Taraouta (Barry’s Bay)

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Barry’s Bay, or Taraouta (its old name), lies at the end of Akaroa Harbour. Several creeks run into the tidal mudflats there – Te Wairori is the largest and Kaituna a smaller one. Kaituna's name, meaning kai (food) and tuna (eel), refers to the catching of eels in that locality. The mudflats were also known as a good source of pātiki (flounder), making this area a regular fishing spot for people from Wairewa just over the hill.

The area in the middle of the bay is called Kaiwaitau. This name derived from the fact that this part of the bay was once thickly covered with tī kōuka (cabbage trees) right down to the water’s edge.

Waitau was the name of a food extracted from the heart of this tree.

Kāuru is the name of the other food extracted from cabbage trees.

Ihutu is the name of the point near Barry’s Bay wharf.

Images of Taraouta

Sources

• Old Maori place names around Akaroa Harbour by Louis J. Vangioni; with supplementary notes by D. J. C. Pringle. (3 MB PDF)

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