Rangiriri Pā

The site of a Pā and a decisive battle, Rangiriri Pā was once a extensive cultivation area. In the New Zealand Land Wars it became the second defensive line constructed by the Kingitanga forces to halt the advance of the British, and is the site of one of the fiercest battles of the Waikato War. Like many Pā, the location was at the converging point of various rivers, forests and thus made it resource rich. From this post Maori were trading flax and flour with overseas posts. In 2017 it was reconstructed alongside the Waikato expressway project.

In this video series looking at the New Zealand Land Wars, we aim to present the places as they are . We understand that it is not possible to tell the many complex stories of a location with one video, rather we want to make these places available to be visited virtually.

This is one of the sites of the New Zealand Land Wars Waikato driving tour. For more information about this site, we have collected some resources which can be used to understand more context:

• https://nzhistory.govt.nz/keyword/rangiriri https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/war-in-waikato/rangiriri

• https://www.heritage.org.nz/places/places-to-visit/waikato-region/the-waikato-war/driving-tour-sites/rangiriri

• https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/rangiriri-pa-trench-rebuild-shines-light-our-shared-histories