Nga Potiki-a-Rehua Pa, at Wai-totara

The old pre-European pa at Wai-totara known as Nga Potiki-a-Rehua is a very interesting example of an old Maori fort, inasmuch as it shows, at its western end, a series of fine terraces, while the page 273middle, as also the eastern end, illustrate how a ridge top was fortified by means of fosse, rampart, scarp and stockade. The plan given in illustration of this fort (Fig. 72, p. 274) shows the details as well as they can be depicted on paper, but nothing is so satisfactory as a personal inspection of such places, and I have spent many pleasant days in exploring such places, wandering over the terraces and ridges once teeming with human life, now long deserted and overgrown with grass, fern, scrub and/or brush.

This interesting old fort is situated close to the village of Wai-totara, north of Whanga-nui, on the west coast of the North Island; it includes the upper part of the narrow spur, the abrupt western end of which impinges upon the left bank of the Wai-totara river, a hundred yards north of the bridge. The summit of this ridge spur at the western end is about 200 ft. above the level of the river, from which point, as will be seen by referring to the plan, it falls away towards the east, to rise again to its point of connection with the plateau to the eastward.

The surrounding country is of an interesting nature, inasmuch as it appears to be an old ocean bed that has been raised high above sea level in recent geological time, and in which innumerable valleys, ravines and gulches have been formed by the action of water. Some of the intervening plateaux are of considerable extent, showing level or gently sloping surfaces bounded by deep, steep sided gullies; while in other places only narrow ridges are seen between such ravines. The Potiki-a-Rehua is one of these narrow spurs, widening at its western end, with a deep narrow gully on its northern side, while to the south lies an arm of the main valley. The northern face of the spur is precipitous, showing a vertical cliff at places, while the southern face presents an easier slope much more accessible, and indeed easily ascended at all parts. The abrupt western end of the spur is steep in its upper part, and exceedingly precipitous lower down, a face easily defended.

Below the friable surface soil of this spur, and of all the surrounding country, lies a soft sandstone, a kind of indurated sand, for it can scarcely be termed stone, so soft is it. This sandstone, in many places, contains immense numbers of shells, as is noted in the description of the Ihupuku pa. Many of these shells resemble those of the oyster, and are of great size, while, although they look so sound and recent, yet presumably these oysters were stale when Adam was fresh, as a colonial writer puts it.

It is thus seen that the soft sandstone described lent itself easily to such work as scarping and trench making, so that, with a large number of workers, the terracing and other work performed at this page 274 page 275pa, though done with primitive tools, need not have occupied a great deal of time. Now this remark may also be applied to many other old fortified places whereat are seen extensive earthworks. We note that there are huge walls, deep fosses, terraces that mean much excavation and shifting of earth. But, on the other hand, picture some two hundred men energetically toiling at excavating with implements of hardwood and removing the loosened earth in baskets. Such a party would perform a great deal of work in a month, and the writer has himself seen how quickly earth can be removed and conveyed some distance in baskets, and indeed has taken part in such a task.

The full length of the Potiki-a-Rehua pa is about twenty-seven chains, or say 590 yds. A glance at the plan, however, will show that it is narrow throughout the greater part of its length, for some distance exceedingly so. The makers of this fort took advantage of practically the whole of the top of the spur, from the place where it first narrows after leaving the parent plateau to its western extremity immediately above the river.

The first defence, commencing from the eastern end of the spur, is situated at the first narrow part of the spur top. It consists of a fosse and rampart excavated and constructed across the spur, which is here about 34 yds. wide. The earth taken from the trench has been formed into a rampart on the inner or western side of the fosse. The fosse is about 12 ft. wide, and was probably nearly 12 ft. deep originally at its northern end, but considerably less at the southern end. The middle portion of the fosse, for about 12 yds., was not excavated deeply, not more than 3 ft. or 4 ft. apparently. No sign of a wall appears on the outer side of the trench, and it will be seen that the maioro or earthen ramparts are all situated on the inner sides of the various fosses. The entrance to the fort was in the middle of these defences; this opening would be blocked when necessary while the fosse would be crossed by means of a primitive and easily removed bridge. The outer face of the wall was a continuation of the inner slope of the fosse, and, when intact, this probably presented a face of about 12 ft., and upwards. In all cases denudation has much lessened the height of the walls and filled the various fosses. The spur top at this part is fairly level; about three chains east of this defence it merges into the plateau. It was on this plateau, according to local natives, that the marae or plaza of the village community was situated, there being no space for one within the defences.

