Kāhu ki Rotorua: Present-day tranquility far cry from history

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See below for English translation

Ka nui te pirangitia o ngā iwi ki te pū

Ko Ngai Te Rangi te iwi ki runga o Maketu ka nui rawa mai.

Kātahi ka hanga he pā tūwatawata, he pā maioro, ka kīa he pā whakairo, ka mahi he whare, ā, kātahi ka mahia a Kaituna. He tukituki whenua, he matira ika, ha tākiri muka. Ko Tapihana tā rātou tangata ko ia te Pākehā nui te mātauranga, he hōia, he tangata hoko kame nō Tenemāka.

Ki a Tapihana hoki ngā pū he ahakoa nō whenua kē a Tapihana i moe Māori ia nā reira i tika ai tana noho ki Maketu. Ka tiakina a Tapihana e Te Ngahuru me Te Haupapa.

Ka nui te pirangitia o ngā iwi ki te pū, kai te mau tonu i a Te Arawa te mamae i uhia ki runga ki a rātou e Hongi i te hinganga o Mokoia. Nā reira he tākiri muka te mahi a ngā tangata e whiwhi ai he pū e rangatira hoki ai rātou kia kāua anō a Te Arawa e rite ki tō rātou waka i kāpurangia ai e Raumati. He roa te nohanga o Te Arawa o Ngai Te Rangi he āhua rangimarie.

He ahakoa e noho puku ana, kai te ngāueuetia te whare huata o Rangitihi.

E mea ana ētehi kāore a Haerehuka i whiwhi ki te paura māna, ka pouri tōna ngākau ki tana iwi.Ka tūnahatia tana wāhanga e ngā rangatira nui.

Kātahi ia ka mahara kia patua he tangata kia ea ai te pouri o tona ngākau. Ka kite atu a Huka i te huarahi, he wahine i kawea ki roto i tōna whare kōiwi.

Ka rua ngā take o tōna pōuri. Haere ana a Haerehuka ki a Tāhuriorangi ki a Te Kanawa otīā ki a Ngāti Pāruaharanui hapū o roto i a Te Takinga otīā o roto i a Ngāti Pikiao.

Ka haere ēnei toa ki te patu i a Te Hunga, patua ai i Parahaki.He tō whare. Ka tae te rongo kua patua a Te Hunga e Haerehuka rātou ko āna tapeha tata ka tangi a Te Waharoa he matua tane kaokaoroa ki a Te Hunga, ka mahara a Haerehuka me iwi kaha ki te whakaea i tona pouri koina i patua ai a Te Hunga nā tōna hononga kikokiko ki a Ngāti Hauā, he mana nui.

Ka takahia te ara e Ngāti Hauā ko Te Waharoa te wetini o te kurutao ka tae ki Tapuika ka mate ko Katohau nō Tapuika koia te ika māroro, haere tonu mai ka horo ko Maketu. Ka riria te pā o Maketu, ka mate ko Naenae, ko Te Irohanga he rangatira ēnei tokorua nō Ngāti Pukenga.

Ka mate hoki ko Te Ngahuru me Te Haupapa, he rangatira nui ēnei tokorua nō Te Arawa. Ko Ngāti Pukenga me Ngāti Whakaue e noho tahi ana e mahi tahi ana e ai ki ngā kōrero e ono tekau noa pea rātou i Maketu engari a Te Waharoa he rau noa atu, katoa he toa. Kātahi te pā horo, he utu nō Te Hunga, ka tomo te pōuri ki ngā ngākau o ngā waru pūmanawa, ka whakatakoto ai i te kōrero, ko Ngāti Rangiwewehi kāore i noho mai i Rotorua ka tere ki te riri ko Kahawai tō rātou tangata ka noho i Maketu, tatari riri māna.

Ka haere a Hikairo tetehi rangatira nui nō Ngāti Rangiwewehi ki ngā whaitua o Te Arawa. Ka tae ki Mokoia ki a Ngāti Uenukukopako ki a Ngāti Rangiteaorere ka whakaaengia te ope whakataka i a Kahawai i a Hikairo.

The sole surviving cannon that belonged to Hans Tapsell, used in the defence of Maketu.

Ka haere a Hikairo ki Ōhinemutu ka whakaaengia e Ngāti Whakaue, ka haere a Hikairo ki a Motutawa ki a Tuhourangi ka whakaaengia e Te Kōhika, e Nawaina, e Te Rangipuawhe nō te whakaaetanga o Nawaina kia ngakia te mate o Te Ngahuru me Te Haupapa ka haere ngā rau o Tuhourangi.

