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The Pa Maori

Matai-taua Pa at Paua-taha-nui

Matai-taua Pa at Paua-taha-nui

>References fig. 106:—

ATwo rows of palisades; the outer one rather weak, the inner one composed of timber ten inches square.
BDitch six feet wide and five feet deep.
CWhares (huts). Communication had been cut underground from four of the huts into the ditch, and was intended throughout.
DTe Rangi-haeata's whare (hut), and a large hole dug in the ground intended for a hut for the same chief.
EOpen yard, [marae].
FNative chapel.
GEntrances to the pa.
HPosition occupied by the militia, etc., on taking possession.
IHead of the north arm of Porirua Bay.

Of the Puke-kakariki pa at Taranaki, Colonel Mould wrote in 1860:—"It was surrounded by two rows of palisades, the outer row being covered with bundles of green flax, and having inside the usual rifle pits communicating underground with each other." This pa was evacuated by the enemy, and destroyed by the troops on October 12th, 1860.

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Fig. 107—The Taupo Pa at Plimmerton, Porirua district. Built by Ngati-Toa after the Wairau Massacre of 1843. Te Rangi-haeata and his followers abandoned this place later and constructed the Mataitaua Pa at Paua-tahanui, which they abandoned in 1846. After Angas

In his account of the fighting in the Taranaki district Colonel Carey makes the following remarks concerning Puke-kakariki and several other native fortified positions occupied about the same time:—

"The pa were all built of strong timber, braced together with supplejack, through which the 8-inch gun, after a whole day's firing, scarcely succeeded in making a practicable breach. The palisades bound in this manner, though cut in two by the shot, remained swinging, suspended by the supplejack, and were even then scarcely less formidable as a means of defence than when firmly fixed in the ground. The rifle pits were most ingeniously constructed, and flanked one another perfectly; while the precipitous banks in rear and on the flanks afforded footing to none but natives, had also been cut into small rifle pits. The whole of the pa were covered with fresh green leaves of the New Zealand flax in two or three layers, which, though they might not stop a bullet from the Enfield rifle at a short range, would certainly divert its course."

Colonel Mould also gives a plan and cross section of the Orongo-mahanga pa, in the same district. This place was of interest, because it was the site of an old pre-European pa, the dyke, or earthen page 380wall of which was still standing. In re-occupying this old pa, the natives apparently had no intention of utilising the wall as a defence, or of firing over it, they reformed the old fosse outside the dyke into a 6 ft. deep ditch, with traverses, for the firing party, having a ledge or banquette on its outer side. Outside the ditch was the usual double stockade 9 ft. high, blinded with bundles of green flax. Trees were growing on the earthworks of this old pa. Covered pits in these forts were lined with fern (bracken) and used for cooking and sleeping in. This officer comments upon the small effect of projectiles on the stockades of pa maori, but made a serious error when he wrote:—"Capture of these pa may in all cases be calculated upon with little loss," for the Gate Pa and Rangiriri were in the days that lay before.

Fig. 108—The Pourere Redoubt. Constructed near Roto-a-Ira by hostile natives. Fell to Colonial troops in October, 1869. J. McDonald, 1905

The accompanying plan of the Pourere pa serves to show how the Maori adopted the bastion or flanking angle after the introduction of firearms. The earthwork ravelin to protect an entrance passage was, however, occasionally employed in pre-European days, though stockades were much more commonly used for the purpose. This page 381native redoubt was erected by hostile natives near Roto-a-Ira, and was taken by Native Contingent forces. The account of this fight given in Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand refers to the lack of flanking angles, so that apparently the place must have been re-occupied after the fight, and the two bastions added to the defences.

In describing the raids made by one Hongi, a bloodthirsty savage of early 19th century fame, after his acquisition of guns, Williams says:—"Hongi had five muskets which he always used himself, and four men to carry and load them for him. His practice on attacking a pa was to send one of his braves up to the pa to chop away the flax which was invariably tied up against the fence, and clear away a space for Hongi to fire at; if any one from the pa showed at the space, he was immediately potted off; after two or three had fallen in this way, the rest would be panic stricken, and a breach easily made in the pa."

