The Arataki Visitor Centre is on Scenic Drive between Titirangi and Waiatarua. It is an iconic building, designed by architect Harry Turbott, and opened in the 1990s. The most  [ Read More ]

This document was prepared by Graeme Murdoch to describe the Human Heritage of the Bethells/Te Henga area in preparation for a Local Area Plan for that area. While it is  [ Read More ]

This distinctive hill at North Piha, visible opposite the North Piha Campers Club at the back of the Marawhara Walk,  has a name.   It is Te Pona Whetu, or the  [ Read More ]

In The Aucklander 14 July Piha resident Pita Turei explained the meaning of taniwha in the Maori cultural world. Pita is currently working on a show called Taniwha! due to  [ Read More ]

      A  newly carved 12 metre pou was today unveiled by Kiingi Tuheitia at the entrance to the Arataki Visitor Centre in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Parkland today  [ Read More ]

Early Thursday morning (21 April), a small group gathered at Te Ahua Point, Mercer Bay, to unveil a pou marking the importance of this site to Te Kawerau a Maki. The  [ Read More ]

This large pohutukawa grows out of the top of a large rock and has sent soots down into the soil beneath to sustain it. To Te Kawerau a Maki the rock  [ Read More ]

Te Piha talk   Graeme Murdoch held his audience spellbound when he shared his immense knowledge of the Maori history of Piha at Barnett Hall in November 2008. Emulating the  [ Read More ]

Mercer Bay is to the south of the Piha between The Gap and Karekare. It sits at the bottom of precipitous cliffs, the highest in the Auckland region in this  [ Read More ]

The Gap is a low point between Taitomo Island and cliffs where waves come crashing through, providing a spectacular sight in big surf. At low tide a pool is created  [ Read More ]

A recent archaeological dig at Te Ahua pa (Q11/61) above Mercer Bay found a plethora of artefacts and materials that add to our knowledge of how Maori lived around Piha  [ Read More ]

Te Kawerau a Maki are the iwi or Maori tribe of the West Coast. The main Te Kawerau settlements were on the coast and large areas were cleared of forest  [ Read More ]