1955:209). The importance of kumara is indicated by the number of storage pit sites in the region, and by pa used to protect the harvested kumara crop, for example, Ongari Point, Station Bay on Motutapu, and Harataonga on Great Barrier Island. Summer fishing camps (for example, Galatea Bay) were a crucial component of the settlement pattern, important for ensuring a supply of preserved food over the leaner winter months. This was observed by Captain Cook in Mercury Bay in 1769, by Richard Cruise in Coromandel Harbour in 1820, by William White in 1826 at Waitakaruru, and on Pakihi Island illustrated by Heaphy (Fig. 11).
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