From this outer defence one proceeds 75 paces westward along the top of the spur ere the next defence is met with. In this distance page 276the top of the ridge widens to fifty paces, to contract again ere the second defence is reached, whereat the narrow part of the ridge top commences. From the wider part the spur also falls away to fosse No. 2; the wider part is well suited for hut sites. There are no signs of any flank defences on the north or south sides of this area, neither walls nor scarping, and presumably these faces were defended by stockades. There is indeed a steep break down on the south side that may be partially artificial, while the northern face is very steep. On this latter side it is quite possible that there was, in former times, a scarp to supplement the stockade, and that it has become obliterated since the evacuation of the fort, which occurred not less than seventy years ago. In this light friable surface soil, a small earthwork on sloping ground would tend to disappear rapidly, and in like manner a light scarp would soon lose its even contour by means of erosion. From the south end of fosse No. 1 the ground falls away with a gentle slope some 50 ft. to the steep break down mentioned above, and curious to relate, there is no sign of defences over this space, neither rampart nor fosse; it must have been stockaded. Below fosse No. 2, on the north side, is a water spring some 50 or 60 yds. down the steep sideling; this was probably the water supply of the eastern end of the pa.

Fosse No. 2 is thirteen paces long, which represents the width of the spur top of that point; its original width was probably about 10 ft., and its depth about the same. There is, as in the case of fosse No. 1, a bank or parapet of earth on the inner or western side of the fosse. Apparently the entrance to the second area of the pa was by the northern end of the ditch and bank. If so, it would consist of a narrow alley way between two stockades, such being the usual procedure, and such a passage is easily defended and easily blocked. No signs of the stumps or bases of stockade posts are now visible at this pa.

From fosse No. 2 to fosse No. 3 is a distance of fifty paces; and in this area the spur sinks and becomes very narrow, in one place only about 12 ft. wide. A reference to the plan will show that the whole central portion of the post is very narrow, and can have been little more than a long narrow lane, stockaded on both sides and with numerous lines of defence across it, together with a few huts and pit stores wherever sufficient space could be found for them. But few people could have lived on this central part, the bulk of the inhabitants must have resided at the two ends of the pa, but principally at the western end. On the north side of this area the fall away is precipitous, though scaleable; on the south side the slope is much easier, but no sign of scarp or earthwork is seen on either side. On the south side the slope is now covered with light, open bush, page 277from fosse No. 1 to No. 3, consisting of tawhero, mahoe, ngaio, kaponga, karaka, houhi, etc. The first three trenches, and most others, are situated at parts of the ridge where two hollows (one can hardly term them gullies) head one on either side, such places being the narrowest parts of such ridges. It is a sign of the pre-European, hence pre-gun, occupation of this pa that the lower part of the ridge is commanded by a hill within easy gunshot on the north, just across the deep narrow ravine.

Fosse No. 3 is about 45 ft. long, 10 ft. wide at the bottom, and now about 8 ft. deep, but was originally probably 10 ft. deep or more, on the east side. On the west side it is now 10 ft. or 11 ft. deep, the spur being higher on this side, though there is no sign of a parapet on the top of the scarp. The slope is easy to the south, but precipitous on the northern side. At the north end of the fosse a steep fall away may be the degraded remains of an artificial scarp.

Now, 8 yds. east of this fosse No. 3 is the narrowest part of the ridge summit, here about 4 yds. wide, and here also a sort of supplementary intermediate defence seems to have been made; consisting not of a fosse cut across the ridge, but in two sides of the ridge being cut away so as to form two rectangular excavations about 6 ft. wide, thus:— and leaving a causeway in the middle. A stockade and gate certainly existed at such a place as this. Within this No. 2 area are some signs of former occupation; one being a semi-subterranean store pit about 9 ft. square and originally nearly 6 ft. deep, while signs of pit stores (rua kopiha) are also discernible, though now choked with debris. Needless to say that no sign of woodwork of the stores, huts or stockades is now seen here; all such disappeared, through the agencies of fire and decay, long years ago.

From fosse No. 3 westward to No. 4 is another fifty paces. Of this third area a portion widens out to 14 paces and is fairly level, suitable for hut sites, after which the spur sinks and narrows rapidly to fosse 4. On the south side of this area the slope is steeper than heretofore; on the north side the steep aspect is retained, but shows no sign of page 278escarpment. On the western side of fosse No. 3 earth seems to have been piled up in the centre, but there is no evidence that a wall extended across the ridge top.

