Some comments on the Oueroa Earthworks and dew-pond

Oueroa pa is not large by some other standards, but it is the overall exactness of the design that draws attention to the eye, particularly when the grass is short and the sun is highlighting the level terraces. It is very hard not to fall into deeper thoughts about its magnificence and origin. This property has been in our family for well over a century, so comments and thoughts below are derived from some of the observations and experiences during my time here.
 
Even from the causual observers perspectve, it soon becomes obvious that the terraces on which the dugouts or pits sit, are very level and very deliberately engineered, as though they have been built by modern measurement and Earthmoving tools. One can not help but wonder how magnificent it would have looked when first built some five to six hundred years ago. The image below, (close to 800 metres distance from side to side) shows the more evident Earthworks in a lighter colour. Not shown are more areas further to the east around Lake Te Roto Kare and on the ridgelines to the south-west.
 

On sending an image a few years ago to Martin Doutre, the author of Ancient Celtic New Zealand (1999) , he suggested to look along the parallel lines, as they may well be surveying features pointing to prominent landmarks.

I did that and realised the left hand ridges (following the red line) were aimed directly at 645metre high Mt Kahuranaki, some 25 kilometres distant (see image on right). The slight ridges following the yellow line, aim toward Cape Kidnappers. If the lines have anything to do with the seasonal positions of stars or planets it should also be easy to determine the age of the earthworks.
 
Below is an image taken from the Korokipo Road, 400 meters distant. The area would surely have been ploughed or disced over during the past 150 years, and has had many years of horses hooves, cattle and sheep over it, as the skyline on the left is the lower part of a saddle which led to the main part of the farm for stock movement.

A DEW POND!?

Now I have never heard of other dew ponds being in New Zealand, but the fact is that it is a dew pond, whether man made or not, and the more I understand about dew ponds in the U.K. or Europe, the more I do believe it is man-made. They date from modern times back to the bronze age.

This pond is a part of the Oueroa complex (although now a few metres though a fence on an adjoining property). It is often full or partly full of water for only short periods during the year, and although this is not significant in itself to draw attention, several other combining factors make it deserve greater attention. Firstly, it is the only pit out of hundreds in the area that retains water, and it is situated in exactly the position where one would expect a dewpond would be placed. And then, there are I expect several thousands of pits or dugouts on other properties in the district, and none of the land owners I have spoken to have ever noticed any other pits holding water, even after frequent rain or wet periods. The fact that it is not full for longer periods may be due to wear of the base material over the past centuries. Short of dissecting a cross section, we can not know 100 percent.
 
Local descendants of the earlier inhabitants, and other visitors including world and local authorities in the fields of archaeology, anthropology and history have come to the pa site over the years. During all the visits, conversation usually turns to Earthworks of very similar nature in other countries, particularly in parts of England. I can never recall conversations linking similarities of the Oueroa Earthworks to places in the Pacific (excepting our own country). The conversations are brought about when they view the general layout of the site particularly the terraces.
 
This next image is NOT of Oueroa - it is of an Iron Age fort in England, shown as a visual likeness of the terraces. Although Oueroa is far more ordered and attractive in its design.

Image by Bob Embleton of Hereford Beacon, an Iron Age fort in Worcestershire, England.
 
In 2017 - 2018 the New Zealand Queen Elizabeth ll National Trust placed 28.748 hectares (71 acres) of Oueroa into the 'Oueroa Open Space Covenant', which coincided at the same time as a proposed development nearby got too close for comfort.
 
The new QEll Covenant protects the area in perpetuity from any further development in the manner of roads, buildings, poles, earthworks, other above ground structures, etc. Although the visible earthworks will naturally disappear with time, the area will remain as a landmark.
 

The next page follows on with an explanation of unfolding thoughts about the origins of the Earthworks shown above.