Skip to main content

Full text of "The New Zealand wars, a history of the Maori campaigns and the pioneering period"

See other formats 


NORTHSLAND 


NEW  ZEAL  AND 
Te  Ika   a    Mam 

Scenes  of  principal  engagements   i 
Maori  Wars    1845  -  I87£ 
Shown  thus   X  . 


Frontispiece.] 


THE  NORTH  ISLAND  OF  NEW  ZEALAND, 
Showing  sites  of  engagements  in  the  Maori  campaigns 


THE 


NEW  ZEALAND  WARS. 

A  HISTORY  OF  THE  MAORI  CAMPAIGNS  AND 
THE  PIONEERING  PERIOD. 


BY 

JAMES  COWAN,  F.R.G.S, 


VOL.    I    (1845    1864). 

WITH     ILLUSTRATIONS     AND     PLANS. 


By  Authority  of  the  Hon.  the  Minister  of  Internal  Affairs. 


WELLINGTON. 

W.    A.    G.    SKINNER,    GOVERNMENT    PRINTER. 
IQ22. 


THE   PIONEERS. 
.  I 

Shall  not  foiget.      I  hold  a  trust. 

They  are  a  part  of  my  existence.      When 

Adown  the  shining  iron  track 

You  sweep,  and  fields  of  corn  flash  back, 

And  herds  of  lowing  steers  move  by, 

I  turn  to  other  days,  to  men 

Who  made  a  pathway  with  their  dust. 

— "  The  Ship  in  the  Desert  "  (JOAOUIN  MILLER), 


. 


PREFACE. 


THE  increasing  interest  in  the  study  of  New  Zealand's  past 
emphasizes  the  need  for  a  history  of  the  wars  with  the 
Maoris  since  the  establishment  of  British  sovereignty  and  of 
the  era  of  pioneering  settlement  and  adventure,  which  was  prac- 
tically conterminous  with  those  campaigns.  Although  there  is  in 
existence  a  considerable  body  of  war-time  literature  written  by 
participants  in  the  conflicts,  it  is  not  possible  to  gather  in  any 
of  the  works  on  the  subject  a  connected  account  of  the  successive 
outbreaks  and  campaigns  which  troubled  the  colony  from  1845  to 
the  beginning  of  1872.  Most  of  the  printed  narratives  deal  chiefly 
with  events  which  came  within  the  soldier-wiiters'  own  experi- 
ence, and  other  contributions  to  the  story  of  the  campaigns  are 
scarcely  written  in  the  impartial  spirit  of  the  historian.  Some  of 
the  earlier  works,  and  even  the  blue-books,  contain  many  state- 
ments which  careful  inquiries  and  a  better  understanding  of  the 
Maori  side  of  the  struggle  have  now  demolished.  Most  of  the 
useful  books,  moreover,  are  out  of  print,  and  the  student  who 
wishes  to  make  a  complete  survey  of  the  field  of  contact  between 
pakeha  and  Maori  is  compelled  to  work  through  many  volumes, 
pamphlets,  and  newspaper  -  files  in  the  public  libraries.  The 
fragmentary  and  scattered  nature  of  our  war-time  literature 
therefore  necessitates  this  endeavour  to  provide  a  standard 
history  in  convenient  compass. 

The  present  is  probably  the  most  favourable  moment  for  the 
historian  of  New  Zealand's  wars  and  the  adventure-teeming  life 
of  the  pioneer  colonists.  A  sufficient  time  has  elapsed  for  the 
episodes  of  our  nation  -  making  to  be  viewed  in  their  correct 
perspective  ;  there  is  a  very  large  amount  of  printed  matter  and 


VI  PREFACE. 

manuscript  at  the  writer's  hand  ;  and  at  .the  same  time  there  are 
still  with  us  many  eye-witnesses  of  some  of  the  most  important 
events  in  New  Zealand's  history.  Oral  witness  has  its  historical 
value,  as  Mr.  George  Macaulay  Trevelyan  has  explained  in  his 
history  "  Garibaldi  and  the  Thousand  "  :  "  You  cannot  cross- 
examine  a  book  or  manuscript  :  that  is  the  weakness  of  written 
evidence,  which  the  presence  of  oral  evidence  rectifies  to  some 
degree."  To  this  it  may  be  added  that  an  historian  cannot 
thoroughly  grip  the  spirit  in  which  wars  were  waged,  or  appre- 
ciate to  the  full  the  motives  and  feelings  of  the  contending  forces, 
unless  he  has  had  some  personal  knowledge  of  the  combatants, 
and  has  mingled  with  members  of  the  warring  parties.  The 
psychology  of  the  struggle  will  elude  the  writer  who  delays  his 
work  until  the  last  veteran,  the  last  pioneer,  and  the  last  Maori 
of  the  old  school  have  gone  from  among  us. 

