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<< Our Photo Pages >> Turuturu Mokai Pa - Hillfort in New Zealand

Submitted by DrewParsons on Wednesday, 26 December 2012  Page Views: 7847

Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Turuturu Mokai Pa
Country: New Zealand Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Hawera
Latitude: 39.56606S  Longitude: 174.291820E
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
4 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
5

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External Links:

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : Model of the pa on view at the nearby Tawhiti Museum (Vote or comment on this photo)
Maori Pa in Taranaki, New Zealand. Turuturu Mokai Pa is a massive hillfort located 2 kilometres north of Hawera in Taranaki, New Zealand. The pa is the centrepiece of an historic reserve with the smaller Te Uma a Tongahake Pa the sole survivor of five smaller surrounding pa.

The photo opposite is of a model of the pa, as it once would have looked, in the nearby Tawhiti Museum. This complex of pa or fortified settlements once held some 400 inhabitants and was built in a loop of the Tawhiti stream. The site has amazingly large ditches and embankments which once would have had palisades making it a very strong and important pa. The ditches are still very clear and deep, although they were "tidied up" during the Depression. The curator of the nearby Tawhiti Museum interviewed an elderly man who witnessed this tidying up work and it appears that this was confined to clearing grass and trimming the ditches. Plans to erect palisading to recreate the original look of the site got no further than the timber being stored at the site.

The pa was built by the Ngati Tupaea a hapu or sub tribe of the Ngati Ruanui tribe. The pa was overrun during an attack in the 16th century by the inhabitants of a neighbouring pa and those not killed were taken as slaves. Consequently the pa was left deserted until a tapu lifting ceremony was conducted in 1938. The current site still has tapu (sacred) areas which are shown on a sign at the gate telling visitors which areas to not visit. In 2001 the area was returned to local iwi (tribes) as part of the Treaty of Waitangi Settlement for this area but a dispute between tribe and sub tribe led to an occupation of the site from 2002 for several years. The site was somewhat overgrown in December 2012 but well worth a visit as it is one of the largest and most impressive pa sites in New Zealand. Tawhiti Museum three kilometres from this site has excellent descriptive material about the pa. The museum website is: http://www.tawhitimuseum.co.nz

The site is located 2 kilometres north of Hawera along Turuturu Road in an historic reserve. Te Uma a Tongahake Pa is the first pa as you enter the reserve and it has a name board by it. Turuturu Mokai Pa is 100 metres further into the reserve.

References:
Tawhiti Museum (see link above)
South Taranaki Things to Do and See website:
http://www.southtaranaki.com/Visit/Things-to-see-and-do/Historical-Sites/
Taranaki Daily News article 23 Feb 2009
Science & Research Series, NZ Government: Archaeological Site Stabilisation and Vegetation Management. Case Studies I: Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Central Volcanic Plateau and Taranaki. Pages 74 to 78 (photos and text):
http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/science-and-technical/sr84-Entire.pdf
New Zealand Journal of Archaeology 2008 Vol 29 (2007) pp19-37,Kelvin Day, Contested Ground: Turuturu-Mōkai Pa, Hawera, Taranaki, New Zealand.
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Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : Model of the pa on view at the nearby Tawhiti Museum. December 2012. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : View from the top of the pa into the top defensive ditch. December 2012. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : The massive ditch would once have been topped by palisading. December 2012. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : Sacred site on the level area of the top of the pa. There are kumera storage pits here too. December 2012. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : View along the main fortification ditch at this impressive pa. December 2012.

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : Ditches of the south western outlier of the pa. December 2012.

Turuturu Mokai Pa
Turuturu Mokai Pa submitted by DrewParsons : The pa is reached 100 metres past the minor pa Te Uma a Tongahake. December 2012

Do not use the above information on other web sites or publications without permission of the contributor.
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
 269m SSW 208° Te Uma a Tongahake Pa* Hillfort
 1.7km E 98° Tawhiti Museum* Museum
 58.2km NNW 339° Whakawhitiwhiti Pā* Hillfort
 59.7km NNW 341° Te Punga a Matori* Sculptured Stone
 186.1km SE 141° Wairarapa Stone Circle Modern Stone Circle etc
 189.3km NNE 13° Ruapuke Pa* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 192.4km SW 222° Te Waikoropupu Springs* Holy Well or Sacred Spring
 196.9km NE 49° Pohaturoa* Hillfort
 202.4km SSE 148° Stonehenge Aotearoa* Modern Stone Circle etc
 243.3km SW 229° Whakapoāi* Ancient Village or Settlement
 294.1km N 9° Mangere Mountain Pa* Hillfort
 296.8km N 9° Otahuhu Pa* Hillfort
 297.6km N 8° Puketapapa Pa* Hillfort
 299.6km N 8° Maungakiekie Pa* Hillfort
 299.8km NNE 17° Tapapakanga Park* Ancient Village or Settlement
 299.9km N 8° Cornwall Park Rongo Stone* Standing Stone (Menhir)
 301.0km N 8° Epsom Modern Megalith* Modern Stone Circle etc
 301.2km N 9° Maungarei Stonefields* Ancient Village or Settlement
 301.3km N 9° Maungarei Pa* Hillfort
 301.3km N 8° Te Kopuke Pa* Hillfort
 301.7km N 8° Maungawhau* Hillfort
 302.0km N 8° Remuera Pa* Hillfort
 303.8km N 8° Auckland Museum* Museum
 303.9km N 10° Tahuna Torea* Ancient Village or Settlement
 304.6km N 10° Taurere Pa* Hillfort
View more nearby sites and additional images

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