Cultural Significance

Cultural Significance: The site was a major centre of occupation for Ngati Apa and was the scene of several conflicts.

Historic Significance

Historical Significance: Te Awamate has a connection with the southward movement of Ngati Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha in the 1820s. This movement was the longest lasting, and furthest reaching cycle of the Musket Wars that caused substantial social and economic dislocation among Maori in the early nineteenth century, and that remain the largest conflict ever fought on what is now described as New Zealand soil. Ngati Toa halted at Te Awamate on their great migration south towards Kapiti Island in 1822-1823. This halt set off a train of events that would eventually result in the abandonment of Te Awamate. The subsequent history of the pa provides insight into the impact of warfare on Maori during this period. Te Maraki, who had been influential in allowing Ngati Toa to rest at Te Awamate, was killed by Ngati Toa during an attack on a Rangitane pa. Ngati Apa retaliated, defeating Ngati Toa at Waimeha. During this attack, Ngati Toa leader Te Peehi Kupe suffered heavy personal losses and, to avenge these, he attacked Te Awamate, which resulted in the relocation of its inhabitants and the final abandonment of the pa.

Physical Significance

Archaeological Significance: The pa is a wet archaeological site that once formed the main centre of occupation in the area. It has very high archaeological value as swamp pa are noted for the preservation of abundant organic archaeological remains in the anaerobic environment.

Detail Of Assessed Criteria

(b) The association of the place with events, persons, or ideas of importance in New Zealand history Te Awamate has a connection with the southward movement of Ngati Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha in the 1820s. (c) The potential of the place to provide knowledge of New Zealand history Te Awamate has high archaeological value. The archaeological remains associated with the site have the potential to provide important information about the late prehistoric and early historic settlement of the area. Anaerobic conditions within swamps frequently preserve items such as wooden artefacts that do not ordinarily survive in the archaeological record. Items were sometimes deposited into swamps for safekeeping or may have been discarded there. Whilst no wooden artefacts have yet been recovered from Te Awamate, it is possible that such items are present. The limited archaeological investigations at the site have indicated that people were obtaining food from both the adjacent wetlands and the coast. This can provide more information about local resource exploitation, economy and settlement patterns. (d) The importance of the place to tangata whenua Te Awamate is of importance to Ngati Apa. It is associated with conflict within Ngati Apa and between Rangitane and Ngati Apa during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and subsequently with Ngati Toa during the 1820s. The site is considered wahi tapu. The site is connected to people of importance to Ngati Apa, including the peoples of Ngati Rangiwaho, and Ngati Maero. These peoples were branches of Ngati Tauira, which is a large collective of families associated with the land through a common ancestor named Papawhenua. Papawhenua is the tangible link between Ngati Apa, Muaupoko, and Rangitane, as this ancestor is both a descendant of Ruatea and of Whatonga of the Kurahaupo waka. Papawhenua's descendants occupied lands from Waipatiki in the north, to Omarupapako in the south, and inland to Aorangi on the Oroua River. (i) The importance of identifying historic periods known to date from early periods of New Zealand history This site dates to the late prehistoric-early historic period in New Zealand. The site is connected to the Musket Wars, with Te Awamate being abandoned following an attack on the pa by Ngati Toa in the 1820s. (k) The extent to which the place forms part of a wider historical and cultural complex or cultural and historical landscape Te Awamate is described as being part of a “rich complex of archaeological sites”. This complex includes a pa, middens, ovens, eel trapping channels and garden boundary ditches. This complex is likely to have existed because of the important access to valuable resources. Wetlands were a rich source of resources and Te Awamate “was in an ideal position in relation to the coast, the backswamps of the river, and the wetlands of the sand country”. The survey during which Te Awamate was recorded showed that there were an unusual number of sites around Te Awamate, which included the nearby wooden remains of a canoe (S23/62), and a structure recorded as an eel weir (S23/63). Another site (S23/81) located on a sand dune immediately above the structure recorded as an eel weir consisted of hangi stones, charcoal and freshwater mussel shell. Approximately 114 sites were recorded in the adjacent pine forest, ten of which were described as scatters of shell and rocks. At one site, located on a high point above the eel weir, pit-like depressions were recorded in addition to shell and rock (S23/63). A complex of 22 shallow channels in the sand grouped into six groups was recorded as S23/66. Some of these channels were over 100 metres long and were originally considered to be garden boundary ditches. These are now considered to be for eel trapping by confining migrating eels to a single path to facilitate capture. Eels would have formed an important part of the economy at Te Awamate. River Mouth during the 1840s and 1850s. The inhabitants of the lower Rangitikei River exploited coastal, riverine, and wetland resources and would travel long distances to do so. Downes observed that people from one of the upriver settlements “very often went to the mouth of the Rangitikei River fishing, when they would send large supplies of food to their own places”. Eels are known to have been an important food source during the 19th century. Limited excavation of one of the middens near Te Awamate was carried out in the 1980s after the area was prepared for afforestation. The excavation yielded important information about local resource exploitation. The main shellfish species present were freshwater mussel or kakahi (Hyridella menziesii), tuatua (Paphies subtriangulata), and mud snail (Amphibola crenata). Analysis of the sample suggests that tuatua, an open beach species, was the most important. Other shellfish species present in smaller quantities included toheroa (Paphies ventricosa), pipi (Paphies australis), mactra (Mactra discors), volute (Alcithoe Arabica), scallop (Pecten novaeseelandiae), Penion sulcatus, and paua (Haliotis iris). Most of these species are likely to have come from the Rangitikei River estuary and open beaches. The paua must have come from further afield as this is a rocky shore species. A large quantity of bone was recovered. At least 10 rats were identified in the midden as well as a number of bird species. Birds came from oceanic, forest and wetland habitats. They included Fairy Prion (Pachyptila turtur), Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavia), Grey Duck (Anas superciliosa), Brown Teal (Anas aucklandica), Pukeko (Porphyrio melanotus), the extinct New Zealand Gallinule (Tribonyx hodgeni), Kaka (Nestor meridionalis), Tui (Prosthemadena novaseelandiae), and Parakeet (Cyanoramphus sp.). This range of species is entirely consistent with occupation on the edge of a coastal wetland site with nearby forest. A limited number of fish species was identified. Eel (Anguilla sp.) appears in the greatest quantity, in addition to snapper (Pagrus auratus), sharks and rays (Elasmobranchii), John Dory (Zeus japonicus), and Groper (Polyprion oxygeneios). This midden site is interpreted as the seasonal camp of a family group possibly associated with the settlement of Te Awamate. A single radiocarbon date from this midden suggests that it is roughly contemporaneous with the pa. These people visited the open beach and estuary at the mouth of the river to obtain food in addition to the wetland resources. Whilst rarely visible in the archaeological record, it is likely that they also utilised flax, raupo and toetoe. Thus, it is possible to develop a model in which fortified villages were located on the margins of lakes and from which people dispersed in certain seasons for subsistence activities.