A project involving community work offenders, the Department of Conservation and Kati Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki has seen efforts to protect and enhance the site of a historic pa (fortified village, known as Te Pa a Te Wera) dating from pre-European times. For a number of years offenders on community work sentences have been involved in the preservation of the area surrounding the pa on Huriawa (Karitane Peninsula), known for its deeply entrenched Southern Maori history.
The offenders have laid down gravelled walking tracks, removed weeds, re-established native plantings to combat erosion and replaced trees along the Waikouaiti River previously removed by dairy farmers.
They also regularly help to maintain the grounds of Puketeraki Marae, situated on a nearby hill.
The subject of a six-month siege in the 1750s, the pa is regarded as one of the few remaining examples of a classic pa design in the south. Today, terraces, earthworks and traces of house sites are all that remain of the original pa, and the spot is part of a heritage trail of interest to tourists, as well as holding special significance for local tangata whenua of Kai Tahu.
The reserve was returned by the Crown to the care of Kai Tahu as part of the historic Treaty of Waitangi settlement in 1998, and its upkeep is managed jointly by Kati Huirapa Runaka ki Puketeraki and the Department of Conservation, with a little help from CPPS.
Brendan Flack, who acts as the caretaker, has been very impressed with the work achieved by community work offenders.
“Without their help, the tracks wouldn’t be in the good condition that they’re in,” he says. “The supervisors certainly keep a rein on their enthusiasm.”
The preservation of the site is not only important to the many visitors who visit Huriawa to experience and appreciate its rich history. It is also important to many of the 300-odd residents of Karitane who have become enthusiastic users of the tracks.
“Given its history, the pa and surrounding area is important to the local community, and the planting of trees along the river bed has been great for the whitebait season. It’s definitely a worthwhile cause,” says Brendan.
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ISSN 1178-1327