The Last of the Inter-Tribal Wars

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 538, 15 December 1928, Page 26

The Last of the Inter-Tribal Wars

OLD MOKOIA—HISTORIC SITE NEAR PANMURE—IS STEEPED IN MAORI HISTORY

V Written for TTTE SUN bv LESLIE G. KELLY) HOT one in a hundred of the many Aucklanders who every Sunday afternoon motor through Panmure on pleasure bent pause and think—as they approach the entrance to Tamil ki Bridge, that they are passing over ihe very ground where, a little over a hundred years ago, was fought the last big inter-tribal fight on the Isthmus. There stood Mokoia, at that time one of the principal strongholds of Ngati-Paoa. The approach and cutting, to the site of the old wooden Panmure bridge on the Auckland side of the liver, cuts right through the site of the pa, and it is only within the last live or six years that the last remaining earthworks have disappeared. Previously the site of a much older fortification, this place was again occupied by the Ngati-Paoa people about the year ISIO. The old earthworks were rebuilt to withstand the musket, n new weapon that made the old hilltorts no longer tenable. Major Cruise, who visited the place in bout August 31. 1820, gives the following description of the pa: ••'There being every appearance of the day continuing moderate, we went up the arm of the sea called Towreree tTaurere, a place on the western headland of the Tamaki River), which leads into the river Wycotta (Waikato); and after following its course for about five miles, the boat arrived at Mogoia (Mokoia). This village was about a mile long and half a mile broad, and the houses were larger and more ornamented with carving than those we had generally observed Each family occupied an allotment, which in shape was oblong and enclosed with high, strong paling. These allotments contained many houses; and the intermediate passages or streets were as clean as the season would permit. . . . The ground was good and under cultivation, interspersed with detached houses and hamlets; and a profusion of potatoes Jay jn different parts of the village. An immense number of people received us on lauding and remained with us until we re-embarked; they a ended us in all our walks over the surrounding country and showed us n‘a llUy ' After leaving Mogoia, we pulled “ p (he river for about >hree miles, the banks continued £o

thickly inhabited, the ground flat, arable and well cultivated, producing potatoes, kumaras and in the more swampy places a great quantity of flax.”

The Major was under the impression that the Tamaki was the mouth of the Waikato River, but had he continued his journey a few miles further he would have been convinced to the contrary. It will be seen that a great number of people were living here at this time. They were of the Ngati-Paoa tribe, under the chiefs Te Hinaki, Te Tata and probably Te Kohi-rangatira. Rising above the Plain nearby was Maungarei, the old hill pa of former times. On the flats now occupied by the village of Paumure was Mau-inaina, the spot where in the year 1680 Kawharu, the NgatiWhatua invader, had caught some: of the local people ‘'basking in the sun"; hence the name. The portion of the pa which occupied the head-land where the lagoon joins the Tamaki

River was called Mokoia. while the i river itself was known as AVaimokoia. said in have been named after the pa. The name Tamaki is modern. The Ngati-Paoa were not left long in peace. In IS2O came the first of I the Nga-Puhi raids under Te Koperu. Nga-Puhi were repulsed and Te Koperu met his death at the hands of Te Paraoa-Rahi, of Ngati-Paoa. Almost immediately after this event came Te Morenga. brother to Te Koperu. This time Ngati-Paoa were not so fortunate, and Te Morenga I obtained ample revenge for the death of his brother. Now there comes into rhe story that dreaded Northern warrior, Hongi Hika, who later made his unwelcome presence felt throughout the Waikato.

Of Hongi much has already been written. Marsden met him in ISI4 and described him then as a warrior, but of a very mild disposition, and with very little appearance of the savage about him. Of an ingenious turn of mind and extremely anxious

to learn European arts, he was a chief of 17 different places, but chiefly resided at Keri Keri. Through Marsden he made several trips abroad, visiting England in 1820. Returning home via Australia. Hongi exchanged all his presents for muskets and ammunition It was while in Sydney that Hongi met Te Hinaki, of Mokoia Pa, who was on a visit to New South Wales. Hongi informed Te Hinaki that he had heard that some of his people had been killed by the Hauraki tribes. He warned Te Hinaki to return at once because lie, Hongi, intended to invade Tamaki immediately on his arrival in New Zealand.

As may be expected, Te Hinaki took Hongi’s advice and returned to Mokoia as soon as possible. Hongi did not waste much time after his return. On September 5, Hongi appeared at the Bay of Islands from his home at AAaimate, bent on obtaining utu for some of his losses through the Hau-

raki tribes, and after reviewing his fleet and putting them through several manoeuvres, he left the same day for the general rendezvous. “Each canoe was manned by from 50 to 60 warriors, and they forced their canoes through the water at an extraordinary pace. The place of rendezvous was at Whangarei. Never in New Zealand had such an armament been seen before. It was dreadful to hear the threats of these warriors of what they intended to do, in massacring, destroying without mercy, all they met with. Hongi left the Bay with 2,000 warriors, among whom were 1,000 armed with muskets, and the fleet was composed of more than 50 canoes.”

In November 1821, the Nga-Puhi appeared before Mokoia Pa. They immediately over-ran the country, cutting off stragglers, and set down to besiege the Ngati-Paoa. The besieged apparently had little hope of resisting Continued on Page 27