Some aspects of New Zealand and Pacific history - warts and all
Commemorative Figures for Te Kooti
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Carved figures commemorate Te Kooti's pardon.
In 1883 Ngati Pukeko of the Eastern Bay of Plenty,
constructed a meeting house (Awanuiarangi) which they presented to Te
Kooti to commemorate his pardon by the government.
These carved figures are from that meeting house - today they can be seen in the foyer of the Whakatane library.
The area on the southern side of Lake Karapiro where the sports facility is today was the scene of a bloody episode of the musket wars. On this site around 1830 the local Ngati-haua led by Chief Te Waharoa with only 300 warriors defeated the Nagti-maru who fielded some 3,000 warriors. Below - the memorial gateway, plaques, and "stinking rocks": Background: Some years previously, the Ngati-maru had fled from the Thames area after Hongi Heke and his Ngapui armed with muskets had captured and sacked their main pa Te Totara. Ngati-maru then settled on Ngati-haua land forming a large pa (Hao-whenua). This pa was sited about 3km up the present Luck-at-Last Road on the left - see map below. The Battle of Taumatawiwi (Literally Taumata: “the brow of a hill”; wiwi: - “the old term for the fear engendered by musket fire”) - at present-day Lake Karapiro: “Stinking Rocks”. The following account is from: “Guide to Historical Sites of Maungatautari and Roto-O-Rangi” Complied ...
The gods were so angry they made the water boil. At Kuirau Park in Rotorua can be found a remarkable assortment of steaming thermal activity, including a large extremely hot pool amidst tea-tree and swirls of steam - Kuirau Pool - named after a Maori woman who had a most unfortunate experience with a taniwha (water-monster). Long before the coming of the white man the pool was known as Tawakahu. At that time its temperature was perfect for bathing, and successive chiefs reserved the water for the use of themselves and their families. Possession of the pool eventually passed to Tamahika who reserved the waters for the private use his very beautiful young wife Kuirau. Kuirau swam naked in the comforting waters every morning and evening, unseen by human eyes. However she was constantly watched from the deep bottom of the pool by a vicious taniwha. This evil monster was afraid of man only em...
When fleeing from his enemies Te Rauparaha was forced to hide in a hole in the ground underneath the genitalia of a woman. To reassert his mana, compromised by his position under a female, he performed his now famous haka when he emerged. The pou below shows the chief underneath Te Rangikoaea, protected by her womanhood: Motuopuhi Island and old pa site The small island (Motuopuhi) visible from the pa site in Lake Rotoaira, has an interesting place in New Zealand history - this is the site where Te Rauparaha performed his famous haka after escaping his enemies. On SH 47, where the saddle road South from Turangi to National Park dips down, some 20 km from Turangi, there is a short turnoff to the west which leads to an old pa site Opotaka on the edge of Lake Rotoaira. An information board in the carpark provides some brief historical background for visitors. Before the lake-level was raised as part of the Tongariro power scheme, Motuopuhi was joined to the mainland ...
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