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Built structures · raised-storehouses
Pātaka
Māori raised storehouses held preserved food and seed. Heritage New Zealand documents one rare, uncarved Ngāti Hauiti example at Rata; its materials and later relocation are specific to that structure.
A raised storehouse
Pātaka are Māori storehouses documented for holding preserved foods and seed. Te Ara names fish, birds, kao (a kūmara preparation) and seed among what a pātaka could protect from kiore, or Pacific rats, in winter. The same entry describes a floor trapdoor and a small front opening used as a window. These details are from the cited account; they do not establish a fixed plan or capacity for every storehouse.
Te Papa describes pātaka as buildings that were customarily located near a leading chief’s dwelling in a village. Its account also interprets carved examples as signs of abundance, knowledge and prestige, connecting storage with leadership and generosity. These meanings are presented as Te Papa’s account, not a universal interpretation for every iwi or pātaka.
Sources for this section
Not a pit or an open platform
Te Ara distinguishes pātaka from two other Māori storage forms: whata, raised platforms used to hold or hang food, and rua kūmara, underground pits for kūmara. The distinction matters because these structures place food in different settings; descriptions of drainage in a rua kūmara should not be transferred to a pātaka. This record is limited to the raised storehouse form.
General accounts of Māori storage do not establish a particular iwi’s design. A specific surviving example is documented by Heritage New Zealand: McManaway’s Pātaka was constructed by Ngāti Hauiti ancestors, and the register records cultural significance to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti and to Taiuru whānau (Ngāti Haukaha). It is believed to have stood near Te Hou Hou kāinga before relocation to the present site in the late 19th or early 20th century. Heritage New Zealand classifies that present site as private with no public access.
Evidence and image rights
Heritage New Zealand’s listing documents one rare, uncarved example. It describes adzed tōtara slabs along the sides and vertical slabs at the front and rear, with an uncarved maihi and amo frontage. Its listed dimensions are 3.44 metres wide, 4.9 metres long and 4.5 metres high. These measurements belong to McManaway’s Pātaka and are not a general pattern.
The page uses published descriptions from Te Ara, Te Papa and Heritage New Zealand while keeping their Māori context and qualifications. Te Ara’s illustration is credited to George French Angas and the Alexander Turnbull Library; its page requires permission before image reuse. No such permission is recorded here, and the Heritage New Zealand photographs also have no established reuse permission. No image is attached or used as a generation reference.
The same register distinguishes original features from later changes: piles were replaced after relocation, new timber framing was added during reconstruction, petrol drums were placed under the corners, and corrugated iron roofing was added later. This is evidence about one building’s history, not a recipe for rebuilding pātaka. The heritage page includes photographs credited to J Wylie, but this record has no established reuse permission; those photographs are not copied or used as generation references.
History
Te Ara documents pātaka as Māori storehouses in historical and traditional contexts. The sources cited here do not date their origin or establish a single form across iwi.
Site
SettingMāori pātaka are raised storehouses. Heritage New Zealand documents McManaway’s Pātaka, a named example with cultural significance to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti and Taiuru whānau (Ngāti Haukaha), in the Rata area.
GroundFor this example, the register describes a raised timber structure supported on slab bearers and six piles; it also records later corner supports. These details are not a general foundation specification.
ClimateTe Ara describes stored preserved foods and seed being protected from kiore in winter. No climatic operating conditions are specified.
FootprintMcManaway’s Pātaka is recorded as 3.44 m wide, 4.9 m long and 4.5 m high; these measurements describe that individual building.
NotesThe register believes the pātaka was originally near Te Hou Hou kāinga and records relocation in the late 19th or early 20th century. The present site is private with no public access. Its listed material details and later alterations must not be generalized to all iwi or pātaka.
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Materials
- Adzed tōtara slabs — The Heritage New Zealand record describes slabs lengthwise along the side walls and vertical slabs at the front and rear of McManaway’s Pātaka.
- Slab bearers and piles — The record describes large slab bearers resting on six piles; the piles were replaced after relocation.
- Later timber framing and corrugated iron roofing — Heritage New Zealand identifies these as additions during reconstruction and at a later stage.
- Heritage New Zealand describes McManaway’s Pātaka as traditional slab construction, with adzed tōtara slabs along its sides and vertical slabs at front and rear; its maihi and amo frontage is uncarved.
- The listed example measures 3.44 metres wide, 4.9 metres long and 4.5 metres high. The record says slab bearers rest on six piles; these piles replaced the originals when the building was moved.
- The register records later additions at the present site: petrol drums under the corners, new timber framing during reconstruction and corrugated iron roofing added later. These are documented changes to one structure, not a construction sequence or a template for other pātaka.
Places
Aotearoa New Zealand
Traditional use · Country evidenceThe sources attribute pātaka to Māori contexts in Aotearoa but do not name an iwi or pin this type to a particular locality.
Rata, Rangitīkei, Manawatū-Whanganui
Historical attestation · Region evidenceThis identifies the historical region of one named pātaka, not a public visit location; Heritage New Zealand marks the present site private with no public access.
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Sources
Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New ZealandForm · Use · History · Culture
Pātaka — Freight and warehousingTe Ara describes pātaka as storehouses for preserved fish, birds, kao (a kūmara preparation) and seed, kept safe from kiore in winter.
The entry describes access through a floor trapdoor and a small front opening used as a window.
The page explicitly says permission from the Alexander Turnbull Library is required before reuse of its image; this page does not reproduce it.
Cited in: A raised storehouse; Not a pit or an open platform; Evidence and image rights
Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New ZealandUse · Geography · Culture
Traditional cooking and preserving — Māori foods – kai MāoriTe Ara distinguishes raised whata platforms from pātaka storehouses and underground rua kūmara pits.
The page describes pātaka within Māori food storage accounts; its statements do not establish a single form for all iwi.
Cited in: Not a pit or an open platform; Evidence and image rights
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaCulture · History · Form
Pātaka and the story of Tinirau and the whaleTe Papa describes pātaka as storehouses for food or valuables and says they were customarily near a leading chief’s dwelling in a village.
Te Papa discusses carved examples as symbols of plenty, knowledge, prestige and generosity; this interpretation is kept attributed to the museum and not generalized to every pātaka.
Cited in: A raised storehouse; Evidence and image rights
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere TaongaForm · Materials · History · Culture · Geography
McManaway’s Pātaka and WakaHeritage New Zealand records this example as culturally significant to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Hauiti and Taiuru whānau (Ngāti Haukaha), with its original location believed to be near Te Hou Hou kāinga.
The register describes adzed tōtara slab walls, an uncarved maihi and amo frontage, six piles, dimensions of 3.44 m by 4.9 m by 4.5 m, and relocation in the late 19th or early 20th century.
It identifies replaced piles, petrol drums, new timber framing and corrugated iron roofing as changes to this particular building; it marks the current site private with no public access.
The register page includes photographs credited to J Wylie, but no image reuse license was established; they are not copied, attached, or used as generation references.
Cited in: Not a pit or an open platform; Evidence and image rights