On the top of Mount Victoria (or, technically, Mt Alfred) is the site of Te Akatarewa Pa.
There’s no evidence of it today but a Council plaque reminds us that the site was part of, or close to, Te Akatarewa Pa, a stockaded village inhabited by Ngai Tara. The pa was built here because it is one of the higher points of this ridgeline, known in pre-European times as Te Ranga a Hiwi – the hill ridge of Hiwi. Hiwi, who lived in the Akatarewa Pa, was the son of Hine Kiri, a famous chieftainess of Ngati-Hinewai, hapu of Ngai-Tara.
The ridgeline, Te Rana a Hiwi, comprised a series of significant sites and was seen as a defensive line through the area, particularly to Ngai-Tara. A series of pa or forts extended from Point Jerningham near the site of Waihirere Pa through Te Akatarewa Pa and out to Uruhau Pa (Island Bay) and Haewai (Houghton Bay).
Ngai-Tara were the first recorded iwi in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara but a number of tribal groups were living here at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was still sparsely populated, but with complex relationships between groups as a result of tribal wars, conquest and migration.
Mt Alfred is the small peak to the right of the saddle, if you’re taking the main track from Mt Vic to Hataitai. Head up the steps, then left at the top out towards one of the best views in town, and you’ll find the plaque.
The Pa is a registered heritage site under the WCC District Plan, Ngā Wāhi Tapu o te Māori or Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori.
Image above, and some text, from the Wellington City Council plaque at the site.