There are more than 80 pa sites in the Oruru Valley. Pictured is the lower part of the valley.
In the late 1970s, the Oruru Valley was noted as a place of national if not international significance because of its exceptionally intact archaeological landscape.
The 1980s fieldwork of a curious young archaeology PhD student confirmed the valley as a place where people came not just to live, but to thrive.
Leigh Johnson was born in Kaitaia to parents of third and fifth-generation status in the Far North.
Johnson describes driving through the valley with them and seeing countless pa sites, which are today covered by revegetation.
"My own experience as a boy led me to this research," Johnson said.
"There's nothing quite like Oruru in terms of a valley system.
"It's far enough north to be warm and opens directly out to the coast. That's why it was so intensively settled."
Johnson said the work being done today aims to enable a wider appreciation for the cultural value of the valley.
"Knowledge of what exists in Oruru Valley will allow people living there now to consider the impacts of what they do with their land."
According to Bill Edwards of Heritage NZ, Johnson's fieldwork looked at the valley's history and how it worked, as well as producing a map informed by many miles of groundwork to record all pas and other sites in the archaeological landscape.
An archaeological site is anything associated with human activity prior to 1900, and in this case includes things like small villages, kumara pits, terraces and remains of gardens.
Edwards said the information being captured now hasn't previously been officially recorded.
"If it weren't for Leigh's thesis research, this work wouldn't be happening now," said Edwards.
"It was a remarkable piece of work."
Edwards said the Oruru Valley is currently seen as an isolated rural area, but people living there were very productive thanks to its rich soil which was ideal for horticulture.
"People thrive where there is good soil. Those in the Oruru Valley didn't just survive, they thrived," Edwards said.
"The valley could easily be damaged or even destroyed. We're trying to get good information recorded, so people know what's there and how significant it is."
Johnson's work recorded more than 50 pa sites in the valley, and it's now known there are more than 80.
According to Tina Latimer of Te Paatu ki Kauhanga Trust Board, there are more pa sites in the Oruru Valley than in the whole of the South Island.
"It's hugely significant and it's been overlooked for a very, very long time," Latimer said.
Today, a collaborative effort between Te Paatu ki Kauhanga Trust Board, Far North District Council (FNDC) and Heritage NZ seeks to protect the Oruru Valley as a cultural landscape.
"This would stop development and protect pa sites from being desecrated," Latimer said.
Latimer is part of the small team at Te Paatu ki Kauhanga Trust Board working to conduct interviews with whānau and hapū of Te Paatu, to gather traditional stories and histories at Te Ahu Museum.
These stories will represent and showcase the cultural history of surrounding land and sites.
The goal is to preserve invaluable intergenerational knowledge surrounding Māori land history so that stories can continue to be told and showcased for future generations, particularly as the older generation Māori begin to pass away.
A recently-awarded $42,080 grant from the Lottery Environment and Heritage Committee funds the work of interviews and thus supports the broader work of protecting the valley.
"It's a big grant for us," Latimer said.
"It supports us to help inform Māori cultural values to the sites of significance in the Oruru Valley, which supports its protection.
"Protecting cultural landscapes and pa sites in Ngati Kahu is something I've been wanting to do for quite a long time, probably since 1990."
The grant comes from Te Tari Taiwhenua (Department of Internal Affairs), which according to Clare Toufexis, general manager of community operations, distributes funding from the Lottery Grants Board to support communities across New Zealand to thrive.
"They are working towards some invaluable mahi that will be of great benefit to iwi and hapū, ensuring the continuation of important intergenerational knowledge for Māori," Toufexis said.
From the perspective of FNDC, Te Paatu ki Kauhanga Trust Board's initiative to collect information about Oruru Valley will help inform council processes on how to best protect its historic heritage, including sites of cultural significance.
According to Darren Edwards, general manager – strategic planning and policy, FNDC, the Far North District contains some of the nation's richest heritage resources.
"Ensuring appropriate protections for our historic heritage is an important goal for council," Edwards said.
"A proposed District Plan will be notified in 2022 and I encourage tangata whenua, communities and individuals to participate in this vital plan-making process."
As for the future of the Oruru Valley, Leigh Johnson reckons classifying it as a Heritage Precinct would be effective and not unprecedented.
"Classification as a Heritage Precinct would further protect it, and I think that status is warranted," Johnson said.
"There are other sites in Northland given this status, so it's definitely justified."