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Ngā Tohuwhenua Mai Te Rangi: A New Zealand Archeology in Aerial Photographs

Onāwe pā, Banks Peninsula, attacked by Te Rauparaha after the sacking of Kaiapoi

Onāwe pā, Banks Peninsula, attacked by Te Rauparaha after the sacking of Kaiapoi

Onāwe pā, Banks Peninsula, attacked by Te Rauparaha after the sacking of Kaiapoi

The defences of the pā are in part natural, using the steep cliffs of the peninsula (at top, in scrub). A ditch and bank, partly obscured by the scrub, extends along this cliff edge with a short field of close fire against any attack from that quarter. The distinct ribbon-like line is a path through long grass. On the near side of the main rectangular block of fortified perimeter are trenches which give access to water and the shoreline (foreground). The total defended area on the peninsula is about 450 m long by 40 m (width varies). The rectangular enclosure seen here (ditch and bank out of view at left) is 130 by 40 m. The view is to the north-east. For a wider view of the pā, see the illustration of the fish trap (here out of picture, bottom left) in chapter 5.