While this was presented as an archaeologically interesting story, the quote also proves that Plummer and his family had excavated and disturbed the pa site, and removed a considerable amount of Maori cultural artefacts. It does not seem likely that any of these artefacts were handed over to Maori for care, and one gets the impression from the amount of material removed that the Plummers enthusiastically collected whatever they could find on their land.

In 1982 a submission was produced that echoed the concerns expressed by Borrell back in 1927. The submission was made to the Tauranga County Council and Bay of Plenty Harbour Board by the Tauranga Moana District Maori Council, and argued for protecting the harbour, as it is of great significance to Bay of Plenty Maori. One of the main concerns of the submission was to alert local authorities to sites of ancestral significance around the harbour edge:

There have been many instances of desecration of such sites, ranging from people in their ignorance picnicking on an old burial ground, to deliberate fossicking for artefacts, and disturbance of old bones… .Old burial grounds tend to be in two sorts of localities around the harbour shores - inside the earthworks of old pa, or in swampy or sandy areas often at or near high water mark. Not all have been identified here, but such areas should not be included in any form of public recreational use. In cases where an adjacent beach is used for public recreation, there should be clear indications that wahi tapu are not part of the public area, and that penalties for trespass or damage to such a site may be invoked. Maori complaints about such infringements should also be taken seriously by the County Council and Harbour Board.⁶²

The last sentence of this quote can be seen as an expression of Maori frustration at not being able to have their views on the management of cultural sites taken into account.

Today, the Western Bay of Plenty District Council owns part of what was lot 225 as an esplanade reserve. This provides a narrow strip of reserve land on the coast of the northern point of land on which cars can be parked to admire the view. Presumably, the esplanade reserves include the pa sites and wahi tapu of Huharua.

1.5 SUMMARY

• The Crown acquired the Huharua area from Maori by means of the Katikati Te Puna purchase. The sale of the Katikati Te Puna blocks by some Tauranga Maori has been described as a compulsory sale, which was part of the confiscation of the Tauranga Moana region.

• Once the Crown had negotiated the Te Puna purchase, Mackay set aside three reserves for Maori within the proposed township of Te Puna. These were lot 210 (50 acres), lot 211 (50 acres), and lot 214 (6 acres).

⁶¹ D. Borell ‘Historic Te Puna’, in Journal of the Tauranga Historical Society, 1964, No 21, p 11

⁶² ‘Maori Cultural Values and Planning for Tauranga Harbour: Submission to Tauranga County Council and Bay of Plenty Harbour Board from Tauranga Moana District Maori Council’, in Stokes, 1992, p 38