A Visit to an Old Maori Pa

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23879, 1 February 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

A Visit to an Old Maori Pa

•])EAP, ANNE SHIRLEY-One day when Ve were staying at iho seaside. we went for a ramble over the hills. Wo had not walked far when we came upon an old Maori pa, lying .•serenely in the golden sunshine,'Oii ■either side stood sheer cliffs, at the foot of which the tiny waves rippled jgently over the golden sands Crimson jpohutukawa made a vivid splash of .colour against the dark green of the tush-clad slopes. Lank grass covered the whole of the pa/making it almost impossible to trace ■,the outlines of the series of terraces. ,!Ac both ends of the top terrace deep .pits had been hollowed, the i<ars of •which fell steeply away to the cliffs. It has been said that after the tribal ibattles, the Maori warriors flung the ■dead bodies of their enemies into the pits, the jbodies sliding down the cliffs •jto bo carried awav bv the outcome •tide. * * There is also a little track leading 'down the oliffside. and where the descent becomes too steep, steps have been cut into the face of the rocks, •endini near a little cave. At the .summit of the hill on which the j:a is situated, we saw something shining. We couldn't think what it •could be. but later discovered it was merely a halfpenny! Near the same .spot we picked up a greenstone axe, a little, discoloured from being exposed to •the sun and rain "sc much, but otherwise perfect. We have a greenstone axe which has •been cut in a special shape, so that when it is shaken from side to side, it gives forth a sound simil-ir to running water. 1 he Maori nanvj for it means xipphr.g water. Another curious object js a native fern beater, carved from the root of the pohutukawa. At the/foot of the terraces we discovered a curiously-shaped stone with

a hollow scooped from one end. This stone had been used by the Maoris ns a lamp. The hole was filled with the oil of the mutton bird, or fish, a wick made of plaited flax fibres, or rushes, was placed in the oil and set alight. It would be interesting to know the history of the tribe that lived there, don't you think Anne Shirley? Wishing you the best of luck for 19-12. — Yours sincerely, Cicely C'hamberlin, Mount Eden