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The Pa Maori

Tunu-haere Pa, Whanganui

Tunu-haere Pa, Whanganui

The Tunu-haere pa, situated on the right bank of the Whanga-nui river, opposite the native hamlet of Kai-whaiki, is a good example of a fortified village as constructed on a narrow topped and sloping ridge spur. The upper limit of the fortified part is, as often occurs, at a point where there is a dip or saddle in the spur, or ridge, which hollow much assisted the task of the men of old who constructed the defences. At this dip the summit of the ridge has been cut down so as to present a steep wall which defence was certainly supplemented by a strong stockade. A similar defence exists at the lower end of the fortified part, where a deep transverse ditch has been cut across the ridge, and this was stockaded in a similar manner. Such lines of stockades have been continued round the sides of the spur, at a little distance down the hill from the top, and supplemented with scarps at divers places, in order to enclose the village. Sites for houses have been made by forming terraces and levelling the sloping summit of the ridge in small areas. Other lines of stockades and escarpments formed secondary internal lines of defence. At one part of the ridge summit a narrow passage of approach was formed at a spot where a secondary line of defence was entered in ascending the spur. The sides of the ridge have been cut away on both sides so as to leave a narrow wall of earth, some four feet in width, and ten feet in height as an approach to the upper defences. Such a narrow approach could be easily defended.

A picture of this pa in Power's Sketches in New Zealand is most misleading, and gives an absolutely erroneous impression of the spur on which the pa is situated. This place was abandoned in the latter 'forties' of last century, the people thereof settling at Kaiwhaiki. Sir G. Grey is said to have visited Tunu-haere pa in the 'forties'. Since its abandonment it has been used as a burial ground.