Kaiapoi Pā is a historic
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
(fort) site just north of the
Waimakariri River in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
, New Zealand. The pā was a major centre of trade and nobility for
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
in the
Classical Māori period.
Established around 1700, the pā was sacked in 1832 by
Ngāti Toa
Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...
warriors led by
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...
. Today the pā site is a memorial reserve and is significant to local
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
. The nearby town of
Kaiapoi
Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...
is named after the pā. He's no more
Description
The pā site is just north of modern-day town of
Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...
, and south-east of the town of
Waikuku. It is approximately north of the township of
Kaiapoi
Kaiapoi is a town in the Waimakariri District of the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region, in the South Island of New Zealand. The town is located approximately 17 kilometres north of central Christchurch, close to the mouth of the Waimak ...
,
[ which derives its name from the pā. Before it was drained by European colonists to create farmland, the area was mostly extensive swamp, with some areas of grassland on higher dry ground.
The pā itself was roughly oblong in shape, angled to run south-west to north-east. The western, northern and eastern sides were surrounded by swamp, with the main entrance via higher ground at the south. The pā was surrounded by earthen banks topped with wooden ]palisade
A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade.
Etymo ...
s. At the south-eastern side was the Kaitangata gate, behind which was a watchtower
A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...
. The other two main gates, named Hiakarere and Huirapa, were on either side of the south-western corner. Just to the south of this southern palisade was an area devoted to housing and ovens. Within the walls were the major which were built to face north. The (shrine to the local deity) of the pā was at the northern end, with houses spread across the central area.
Today the pā site is an empty field, though remains of the earthworks can still be clearly seen. A large monument is located at the southern side close to the wall. The site itself is considered (sacred) by the local iwi, and this is formally recognised in the district plan.
History
Early history
Kaiapoi pā was established around the year 1700 by the Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
chief Tūrākautahi and became the largest fortified village in the South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
. The site was previously occupied by an earlier tribe's stronghold, that of either the Waitaha or Kāti Māmoe
Kāti Māmoe (also spelled Ngāti Māmoe) is a Māori iwi. Originally from the Heretaunga Plains of New Zealand's Hawke's Bay, they moved in the 16th century to the South Island which at the time was already occupied by the Waitaha.
A centu ...
, both of which were absorbed by Ngāi Tahu through warfare and intermarriage. Tūrākautahi was the second son of Tūāhuriri, consequently Ngāi Tūāhuriri is the name of the hapū
In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
(subtribe) of this area. The pā was originally called . This roughly translates to "The nest of Kaikaiāwaro". In Māori mythology, Kaikaiāwaro is a and that took the form of a dolphin or a bird.
The pā was a major centre of trade for Ngāi Tahu. The waterways of the Ashley River / Rakahuri
The Ashley River (; officially Ashley River / Rakahuri) is in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand. It flows generally southeastwards for before entering the Pacific Ocean at Waikuku Beach, Pegasus Bay north of Christc ...
and the surrounding Taerutu swamp were a convenient way of transporting goods for trade. The pā traded in pounamu
Pounamu is a term for several types of hard and durable stone found in the South Island of New Zealand. They are highly valued in New Zealand, and carvings made from pounamu play an important role in Māori culture.
Name
The Māori word ...
from the Arahura River, tītī (muttonbird) from the islands around Stewart Island / Rakiura
Stewart Island (, 'Aurora, glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait.
It is a roughly triangular island wit ...
, and obsidian from Mayor Island / Tūhua. The pā itself cultivated sugar from cabbage tree roots, as well as kūmara
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...
. The trade in pounamu in particular gave the pā a reputation for great wealth. Many of the most important Ngāi Tahu whānau were based at Kaiapoi. By the early 1830s the pā had a population of around 1,000 people.
Conflict with Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha ( – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira, warlord, and chief of the Ngāti Toa iwi. One of the most powerful military leaders of the Musket Wars, Te Rauparaha fought a war of conquest that greatly expanded Ngāti Toa south ...
and his Ngāti Toa
Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...
allies first attacked Ngāi Tahu at Omihi, south of Kaikōura
Kaikōura (; ) is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, located on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1, north of Christchurch. The town has an estimated permanent resident population of as of . Kaikōura is th ...
, around . Te Rauparaha had heard that the chief at Omihi, Rerewaka, boasted that he would disembowel Te Rauparaha if he ventured too far south. This insult demanded a response, and after arming himself with musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually dis ...
s Te Rauparaha and his men travelled south down the coast. By coincidence, the Ngāti Kurī
Ngāti Kurī is a Māori people, Māori iwi from Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the ca ...
people of Kaikōura were expecting a visit from the North Island hapū of Tū-te-pākihi-rangi of Ngāti Kahungunu
Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi (tribe) located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The Kahungunu iwi also comprises 86 hapū (sub-tribes ...
and were not alarmed by the appearance of canoes offshore. At the beach, they were greeted by the fleet of canoes belonging to Ngāti Toa. Armed with muskets, the Ngāti Toa warriors were able to attack at a distance across the water. The pā was destroyed, with many of the occupants killed or sent back to Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...
as slaves.
After destroying Omihi, Te Rauparaha and his allies proceeded to Kaiapoi, ostensibly to trade muskets for pounamu. The Kaiapoi people learned of the Omihi attack after Hakitara, a Ngāpuhi
Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei.
According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...
warrior who was staying with Ngāi Tahu at Kaiapoi pā, overheard the Ngāti Toa leaders preparing to attack the pā the following morning and snuck away from the Ngāti Toa warriors to warn the pā. Thanks to this forewarning, the Ngāi Tahu chief Te Maiharanui ordered a retaliatory attack, which led to the killings of all of the prominent Ngāti Toa chiefs except Te Rauparaha, who returned to Kapiti Island to plan his revenge.
