa river, says, "21st May, 1836. Heard of old Pehi-korehu's death. He was the head chief of Ngati-Mania-poto. Poor old fellow; he was returning from a feast at Aotea, and in crossing Kawhia Harbour with his friends, his canoe upset a little before it reached the shore and he was drowned, together with his two wives and two slaves. His daughters swam ashore and were saved. But such is the unreasonableness of the natives that they are talking of making war on the friends with whom he had been feasting, on account of his death. (This was the law of muru.) Poor old Pehi page 480had often been spoken to on the subject of religion, and had promised Mr. Brown and myself that if a missionary came to live with him, he would believe. But he has always turned the subject into ridicule."

At Pehi-Tu-korehu's death, his people lamented him in the following waiata-tangi:—

Tahuna mai te ahi ki runga i a Te Poa,
Ko te ahi i tahuna mo Whakaturia,
Ko te peka tena i makere ki raro ki te whenua,
Takiritia ra he kai ma te ope taua,
E 'Rehu! e tangi, ka whiti tou manawa
E kore tou mate e wawe te rautipu,
Me uta ke ake ki nga pu mahara,
E taka mai i tua.
E whakaroaka ana i nga mate tawhito.

Taka huirangi ai te po i Rangi-toto,
Mawai e whakamana i te waka ka tukoki?
Whakahaerea ra, na runga o Taranaki,
Kia whangaia koe te ika i Rangiriri
Hoki mai E Tama! i te ara ra uta,
Ka whara tou kiri i te pārā-tai
Tena nga kauri kei Wai-harakeke
I kitea iho ai, he mango ihu nui
I te one na—i,
Raru nui te iwi—e—i.

Tangi tikapa ana to wahine i to uru,
Tu ake! tirohia te hua i Motu-tawa,
Ka kite Wharo, ka papare i a Ngaehe,
Me aha te huanga ka meha o namata?

Haea mai ra ki te mira tuatini
Kihai i hoatu te hum o Tapeka,
Kia rato ratou, kia kai Puponga.

E Tama! ka hupeke i tou whanaketanga,
Ka tanumi rawa koe ki tua Tongariro,
Kia korero koe i te ngutu o te manu,
Kia hoki ana mai to wairua ki te ao nei—i—i!

Transliteration.
Now light the fire above at Te Poa,
Such a one as was lit at the death of Whakaturia, 1
For he was the branch (chief) then laid low.
Prepare the food for the war-party's use.
O 'Rehu!2 Weep, then, thy heart will start,
For thy death will not be speedily avenged.

1 Whakaturia, a Whanganui chief killed in battle, inland Mokau. The fire refers to the ahi-pure, or fire of purification at death—or, the fire may be emblematical for war.

2 'Rehu, short for Tu-korehu; the brief form of address is always some part of a person's name, not necessarily the first syllable.

page 481 It must be treated in accordance
With laws handed down from of old;
Kept over in remembrance as of old defeats.3)

Dark clouds as of night over Rangitoto hung.
Who shall avenge the canoe upset?
Perchance in the south at Taranaki, 4
There shall thou be fed on the fish of Rangiriri; 5
Thou didst not return, O son! by the inland way,
Hence is thy body with sea-foam covered.
The kauris (chiefs) at Wai-harakekc6
Have witnessed thy might; like long-nosed sharks
They laid on the sands.
But, now, alas! are the people confounded.

Bitterly weeping are the women in the west.
Arise thee! Consider what befel at Motu-tawa,7
When Wharo saw and Ngaehc parried the blow.8
What gain now is there in the things of old?

In mourning, deeply cut the flesh with the luatui.9
The cloak of Tapoka was not given,
That all might be equally served,
Or that Puponga should consume….

O son! In thy youth thou didst gird thyself!10
But now hast thou disappeared beyond Tongariro,
That thou mayest discourse with bird-like voice,
And thy spirit to this world return.

Te Keha was also a leading chief of Ati-Awa engaged in the defence, and Wai-taha-nui, a prominent chief of Waikato, was killed there. On the Ati-Awa side wore also killed Wereta-nui and Tawhiwhi —both said to have boon shot by Tu-korehu.

Many of the defenders of Otaka subsequently migrated to Kapiti

3 Someone must suffer for his death by drowning, no matter who.

4 The Taranaki tribes are suggested as such victims to appease the manes of the dead.

5 Rangiriri is the mythological spring from which all fish originate.

6 Refers to some of the troubles between the deceased's tribe and the people of Wai-harakeke—a river south side of Kawhia—see Chapter XIII. There is a group of five kauri trees growing there, the most southerly known; here used emblematically for chiefs.

7 Motu-tawa, the island pa at the mouth of the Mokau river, whore Ngati-Mania-poto—Tu-korehu's tribe—defeated Ati-Awa, sec Chapter XIX.

8 There is a story about Wharo and Ngache, the particulars of which I have forgotten.

9 The inira-tuatini is a saw made of sharks' teeth set in a wooden handle, used to cut up human bodies for the oven, but here used to tear the flesh in mourning.

10 "Gird thyself- i.e., for war. Tu-korehu was a great warrior, as this narrative has already shown.

page 482in the Tama-te-uaua heke (see Chapter XIX.), dreading a further invasion of Waikato—which indeed took place shortly after—whilst others removed to the two islands known as Miko-tahi and Motu-roa, on the latter of which they dwelt for years, living in caves and little huts built on the precipitous sides of the island.

