MAORI PA ON MOUNT EDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19962, 2 June 1928, Page 14

MAORI PA ON MOUNT EDEN.

—J note that an objection io iho proposed iVlaori pa on .Mount liden is that it is too small to truly represent the fortifications as they appeared in ancient times. It seems to me that this is only a question of the relative date of construction of the pa which it is intended to reproduce, as no doubt in its early stages the Maungawhau pa was quite a small affair, probably no larger than its proposed counterpart, but as time went on it would be continually added to until it embraced practically the whole mountain. Now why cannot the same line of development be "followed in building the proposed pa ? First reproduce what was no doubt the original pa, then as funds and circumstances permit add the various other buildings and fortifications, until in time we should have the mountain looking precisely as it did in its palmy days betoro the advent of the pakeha. It .has been suggested that the natural beauty of the mountain should not be interfere! with, but surely there are plenty of other hills around Auckland whose natural beauty is just as great as Mgunt Eden and which can be preserved for all time as parks and reserves, and the fact that we have such a fine memorial to past Maori greatness in our midst will do more to make Auckland famous throughout the world as a place of interest to tourists than all the advertising schemes that were ever inVfnlcd. Pakeha Maori.