Te Porere - Te Kooti's Last Stand
Te Porere: “The Pocket”? On a hot summer’s day in 2016 I spent several hours at the site of Te Porere - the fighting pa built by Te Kooti in 1869, and the site of what has become known as “Te Kooti’s Last Stand”. Here the Ringatu prophet and his followers were defeated by a combined force of Colonial and Crown-friendly Maori attackers on October 4, 1869. Historians relate that, after Te Porere, Te Kooti was never able to mount any serious resistance - having lost the hope of any support from the King Movement or other significant allies. The two earthworks at Te Porere are located just off State Highway 47, approx halfway between National Park and Turangi. From the carpark, walk across a small bridge over the headwaters of the Whanganui River to the lower redoubt, where a sign-board provides information: Then continue up the hill to the main redoubt, where there is a wooden look-out over the site (40 metere wide), with the volcanoes of the central massif ...