Cannon, Tawakeheimoa
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Description
"Tawakeheimoa" a Napoleonic cannon. One of the original 12 large guns/cannons used for guarding the Maketu Pā, occupied by Te Arawa in the 1830s. The cannons were the property of Phillip Tapsell and had been bought over from Sydney. In 1836 Ngāi Te Rangi sacked Maketu Pā and used five of the cannons to strengthen the Te Tumu stronghold at Kaituna. Te Arawa reattached and brought the cannons back to Maketu and named Tawakeheimoa after the eldest son of the ancestor of Ngāti Kereru, Whakaue. In the 1860's the cannon was purchased by Burrows in Tauranga from Tapsell's eldest son. Another gun - Te Tapihana was sold to Captain Turner and placed on the redoubt along with Tawakeheimoa in 1914 following the owners death. This cannon was moved to the Tauranga Historic Village and District Museum in 1984.
Accession number
0017/99
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