Access

400 metres west of Oakura, turn left into Wairau Road and head inland. After 600 metres, the road forks left and turns into Surrey Hill Road. The parking area is signposted after 3 km.

Track

Follow the orange triangles down the sealed farm track across the paddocks. An information board with a carved porch is at the entrance to the pa remains, which are now smothered in forest.

There is a network of tracks in the pa itself, indicated with signposts to various locations of interest. Information panels bring to life some of the notable features.

After traversing the sizeable and intact defensive ditch, steps enter the main area of the pa. You can immediately see the revetting stonework used to stabilise the banks of terraces. A track leads to the lower terraces and the Oakura River, with a deep swimming hole by a pebble beach. Another track heads to the upper terraces and views of the bends in the Oakura River. This high point was the dwelling of the chief and the remains of the small depression used to place heated stones is still evident. More stonework is on display.

Return via the same track.

Polynesian History

The sizeable defensive ditch guarded the pa, which was protected on the other three sides by a bend in the Oakura River. Indeed ‘Koru’ is roughly translated a ‘bend’ or ‘loop’, reflected in the naming of the pa.

Another notable feature is the bell-shaped storage pits, also known as rua kumara. After crops were dried, they were placed on fern beds and a protective thatch placed over the hole to keep out pests and the vagaries of the weather.

The site was the citadel of Nga Mahanga a Tairi, a hapu of the Taranaki Tribe. From the early 1800s the pa was assumed by Te Atiawa, under chiefs Mona and Tu-Makaru, the latter who reached notoriety for slaying two enemies with one thrust of a tao (double–ended spear).