MAORI MEMORIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 March 1940, Page 2

MAORI MEMORIES

TOKA ANU (STONE IN THE SEA). (Recorded by J.U.S. for the “Times-Age.”) The name of this village is said by an old Maori to have been derived from the conical island Pihanga (a heap) seen across the water to the south. An extinct volcano standing alone in the waters of the great lake, originally known as Taupo Moana (the sea of spirits). Another prominent object is Motu Taiko (Bird Island) one of the numerous extinct volcanoes. Active hot springs covering several square miles are-dotted about the district. Right among and between them are the toitoi, fern, and raupo huts of the Maoris, who were there known for their physical form and health, induced no doubt by the cleanliness derived inwardly and outwardly from the warm mineral waters. Another reason for their health was the fertile nature of the chemical soil and the plentiful supplies of fish, coupled with the constant effort to secure them. Right along the banks of the Tokaanu river are numerous steaming bubbling springs, forming ideal cooking places and warming pans. The largest and most active of these is Purori (the jumper) which is a steaming column of boiling water twice as high as a man. Near Tokaanu is the site of the ancient Pa —Te Rapa (twisted) where To Heuheu (brushwood) and GO others were buried in a landslide long ago.