When the northern raiders attacked a pa in the Wai-rarapa district in 1820, they found that the stockades thereof was covered or wattled with flax, so that, if such a covering was not a pre-gun usage, these folk must have heard of it as practised elsewhere, or evolved the idea themselves, for at that time they did not possess guns, though the raiders had them.

The Okaihau pa at the Bay of Islands had two rows of palisades and a ditch inside; the external fence being covered with flax. This pa was attacked in 1845 by 400 British troops who were compelled to retire without effecting their object.

The coating or covering of the outer stockade with compact bundles of green Phormium leaves, as a protection against bullets, certainly seems to have been employed as early as 1820. The process was called kopekope.

The following remarks on the Onawe pa at Akaroa, taken from Stories of Banks Peninsula, are of interest:—"The remains of the defensive works which still exist attest the size and strength of the pa, and awaken a suspicion in the observer's mind that the Maoris received the assistance of Europeans in their construction. But this they most positively deny. They assert that the fortifications were entirely designed and executed by themselves, and that any departures from the ancient lines of construction that may be observable, were caused by the alterations necessary to meet the introduction of firearms. A deep trench surrounded the pa, the earth taken from it forming the walls, along the top of which a strong fence was erected. All round the inside of the fence was a covered way for the protection of the defenders."

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Colonel Slater gives some account of the above place in the N.Z. Military Journal for 1912. It is situated on a pear shaped promontory in Akaroa Harbour:—"A deep trench surrounded the work, the earth taken from it forming the walls, along the top of which the palisades were erected. All round the inside of the palisades was a covered way for the protection of the defenders. The approach to a spring on the south-west side was by a covered trench, protected by walls running parallel to each other. As a further precaution to issue a supply of water in the event of the spring being cut off, a number of large canoes were dragged up into the pa, filled with water, and covered over with matting to prevent loss by evaporation. … There was an inner earthwork, which divided the pa into two unequal portions."

This writer also gives a plan of the Kaiapohia pa showing five entrances thereto, though some were probably small ones, as those by which access was gained to the water supply. Of this famous tort, Colonel Slater writes:—"Kaiapohia was erected upon a promontory (at Pegasus Bay) about nine or ten acres in extent, which extends into a deep swamp lying between the sand dunes and the bank of the river. This swamp, which is very deep, nearly surrounds the site of the pa, and prevented it being attacked at any point except in front; and along the line of the front, extending from one branch of the swamp to the other, a distance of about 250 yards, it was defended by a double line of heavy palisading and a deep ditch, with two large outworks, from which a flank fire could be maintained on any party attempting to scale the palisades. The plan … shows the natural strength of the pa, which was also surrounded by ramparts with a double row of palisades 18 ft. to 20 ft. high, bound at the top and bottom to cross-ties with a tough kind of woodbine called aka. The cross-ties were fastened to large totara posts erected at intervals along the ramparts. … On the western side were two covered ways to enable the garrison to obtain water during a siege. A portion of the promontory on the north-eastern side of the pa was reserved as a mortuary, one for each of the two hapu (clans) in the pa. … The ramparts were pierced by three openings, two on the land side and one on the west side adjoining the lagoon, which was connected with the opposite side by a bridge."

The writer describes a six months' siege of this famous pa by Te Rau-paraha and his musket armed force, who sapped up close to the defences and piled up near them an enormous quantity of dry manuka brush, which at length filled the trench and rested against the stockade. The garrison endeavoured to dispose of the brush by page 383burning it while a wind was blowing off the pa, but the wind changed and the stockade was destroyed. So fell Kaiapohia, with slaughter grim and great.

