Tauti mai ki Takapūneke
A wahi tapu (sacred place) due to a great tragedy in the 1830s that directly influenced New Zealand becoming a British colony.
The cache is placed at the edge of the takarangi pathway. Please respect the area, no food or dogs are allowed on the site.
There is safe designated parking just past the site, well signposted.
Back in the 1990s this land was leased and used as hay paddocks, it was a challenge making and collecting the hay on the steep slopes and I lost a load from the back of the truck one time near the cache location. It is great to see the area now designated as a reserve and the story and history preserved.
A detailed reflection can be found at https://theseventhgeneration.org/takapuneke/
In 1830, the bay was the site of the kainga (settlement) of Te Maiharanui, an upoko ariki (paramount chief) of the main South Island iwi (tribe) Ngai Tahu. In that year the Ngati Toa chief, Te Rauparaha, bent on revenge for the slaughter of several Ngai Toa chiefs at the Ngai Tahu pa (fortified village) at Kaiapoi, persuaded Captain Stewart of the brig Elizabeth to take him and his warriors south, in return for a cargo of dressed flax. Stewart brought the Elizabeth to anchor off Takapuneke, and with the Ngati Toa war-party concealed below decks, invited Te Maiharanui on board. Te Maiharanui was taken prisoner by Te Rauparaha and his village attacked and destroyed, with heavy loss of life. To this day, Takapuneke is tapu ground to the Maori of nearby Onuku.