![]() ![]() As a further protection an earthen wall has been formed along the inner edge of the fosse thus increasing the height of the face to ten feet. ![]() On the opposite side of the summit a fosse twelve yards long and four feet deep protects the pa from an attack directed along the ridge. Close by the gateway a short track leads to two narrow terraces on the south side of the knoll. At this south-eastern angle the remains of a gateway faces a subsidiary spur which falls somewhat steeply to a spot just within the mouth of the Mangawara, and which has every indication of having been the former canoe landing-place. A similar scarped face runs down the slope on the south side. On the east, where the ground falls steeply to the gully leading to the Mangawara, a defence in the form of a scarped face ten to twelve feet in height, extends for the full length of the pa. The highest point has been roughly levelled and measures thirty yards by twenty-five yards. The earthworks, apart from some slight entrenchments on the ridge, run east and west, commencing at the summit of the knoll and extending for some distance down the slope. Slope, opens out by the banks of the Waikato. View along the ridge showing the pa summit. ![]() Gullies fall away on either side of the connecting ridge, that on the east facing the Mangawara and that on the west, after skirting the northern side of the western - i The spur on which the pa is situated runs out from the south side of the mountain, and after rising to a slight knoll, turns at almost right angles and slopes westwards to the river. To distinguish one from the other the mountain is called Taupiri-katua, and the pa Taupiri-kuao, but generally Taupiri indicates the old fortification. Figure 1 shows a view taken from this position with Taupiri mountain in the background. The pa of Taupiri is situated at the mouth of the Manga-wara river where it joins the Waikato, and is only a few hundred yards north of the Taupiri railway station. Members of the Polynesian Society will therefore appreciate the action of Princess Te Puea, the Waikato chieftainess, in granting her permission to the writer to photograph and inspect this famous spot. Cherished as the pa of the warrior chief Te Putu, it is now the resting-place of the Maori kings, its soil sacred to their memory. It is perhaps fitting that this should be so, for to the people of the river no place is more sacred or so dear to their hearts as this old-time stronghold of Taupiri. Following closely to the northern bank runs the Main Trunk railway and the main south highway, but few modern travellers pay more than passing notice to the terraced hill-top above. Down below, the broad waters of Waikato flow past to make a sweeping bend round its base on its passage to the sea. Its ramparts are now clothed in fern and its palisades have long since fallen and crumbled away, but its noble outline still stands clear against the sombre background of the mountain side. HIGH above the river Waikato, on the summit of a spur projecting from the slopes of Taupiri mountain, stands an ancient Maori fortification. ![]()
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