Kirikiri Kainga, Ohau

In the middle of the alluvial tract at this place there is a small, low, isolated dune of blown sand, and in this were located the pits for storing the kumara and other crops grown there­abouts. The whare(s) of the village itself were situated near the eastern end of the dune-mound.

The locality was an extremely favourable one both for cultivation and settlement. A short distance north of the village site a fine spring gushes from the flat, making an excellent water-supply. On the north and west the high fixed dunes of the coastal belt gave shelter from the prevailing wind. On the little isolated dune in which the kumara pits were excavated, still grow half a dozen large karaka trees, with boles up to 2 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and another group of four of these trees, also of great age, stands on the flat a few chains to the west. The berries of these venerable trees undoubtedly were used to give variety to the commissariat of the inhabitants of Kirikiri.

The name of the place probably refers not to the fine gravel (kirikiri) used in the cultivation of the kumara, but to the `baskets with raised sides' (kirikiri) used to carry the tubers, etc., from the plots to the storage pits - indeed, the name of the kainga may be taken as the Maori version of cornucopia, the emblem of abundance.

Related Items

• Kirikiri Kainga - Map VI </ li>