Kaikohe is named after Kohekohe trees, when Ngapuhi survivors at Pakinga Pa subsisted on Kohekohe berries after a raid by a Ngati Whatua war party.
At the back of the park there’s a memorial to Hone Heke Ngapua, a great-grand nephew of Hone Heke, the warrior who chopped down the flagpole at Russell. Ngapua backed the Kotahitanga movement which aimed at Maori separatism.
Walk: Northland 20
Walk 42, 29th September 2020
This is a walk to the site of the former Signal Station. From that spot there’s a sweeping view of Hokianga Heads, the coast, Tasman Sea and the villages of Omapere and Opononi.
Arai Te Uru is the name of the Taniwha (mythological sea monster) which guards the harbour entrance with its sister Taniwha Niwa which stands guard on the opposite shore.
Signal Station Track: The Signal Station was in operation from 1838 – 1951 to guide ships over through the treacherous harbour entrance until being replaced by an automated lighthouse. Today all that remains is a few upright timbers and a horizontal beam.
The full name of Hokianga harbour is Hokianga-nui-o-Kupe”, meaning “the final departing place of Kupe. Kupe is a legendary figure, a Polynesian chief from Hawaiki who was involved in the discovery of New Zealand.
Each canoe and tribe had its tuahu, a sacred place marked by a stone. This huge stone is the tuahu of Kupe, erected as a memorial to him at Pakanae marae, near Opononi. It was moved here in the 1960s from the upper Hokianga Harbour.
Traditions about Kupe appear among iwi (peoples) of the following areas: Northland, Ngāti Kahungunu, Tainui, Whanganui-Taranaki, Rangitāne, and the South Island. Details about him differ from iwi to iwi.
Early accounts from the Ngāti Kahungunu area consistently place Kupe on board the Tākitimu canoe or name as his companions people who are strongly associated with the Tākitimu. The few references to Kupe in South Island sources indicate that the traditions are substantially the same as those of Ngāti Kahungunu, with whom Ngāi Tahu, the main tribe of the South Island, had strong genealogical and trading links.
The local iwi is Te Roroa, a sub tribe of Ngati Whatua. They occupy the region between the Kaipara and Hokianga.
Walk: Northland 23
Links:
Notes:
The Burial cave near the pilot station: On the southside of Hokianga Heads there was a cave in a perpendicular cliff, which was the burial place of the people of Hokianga from time immemorial. Ramaroa was the name of the cave. To reach the cave men were let down over the cliff with a rope. When that part of the country was purchased by John Martin as a pilot station in March, 1832, the people removed the bones to another place, and it became common (noa) or free from tapu. Source: https://kaihuvalleyhistory.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/1-from-the-sea-we-came.pdf
Whiria Pa, Episode 20, Musket Wars #3
Ngapuhi trace their lineage back to Rahiri, who was born at Whiria Pa.
“Hong Hika tried to conquer Whiria in 1813, without success. Join me in a drone over Whiria where ancient earthworks are still clearly visible.”
It’s not far from Pakanae marae where the stone tuahu (memorial) to Kupe is.
There were two explorers named Kupe. The original discoverer of New Zealand named Kupe flourished some ten generations before Toi: THE ACCOUNT OF KUPE AND TAINUI. Source: The Journal of the Polynesian Society, Volume 28 1919 > Volume 28, No. 110 > The account of Kupe and Tainui, by George Graham, p 111-116
There were people here before the arrival of Kupe.
The article from the Journal of the Polynesian Society states that Kupe and his people discovered people at various places, according to elder Tati Wharekawa; “These people were the Mamoe, the Turehu, the Tahurangi, the Poke-pokewai, the Patupaiarehe, the Turepe and the Hamoamoa. They lived on the fronds and berries of the trees, and the roots of the earth. They were expert in preparing such foods, and in snaring and spearing the birds in forest and fish in stream.”
