New Zealand - Maori Culture - Maori life at Whaka, Rotorua, New Zealand - A Maori woman with two children - 1910 - 1920 Period - Real Photo Postcard Format #332226 Whakarewarewa - Rreduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao, often abbreviated to Whaka by locals - A Rotorua semi-rural geothermal area in the Taupo Volcanic Zone of New Zealand. This was the site of the Māori fortress of Te Puia, first occupied around 1325, and known as an impenetrable stronghold never taken in battle. Māori have lived here ever since, taking full advantage of the geothermal activity in the valley for heating and cooking. - Many of the thermal features at Whakarewarewa have been adversely affected by Rotorua residents taking advantage of the underlying geothermal fluids of the city by drawing shallow wells (20–200 m [66–656 ft] deep) to extract hot water for both domestic and commercial heating. A bore closure programme in 1987–1988 resulted in 106 wells within 1.5 km (0.93 mi) of Pohutu Geyser being cemented shut, with another 120 wells outside the radius being shut due to a punitive royalty charging regime. There has subsequently been a pronounced recovery in the geysers and hot springs at Whakarewarewa. - The area features Te Pākira Marae and Wahiao meeting house, a meeting place of the Tūhourangi hapū of Ngāti Puta, Ngāti Uruhina, Ngāti Wahiao, Tūhourangi and Ngāti Taoi. (source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whakarewarewa)