The ancient Ngāti Māmoe pā Parakākāriki sits on the southern headland of Ōtanerito Bay. A local burial ground at Ōtanerito Bay, and artefacts found over the hill at Sleepy Cove, show the long occupation of this area by Ngāti Māmoe and earlier peoples.
Moki and Tūtekawa
Moki, son of Tūāhuriri, was a warrior who sought revenge against Tūtekawa for the slaying of his father’s wives. Moki arrived with his taua (war party) on his waka Makawhiu.
Parakākāriki stood between Moki and Waikākahi, the pā where Tūtekawa had been living.
The capture of the Pā
Scouting chief Whākuku was the brother of Tūāhuriri’s slain wives - Hinekaitaki and Tuarāwhati. He went ahead to reconnoitre, using bird calls to communicate with the waiting war party.
The pā was captured at dawn with little resistance. Many were killed, including the chief Te Aotūtahi and his son Uruhaka. The war party could now proceed to Waikākahi and take vengeance on the elderly chief Tūtekawa.
Sources
- H.C. Jacobson and J.W. Stack Tales of Banks Peninsula, The Akaroa Mail, 1914
- Gordon Ogilvie, Banks Peninsula – Cradle of Canterbury, Government Printer, 2007
- Barry Brailsford, The Tattooed Land, Stoneprint Press, 1997
- Te Maire Tau and Atholl Anderson editors. Ngāi Tahu A Migration History, Bridget William Books, 2008
- Louis J. Vangioni; with supplementary notes by D. J. C. Pringle, Old Maori place names around Akaroa Harbour, Akaroa : Akaroa Mail, 1967