Paritutu was first fortified on top during these Waikato invasions; it had never been occupied previously. In addition to the water supply mentioned by Mr. Skinner, they had very largo kumetes, or wooded troughs hewn out of logs, in which to catch rain-water from the houses.

A few pages back, Mr. Skinner alludes to the probability of some of the Ngati-Tama tribe being within the beleaguered pa. In 1908 an old man of Ngati-Tama, named Taiata, who was born at Puke-ariki pa, and at the time of the siege of Otaka was about ten years old, told mo that he, with his parents, and all the other people of Puke-ariki fled to Otaka and remained there during the siege. He says that after the retreat of Waikato the Ngati-Tama and some of Ati-Awa of Otaka followed up the retreating taua as far as Mokau, whore they managed to kill a Waikato man, named Whatu-moana, at a place called Te Karangi.

On their return, these Ngati-Tama went into the Taranaki country and settled for a time near Wareatea. Whilst here an Ati-Awa man, named Korau, who was living with Ngati-Tama, was killed by the Nga-Mahanga branch of Taranaki. In revenge for this, Ngati-Tama took a pa named Puke-arenga. The Ngati-Tama were few in number, and not feeling themselves safe in their now home, all migrated to Kapiti not long before the migration known as "Tama-to-uaua" (see Chapter XIX.)

From the same source I learn that both Puke-ariki (Mount Eliot) and Pu-kaka (Marsland Hill) pas were both occupied when Waikato advanced to the attack of Otaka, but were abandoned, and the inhabitants all moved on to Otaka. Ngati-Te-Whiti hapu of Ati-Awa occupied the east end of Puke-ariki in those days, and the principal chiefs of the two pas were Te Whetuki, Te Whatarauhe, Roriki, and Te Teira-Kiaho of Ngati-Tu-pari-kino hapu. At that time (1832) there were large numbers of people living in the pas mentioned, and all the lands extending from St. Mary's Church to the Manga-o-tuku stream, and on the north side of the Huatoki stream, about whore the Kawau pa stood in the early forties was all cultivated in kumara, taro, and small patches of potatoes, for this tuber was not at that time common. When the people moved off to Otaka, this was the final abandonment of these two grand old pas.

page 483

The Siege of Kaiapoiiia.
1831.

The celebrated siego of Kaiapohia (misnamed by Europeans, Kaiapoi) occurred in 1831, a little previous to that of Otaka. As a full description has been published by the Rev. J. W. Stack, it is not necessary to repeat it here, although a large number of the tribes we are dealing with wore engaged there assisting Te Rau-paraha. The Ati-Awa contingents were under the following chiefs:—Te Puoho (of Ngati-Tama), Huri-whenua (of Ngati-Rahiri), Rere-tawhangawhanga (of Manu-korihi), Te Manu-tohe-roa (of Puke-tapu), Ngatata (father of Pomare, who later lived at the Chatham Islands), Te Poki, Te Arahu, Te Awe, Takaratai, Te Hau-te-horo, Te Tupe-o-Tu, Manu-kino, Kāpūia-whariki, Wharepa, Mohi-Ngawaina, Riwai-taupata, Raharuhi To Taniwha (of Ngati-Tama), Te Waka-tiwha (brother of Pomaro). Many of these were back again at Nga-Motu to take part in the defence of Miko-tahi, but not of Puke-rangiora or Otaka.

Mr. Skinner furnishes the following note on Puke-ariki (Mount Eliot, Now Plymouth), the inhabitants of which took part in the defence of Otaka:—

Puke-Ariki Pa.

The name of the marae of this pa was Para-huka, and the following story gives the origin of it:—"Takarangi and Raumahora—whose history was related in Chapter X.—had a daughter named Rongo-ua-roa, who was married to Te Whiti, and they had a son named Aniwaniwa (the ancestor of Te Puni family of Wellington, and Te Kepa family of Mangaone, Wai-whakaiho). By his second marriage, Te Whiti (see above) had a son called Ruaroa (the ancestor of the Poharama people —Ngati-Te-Whiti of Moturoa—and Te Whiti, the so-called prophet of Parihaka).

These two half-brothers—Aniwaniwa and Ruaroa—were of quite opposite dispositions. The former was a talker, a boaster, and a loafer, spending most of his time in visiting distant relatives and people, journeying as far as the Bay of Islands on these holiday tours. When addressing these distant people he used to boast of the great fruitfulness of his own soil and the abundance that always reigned at Puke-ariki, and would give pressing invitations to visit his home and partake of the abundance that was there to be found. As a consequence visitors were always arriving at the pa, and in accord with ancient Maori custom hospitality had to be given to those visitors, resulting oftentimes in its inmates having to undergo great privation owing to lack of food, for come what may, rigid custom laid down that the visitors were to be fully and abundantly fed, whether or not the hosts had to go without, page 484their meal or on short commons for the balance of the season until the now crops wore gathered in. But this did not trouble Aniwaniwa; he acted the lordly host and bade welcome to the visitors, come they many or few. The brunt fell on Ruaroa, the stay-at-home worker and provider. So in derision Ruaroa named (or re-named) the marae of the pa Para-huka—spital, the frothing of the mouth—as it was here his bombastic brother used to speak empty, frothy words; and that name remained down to the time of the desertion of this great stronghold about the year 1830.

The site of the marae, or square, of the old pa is marked by that of the Union S.S. Company's and New Zealand Express Company's offices, and the part of St. Aubyn Street in front of the same.