Story: Taranaki places

Pukearuhe and the White Cliffs (1st of 2)

Pukearuhe and the White Cliffs

This 1879 watercolour of Pukearuhe and the White Cliffs shows the Armed Constabulary redoubt and the township of Clifton. For several hundred years Pukearuhe was a Ngāti Tama stronghold which protected the northern frontier of Taranaki. In 1865 the 70th Regiment and Taranaki Bushrangers occupied the area and built a redoubt and blockhouse. In 1869 the small garrison of three men, the commander’s family and the Reverend John Whiteley were killed in a Ngāti Maniapoto raid, after which the post was abandoned. It was reoccupied from 1872 until 1885 by Armed Constabulary under Captain William Messenger. Pukearuhe pā was returned to Ngāti Tama in 2003 as part of their Treaty of Waitangi settlement.

Using this item

Auckland Art Gallery – Toi o Tāmaki
Watercolour by John Kinder

Permission of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Ron Lambert, 'Taranaki places - Waitara and the northern coast', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/25870/pukearuhe-and-the-white-cliffs (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Ron Lambert, updated 1 Sep 2016