Hapū connected to a pā near Tauranga are fighting to close a road which is undermining the ancient site.
Promoters of a new business hub at Te Puna want continued access through Te Puna Station Rd, which Western Bay of Plenty District Council slated for closure in its long term plan after a series of slips in the section under Pukewhanake Pā.
Julie Shepherd from the Pirirākau Tribal Authority says the road is a constant reminder of historic rautapu done to the pā and its people.
“The pā site itself has a cut face so many of our kaumatua found it hard to go past the pā site and along the river on that road seeing the mamae and it was just as hard driving along the state highway to go on to the bridge because all that fill came from Pukewhanake,” she says.