In November 1830, he and his warriors massacred the Ngāi Tahu people of Takapūneke near present-day Akaroa
Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Ngāi Tahu, Kāi Tahu Māori language, Māori for "Long Harbour", which woul ...
. Encouraged, Te Rauparaha mounted a major expedition in the summer of 1831–32 against Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu. He enlisted the help of warriors from Te Āti Awa
Te Āti Awa or Te Ātiawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with about 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in We ...
and Ngāti Raukawa
Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa.
History
Early history
Ngāti ...
and led skirmishes against the iwi at the top of the South Island before returning to Kapiti. In early 1832 they travelled further south, landing at the mouth of the Waipara River. They sacked the major settlement at Tuahiwi and proceeded on to Kaiapoi. At the time, Ngāi Tūāhuriri were engaged in collecting food from all across Canterbury, and the attack from the northern tribe was unexpected.
The attackers laid siege
A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
to the pā, but were unable to breach the defences. The surrounding swamp limited which approaches they could take, and the only approaches on solid land were heavily fortified and exposed to musket fire from within the pā. The swamp also provided food for the defenders, who could have harvest eels and birds. As a result, the siege lasted three months. The attackers slowly approached the walls by sapping
Sapping is a term used in siege operations to describe the digging of a covered trench (a "sap") to approach a besieged place without danger from the enemy's fire. (verb) The purpose of the sap is usually to advance a besieging army's position ...
, and began piling up dry brushwood against the walls of the pā with the intention of burning it.
During autumn, the defenders waited for an opportunity when the wind was blowing from north-west, and lit the brushwood that had been piled up by their enemy. Their intention was to remove the threat of fire to the pā, while also driving back the attackers with the wind-blown smoke. This plan initially seemed to be successful, but the wind suddenly changed direction to the south, blowing the smoke and flames back against the pā. Te Rauparaha took advantage of the chaos and his men invaded the pā. The settlement was completely destroyed, with the occupants that had not managed to flee being killed and eaten or taken as slaves. Ngāti Toa then went for the tribes of Banks Peninsula and took the principal fort at Ōnawe, in Akaroa Harbour
Akaroa Harbour is part of Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of New Zealand. The harbour enters from the southern coast of the peninsula, heading in a predominantly northerly direction. It is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula ...
.
Later history
In 1848 the site was visited by Walter Mantell. He had been tasked with identifying the location of the northern boundary of Kemp's purchase of land from the South Island iwi. The deed specified that the iwi had sold all land as far north as 'Kaiapohia', but Kemp himself never visited the location and marked it as close to the Hurunui River. During his visit, Mantell stood in the middle of the former pā and argued about land ownership with representatives of Ngāi Tūāhiriri. He recorded the pā itself as a reserve belonging to Māori on his map. A monument to the pā was erected in 1898 by James Stack, who had been an Anglican missionary with the local iwi. The inscription on the monument reads:During the mid-2000s the planned township of Pegasus was built very close to the pā site. The developers engaged with Ngāi Tūāhuriri to explore and document archaeological sites in the area. The tekoteko at the top of the monument was removed after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. New Zealand Daylight Time, local time (23:51 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the Canterbury Region ...
s and is held by the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch
The Canterbury Museum is a museum located in the Christchurch Central City, central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, in the city's Cultural Precinct. The museum was established in 1867 with Julius von Haast – whose collection formed its co ...
. The site and the monument on it are both listed as Category-II historic places by Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
for their historical significance to Ngāi Tahu.
Toponymy
According to Ngāi Tahu tradition, the name was coined by Tūrākautahi. The name has two root words: (food) and (to swing or toss). When Tūrākautahi was challenged on his chosen location—which provided only eels and waterfowl but not any other food—he determined that food could be brought in from surrounding settlements. The name of the pā is often mistakenly given as "Kaiapohia", but the origin of this name was a curse against Ngāi Tahu by Ngāti Toa. Before embarking on his final raid on the pā, Te Rauparaha consulted with the Te Āti Awa ''tohunga
In the culture of the Māori people, Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, ...
'' Kukurarangi, who made a prophecy:
The final word—Kaiapohia—is a pun
A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
, which in this context can be translated as "piling up of bodies for eating". The roots are the noun and the verb (to gather together, with a connotation of greediness). The passivating verb ending is used, which is an indicator of the word's North Island origins. This name was popularised in historical accounts by the Reverend Stack. He asserted it was the correct name, used it as the title of his book on the siege, and used the name in the monument on the pā site. However, there are no records of any Ngāi Tahu chiefs of the nineteenth century using the name. When asked in 1879, Natanahira Waruwarutu, who had lived at the pā, said, "It is the ignorance of the northern Māoris which has induced them to call it Kaiapohia." Stack had learned the Māori language in the North Island, and he described the southern name of Kaiapoi as "unmusical". Historian Harry Evison suggests Stack was strongly influenced by Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, with whom he spent a lot of time, including a ship voyage from London.
See also
* History of Canterbury Region
* History of Ngāi Tahu
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
* {{cite book , last=Wood , first=Pauline , date=1993 , title=Kaiapoi: A Search for Identity , publication-place=Rangiora , publisher= Waimakariri District Council , isbn=0-473-02331-8 , oclc=35057405 , access-date=1 June 2024 , url=https://waimakariri.recollect.co.nz/assets/displaypdf/764 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240410211945/https://waimakariri.recollect.co.nz/assets/displaypdf/764 , archive-date=10 April 2024 , via=Waimakariri Libraries , url-status=live
Kaiapoi
Ngāi Tahu
Pā sites
Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in the Canterbury Region