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Story: Ngāti Tūwharetoa

Pūkawa monument

Pūkawa monument

This monument at Pūkawa records the meeting in November 1856 at which the Māori kingship was offered to Iwikau Te Heuheu. He did not accept the offer and subsequently Pōtatau Te Wherowhero agreed to become king. Pūkawa was also the place where, at the end of the 18th century, Herea Te Heuheu defeated Te Wakaiti to become the unchallenged chief of the Taupō area.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Martin Wikaira

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How to cite this page

Martin Wikaira, Ngāti Tūwharetoa – Warfare, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4279/pukawa-monument (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Martin Wikaira, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 March 2017.

Comments

Maurice Werder
11 September 2022
There was an 8 mm film taken of the unveiling of the monument in Pūkawa Bay in the 1960's by my father when we had our holidays there. It was the only movie made of the occasion and it was used by NZBC for a TV program. If a copy of this TV program can be found it would be great to have a copy on this website as a part of the history of Pūkawa Bay. Please let me know if a copy can be found. I will check the archives of my father's film library for the base film.