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Takapūneke

Banks Peninsula Community, New Zealand

Takapūneke

Takapūneke, with the location also known as Red House Bay, is a former kāinga—an unfortified Māori village—adjacent to present-day Akaroa, New Zealand. Takapūneke was a major trading post for the local iwi (tribe), Ngāi Tahu, as there was safe anchorage for European vessels. The site is of significa

nce to Ngāi Tahu as their tribal chief, Tama-i-hara-nui, was captured here by North Island Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha, and then tortured and killed. The village itself was raided and subject of a massacre, with the events subsequently called the Elizabeth affair. There is a direct link from the massacre in 1830 to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, giving the site a status of national significance. That significance has not always been widely known, and part of the site has been used as a landfill, with any artifacts of the core of the kāinga destroyed in 1960 through the construction of a sewage treatment plant. The site was declared sacred to Māori in 2002 by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Authorities have been working towards protecting the site and in 2018, Christchurch City Council adopted a management plan and subsequently made a formal request to the Minister...

Listen to the audio guide for TakapÅ«neke Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off

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