19th century Pūtiki Pā, recorded variously as Putiki Wharanui, Putiki Wharenui, Putiki Warenui, or by its full name Putiki-wharanui-a-Tamatea-pokai-whenua, as a well established pā well before European arrival. The settlement was attacked by
Ngāti Toa in a bloody two-month siege in 1828 or 1829. About 400 locals were killed in the encounter. Pūtiki was the main Māori settlement at the Whanganui River mouth when Europeans began settling on the river in the 1840s. Māori from Pūtiki signed a deed of purchase with
Edward Gibbon Wakefield for the Wanganui township, but chiefs later said they did not consider the deed to be significant. Wheat was locally grown, milled into flour and used to make bread, a staple of the colonial era diet. Europeans formed the Wanganui township across the river. The people of Pūtiki had strong economic links with the new settlement and had a protective attitude towards it. Pūtiki Māori fought alongside the Crown against Māori further upriver in 1847, capturing six men who had killed local farmer John Alexander Gilfillan's wife Mary and three of their children. They also fought alongside the Crown in 1864, in another battle against upriver
Pai Mārire Māori on
Moutoa Island, to protect the European township. The following year, European women gave Pūtiki Māori a large flag to celebrate the victory. A photograph held by the
National Library of New Zealand reportedly shows Pūtiki Māori meeting with Governor
George Grey during a hui at the pā in 1864. In 1986,
Mete Kīngi Paetahi, a
Ngāti Poutama chief from Pūtiki, became the first MP for the
Western Māori electorate.
20th century Two platoons of the
Māori Battalion were welcomed back to Pūtiki Pā in May 1919 after fighting in the
Gallipoli campaign and on the
Western Front during
World War I. It was the fifth church on the site; the previous four had been destroyed by fire, by a flood, by an earthquake, and by dry rot. The church was built as a memorial to those who had served the
Anglican Church since the mission was first established. The church is plain and conventional on the outside, but the inside features extensive Māori carvings and artwork.
Sir Āpirana Ngata brought tutors and student carvers to create the carvings, and four women were sent to Wellington learn harakeke tukutuku weaving patterns. The cross is now displayed on the church porch, under a memorial plaque to Te Teira and Henare Metekingi who died in World War I. ==Demographics==