Magazine Bay was known to Māori as Tāpoa, meaning wind swirling around
. Its shores formed part of a natural access route running between the pā at Rāpaki to Ōhinehou (Lyttelton).
The Māori name for Corsair Bay is Motu-kauati-iti, which means little fire-making tree grove
, and the name for Cass Bay is Motu-kauati-rahi, which means great fire-making tree grove
. These two bays were home to many kaikōmako trees that were used for fire-making through wood friction. The story of the myth behind the naming of the bays evolved from the legendary Mahuika, who threw fire from his finger tips into the kaikōmako tree.
The Fire-making process
A block of the kaikōmako was rubbed with a stick of hardwood until the resulting shavings burst into flame. The kaikōmako was used as the kauati, the piece which is rubbed; the pointed rubbing stick was called the kaurima.
There are no longer any of these ancient fire making trees growing on the shores of either bay.
Sources
- Walk Christchurch : 60 short walks that explore your city; edited by Mark Pickering, compiled by Kjesten Nilsson, Karen Theobald and Lesley Symington. Published: [Christchurch, N.Z.] Leisure Unit, Christchurch City Council, 1998
- James Cowan, Māori Folk Tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand, Third Edition, facsimile of First Edition, with index, Cadsonbury Publications, 1995. (First published 1923)
- The Story of Lyttelton 1849 – 1949, Lyttelton Borough Council, Caxton Press, 1952
- Herries Beattie, Māori Placenames of the Peninsula, Cadsonbury Publications, 1995 (First edition 1945)
