August 02, 2022
Commissioners open way for Gate Pā project
A Tauranga Moana trust lobbying for the return of part of the historic Pukehinahina-Gate Pā battle site is welcoming progress at long last.
Tauranga City Council commissioners have voted to support the reclassification of a portion of the Gate Pā Recreation Reserve to a historic reserve, subject to public notification.
Buddy Mikaere from Ngai Tamarawaho and the Pukehinahina Charitable Trust says the plan is to turn what was once the Tauranga Bowling Club into a national institute of the New Zealand Land Wars, Te Putake o te Riri.
“We’ve got people like Sir Ian Taylor on board who’s pleased to help with the design of the future exhibition and that sort of thing. We’ve got some historians in place to make sure we’ve got the korero right,” he says.
Mr Mikaere says the proposed institute has the support of all three Tauranga Moana iwi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga.
In April 1864 about 200 defenders used a system of bunkers and trenches to inflict a historic defeat on a large British force at the pa.