Meade's account of the pa at Te Teko, taken by the Native Contingent under Major Mair, in 1865, is of interest:—"The place was very strong, having in its rear the Rangitaiki river, swift, broad and deep, and on the other three sides three hundred yards smooth glacis, three lines of palisading, with flanking angles, and three rows of rifle pits and breastworks. The pa itself was 90 yards long, by 45 yards broad, and every hut within it was separately fortified. There was, moreover, a covered way communicating with the landing place on the river. Sapping was the only way to take such a place. Mair, who was present at Orakau, when that place was sapped under the direction of Captain Hurst, R.E., seems to have made good use of his eyes. He started three saps under cover of a slight undulation of the ground, and, in spite of a heavy fire, made such good progress that, on the 19th, the enemy craved a truce to arrange terms. Firing was suspended for 24 hours, but the saps were kept driving and the only terms Mair would accept were unconditional surrender. By 2 a.m. on the 20th the Arawa [sap] had cut off the covered way and got close up to the southern angle. Mair, then, for the last time, summoned Te Hura to surrender, assuring him that, if forced to carry the place by assault, no quarter would be given. They saw that the case was hopeless, and, at sunrise, the whole garrison marched out and lay down their arms. As they came out, each clan of the Arawa [the attacking force] sprang from the trenches with a yell, and immediately had as fine a war dance as ever was seen; old Poihipi and three or four other old sinners giving the time. It must, indeed, have been a stirring sight; the long column of prisoners standing with drooping heads while the captors danced the wild war dance with all the fury of excitement and success, the war cry of the Arawa echoing from hill to hill."

After the introduction of the firearms, the fort builders of Maori-land were compelled to abandon many formerly strong positions, on account of them being commanded by adjacent hills, for the old time missile weapons of the Maori were of the poorest type. The natives also soon evolved the plan of erecting elevated platforms and towers in order to gain a point of vantage from which to fire into a pa.

In his story of the taking of the Mauinaina pa in 1821, as taken from Mr. White's papers and other sources, Mr. Percy Smith says:—"Hongi had to beat a retreat at first, but, returning to the charge whilst his people kept up a fire on the pa, they succeeded in pulling down some of the palisades, but not without losing many men. This page 384done, they climbed up the sides of the mount which was crowned by the pa, losing numbers of their men, but finally reached the summit. Here they found the besieged protected by a thick wall of earth, against which the musket balls fell harmless. Hongi then ordered timber to be fetched, and with it erected a platform which overlooked the stronghold, and here he placed his best marksmen. Each discharge killed some of the defenders, and soon those who guarded the entrance were all dead. The pa was now rushed, and a fearful slaughter took place, men, women and children all shared the same fate, and with them three European sailors who were living with the people in the pa."

Dieffenbach writes:—"Their mode of besieging is rude, but not without cunning. The besieging party digs trenches and erects high structures of blocks of wood, from which their fire can reach into the pa. Both parties have fosses with loopholes and outposts. … In an engagement on the sea shore, in which muskets were used, I saw both parties advance, guarding themselves by trenches rapidly dug as they pushed forward."

When Te Namu pa at Opunake was attacked by native raiders from the north the assailants constructed mounds of earth from which to fire into the pa.

In some cases the gun fighters were, however, defeated by an enemy possessed of native weapons only. The Kai-whakauka pa is situated on the top of a perpendicular cliff on the bank of the Whanga-nui river, east side, half a mile down stream from the Rere-taruke junction, wrote Mr. S. P. Smith; it also has cliffs on its northern side. Tuwhare and his gun-fighters assaulted this place, and succeeded in gaining an entrance thereto, but the confined area gave the garrison a chance to use their native weapons, which they did with good effect, killing many of the raiders, and throwing others over the cliffs to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below.

In Fig. 109, p. 385, is shown the pa of Te Wherowhero, of Waikato, a modern stockaded village sketched by Angas in the 'forties' of last century. The lower hill on the right bears the appearance of having been a stronghold in former times.

The following is a description of the Hikurangi pa on the Whanga-nui river, as given in the New Zealand Journal of 1844:—"Hikurangi is a settlement containing about 350 souls. It is by far the best fortified pa I have yet seen. The outer fencing is composed of posts, slight, but very close to each other, and about ten feet high. At a distance of about five feet comes the next stockade; this is very strong and of the same height as the outer one. Between this second barrier and a third, similarly constructed as to strength and page 385dimensions, is a deep ditch, in some places natural and in others artificial. This ditch contains a large number of young karaka trees, thickly planted. The leaves are of dark green, thus affording an excellent place of concealment for the besieged, from which they can fire upon an enemy in comparative security. The dark background afforded by these shrubs almost effectually conceals from observation those who may be firing from between the first and second fences. In Maori warfare I should consider this position impregnable."