Fosse No. 4 is situated at a low and narrow part of the spur, and is deep at both ends, but has a raised central part, presumably so left when the ditch was excavated. It may be noted that this construction of defences at low parts of a ridge is one of the signs of a pa having been fortified in pre-gun, i.e., pre-European times. The north end of this fosse, for about 18 ft. is 12 ft. wide at the bottom, though the original surface of the bottom is probably some feet lower than the present one, owing to the collection of debris in the fosse. The depth of the fosse at the inner end of this 18 ft. space must have been 16 ft. or more. The south end of the fosse for 24 ft. is now much filled in, apparently, or was not made so wide as the north end originally. The middle part of it, the elevated part, is 18 ft., and would appear to have been nearly 10 ft. higher than the two ends, perhaps the sandstone was harder here; anyhow the walls of the fosse would be practically as high here as elsewhere on account of the contour of the ridge. Passage here may have been by a bridge across this huge fosse. At present the east side of the central part of the fosse is 6½ ft. high, and the western side 8 ft. or 9 ft., so that the raised central part of the ditch cannot have been used as a causeway. At the north end of the raised part of the trench bottom, a store pit about 8 ft. square has been excavated; it is now about 3 ft. deep but contains much debris. It seems a curious procedure to have store pits in a defensive fosse, but such are often seen on the west coast. The purport of such a mode was the economisation of space. Many of the old time pa were crowded with huts, and pit stores are seen in all sorts of odd places, while a bluff of soft sandstone or indurated pumice gave facilities for the making of a cave storage places. Across fosse 4, from brow to brow, cannot be less than 20 ft.

From fosse 4 to No. 5 is but a short distance of 15 paces, while the width of the ridge top is but seven paces. The slope on the southern side of the ridge is an easy one along here, but on the northern side is precipitous throughout. The top of the ridge in this small area has been levelled, and in the middle are the remains of two semi-subterranean stores, one about 9 ft. by 7 ft., the other somewhat smaller, about 4 ft. deep now, but much fallen in. When roofed these stores must have occupied most of the available space of this diminutive area.

Fosse 5 is a most interesting type, though narrower than the preceding one, being about 15 ft. wide across the top, and 5 ft. or 6 ft. across the bottom, on which much debris now lies. The soil at this page 279part appears to be a form of indurated clay, out of which a deep, wide fosse has been excavated, but leaving across the centre of the ditch a narrow wall of earth only 2 ft. wide standing intact as a causeway. Of so firm a consistency is the formation here that the sides of this narrow wall have been made vertical, thus forming the narrowest causeway of this nature yet noted by the writer in a pre-European pa. In one place about 3 ft. of the top of this wall has fallen, but the rest is as it was carved out long generations ago. Doubtless a thick growth of fern and scrub has tended to preserve it from the weather. This extremely narrow passage must have been easily defended in the days of the levelled spear.

Describing this fosse 5 as it is, in two parts, the southern end is 24 ft. long, and was probably 10 ft. deep on the eastern side, where no wall has been made, and about 14ft. on the west side, or even more, not to speak of the stockade that must have originally surmounted the wall on that side of the ditch, even now this side is 11 or 12 ft. high. The northern half of the ditch is 27 ft. long, cut square, deep and steep, in fact the walls of this trench 5 are vertical. Width of original bottom about 9 ft. Depth on east side about 8 ft., and on the west side 12 ft., but a considerable amount of detritus overlies the original bottom of the fosse. It would be of interest to clear off this debris in some of the ditches and note the depth of deposit, and the true bottom of these excavations. The base of the eastern side of this fosse does not appear to have been weathered at all, having possibly been much protected by vegetation, inasmuch as the observer can almost believe that the marks of tools are here visible. Also, sad to relate, some dissolute wanderer, rejoicing apparently in the name of Mooney, has engraved his unhallowed name at the base of this wall.

As usual no earthen rampart has been erected on the outer or eastern side of this fosse, but apparently one has been constructed on the inner or western side, although, owing to detrition, its proportions are now but small. One still notes, however, a central opening in this wall, at the end of the causeway, through which folk entered the fifth area of the pa. There must have been a stockade and gateway here.

