The first sod has been turned on the rebuild of one of the most significant battle sites of the New Zealand Wars.
The titles to Rangiriri Pā and Te Wheoro Redoubt historical reserve will be handed back to iwi. Photo: RNZ / Shannon Haunui-Thompson
The crown assault on Rangiriri in 1863 saw some of the heaviest casualties of the wars, and opened the Waikato to the confiscation of 1.3 million hectares of land.
The government has paid nearly $3 million to restore the trenches and fortifications at Rangiriri, which were dug by Māori ahead of the invasion.
Ngāti Naho kaitiaki society chair Brad Totorewa said the trenches will become an important learning site.
"So it is significant. Beautiful in the fact it has taken a devastating story, rebuilding the trenches and using it as a tool to educate."
Totorewa said he hoped the project would be finished for the 159th anniversary of the battle on 20 November.