Fig. 109—The Pa of Te Wherowhero, Waikato district. (See p. 384.) After Angas. Redrawn by J. McDonald

Hochstetter gives a plan of the Tuki-ata pa at Tauranga where fighting was going on during his visit in 1859. It was, of course, one of the modern pa, as constructed since the acquisition of firearms. Within a double row of palisades was a trench, inside of which were earthen ramparts, and the enclosed space contained casemates. A cannon was planted near one angle and a passage is marked as leading out of the pa at another angle.

The Kere-paraoa pa, at Waikohu, does not bear the aspect of an old pa. Its light earthworks make but a poor show compared with those of the old pa on the opposite bank of the river, but a little lower down. In 1832 a number of Te Whakatohea tribe were living at Kekeparaoa with Nga Potiki, the local natives. Hence the place was attacked by Turanga tribes in order that the Whakatohea might be slain or expelled. The chief of the pa, Te Awariki by name, was slain, page 386and the place taken after a siege of about a month. Two early white settlers, Ben Harris and Barnet Burns seem to have been present among the attacking force, which also included Te Wera, of Ngapuhi who was then living at Te Mahia. Other fortified villages of the Nga Potiki folk in that district were Te U, Okarika, Puke-kumara, Te Koutu and Kokoariki. The Whenua-nui pa is on the Rangatira Block. Tradition tells us that a greenstone patu and a tiki of the same material were buried at the base of a cabbage tree at Keke-paraoa in past years. This pa is quite an historic place, though apparently modern. The light earthwork defence is 90 yds. in length and 30 yds. in width. These earthworks were in a good state of preservation when I was living nearby in 1874.

It has been noted that, after the introduction of firearms, the earthworks of Maori fortified places decreased much in size. The huge walls of earth and deep fosses were no longer constructed, and were replaced by earthen parapets and ditches of very much smaller dimensions, while rifle pits, traverses and casemates also came into use.

In consequence of this change in the construction of fortified places, it is a curious and noteworthy fact that the old pre-European pa are in most cases, in a much better state of preservation than those built after firearms were acquired. In many cases pa constructed as late as the 'sixties' have utterly disappeared, some having been destroyed by our troops, others have been razed by farmers when improving and ploughing the land, but yet others have simply fallen into ruins.

When examining some old pa maori at Wai-totara in June, 1913, I had pointed out to me by natives the site of Pa-toka, erected by the Nga-rauru folk after guns had been acquired. This was the place where many of the Taupo natives were slain. The local natives say that a Taupo force attacked and defeated their people at Pirau-nui, up the Wai-totara river, then came down to Pa-toka, where they were defeated with heavy loss. Other accounts say that these local folk acted with great treachery when they killed the Taupo men. This modern pa, probably built in the 'thirties' of last century, was situated on a hill about a quarter of a mile north of the Wai-totara railway station, and just above the road and lagoon. The defences of this place were of palisades and light earthworks, of which no sign now remains. The earthworks have been levelled, and the land-ploughed, probably many times. The only token of former occupation that now exists here consists of numerous waterworn stones scattered about, such as were formerly used for various domestic purposes. Nought else remains. Exit Pa-toka.

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Another modern fortified place of the 'sixties' in this district is situated near the township of Waitotara. This is Weraroa, situated on a hill about a mile north of Te Potiki-a-Rehua. This pa was never attacked by our troops, and General Cameron stated that he would not attack it with less than 2,000 men for the various services. It was abandoned by the hostiles, and was visited just prior to that evacuation by Sir G. Grey.

The Weraroa pa was abandoned by the Hauhau hostiles after the capture of many of their fighting men at the Arei-ahi village. These were the prisoners who escaped from the hulk in Wellington Harbour in 1865. The pa was then occupied by our troops. Colonel McDonnell has recorded the fact that, after the fight at Moturoa, the Native Contingent built a redoubt at Weraroa 'on the site of the old Weraroa pa,' and were attacked by the hostiles while engaged in the work.* Shortly after this, the Contingent was ordered from Weraroa to Patea, and the redoubt at Weraroa was garrisoned by a European force from Whanganui under Powell, Broughton and Mitchell. This force was here attacked by the Hauhau, who strove for some hours to take the place, but were beaten off. "Soon after this, the redoubt was abandoned, and many stores were destroyed in a hurry, and the canteen keeper was well nigh ruined."

