Community Contributed
Waikiekie Island Pa, Lake Horowhenua
Kete Horowhenua2020-03-23T17:00:52+00:00
Since the lowering of the lake in 1926, however, the insularity of these islets has ended and both are now joined to the mainland shore. When visited by the writer in 1931 the surface of this island was dry and firm, and was seen to be composed of sand with an admixture of broken shells and burnt stones representing midden and oven refuse used to help build it up.
Though always called Wai-kiekie it is by no means certain that this was the original name, that is, when it was fortified and in occupation by the Mua-upoko before and during the time of the Ngati-Toa invasion. A passage in the records of the Native Land Court (59, No. 2, pp. 6 and 19) seems to indicate that the usual and only known name of this island is of subsequent origin. In giving evidence at a sitting of the Court, March 1873, Kawana Hunia, of Ngati-Apa and Mua-upoko tribes, said: "Waikiekie is a reserve where we got kiekie - these places are sacred to ourselves - anyone interfering would be punished." Later in his evidence he said: "Motukiekie [i.e., Wai kiekie, despite the variation] is a bush where Muaupoko gather kiekie and eat them". From this it seems evident that the name 'Wai-kiekie' means the ‘island, or place surrounded by water, where the edible products of the kiekie (Freycinetia Banksii) were obtained’. If this is correct then Wai-kiekie is definitely a subsequent name and not the original one, as at the time of its occupation as a stronghold the kiekie could not possibly have been growing thereon.
The attack of the Ngati Toa on Wai-kiekie island pa is described by Travers, who is said to have received his information from Tamehana, second son of Te Rauparaha by his fifth wife, Akau. "The Ngatitoa determined to attack .... the Lake Pas. Their first attempt was on that named Waipata, and, having no canoes, they swam out to it, and succeeded in taking it, slaughtering many of the defenders though a greater number escaped in their canoes to a larger pa on the same lake, named Waikiekie. This pa was occupied in such force by the enemy [i.e. the Mua-upoko] that the party which had taken Waipata felt themselves too weak to assault it, and, therefore, returned to Ohau [?] for reinforcements. Having obtained the requisite assistance, they again proceeded to Horowhenua, and attacked Waikiekie, using a number of canoes, which they had taken at Waipata, for the purpose of crossing the lake. After a desperate, but vain resistance, they took the pa, slaughtering nearly 200 of the inhabitants, including women and children, the remainder escaping in their canoes, and making their way, by inland paths, in the direction of Paikakariki [sic], where they ultimately settled."
Though the lake-bed round about the edges of several of the island pa has yielded a great abundance of artifacts, the islets themselves, with the exception of `Mangaroa', have yielded very little. From Wai-kiekie, however, an object of bone of unknown use was unearthed by Mr and Mrs R. J. Law, and now lies in their collection. This bone object (Fig. 156 – see page 295 of Adkin’s book Horowehnua) is 4⅛ in. in length and at present has the form of a short shaft terminating in a carefully-shaped blunt claw. A portion, however, is obviously broken off, and originally it appears to have resembled a double claw or fork as suggested in the restoration. A narrow groove has been cut round the shaft at its proximal end, and the shaped tip and inner face of the remaining `claw' contrast with the broken surface adjacent. The remaining surfaces of this object are the natural surfaces of the length of bone. The spot where it was found on Waikiekie appeared to be the site of a former whare.