Kāhu ki Rotorua: The fall of Te Tumu

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See below for English translation

Ka wehe i Rotorua ka puta i Rangiuru

Ka mea a Te Koata me tika mā Rangiuru. He ara tawhito tēnei i takahia ai e ngā tūpuna, ka wehe i Rotorua ka puta i Rangiuru ki muri o Te Puke, ko te tuarua o ngā ara tawhito ko Te Kaharoa.

Kai te āhua kitea tonutia a Te Kaharoa ināianei. Ko te ara mai Rotorua ki Maketu e haerehia nei e tātou te tangata mā motokā. Ko te tuatoru o ngā ara ko Te Haka a Te Uira.

Kāore i mōhiongia kai whea tēnei ara engari nā te mea i tae tūreiti a Ngāti Pikiao ki te riri ki te āhua nei ka puta mai i te takiwā o Pukehina.

Ko ngā matua i mā Te Kaharoa me te Rangiuru ka puta i Te Puke ki reira rātou huihui ai ka whakatika i kona te ope noho rawa atu i Papamoa e noho ana kia ahiahi i te ahiahi ka whakawhiti i Wairākei he wāhi kai te ākau o te moana, ka whakatehiwa te tauā toto ka whakawhiti i te repo ka karakia Maori ki Te Kopua, he piko o Kaituna, ka kōnihi haere te tauā ka tae ki Te Whakararauhe ki Otaiparia ka takoto.

Ko te awa Kaituna kāore e rite nei tana āhua. He awa kōpikopiko nō te tau kotahi mano e iwa rau e rua tekau ka āhua whakahuringa te tinana o te awa e te poari o Kaituna kia kore ai ngā whenua e waipukengia, tuarua kia pai ai ngā whenua mō te mahi pāmu.

Kāti – ko Te Tumu e tū ana. Ko te hunga mōhio ki te wāhi i tū ai tēnei pā kua mate noa atu. Kai te mau tonu ētehi o ngā tohutohu i ngā pakiwaitara me ngā kōrero tuku iho. E whakapae ana i whakatūria ai tēnei pā whakairo ki te oneone tahua tata iti nei ki te pūahatanga o Kaituna.

He pā whakairo. E toru ngā ara e tomo atu ai te tangata ki te pā. Ko te pane, ko waenga me te huke.

Ko te ara o te huke ko Te Paiaka. Kāore i mōhiotia ki ēra atu o ngā ingoa. Kātahi ka whakariterite i ngā ara i te pō ka takoto he matua, ka takoto he matua, ka takoto he matua.

Pā Site, (Te Tumu) located at the Cut, near where the pine trees stand in the foreground

Ka rere a Kōpū ka rewa ngā matua ko te ara i a Ngāti Whakaue i uru tuatahi i te tanginga o te pū ka rere tūpou atu ngā matua ko Ngāti Whakaue i Maketu ka heke mai me Ngāti Te Takinga ko Taranui te kākākura nō roto i te pōkaitara a Ngāti nui tonu i Pukehina e haere ana, ko te ara i tai i a Tūhourangi ko te ara i waenga i a Ngāti Rangiwewehi. Ka nui rawa ngā tupapaku o Tūhourangi me Ngāti Rangiwewehi ki te ara o te riri.

Ko Kanohimohoao i mate, ko Kahawai tētehi, ko Tareha he rangatira nō Ngai Te Rangi i mate, i pūhia ai.

Ka whakahokia e Tūhourangi me Ngāti Rangiwewehi ko Hikareia me tana taiaha e hahau toa ana, ka mate haere a Ngai Te Rangi ki Te Paiaka e riri tonu ana a Haerehuka a Taranui a Te Pukuatua me ngā toa rau. Ka tae te nui o Ngāti Whakaue ki Papahikahawai ka āta whati te pā ka tae ki Te Tumu ka horo te pā whakairo.

