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Tuhinga 26: 1-19
ABSTRACT: This paper examines the records of 12 pā (fortified settlements) and kāinga (settlements) in use during the Ngāti Toa occupation of Porirua in the 1823–52 period. The histories of each pā and of their major builders are briefly recorded, focusing on the reasons for both the founding and the abandonment of the pā. This information is examined and the conclusion drawn that the creation of these pā was primarily the result of social dynamics. Environmental resources seem to affect the siting of these pā rather than causing their creation. This interpretation may shed some light on why so many pā were built throughout the later part of New Zealand prehistory and the European contact period.
KEYWORDS: Pā, kāinga, settlement pattern, Porirua, New Zealand, Ngāti Toa.