He pēnā tonu te haere huri rā, huri noa i ngā koko o Te Waiariki me ngā roto moana. Ka whakaaengia hoki e Ngāti Tarawhai me ngā rautangata o Ngāti Pikiao me āna hapū huhua hoki. Ko te iti ka ngaro i te pātari nui o te rangi.

Ko te tokomaha o ngā toa he tata ki te kotahi mano, he rangatira anake, he toa anake. Ko Taranui, ko Te Iwimokai, ko Te Wharepurupuru, ko Te Pukuatua, ko Kahawai, ko Mokonuiarangi, ko Te Amohau, ko Te Awekotuku, ko Te Koata, ko Te Mutukurī ko wai atu, ko wai atu, he rangatira anake.

Ka rewa te tauā toto. Ko Te Tumu hai kai māna.

Tāria te roanga atu.

When people want a good catch of Kahawai, they today still make their way to the 'Cut', an outlet of the Kaituna that runs into the ocean east of Maketu, the landing place of the Te Arawa waka.

Though tranquil today the area has long seen its share of bloodshed.

Ngai Te Rangi once successfully occupied this stretch of land; they began to erect their strong fort; a formidable one encircled with double row palisades and trenches placed near the present-day 'Cut' it was called Te Tumu.

Once this had been completed, the houses were built, bringing a sense of normality to the area. Then the flax harvest started the elders worked the surrounding fields and the river of Kaituna; primarily, they expanded on their flax operations, for they had acquired the services of one of the earliest Pākehā who had come out to start a business in New Zealand.

His name was Hans Tapsell, a Dane born in Copenhagen. Tapsell was a trader who set himself up in Maketu trading flax with the Ngai Te Rangi and Te Arawa in exchange for ammunition, guns and powder.

Something the Arawa desired following the bloody battle of Mokoia Island at the hands of Hongi Hika in 1823.

Part of Maketu Pā.

For a long time, the tribes of Te Arawa and Ngai Te Rangi remained peaceful; however, past defeats are not so easily erased.

It is claimed that a chief of Ngāti Whakaue, Haerehuka, did not receive his fair share of powder during the distribution amongst the leaders; from this, his heart was overcome with sadness; as he returned to Rotorua, his mind thought about how he may overcome this and so started to construe how best to punish his people.

The flame was set ablaze when news reached his ears that his mausoleum had been disturbed. So with a heavy heart set on retribution, he travelled to his relations of Ngāti Pāruaharanui, who were living in Mourea here; he met with Tahuriorangi, Te Kanawa and other chiefs.

They quickly travelled to Parahaki and killed Te Hunga, a nephew of Te Waharoa, the fighting leader of Ngāti Hauā. This one action brought fury upon the tribespeople of Te Arawa. Warriors from Ngāti Hauā were quickly assembled, and they took to the war path; leaving Matamata, they passed through Te Puke and killed Katohau before unifying with the Ngai Te Rangi warriors who had been placed at Te Tumu.

Quickly the combined force grew exponentially and attacked the stronghold of Maketua, the few warriors of Ngāti Whakaue and Ngāti Pukenga stationed at Maketu were quickly overwhelmed.

Naenae and Irohanga were two chiefs of Ngāti Pukenga who were killed, but for the Arawa, the deaths of Te Ngahuru and Haupapa consumed the minds and hearts of all.

The pā of Maketu was a tremendous victory for the killing of Te Hunga, this act saddened the hearts of Te Arawa, and plans were set in motion to retaliate. Ngāti Rangiwewehi were the first to respond.

Kahawai took a body of men and made for Maketu to engage in combat. Hikairo, another chief of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, travelled to Mokoia to enlist the services of the Uenukukopako and Rangiteaorere warriors, and they agreed. Hikairo then marched to Ōhinemutu, where the fighting men of Ngāti Whakaue were enlisted; when he arrived at Motutawa in the Green Lake, the chiefs Nawaina, Te Rangipuawhe, Te Mutukurī also agreed, as did the leaders of Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Tarawhai, Tapuika, Ngāti Kearoa and the numerous branches of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes.

And so a great gathering of fighting chiefs assembled, Taranui, Te Iwimokai, Te Wharepurupuru, Te Amohau, Pango, Te Pukuatua, Kahawai, Mokonuiarangi, Te Awekotuku, Te Koata, Te Rangipuawhe, Nawaina, Te Mutukurī and many, many influential figures of Te Arawa's past.

The avenging war party would right the deaths of their chiefs and remove the Ngai Te Rangi from the coast of Maketu. Forever.

■ To be continued.