was a major communications route. Eels, flounders, whitebait and other fish species caught seasonally from the lagoons and further inland.Swans and ducks were another important food source. Rangitāne were widely renowned for th eir rich resources. A number of pā and cultivation areas were as sociated with this trail and the inland course of the river. These included Pae-Ta wa, an extensive pā, kainga, cultivation and mahinga kai complex near the junction of the Waikakaho and Wairau rivers. It was strategically placed, as the Waikakaho provided access to Queen Charlotte Sound, Te Hoiere and Whakatu. The name means ‘The Place Where Birds are Snared’. Rangitāne warriors were said to have achieved a rare victory over a northern taua near this site. This place is closely associated with the tupuna Te Huataki, Tukanae, Hohua, Wikiriwha and Takahaere. Pits and terraces occur over almost the entire area, although the site has been damaged by road construction, stock, natural slumping, and more recently, the erection of houses on the higher ground above the pā. Waikakaho pā was located at the mouth of the Waikakaho Valley near Pae -Tawa. The tupuna Te Huataki and Te Rangitekaia are particularly associated with this pā. It was a major Ran gitā ne stronghold, guarding extensive cultivations and urupā. The name means Stream of the Flowering Toitoi ’. The pā had a commanding view of the Wairau ‘ Valley and dominated the trails which led south and north. It was connected to other pā and inhabited areas, including Ruakanakana, Te Whiringa a Tukaue, Awarua, Otamau (in the Para Valley), Ngakuta, Moemoerangi, Anakiwa and Te Pukatea. A Rangitāne settlement was observed here by early European visitors. The famous Rangitāne tohunga Hohua is buried at Waikakaho urupā, a little less than a kilometre up the Waikakaho road from its intersection with the Tuamarino Track. This urupā face s Tapuae-o- Uenuku, the sacred Rangitāne maung a. Ruakanakana was a pā site, urupā and extensive area of cultivations called Te Areare, named after the tupuna Hine Koareare. It is located on the north bank of the Wairau River at a place once known as Gibsontown. The tupuna Paraone Taituha was a chief of this place, and is buried in the urupā there with members of his whānau. Taituha was present at the Wairau Affray in 1843, and attempted to make peace between the party led by Te Rauparaha and the ill-fated New Zealand Company party led by Captain Arthur Wakefield. Waihopai (the Avon Valley) was a pā site and mahinga kai associated with the tupuna Tamahaerangi. Fugitives from the northern invaders took refuge there, and the pā was never captured. This pā was connected to a track to the Awatere country and Ka para Te Hau, providing an easy escape route, and commanded a clear view to the coast. Several Rangitāne peop le, including Tamahaerangi, were killed near this place by a raiding party seeking vengeance for Rangitāne participation in the sack of Kaiapo i Pā. The graves of those slain are in the vicinity. A number of other pā / kainga / mahinga kai and urupā associated with the Wairau River were Omaka (an important mahinga kai area), Pukaka, Awarua (the site of a further battle between Rangi tāne and Ngai Tahu), Tuamatene (site of a current Rangitāne marae), Tuama rino, Tuamoutere, Ohinemahuta and the Wairau Gorge. WAIMEA, WAI-ITI, AND WAIROA RIVERS AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES The Waimea River formed a water source for the renowned Waimea gardens, located at the mouth of the Waimea River adjacent to a pā and kainga complex. This is a deeply significant site for Rangitāne and the other Kurahaupō iwi. Smaller ‘satellite’ pā were located elsewhere on the banks of the Waimea River and at the junction of the Wairoa and Wai-iti rivers. Mako and patiki were taken in the estuarine waters at the mouth of the river. The river environs were also a good source of flax, and clay used in the process of drying the flax came from the river near the inland foothills of the ranges. The main pā is located just behind what is now the Appleby School sit e. Around 1,000 acres of cultivation located near the river mouth represent generations of sustained effort by the tupuna. The cultivation land was built up with ash (to provide Te Tau Ihu Statutory Acknowledgements Page 49 of 163