<< Our Photo Pages >> Rahopara Pa - Hillfort in New Zealand
Submitted by DrewParsons on Friday, 01 June 2012 Page Views: 5385
Iron Age and Later PrehistorySite Name: Rahopara Pa Alternative Name: Rahoparaoperetu, R10/21, N38/20Country: New Zealand
NOTE: This site is 0.273 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Hillfort
Nearest Town: Takapuna Nearest Village: Castor Bay
Latitude: 36.7596S Longitude: 174.769730E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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The site comprises a headland citadel protected by a ditch and bank on the landward side and high cliffs on the surrounding seaward sides. Excavations show that inland from the citadel there were cultivation terraces, storage pits and house sites. The site had a long period of troubled occupation prior to European contact with the area. Radio carbon dating of charcoal from an oven pit gave a date range of between AD 1466 to AD 1648. The pa is located on the coastal route from Northland to present day Auckland, both important early Maori settlement areas. Consequently it has been the location of many inter-tribal battles and has seen various tribes and sub tribes in possession of it. The Te Kawerau-a-Maki tribe occupied much of the coastal land north from here to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula although battles with the Ngati Whatua and the Ngati Paoa tribes were on going with utu (revenge) raids upon one another. It appears that the Nga Puhi raids of 1820-21 decimated the local tribes and led to the final abandonment of Rahopara Pa.
The pa is reached from The Esplanade at Castor Bay where there is free car parking by the beach. Walk north east (left) along the beach and just before the toilet block there is a gate and sign for the New Zealand Walkway which leads up a steep concrete drive to reach the cliff top and the Historic Reserve site after around 100 metres. The ditch and bank are clearly visible as are the pits. A new wooden palisade has been erected across the seaward side of the outer ditch and bank although you can follow the bank south through the bush towards the southern cliff top too. At the western end of the pa a new palisade has been erected from where there are fine views towards the south and Rangitoto Island to the east.
References:
Science and Research Series No 63: Sources for the Archaeology of the Maaori Settlement of the Taamaki Volcanic District, S Bulmer, Dept of Conservation Wellington, 1994 (note the spellings of the words Maaori and Taamaki which today may be spelt with an accent above the single letter ā.)
Auckland City Council Brochure: A Heritage Walkway - Rahopara Pa to Cambells Bay Beach.
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