Artwork Information

Angas's description:

"PLATE XV.

KAITOTE.

Tu Kaitote, on the banks of the Waikato river, is the principal abode of the celebrated Chief Te Werowero, who is the head of all the Waikato tribe. The district around Kaitote is famous for its fine kumera grounds, the soil being composed of a rich alluvial mould, and the native cultivations exhibit an unusual degree of care and attention. The scenery of the Waikato is here very picturesque; steep wooded hills descend towards the waters edge, and the high mountain of Taupiri (famous amongst the natives as a landmark of old renown,) rises abruptly in a pyramidal form, nearly opposite the Pah, on the other bank of the river. The site of an ancient fortified Pah occupies the hill to the right, some of the mounds and ditches of which are still discernable. Te Werowero and his tribe have embraced Christianity, and on the left of the sketch is represented a portion of the chapel, with the bell used for calling the inhabitants of the Pah to worship. The Rev. J. Ashwell, the Church Missionary at Pepepe, a station about two miles distant, usually conducts the services here. All the houses are built of raupo, a species of reed, and the roofs are fastened by means of the dried stems of a clematis. Some of the canoes, drawn up on the banks of the river outside the Pah, are of very large dimensions; I observed one, thatched over to preserve it from the weather, measuring nearly seventy-feet in length; it was gaily painted red, and ornamented with a profusion of feathers, the head and stern-post being richly carved; its name was "Marutuahi," which means literally, a "slaying, or devouring fire." The scene represented in the sketch is during a korero, or meeting of chiefs, for the purpose of delivering speeches on some subject of importance."