It will thus be seen that the earthworks now seen on the hilltop at Weraroa are not those of the Maori fort, as erected by the hostiles, but the redoubt as built or altered by our troops. The only defensive works made by the enemy now existing are some rifle pits on the edge of the plateau some distance away, to be described presently.

This redoubt consists of an earthwork wall with a ditch round the outside of it, as also flanking angles, of which there seem to have been three. Save for these projecting angles the form of the redoubt is rectangular. Possibly there was a stockade also, but no sign of timber remains, hence this is not assured. The inside area defended by the wall is about 20 yds. by 19 yds., and the exterior measurement, i.e., outside the ditch about 40 x 36 paces. The walls are yet in a fair state of preservation, but are being destroyed by stock; the entrance to the redoubt is at the end facing the south-east. At the north-west end some of the earth dug from the ditch has been thrown on the outer side thereof, on the top of a number of trunks of tree ferns laid close together, though what purpose these served we cannot say. Out of the face of this earth wall projects the stem of a clay pipe, a fairly good proof that this work is not pre-historic. The page 388ditch was probably about 5 ft. deep originally. The site is a commanding one, and affords a fine view of the surrounding country, its plateau, ravines and valleys.

On the edge of the plateau some 200 yards or more westward of the redoubt are some rifle pits that command the steep spurs by which the place might have been approached from the river side; these are Maori works. They are of different sizes, to contain one, two or three men. One is about 9 ft. long and 30 in. wide, the excavated earth having been piled on the outer side. Further along, about due south of the redoubt, there appear to be some hut sites, near a spring, and a rectangular raised site or mound 18 ft. by 16 ft. with a ditch round it.

Passing on to the head of the spur between Weraroa and the Potiki a Rehua pa, we find some works of interest, inasmuch as, on the one ridge, we find both modern and pre-European earthworks. On the upper part of this spur we find a series of rifle pits, apparently designed to oppose any force advancing up the spur towards the pa on the upper ridge to the north. Below these, on the north-west slope of the spur are two rows of storage pits of the semi-sub-terranean type, with little ditches to run storm water away from them. Local natives inform us that all these works pertained to the Weraroa pa.

From here the spur falls away steeply toward the river for possibly one hundred yards, becomes much narrower, and continues with a gentle slope for some 80 yds., when again it becomes steeper. This area of 80 yds. or so has been utilised as a pa in pre-European times. Across the ridge, at the upper end of this area, a huge ditch has been cut as a means of defence against an enemy advancing down the spur. This fosse is about 25 yds. long, original depth about 12 ft. and the earth has been piled up as a wall on the down hill side, thus proving that this defence was against attack from the upper part of the spur. This is undoubtedly one of the heavy pre-gun earthworks, indeed a gun armed force could occupy the high part of the ridge so short a distance away and render this place untenable in a very short space of time. The ditch and bank combined would present a wall of probably not less than 18 ft. and a stockade of 10 ft. on the top of this would much increase the difficulty of negotiating it, more especially when stalwart defenders, on the right side of the fence, were prodding viciously at the assailants with unpleasantly sharp spears, and heaving rocks down on him from lofty fighting stages.

At the lower end of this area of 80 yds. a scarp has been carried across the spur to act as a wall of defence against enemies advancing up the ridge, the same being surmounted, as usual, by a stockade. page 389The sides of the spur are steep and stockades would also be erected along these flanks, at the break of the slope. The flattened top of the spur is about 60 ft. wide.

This account of a pre-European pa is somewhat out of place here, but it has been inserted on account of its proximity to the modern rifle pits (of the 19th century) immediately above it, showing how the two may be confused unless one makes a careful examination. Indeed some of the European residents hereabouts are under the impression that this work is of the same date as the rifle pits (the 'sixties' of last century), and that the European redoubt on the hill above is the Maori pa of Hauhau days, as erected by them.

Below this little fortified place of 80 x 20 yards, the spur becomes a 'razorback,' on which are seen the remains of several old store pits.

The site of another redoubt constructed by our forces in the 'sixties' lies between the railway and the coast, on the left bank of the Wai-totara river.