From fosse No. 5 to No. 6 is some 90 paces. This long, narrow area is the lowest part of the ridge top, it rising to east and west from here; it is from ten to fourteen paces in width and has been levelled for the accommodation of huts; not, indeed to one uniform level, but into irregular terraced forms, as is often seen in these old fortified places. At the east end of this area are three pits of unusual depth; these were evidently store pits for kumara (sweet potato), not the page 280well-like pit, but the one excavated as a rectangular open pit and then roofed over. No. 1 is some 9 ft. or 10 ft. wide and about 13 ft. long, walls almost perpendicular, depth now is 6 ft. but a considerable amount of debris overlies the original floor. Pit No. 2, is about 15 ft. by 10 ft. and now 6 ft. deep at the sides, but contains much accummulated debris. It is 9 ft. deep at the western end, where earth has been piled up. The space between pits 1 and 2 is about 5 ft. Pit 3 is 11 ft. by 9 ft., about the same depth as the other two, and the space between 2 and 3 is about 3 ft. Thus all three are in a line, end to end, with a few feet between them. Mounds of earth show how the ends have been earthed up, and the spaces between the A shaped roofs of Nos. 1 and 2, and 2 and 3 have evidently been filled up with earth, which has become fairly well solidified, so that these have suffered but little from detrition; a good growth of grass preserves them. Close to the western end of pit 3 a hut site is plainly discernible.

About 9 yds. west of pit 3 lies pit 4, which is about 12 ft. by 10 ft. and 6 ft. deep. 5 ft. south of pit 4 is a smaller one, some 6 ft. by 5 ft. and now about 30 in. deep. Five yards west of pit 4 is pit 5, much broken down, probably about 12 ft. by 8 ft. originally, now about 5 ft. deep. Some distance west of pit 5, on the northern slope below the crest are three store pits cut out of the stiff soil of the steep sideling, but now much choked with debris. Fig. 6 on the plan shows the site of a store or hut, while 7 is a rua kopiha or well like pit, such as were used for storing the sweet potato in, and it is one of those curious dome roofed pits. A depression, probably a hut site, was noted at 8. On the south side of 6, 7 and 8 a terrace 12 ft. to 16 ft. wide has been formed along the side of the spur, some 8 ft. below the flattened summit; this was probably formed for hut sites. The whole south side of this area is a comparatively easy slope with no sign of any escarpment. The northern side carries the aspect already described, steep but scalable; shell refuse is here seen. So far as can be judged the flattened summit only of the ridge was here enclosed by the stockades on the north and south sides. The lines of vantage for such a defence are easily discernible in most places, but at some, such as the ends of the various trenches, and the southern side of area 1, the positions of the stockades are doubtful. There is room for a good many huts in this fifth area between trenches 5 and 6.

Fosse 6 is fifteen paces long and extends right across the ridge, which is still narrower; it is about 10 ft. deep on the east side, and 12 ft. to 14 ft. on the west side. The bottom is 10 ft. wide, but evidently the original bottom of the ditch is some way below the present surface; denudation has been going on for generations. Across the top of the ditch from brow to brow is about 20 ft. and no sign of page 281parapet is seen on either side. The passage may have been by bridge, but it is quite possible that none existed across this fosse, but that it passed along the hill side at the northern end of the fosse, inasmuch as a ledge is seen passing down to the level of the bottom of fosse 6, to rise again to the summit west of No. 7. If so, then this would be a narrow alley way between two stockades, and easily defended, while no means existed of crossing the wide fosses 6 and 7. From brow to brow No. 7 is about 30 ft. wide and it would be no light task to pass this in the face of a numerous enemy. It cannot be stated with any certainty that this side passage existed, but it seems probable.

From fosse 6 to No. 7 is but a space of 27 ft. which is about 30 ft. wide, and almost in the centre of this area is a pit 15 ft. by 10 ft. in a good state of preservation. The walls, which show an exposure of soft strata of sandstone, are almost vertical, and the present depth is 5½ ft.; original depth possibly 6½ ft. This pit is right in the fairway of any passage along the summit of the spur, and is much larger in proportion to the size of this small area of 27 ft. by 30 ft. than is shown on the plan. This small, deeply trenched area must have been a little pa in itself, and indeed the same may be said of all the areas or divisions east of it. There is a well pit on the northern side of the larger pit. The northern face of this area is precipitous for 12 ft. or 14 ft. down to the ledge above described, and precipitous again below that ledge. This lower precipitous face or scarp extends for some distance east and west, and may be artificial, but in such soft material erosion would soon destroy the proofs of human handiwork, not to mention the trampling of stock. The southern side of this area preserves the slope that is fairly uniform throughout, though somewhat steeper here than in most parts.

