RATA BLOSSOMS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 233, 1 October 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)

RATA BLOSSOMS.

(By Stuart William Cross, Box 3, Waimiha, K.C., age 15.) Rata blossoms! Ah! what an enchanting picture they make. They bring to my mind a beautiful Maori legend, describing how a brave old chief fell in battle. This tale was told to me by an old Maori, a descendant of the chief. Long ago, when the moa roamed the hills and valleys, there lay on the banks of the Ongarue Kiver, a Maori village named Wadmiha. This village waa a mile' from where the Main Trunk line now runs and two miles from the present site of the pa. One. fine summer's day there came- news- that the Wanganui tribes were to attack the pa. The native who brought the news was called Euapi, and he. said he saw the enemy tribes passing Waione in their war canoes. He added that he noticed them coming up the Ongarue River from a high hill, the name of which waa Potu. , When the chief,. Te Arua, heard the news, he gave orders to stock the pa with provisions. After that he sent a runner fo the nearest pa for reinforcemente. .Then he and. the tohunga (priest).' went ! into the meeting house, and made plans. I for the defence of the pa. At t&is I time there, was a war raging' between the Njjapuhi. and Waikato- tiribee, and therefore most of the warriors from the different pas were away fighting. The Wangaaui natives had always been enemies- to. the Maniapoto (Waikato) ' Maoris, for they wished to claim their (the Walkatote) land. About an hour and a half after the chief received the news of the. intended attack, the 160 inhabitants of the pa caught a glimpse of the hostile Maoris paddling up the river in their big war canoes. They numbered 1000 men,, all heavily armed with meree,. clubs and tomahawks. The Maoris in the little pa viewed with consternation the huge band of warriors. What could their lflfl men , do against such an army? Immediately the ■ Wanganuie landed they beached their canoes, rushed up the hill and surrounded the front of the pa. Now, at- the rear of the pa there was a swamp. Any person attempting to ; cross this s(wamp would be bdgged and 1 sucked to ljis doom by the treacherous mud; Unfortunately, fo? themselves, i the attacking army could hot: completely surround tae pa, for they ktoetv how idangerpur the ewamp was. Both the 'chief aad the tohunga knew a way to croea tie bog. Thus they always had an aven'xie 0f eecape in timesi of need. At sunset the enemy attacked the pa, »nd they were beaten off With a loss.

But they were not the only ones that suffered, for twenty brave defenders also fought their last battle. Midnight came and went, and still the besieged could not hear or see a relief column coming. The chief decided to retreat to the hills while they had the opportunity. Just then the sentry announced that he could see something creeping along the outer palisade of the pa. It was the enemy. With a shout the Wanganuis swarmed over the wall and jumped down into the pa. A sharp fight ensued, with the result that the Maniapotos drove out the foe. During the conflict the old chief was killed, for he received a blow on the head with a mere. Thirty more of the defenders were killed, besides a number of wounded. The Maniapotos were in a desperate plight, so the tobimga (who was now ,in charge) decided to evacuate the pa. Silently the Maoris crept out of the pa and made their way across , ,the swamp, led by the old tohunga. Dawn v found them six miles from the pa. Their destination was the bushclad Mils where they couhf hunt and fifth, in peace. When the sun rose they rested 'neatb. a magnificent rata and ate some

of their food. Here, upder this tree, the Maoris eaSly buried the dead body of their chief; Hβ loved the rata, -with ite bright, red- flowers, and he always wished he cou]d ; have his grave under one. When, they were burying him the birds sang; a»d the wind whispered in the branches as if mourning the lofle of the brave warrior. Then the pitiful little band of natives tranXped on, for they feared pursuit. To-day the rata, under which the' old chief was. laid to rest, still bloseoms, and every summer it showers its bloome over his grave in memory of a courageous old chieftain of the ancient Maoris.