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Not far from the house, by a sand-hill covered with bushes stands 
the memorable limestone-block , which according to the Maori-legend 
is a part of the canoe Tainui, in which 
the first immigrants from Hawaiki came 
to Kawliia Harbour. The place was 
formerly tapu, and the Maoris, when 
paying a visit to the relic, keep at a 
respectful distance. Yet among them 
there seem to be some collectors of curio- Limestone Block Tainui on Kawhio 
sities; for even from this stone block con- 
sisting of tabular limestone, and projecting slantly from the ground 
to a height of about four feet, all the corners had been knocked 
off. Close by, there are some magnificent specimens of the Pohu- 
tukaua-tree growing; and about two miles North of the Northhead, 
close by the sea-shore, some warm springs are said to rise, which 
the natives call Puias. 
The Kawliia Harbour is the last extensive estuary on the 
West Coast. It is six to seven miles long, three to four miles 
wide, and intersected by numerous navigable channels, between 
which at low-water shallow sand and mud-banks are laid bare. 
The principal channels arc: on the Northside, the Kawliia Channel 
which again is divided into three branches: the Oparau, Kauri 
and Awaroa Channels; in the middle, the Rakaunui Channel, and 
on the Southside, the Waiharakeke Channel. All these channels 
lead to small rivers of the same names, emptying from the East 
into the harbour. The entrance to the harbour is hemmed in to 
within half a sea-mile by a neck of land, Te Maika, protruding 
far from the Southside. In front of the entrance are sand-banks 
which admit only the passage of small vessels. The coast-navi- 
gation is carried on partly by Europeans, partly by natives. Six 
European families had settled down at various points of the har- 
bour, and the number of natives has been estimated at 500 to 
600. They are said to be zealous adherents of the Maori king, 
to place annually a certain sum of money (I was told, 186 pounds 
sterling) at the disposal of the king, and to have made the at- 
