Pakaraka 3.77

Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand, at the junction of State Highway 1 and 10, in the district the Ngāpuhi tribe called Tai-a-mai.A pā was located at the base, and on the slopes, of Pouerua, a 270m high basaltic scoria cone. The pā was studied during a major archeological project in the 1980s.Parts of the Flagstaff War were fought around Pakaraka in 1845. After the Battle of Ohaeawai on 23 June 1845 the British troops destroyed Te Haratua's pā at Pakaraka on 16 July 1845.Notable peopleHone Heke, a Ngāpuhi chief, was born at Pakaraka in about 1807 or 1808. He was buried here in secret in August 1850. In 2011 his remains were removed due to possible development of the land around the burial site.The missionary Henry Williams retired to Pakaraka and built a church in 1850-51. The church that now stands on the site was opened on 27 November 1873, the church was constructed by Williams' wife and family as a memorial to his life. The church is named Holy Trinity Church as Trinity Sunday was the day on which Henry was ordained by the Bishop of London, and Trinity Sunday was also the last day that Henry and Marianne Williams spent at Paihia before moving to Pakaraka. They lived by the church in a house known as The Retreat, that still stands.The first and third sons of the missionary Henry Williams, Edward & Henry farmed here.