On 23 July 1846, on Governor Grey's orders, the formidable Ngāti Toa rangatira Te Rauparaha was arrested at Taupō pā. Te Rauparaha was held in custody without charge for many months, first on the vessel HMS Calliope and then in Auckland. In his absence the Crown secured a number of land sales from the iwi.

A pou marks the entrance to a tiny reserve strip that run alongside the driveway to 5B Motuhara Road. The pou is a short distance from the pā (most accounts place it nearer the fire station on the foreshore) and its significance is not entirely clear. NZHistory.govt.nz suggests the pou commemorates Te Rauparaha’s capture, whereas a plaque at the foot of the pou suggests, more obscurely, that the area marks a cabbage tree/tī kōuka "which was reportedly a lookout" used by Te Rauparaha. Finally, an older plaque installed at the end of the reserve states simply that the reserve "overlooks Taupa Pā ... from which Te Rauparaha was taken". In any case, the area is now fully surrounded by residential housing, so the tiny reserve affords no view at all.

Learn more

• NZHistory.govt.nz
• Plimmerton.nz
• Te Ara