The Tuia Mātauranga GeoTour is about having fun discovering the history of Aotearoa New Zealand by finding sites of significance in local communities from early Pacific voyaging and migration, European settlement to present day. The interaction between people, and people and the land have provided a rich history that the GeoTour invites you to explore.
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360 Degrees of History
This cache draws you to 360 degrees of significant early settler history of Tauranga. Once you have found the cache, proceed in a north-westerly direction along the foot path and ascend the path to cross over the road and railway line. From there it will lead you to the following landmarks:
The Anglican Te Papa Mission Station (Maori occupation to 1828, known as The Elms since 1873).The Te Papa peninsula was occupied by Māori living in the neighbourhood of two fortified positions, the the Otamataha Pā, (the Mission Cemetery) and Taumatakahawai pa, (the Monmouth Redoubt).Several attempts at living at Te Papa were abandoned because of the danger from warring tribes, but in 1838 with the arrival of Rev. A.N. Brown a permanent Mission was established. The Mission Station originally consisted of several raupo houses for the missionaries, a shed for the carpenters, a store for supplies and a boatshed on the beach at the foot of the cliff. Brown arranged for work to begin on permanent structures. Until the mission house was completed in 1847, the Browns lived in a raupo house, whose position is marked by a cairn on the north lawn.
Tauranga Mission Cemetery (Otamataha Pā) For many years the cemetery was referred to as the Military Cemetery. There are monuments to the Naval Brigade, the 43rd Monmouth Regiment, and a mass Māori grave. Rawiri Puhirake, leader of the iwi at Gate Pā, who was killed at Te Ranga, was exhumed and reinterred here in 1874. Hori Ngatai, whose account of Gate Pā appears in Mair's The Story of Gate Pā, was buried here when he died in 1912.
http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_historical_society/topics/show/548-elms-mission-house-tauranga
Monmouth Redoubt. The Monmouth and nearby Durham redoubts were earthworks constructed early in 1864 by British forces, sent to Te Papa to limit support from Tauranga or further east for the Maori King movement. The redoubts were named after the 43rd Monmouth and 68th Durham light infantry regiments, which formed a large proportion of the British troops. Military settlers built dwellings which formed the nucleus of the town of Tauranga. The Durham redoubt was subsequently built over but the contours of the Monmouth redoubt can still be seen here.
Te Awanui (Waka). Te Awanui was carved from a 300-year-old kauri tree by master carver Tuti Tukaokao in 1973 after a request by the city to the Māori Cultural and Promotional Committee. It was agreed that Tauranga Moana should have its own ceremonial waka (canoe) to use on special occasions when celebrating the history of Tauranga. The waka measures 46 feet (14 metres) in length. Te Awanui is the original name of Tauranga Harbour
The cargo sheds and railway wharf were built after land was reclaimed for the rail track in 1927/28. It was named Dive Crescent after Bradshaw Dive, Mayor from 1919 to 1929. Today the cargo shed is used for displaying and selling arts and crafts by local artists.
Three bridges connecting to the heart of Tauranga.
Matapihi Rail Bridge. This rail bridge, opened in 1928, crosses the Tauranga Harbour joining downtown Tauranga to the Matapihi peninsular. It carries the East Coast Main Trunk Line to the Port of Tauranga and the Pulp and Paper mill at Kawerau.
Maungatapu Bridge. The Maungatapu Bridge is a beam bridge which crosses the Tauranga Harbour and connects the Matapihi and Maungatapu peninsulars. The bridge opened in 1959.
Tauranga Harbour Bridge. The original bridge was opened on 13 March 1988. Prior to the opening of the bridge, traffic wishing to travel between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui had to use the Hairini and Maungatapu bridges. The Tauranga Harbour Bridge was tolled from opening until 22 July 2001. As the population of Tauranga grew, the bridge began to get very congested during the peak hours. As part of the Harbour Link project a new bridge was constructed next to the original. On 7 September 2009, the new bridge opened. The original bridge now carries traffic towards Tauranga; the new bridge carries traffic towards Mount Maunganui.
As with normal geocaching etiquette each person must sign the log. This can be a high muggle area, so care please. You will require a pen.
We read every log so please tell us about your adventure in more than three or four words. Copy and paste logs do not reflect the time and effort required to design and set up these caches….please enjoy and if you really like it a fav is always appreciated
To be able to complete this Geotour and receive your special geocoin, remember to take a note of the codeword on the log book of the cache. This will need to be recorded in your passport which can be downloaded from here. If the passport is unavailable for any reason just keep a note of the codeword and try again later.
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