The site of Kawerau township as it was in 1952. (n.z. forest service photograph) slow, that the sun caught him where he now stands. In the full light of day he could not go on and advertise his intentions to the world. He looked back and saw his wife weeping for him. This made him more ashamed. He could not go forward and he could not go back; so he sayed where he still is, with his child. Tarawera still weeps for him and her tears form the Tarawera river. The child is the foothill to Putauaki. Tuwharetoa spent most of his life at Kawerau and also died there. His shrouded body was entombed in a hollow totara at Te Atuareretahi, a few miles from Kawerau. As the tree grew in later years, the gap closed up. The tree is still growing and can be found by some of the local people, but they are not at all eager to point it out. The Maori wars, the Tarawera eruption and intermarriage with other tribes help to explain the smallness of the present Maori population of Kawerau. Mrs Monica Hardman, office worker with Fletcher-Merritt-Raymond, who are building the mill, told Te Ao Hou that there are about 150 at the pa, and about three quarters of these get their living from mill construction work. The Kawerau people took the government side during the Hauhau wars. Their land was included in the blanket order confiscating a large area of Maori land in the Bay of Plenty, but under this order loyal hapu were still allowed to keep their land. The Kawerau people accordingly had their land given back to them after long negotiations. Most of it was later included in the Putauaki Maori Land Development Scheme, consisting of some 10,000 acres, partly now in full production. Unfortunately, it was found not to be particularly good farm land. Although it gives a splendid first strike of grass, drainage through the pumice soil is too easy to allow grass to do well for long. Just at present, the scheme carries about 2,000 sheep and 250 head of cattle on a grassed area of 1,000 acres.

Steam Gave the Answer Until September, 1952, the feeding, mustering and shearing of stock grazing about the Tarawera river was the most urgent matter in Kawerau. At that time a government geologist made the discovery that was to transform the settlement to the most up-to-date, highest-pressure industrial centre in New Zealand. In itself there was nothing sensational about discovering geothermal steam. The Maoris had always known of it; it may well have been because of the geothermal steam that Tuwharetoa settled on that spot and it was the site of such populous pas. To people living in the stone age, an abundant supply of hot water available without effort was a priceless possession. Right through the ages, the Maoris of Kawerau have bathed in the pools which are now to supply Tasman's geothermal steam.