Fosse No. 7 is the deepest and most formidable fosse of all, for it is the last defence of that nature, and upon it would depend the defence of the eastern extremity of the main portion of the pa. This fosse is not carried straight across the ridge, but is curved at the southern end, and swings round westward to protect the face of the main pa. Thus it is 24 yards long, and was originally probably 12 ft. or 14 ft. wide at the bottom, but it is considerably choked with debris; it is 30 ft. wide at the top of its central part. The eastern side of this fosse is about 10 ft. or 11 ft. deep, or high, for the ridge top between fosses 6 and 7 seems to have been cut down to a considerable extent. On its western side fosse 7 now shows a formidable scarp of some 25 ft. in height, part of which is due to the rapid rise of the ridge at this place; while area 6 having been cut down, such page 282process lowered the height of the scarp on the east side, and exaggerated the proportional height of the western side. The original height of the scarp on the western side of the fosse can scarcely have been less than 30 ft.; add to this a stockade of say 10 ft. in height, and you have a formidable defence 40 ft. high, a most effectual barrier against assault by neolithic man. This face shows about 2 ft. of soil on the top, then 6 ft. of indurated clay, and under that a soft sandstone.

The high ground of area 6 extends along the eastern side of fosse 7 to its southern end, with diminishing height. The apparent causeway across the ditch at this end has probably been formed by earth washed down a cattle track that runs up the hillside.

West of fosse 7 comes the first terrace of the main part of the pa. The ridge has been cut down here so as to form a terrace measuring some 30 ft. in width, while the steep scarp at its western extremity is about 14 ft. in height; this was yet another defence, and would be surmounted by a strong stockade when the place was occupied. This terrace is continued right along the south side of the main pa, but it is not level, as it rises to conform to the shape of, or to run parallel with, the top of the ridge. It is about 12 ft. wide, but has probably been narrowed by frittering away of the outside, and by the crumbling down of the scarped face above it. At present it is the sward of grass that prevents the loose, black friable surface soil of this area from being washed off the ridge. The inner scarp above this terrace is from 14 ft. to 16 ft. in height. Where breaks occur in the sward of grass are noted shells and old oven stones, etc.

Continuing along the summit of the ridge westward from the first terrace, the first item notes, within 3 ft. of the scarped slope, is a pit 12 ft. by 10 ft., which is in the middle of the ridge top, here only about 20 ft. wide. Within about 3 ft. is the end of another pit, about 5 ft. deep, but much eroded. At the east end of this part a narrow trench has been cut across the ridge, tapping the end of the pit, possibly to drain it, this ditch is 4 ft. wide at the top, about 4 ft. deep, and narrow bottomed; it has a suspiciously modern aspect.

From here westward the ridge top rises, and has been cut down and levelled; it rises westward for 73 paces, when another scarped bank is encountered; it is now 7 or 8 ft. high. This scarp does not continue squarely across the ridge, but at the northern side swerves to the west and is lost in denuded confusion.

Of this area, the sourthern face overhangs the long terrace already mentioned, while the northern face is precipitous for some yards, and very steep below that, possibly some scarping has been done page 283here. At the base of the precipitous part are some store pits of the rua kopiha type; further east a ruined dome shaped store pit is seen.

The ridge top here has been levelled, evidently for building purposes, and some depresssions probably show positions of store pits. House sites, of the whare puni or warm house type, are plainly seen toward the western end of this area, five such are clearly discernible, while six pit stores are seen on the northern slope, where refuse from kitchens, such as shells and charcoal, has been thrown away by the dwellers in this primitive stronghold. At the western end of the north side of this area a sunk passage, perhaps excavated, leads down to a narrow terrace on the northern slope. This terrace is about 20 yds. long; a pit store is noted at the base of the scarp.

The next area is but 21 paces in length, when another wall of about 6 ft. is met with; the ridge still rising and wider than heretofore. In this area are seen the sites of four buildings that may have been stores or semi-subterranean dwelling places. From this bank another 50 paces brings us to the highest part of this end of the spur, the citadel of the fort, and all lines of defence beyond this were for the purpose of repelling attack from the S.W., west, and N.W. From this summit a fine view is obtained of the surrounding country, the valley of the Wai-totara, and the distant ocean.

This area has been occupied by dwelling huts and store pits. Four sites of huts are still plainly marked, also a deep rectangular pit, and two rua kopiha or well-like pits. The hill slope below the northern side of this area is extremely steep. Within half a chain of the highest part of the spur a terrace commences on the northern side about 20 ft. below the summit, and reaching the spur running down to the river; this terrace branches into two, which continue round the west face of the ridge, having another terrace below them. There is often no apparent continuity about these terraces, and no attempt has been made to construct them horizontally along the sidelings. The supplementary terraces were not, apparently, graded into the main lines of terrace that they impinge upon, but seem to run out before such lines are reached. It seems probable that, at such places the lines of stockade that run along the outer edge of terraces were continued so as to block access to the next terrace, save a narrow gateway that could be easily blocked and defended. The Maori constructed narrow alleyways and narrow entrances when building his forts.

