Follow
Perched on a hillside overlooking Maketū is St Thomas's Church (Anglican) in Church Road, the oldest church in the Western Bay of Plenty. Established in 1868, the graveyard can be found in front of the church.
The most imposing structure in the churchyard of St Thomas’s Anglican Church is a tall, finely detailed stone column surmounted by a funerary urn. The column bears the following inscription: “In memory of | Winiata Pekanui | Tohiteururangi | a chief of the Arawa tribe | who fell mortally wounded | at Kaokaoroa | on the 28th day of April 1864. | While gallantly leading on | his people to repel an attack | of the East Coast tribes | then in rebellion. | This monument is raised | by the Government of the Colony | in recognition of his unflinching | loyalty to the Queen.” The same text is given in te reo Māori on the opposite side.