Monica Matamua of the Ngati Hotu tribe confirms this. She said that everywhere Kupe went, he found the land already occupied by people, some were fair skinned tribes. Here’s a close up of the Kupe memorial stone, and Monica Matamau’s account.
Walk 39, 29th Aug 2020
This is a local walk through a patch of bush next to the Warkworth Museum. Parry Kauri Park has two mature Kauri trees next to the museum car park. The two large kauri trees are named in honour of the former landowners, Harry Parry and Tudor Collins. They were local identities who were largely responsible along with the Kauri Bushmen’s Association for raising the money to purchase the land.
It’s a great place for learning how to identify trees and you might get to see native birds at the bird feeder.
We haven’t seen birds tuck into the fruit on previous visits, but today we saw a pair of Silver-eyes enjoying the apples.
Walk: Warkworth 36
Links
The Waitaha Pa is between Wanganui and the village of Upukongaro. Waitaha means “beside water,” like the bank of a river. It’s an ancient pa and the iwi (tribe) who lived here is not known.
The pa was in a good defensive position above the river. They could keep an eye on the river and they were able to grow food like kumara on the river flats.
I grew up in Okoia, the same area as Waitaha Pa and the farm I lived on was in a nearby valley. It was there that I found an adze of black rock, or rather, it found me. I wonder if it was from this pa. Okoia means to scrape or rasp.
I want to find out more about the people who lived here. Who were the Waitaha? Where did they go?
Walk: Wanganui 20
Wanganui was renamed “Whanganui” by maori activists, against the wishes of the local people. The name Wanganui is actually a Waitaha name. There is also a place and a river named ‘Wanganui’ on the West coast of the South Island. The location is probably named by the same people. They did not use the ‘wh’ sound.
The historic homestead is beautiful. My favourite feature is the stained glass window in the entrance foyer. I’ve been there several times before but it was the first visit for my husband and sister-in-law.
Highlights of the visit: the historic house and beautiful forest with it’s massive trees and bird-life. It’s not often you can walk through virgin bush with huge, ancient trees like Ratanui (photo on the left) and see incredibly rare forest birds like the Saddleback and the Hihi.
My own video – it’s nowhere near as good as above, but it shows the stables, and a bellbird feasting on nectar from red hot poker plants bordering the lawn.
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Picture: The Twin Ponga path, a saddleback foraging on the forest floor, and a bellbird eating nectar by the lawn.
Walk: Wanganui 16
History
James Moore from the Shetland Islands arrived in New Zealand in June 1863. He and future brother-in-law James Currie founded the Bushy Park farm around 1865.
During the 1880’s the Moore/Currie partnership ended. The farm was prosperous and by 1890 it had become a significant property. Sadly during the 11 years from 1891 to 1902 the family perished, and the sole survivor was the youngest son, George Francis (Frank) Maitland Moore.
Frank commissioned C.Tilleard Natusch to design the Bushy Park Homestead and it was completed in 1906. He never married, and passed away in 1962 aged 85. He gifted his house and the attached forest to the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.
“The seemingly never-ending maintenance of the old house was handled by teams of volunteers while further teams looked after the extensive grounds including lawns, hedges and tracks.
Frank Moore’s handyman, Ernie Paulger was the first custodian and retired in 1964. There were a number of custodians and managers in the thirty years following.”
Source: BUSHY PARK HISTORIC HOMESTEAD
Links
Saddleback at Bushy Park Wildlife Sanctuary, Wanganui
7th Dec 2024 I went for another walk where we saw the rare hihi and saddleback birds. We also saw a bellbird. This video is of the birds encountered on our walk: Bushy Park birds, Dec 2024
Mangaweka is a sleepy place where the Rangitikei River flows past cliffs of white papa. The very grandly named main street of Mangaweka is now devoid of traffic since State Highway 1 bypassed the main street in the late 1970s.
It’s a town where time seems to have stopped. The unaltered buildings in “Broadway” are from a previous century.