At the north-west corner of the fort a narrow spur running down towards the river has no less than nine short terraces cut out of its profile. These little terraces are regular and look like a flight of steps, and comprise a striking feature in viewing the pa from the south. These would form hut sites.

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On the steep northern slope of the highest part of the pa, is seen a very small, well preserved, circular, dome-roofed store pit of most symmetrical form; it contains a remarkably fine growth of ferns. Another such pit hard by is choked with debris, and more could no doubt be located.

Commencing again on the east end of the highest part of the ridge, and proceeding westward along the southern slope, we find that our south side terrace divides into two, which run into each other again further on. Below these again is a third terrace, which is the lowest and outermost part of the pa on this side, while it shows the unusual and interesting feature of a wall of earth along its outer margin, now much denuded but clearly intended as a part of the defensive works. This would, of course, be supplemented by a stockade. The upper terraces do not possess such a wall. Further on, near the end of the ridge, the two lower terraces run out, or merge into the upper one, which, here 30 ft. wide, divides into two and sweeps on round the south west point of the pa to the western face, while again a lower terrace abruptly starts without apparent connection, and runs some 20 feet below. This lower one also has an outer bank or parapet, now from one to four feet high. The two main terraces run right round the western face to the precipitous northern face, where they cease abruptly, while another is at a higher level, the latter showing an old store pit. Above these the spur face rises to its highest point in four wide but short artificial terraces, not marked on the plan, together with curious minor subsidiary terraces on the flanks, all being sites of dwelling huts in former times.

At the south west point may be seen the old entrance through the outer earthwork from the path that ran up the spur from the river bank near the bridge. From this outer terrace the mode of entrance is not so clear, but the whole pa was undoubtedly divided into many defensible areas by its scarps, ramparts, fosses, and stockades along the outer edges of terraces; for such was the Maori method of fortifying villages.

The slope from the summit down towards the south west, carved into the wide terrace formations already mentioned, was the site of dwelling huts and storage pits. This slope constitutes the widest part of the pa, and to recapitulate the description of it briefly, commencing from the bottom, we have three wide high terraces, one above the other, the lowest one having a heavy earthen rampart on its outer edge, while the second one also shows the remains of such a wall. Then comes a short wide terrace, then another such, and then two shallower ones, ere the summit is reached. The two lower terraces are backed by scarps of 16 or 20 feet, and are wide page 285enough to accommodate good sized huts, besides leaving room for defensive operations on their outer margins. The other terraces have inner scarps of from 6 ft. to 10 ft. high.

With regard to the water supply of this stronghold, there is a spring on the southern slope below the triple terraces that is scarce 100 yds. from the outer line of defence; also the spring on the north slope already mentioned; water was probably obtained from these sources rather than from the creek in the deep ravine to the north.

The fine alluvial flats of the valley below would be ideal grounds for the cultivation of the sweet potato, the principal crop of former times.

When occupied, the Potiki-a-Rehua must have been a remarkably picturesque place, on account of its terraced slopes, stockades, earthworks and deep fosses, while its commanding situation would show it off to advantage.

It seems a pity that such places of interest as the Potiki-a-Rehua pa and the Weraroa redoubt, just north of it, are not preserved by being fenced in, for they are being gradually obliterated by the trampling of stock.

Local natives inform us that the father of Titoko Waru, the Hauhau leader of the 'sixties,' was killed during an attack on Potiki-a-Rehua. At present these local natives, who are of the Nga-rauru tribe, are living in a village near the bridge, on the left bank of the river, and near the above pa, and at Ihupuku further down the valley. These are the sons of the Hauhau hostiles who fought us in the 'sixties,' and tried to stop all white settlement on this coast. Their hostility was marked with more savagery and bitter hatred than was shown on the east coast. The Weraroa pa, abandoned by these hostiles in the middle 'sixties,' was situated about a mile north of the Potiki-a-Rehua.

Names of trees mentioned above:—

Tawhero = Weinmannia sp.
Mahoe = Melicytus ramiflorus
Ngaio = Myoporum laetum
Kaponga = Cyathea dealbata
Karaka = Corynocarpus laevigatus
Houhi = Hoheria populnea.