Overlooking Whangarei
06 December 2016 | Whangarei Town Basin Marina, Whangarei, New Zealand
Photo: Panoramic view south of Whangarei, Hatea River, and the Whangarei estuary (the ocean is far off to the left) looking over the tree ferns on the summit of Parihaka
In our new heart-healthy exercise regime, Randall does push-ups and other rigorous exercises three times a week and fast walking for an hour most of the other days. I join him for some walks and run for an hour or more on alternate mornings. This is particularly enjoyable in Whangarei because there are many good trails within a short distance of the marina.
Some trails are reasonably flat, like the very popular riverside loop around the Town Basin and downstream to the Te Matau a Pohe (Māori fishhook) bascule bridge, and the trail up the Hatea River towards Whangarei Falls. Other routes climb the hills surrounding three sides of the town.
First we explored the north end of the Coronation Scenic Reserve (named to commemorate the coronation of King George V) on the west side of town. This walk included a stop at the site of a Pā, a single Māori defensive unit built at the end of the ridge overlooking the Town Basin. Only small area of earthworks is still visible but originally the fortification had a central defended area about 300 meters long (330 yards) with a double ditch on the uphill side and a single ditch below the position, all of which would have been topped by wooden palisades. A small midden of cockle shells and more than 100 pits that were probably used for food storage have been found at the site but these provide little indication of when the camp was used and by how many people.
Our second, longer hike involved walking up the Hatea River trail to Mair Park then up the Hokianga Track to the top of the ridge on the north side of town. The whole of the 3 km-long (2 mile) ridge has extensive remnants of pre-European Māori settlement, including many houses, vegetable gardens, and three heavily defended Pā sites. We walked around the earthworks of the Pā at the top of the Hokianga Track, where more than 100 household terraces and 300 kumara pits have been identified.
We then walked along the ridge-top Dobbie Track to the summit of Parihaka which is an old eroded volcanic cone rising to 241 m (xx feet). There are several communication towers on the peak and a tall, shiny, metal-coated World War II obelisk-shaped War Memorial which glints most noticeably in the morning and evening sunlight. The observation deck has a spectacular panoramic view of Whargarei, the Hatea River, the Whangarei estuary, and east to the coastal mountains of Whangarei Heads. Once we had sufficiently absorbed the magnificent views on the clear, sunny morning, we descended by the Ross Track, which ends just below a small waterfall and near the ruins of an old goldmine.
One of the main Pā sites on Parihaka was at the summit, and in the 1700s this was the location of a significant battle and massacre between Māori tribes. Thinking that they had an impregnable mountaintop fortress, the overconfident defenders had performed a particularly derisive haka (pre-battle dance with much stamping, aggressive gestures, and shouting) which incited the enemy to pile green and dry timber against the palisades and set them alight. This created a massive amount of fire and choking smoke, and when the inhabitants fled they were killed by the waiting enemy. The massacre area was immediately put under tapu (taboo) but this was lifted many years later after the numerous bones were collected and removed to a safer place. The mountain’s resident Māori tribes have changed quite a few times with the last battles occurring in 1822 and 1827.
In 2005, after a century of the mountain’s name being misspelled and mispronounced by Europeans, the correct name of Parihaka (recognizing the hakas or war dances that had been performed on the pari or parapets of the Pā) was reinstated. This correction restored the mana (pride and honor) to the manunga (mountain) and the hapū (tribespeople). To recognize this, a kohatu whakamaumahara (commemorative stone) was commissioned for placement on at the main viewpoint on the summit. Local tribal elders found a suitable stone in the northern part of the tribal range. Seeing this rock with a gecko basking upon it was interpreted as a clear sign that this was the appropriate stone because the lizard has important symbolism in Māori culture. The rock was skillfully carved as a warrior’s head with many Māori symbols, and it was air-lifted to the summit to survey the landscape below. It is good to see that in the 21st century, the Māori history of such significant sites is being recognized and interpreted on signs for all visitors to enjoy.