Contact Footprints on Te Papa
kiaora@footprintsontepapa.nzEst. 1838. The northern end of the Te Papa peninsula was once the site of Ngāti Tapu’s Ōtamataha Pā. In 1828, a raid by Ngāti Maru from the Thames district led to the death of most of the inhabitants, and the abandonment of the pā. After the nearby Te Papa Mission Station was established in 1835, this tapu (sacred) area was chosen by the missionaries as a suitable place for a graveyard. The first burial was Ann Wilson in 1838.
Map No. 17.
Marsh St,
Tauranga, 3110.
Mission Cemetery | Ōtamataha Pā (est. 1838), Marsh Street
The northern end of the Te Papa peninsula was once the site of Ngāti Tapu’s Ōtamataha Pā. In 1828, a raid by Ngāti Maru from the Thames district led to the death of most of the inhabitants, and the abandonment of the pā. When the nearby Te Papa Mission Station was established in 1838, this tapu (sacred) area was chosen by the missionaries as a suitable place for a graveyard. The first burial took place all too soon when Ann Catherine Wilson (née Hawker) (1802-1838), wife of missionary John Alexander Wilson, died of breast cancer in November of that year. Up until 1864 the only four other burials were Alfred Marsh Brown (1831-1845), son of Rev. Alfred and Charlotte Brown, Treaty of Waitangi signatories Te Paeuti (1842) and Te Hui (1842), and Ruawahine Irihāpeti Faulkner (née Tawaho) (1811-1855), wife of trader John Lees Faulkner. Many Māori and British forces were interred here following the Battles of Gate Pā | Pukehinahina and Te Ranga and substantial monuments can be found, including those to Rāwiri Puhirake Tuaia and Hōri Ngātai.
Read more on these links below:
