This drawing shows the view looking across to the Paremata Redoubt and Barracks from Pauatahanui Inlet, 1846. It was possibly drawn by William and William John Swainson, as it is very similar to other versions known to have been drawn by them. It is a reproduction mounted on board, and comes from a collection of historic Post Office prints.

As nzhistory.net.nz notes, the Paremata Redoubt was a turreted two-storey stone structure built on Governor George Grey’s instructions in 1846. At that time there was warfare in the Wellington region with Ngāti Toa and other Māori.

The site had views over both the entrance to Porirua Harbour and the coastal route north from Wellington. It was the perfect spot from which to disrupt the supply and reinforcement of the ‘rebel’ Māori in Hutt Valley. But by the time the barracks was completed in 1847, there was little strategic need for it. This was just as well, as severe earthquakes in 1848 made the building unusable. The lesson was learned, and plans for future redoubts were less ambitious.

Troops camped beside the barracks, which was surrounded by a stockade, until 1852. Whareaitu (‘Martin Luther’), a Whanganui chief captured at Matai-Taua, was hanged here as a rebel in September 1846.

Archives Reference: AAMF W3327 Box 201/ PO104 archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=21683164

Material from Archives New Zealand