The Pa of Porirua

Porirua was the home of the warrior chief Te Rauparaha from the 1820’s to the 1840’s.  Taupo Pa was built where the Plimmerton railway station now stands, although no trace of it now remains. 

Taupo Pa, Plimmerton in 1840

We visited Pataka Museum to find out more of this fearsome warrior who controlled the southern part of the North Island, using Kapiti Island as a base for his raiding parties. Attempts by various Southern Maori tribes to recover Kapiti Island were decisively defeated.

This exhibition features Ngati Toa kainga (villages) and pa (fortified sites) that dotted the Porirua coastline and harbours between 1830-1850, and showed sketches, water colours and photos of the domestic life of the Maori people who settled around the rich resources of Porirua Harbour.   There were greenstone and whalebone meres on display, muskets and a small cannon used in the fighting.  

The Pa of Porirua

White settlers established whaling stations in the area, and Te Rauparaha encouraged them and many Maori worked in them. Some Maori women married Pakeha whalers, establishing a lucrative trade of supplies for muskets thereby increasing Te Rauparaha's mana and military strength. In 1827 he began the conquest of the South Island, and by the early 1830s he controlled most of the northern part of it.

Te Rauparaha

These days Porirua is a busy area full of housing, industry, businesses and shops and boasts a diverse community of many races.  We visited the mall at lunch time and joined the many locals eating in the food hall.  And Kapiti Island has escaped from Te Rauparaha’s clutches and is now a sanctuary for endangered native birds.

Plenty of choices in the food hall