In discoursing upon the Bay of Islands, Jameson says:—"Opposite the centre of the beach stands the native pa, or village, a square inclosure of fifteen or twenty acres, surrounded, with a high palisade of rude construction, but sufficiently strong to resist the attacks of an enemy destitute of artillery. Many of the posts are surmounted by representations of the human face and form, carved out of the wood, and afterwards painted with ochre and pipeclay. … In these rude yet still elaborate specimens of sculpture, which have been for the most part executed with stone instruments, the New Zealanders evince a strong relish for the grotesque and ludicrous; and it would even appear that they deem perfection in the art of statuary to consist in distortion and caricature…."

Of the Oruanui pa, near Taupo, Meade wrote in 1865:—" The pa is strongly situated on the crest of a small hill, surrounded by a high stockade consisting of a double row of slab stake fencing, with flanking angles, and lined with a chain of open and covered rifle pits." After the introduction of firearms the Maori soon realised the advantage of flanking angles, an item that was not necessary in the pre-gun pa.

Another modern innovation in native forts was the forming of an earthwork by filling in the space between two stockades with earth, though the practice does not appear to have been a common one.

Of the Tihoi pa Whenua-kura, Wakefield wrote:—"The cliff is nearly precipitous on all sides, except where a narrow neck joins it with the mainland. This neck, however, slopes upwards to the pa, and is defended by native fences and trenches of the strongest kind. A double row of stockades is filled in with earth to the height of a page 390 Fig. 110—The Tihoi Cliff Fort at Whenuakura. (See p. 389.) After Swainson man, leaving small holes level with the ground. A trench inside the stockade is dug to the depth of a man's body; and spears and muskets are thrust by the defenders through the holes. A second bank is raised inside the trench, from behind which a second row could ply their weapons against the stormers of the palisadoes; and high fighting stages, protected by fences stuffed with turf, also afford commanding stations for defenders to fire over the outer fence. The entrance, through which only one man can pass at once, is so twisted as to be page 391exposed to the enfilading fire of the whole line of defenders. There were signs, outside the stockade, of two outer rows of defences in former times; and artificial banks reached from cliff to cliff across the neck. Thus three strong stockades, one commanding the other, must have made this side impregnable to Maori warfare; and an assault, except by stealth, on the other faces, would have been sheer madness." See Fig. 110, p. 390.

During the fighting at Taranaki in 1860 the natives are said to have erected and completed in a single night a pa of considerable size, with a double stockade round it, the space between the two lines of palisades being filled with sand to make it bomb proof.

Of a pa seen in the Nelson district (at Coal Bay) an early writer in the N.Z. Journal, says: "On this level space we found a, pa beautifully situated. It is called Taupo or Taipo. Seen from a distance it shows only a huddled collection of old grey stakes of irregular height, placed side by side. Nearer, you find that they form an enclosure, and have, at regular intervals, a higher post, the top of which is rudely carved into a head, or mere knob. These are crossed by poles bound together with flax; or a double fence is made, the inter-spaces being filled up with rushes or dry fern. The huts stand inside this enclosure, or some have a separate enclosure, adjoining or at a little distance from the main one. … Within the enclosure are platforms, each raised on four poles, heaped with provisions, the poles being stripped of bark and very smooth, to prevent the rats from climbing them. On other slanting poles, or on the huts' roof, you see a dusky red parrot (kaka) or two, climbing and clutching with their hooked beaks." New Zealand Journal, 1843, p. 166.

The remains of the Okaihau pa, as seen in 1914, consist merely of a few rifle pits on the eastern side of the road from Ohaeawai to Okaihau, and near the eastern shore of the Omapere lake. The main works seem to have occupied the gently sloping ground on the western side of the road, but are now entirely obliterated by farming operations. The five pits remaining probably composed an outwork, and there is no sign of any means of communication between the different pits except by clambering over the barriers or partitions between them. These pits are now from 3 ft. to 4 ft. in depth. The earth excavated has been thrown up on the outer sides to form rude parapets, now 12 in. to 30 in. in height.

These rifle pits are situated on a very gentle slope downwards from S. to N. the main pa having been on the south side. There are a few ill defined pits, etc., on the western side of the road, between it and the fence.

* Wiremu Kauika tells me that the Maori pa was not destroyed, but was altered by the troops in some way.