Toenga o Te Aro (Remains of Te Aro Pā)

Te Aro Pā was once

the largest

pa

, a Maori settlement, in New Zealand, encompassing about 40-60 acres by the 1840s. Due to earthquakes, the Taranaki land wars, and colonization, the settlement’s population dwindled in size with most of the land sold off by the 1900s. In 1908, a building was erected over this site, obscuring the remains for over 100 years.

In 2005, renovations to the site for the construction of an apartment building uncovered the remains of two

whare ponga

(Maori residential buildings) and other archaeological items. This discovery is the only known remains of Te Aro Pā and is considered extremely rare due to the Maori’s use of natural ecological building materials that degrade over time.