Māori Road

Lockdown loop #4

Māori Road. Built by Māori prisoners from Taranaki, where they were charged with ‘levying war against the Queen’ while defending their land rights. They were initially sentenced to death, but then this was reduced to imprisonment and hard labour. They arrived by ship into Port Chalmers in 1869. Their work here was backbreaking, forming roads and sea walls around the city. The construction of Māori Road provided access through the town belt and in particular, facilitated access to what was the cattle market reserve, a 9 acre block at the top of Serpentine Ave.