Ngā Punawai o Mauao
Details | Pito Kōrero
Description | WhakamāramaNgā Puna o Mauao (Natural Springs)
He katonga ēnei na Jack Thatcher (2018) me Kihi Ngātai (2018)
Māori had occupied Mauao for many centuries before Kōtorerua and his men of Ngāi Te Rangi attacked Kinomoerua and his people on Mauao. After the battle of Kokowai, Mauao became unsafe to live on due to all of the skirmishes, and most of the pā were abandoned. There are four main puna located around Mauao, each with their own historical significance and functions. However, when Māori fled from Mauao, there was no one to utilise or sustain the māra kai, the whenua and the puna, and as a result, these areas became overgrown and under maintained. In traditional times, our tupuna would dig out holes below the original spring so that they would have multiple functions, such as washing clothes, bathing, birthing, drinking and so on. However, the springs are no longer used the way our tupuna once used them, over the years due to erosion and natural disasters, they have become almost impossible to find. People have also planted non-native plants around the springs which have disrupted their flow and function.
Collection | KohikohingaMauao
He katonga ēnei na Jack Thatcher (2018) me Kihi Ngātai (2018)
Māori had occupied Mauao for many centuries before Kōtorerua and his men of Ngāi Te Rangi attacked Kinomoerua and his people on Mauao. After the battle of Kokowai, Mauao became unsafe to live on due to all of the skirmishes, and most of the pā were abandoned. There are four main puna located around Mauao, each with their own historical significance and functions. However, when Māori fled from Mauao, there was no one to utilise or sustain the māra kai, the whenua and the puna, and as a result, these areas became overgrown and under maintained. In traditional times, our tupuna would dig out holes below the original spring so that they would have multiple functions, such as washing clothes, bathing, birthing, drinking and so on. However, the springs are no longer used the way our tupuna once used them, over the years due to erosion and natural disasters, they have become almost impossible to find. People have also planted non-native plants around the springs which have disrupted their flow and function.
Collection | KohikohingaMauao
Ngā Punawai o Mauao. Ngai Te Rangi Iwi, accessed 20/03/2026, https://ngaiterangi.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/2106