Many buildings stand empty, but Mangaweka still has a school, library, hotel, and a DC3 plane on the main highway which operated as a tearoom.
Manga means stream and weka means woodhen.
Mangaweka was one of the first towns on the North Island Main Trunk Railway to get electricity. The Mangaweka Power Station project commenced in 1911, originally it was intended to serve as a water resevoir.
Little remains of the tiny power station and a small building containing historic photos shelters the site. The walk to the resevoir intake is across the road. The path is through a beautiful small gorge which follows the Mangawharaiki River. The resevoir is intact but the brick-lined intake tunnel to the right is blocked by a log which wedged there in 1937, causing the power station to finally close down.
Walk: Manawatu 22
I think there was supposed to be a viewing point by a Kahikatea tree but we couldn’t find it. The track is not well maintained. The walks are not clearly marked but there’s a good view of the town of Mangaweka from the road by the entrance. Part of the walk is on the old main trunk railway line which is littered with broken pieces of the white papa rock. There’s a large matai and other trees like rimu, tawa and titoki trees in the reserve.
Walk: Manawatu 21
Links
History
The Kauaeranga valley is near Thames. It’s a pretty valley but stripped of its original Kauri forests. A century ago the trees were chopped down and the timber was used for things like ship’s masts, furniture, houses and the rebuilding of San Francisco.
The logs were floated down the valley using Kauri dams.
The walk to the model dam begins at the DOC Visitor Centre car park. The dam is a working small scale model, a third of the size of the original Tarawaere Kauri dam further up the valley.
On the way to the model dam, there’s a treasure hunt with a conservation theme. It’s really for kids but we did it and presented the results to the DOC staff for our sticker!
Walk: Coromandel 5
There’s another model of a Kauri dam in the small town of Katikati, which I show in the Haiku Walk.
Related posts:
Kauaeranga Valley, Hoffmans Pool
Links
The First Year on the Thames Goldfield was a Thames 150th Anniversary project
The Karangahake Gorge is actually two picturesque gorges with two rivers; the Ohinemuri and the Waitawheta rivers. It’s a historic goldmining area and the land is interspersed with old mine tunnels, artifacts and ruins.
A century ago the bush was cut down and the rivers polluted with arsenic. Nature has recovered from the mining assault and battery but sadly some of our birds like the kiwi are gone from this area forever.
History
Gold was discovered in the 1860’s.
From the info board: “Local Maori opposition to mining in the Ohinemuri delayed the opening of the field for eight years. After protracted negotiations and pressure to repay money borrowed from the Crown the field opened in 1875.”
We’ve been here twice, in the summer of 2006 and spring of 2019.
2006
Walk: Waikato 1 & 2
Sept 2019 holiday, stayed at the Karangahake Cottage
Links
History: Ngati Maru
During the 1850s Ngati Maru were one of the main tribes providing large supplies of food to the new capital Auckland. Gold was discovered near Thames in 1852 which quickly changed from a small Maori kainga to a large European town of 40,000 people. Initially opinion was divided among the tribe whether they should allow Europeans access but they decided in favour when a government agent agreed to confine miners to one area, create a Maori police force to enforce this and pay Ngati Maru for every licence sold by the government. When gold was found by the sons of a chief he sent them to Auckland to spread the news and create a rush. Tension was created because under New Zealand law land on which gold was found could be purchased by the state. In some cases land was leased directly from Maori by large mining firms. The early gold diggers found alluvial gold which they could obtain by simple tools but quickly this ran out and was replaced by firms installing stamper batteries crushing gold bearing quartz.
Ngati Maru did not get involved in the 1863-64 land wars conflict.
In pre-gold rush period the Ngati Maru population was estimated at about 310. Afer that, the population increased to 800 and by 1903 census the iwi had 1,350 members.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ng%C4%81ti_Maru_(Hauraki)
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