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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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.
This cache brings you to a spot where you can enjoy the view across the Onepoto arm of the harbour. If you're coming from the Titati bay direction, you can pretty much park by the cache. I would recommend doing this, as this road can get busy. Please be aware that there the cache is at (or slightly below) ground level, and very close to an edge. Take care! Tor this reason, I would recommend doing this cache in daylight (and the views are better that way).
Kupe is credited with being the first person to see the harbour, naming it Pari-rua (meaning 'twin flowings of the tide').
The harbour was formed approx. 5000 years ago, when the sea rose and drowned two major river valleys. The Pauatahanui Inlet and the Onepoto Arm were once eco systems supporting a bountiful supply of fish such as sole and cod, eels and sting rays, seals, penguins, and shell fish such as cockles and pipis. Not surprisingly, Maori settled in the Porirua harbour and shore system from at least 1450AD. In addition to the marine species, the harbours were surrounded by rich forests that were the source of many birds including moa. Flax was abundant in the swamps.
From the 1820s Europeans began to settle in Porirua. From the 1850s onwards, major impacts on the harbour system were caused by forest clearance due to an increasing demand for timber. Totara, matai, rimu, kahikatea, maire and hinau were particularly valued. Forest clearance proceeded rapidly so that within some 40 years, lowland Porirua was transformed from a mostly forested into a mostly pastoral landscape. Interestingly, there is more vegetation around the harbour system now than there was at the end of the 19th Century.
The cache is now a 400ml camoflaged container, with limited room for trackables. Please replace it as found. The logbook contains a keyword you will need to complete the GeoTour. There was a pen in it when I placed it, but bring your own just in case.
Reference:
Porirua Museum History Series No 6: The bountiful harbour. Compiled by Kevin Day.