I te whatinga ka rere ngā rangatira ko Hikareia kua kaumatuatia e oma ana i te ākau ki Tauranga kai te whāia rawatia e ngā toa o Te Arawa ka patua i Wairākei. Ka mate. Ka tūtūngārahu ai te tauā toto, ka tahuna ngā tupapaku ka whati te tauā ka hoki ki ngā roto moana.

Ko Ngāti Pikiao i haere ki Mōtītī kawe riri ai ko te take he whakamā ki te korenga e tae ki Te Tumu.

The chief Te Koata suggested that they travel via the old war trail known as Rangiuru; this path once brought people out at Rangiuru just behind Te Puke; another trail was Te Kaharoa, which was later expanded upon and eventually became known as the Old Coach Rd.

The road used to travel from Rotorua to Maketu near matches the route.

The third trail was Te Haka a Te Uira, often mentioned in the old chants of Ngāti Pikiao; it would seem that this trail came out near the region of Pukehina; we know this as it was by this trail that the Ngāti Pikiao travelled.

Hence they arrived as Te Tumu was falling.

Those forces that crossed via Te Kaharoa and Rangiuru gathered at Te Puke and devised their plan of attack; they travelled to Pāpāmoa and waited for nightfall, then made their way through the marshes of Wairākei.

Wairākei today features as the boundary that divides the territory of the tribes of Tauranga and those of Te Arawa.

The forces then made their way to a site called Te Kopua, where they were baptised under the rituals of the old Māori gods, giving them all strength and courage to be fast, see all, and hear all.

Charged with their newfound abilities, the great force, still unnoticed moved closer to the stronghold of the Ngai Te Rangi. The great pā is called Te Tumu.

Aerial view running from Maketū pā towards the site of Te Tumu off the distance.

The authentic site of Te Tumu is still debated. It did stand somewhere near the present-day cut. The old chiefs stated that a doubled rowed palisaded stronghold stood upon the dunes.

Not too far from another area known as Otaiparea.

Today pine trees and farms dominate the area, and any successful search to discover the old site has failed.

There it stood. The stronghold of the Ngai Te Rangi. Te Tumu. The old pā site had three entrances. One at the head, another was in the middle, and one to the rear was known as Te Paiaka.

A leader guarded each gate. The knowledgeable fighters of Ngāi Te Rangi. Hikareia, Werohia, Tareha, Tūpaea and many other famous warriors. Under great stealth, the united forces of Te Arawa, numbering near 800 fighting men, were positioned by their war leaders.

Spread out to cover the three main entrances into the pā. As Venus rose in the morning, the fighting commenced. Most warriors were armed with muskets by this time; hatchets were set a flight, and taiaha and mere, the traditional weapons of the Māori, were also put to good use.

With the firing of the muskets, the Ngāti Te Takinga section under Taranui, the only twenty of Ngāti Pikiao, joined with the Ngāti Whakaue as they attacked Te Paiaka. Tūhourangi and Rangiwewehi struck the front and middle side, suffering the most casualties.

Their sacrifice was great.

Though driven back twice, their desire to take the pā was more significant than those trying to defend it. Tūhourangi took Werohia, Tareha, a defender of Te Tumu, and was shot in the chest. Kahawai, the determined leader of Ngāti Rangiwewehi, predicted the taking of the pā; however, he also prophesied that his life would be taken, and he lay dead by the end of the battle.

Hikareia broke from the pā and, with a handful of youthful spirits, bolted along the shoreline, running west towards Tauranga.

Those who fleed were quickly followed. Hikareia, in his youth, was a prominent fighter, a great testimony to his lineage.

At Te Tumu, he was aged, running for his life; he decided to take to the water but was thrown back by a strong wave where the young Arawa fighters pinned him down.

His life was taken. Where Hikareia died has been acknowledged as the boundary separating Te Arawa and Ngai Te Rangi since that time. Te Tumu was taken by the Arawa. The Arawa warriors performed a great war dance before the bodies were set alight and the pā destroyed.

The war party immediately disbanded with each hapū returning home. Except for Ngāti Pikiao, who had arrived late, they were already in combat mode.

They pushed on towards the island of Mōtītī, where a strong force of defenders awaited them.