The  foundation  for  this  work  of  history -gathering  was  laid, 
unconsciously  enough,  in  the  writer's  boyhood  on  a  farthest- 
out  farm  on  the  King  Country  frontier.  Since  those  youthful 
days  on  the  battlefield  of  Orakau;  where  the  shawl-kilted  tattooed 
Maoris  who  had  fought  in  the  wars  were  familiar  figures,  and 
when  the  pakeha  stalwarts  who  had  carried  rifle  on  many  a 
bush  war-path  garrisoned  the  blockhouses  and  redoubts  which 
still  studded  the  Waikato  border,  the  task  of  collecting  the  tales 
of  old  has  been  an  of  ten -renewed  pleasure. 

In  the  course  of  writing  this  History  it  was  necessary 
to  examine  a  very  large  amount  of  material  in  book  form,  in 
official  documents,  and  in  newspaper-files.  It  was  necessary  also 
to  explore  battlefields  and  sites  of  fortifications  throughout  the 
North  Island.  Veterans  of  the  wars,  European  and  Maori,  were 
sought  out,  sometimes  in  the  most  remote  places,  and  the  field 
notes  made  on  the  scenes  of  engagements  and  sieges  were  often 
enhanced  in  value  by  the  presence  of  soldiers,  settlers,  or  natives 
who  had  fought  there  and  who  were  able  to  describe  the  actions 
on  the  spot. 

I  take  pleasure  in  recording  here  the  names  of  those  who 
gave  valuable  co-operation  in  this  work.  The  History  is  due 
largely  to  the  initiative  of  Dr.  Thomson  W.  Leys,  for  many 
years  editor  of  the  Auckland  Star  and  principal  author  of  Brett's 


PREFACE.  VII 

"  Early  History  of  New  Zealand,"  and  also  to  the  hearty  assist- 
ance of  the  late  Colonel  T.  W.  Porter,  C.B.  The  Hon.  Sir 
Maui  Pomare,  M.P.,  gave  much  kind  help  in  the  native  side 
of  the  narrative.  With  the  guidance  of  Captain  Giibert  Mair, 
N.Z.C.,  of  Tauranga,  many  old  fighting-trails  were  followed  up 
and  battle-grounds  explored  in  the  Rotorua,  Bay  of  Plenty, 
and  Urewera  districts.  In  the  Taranaki  country  Mr.  William 
Wallace,  of  Meremere,  and  the  late  Colonel  W.  B.  Messenger,  of 
New  Plymouth,  gave  similar  assistance.  Captain  G.  A.  Preece, 
N.Z.C.,  contributed  a  very  full  and  excellent  diary  account  of 
the  last  military  expeditions  in  the  Urewera  country,  1870-72  ; 
and  the  late  Mr.  S.  Percy  Smith,  F.R.G.S.,  ex-Surveyor-General, 
lent  his  private  journal  from  1854  t°  1869  and  numerous 
Taranaki  field-sketches  and  maps. 

The  following  colonial  soldiers,  some  of  whom  have  since 
passed  away,  also  assisted  with  narratives,  diaries,  plans,  and 
other  documents  :— 

Colonel  J.  M.  Roberts,  N.Z.C.  ;  Colonel  Stuart  Newall,  C.B.  ; 
Lieut.  -  Colonel  A.  Morrow  ;  Lieut.  -  Colonel  H.  Parker  ;  Major 
William  G.  Mair ;  Major  D.  H.  Lusk ;  Major  J.  T.  Large ; 
Captain  H.  Northcroft,  N.Z.C.  ;  Captain  C.  Maling,  N.Z.C.  ; 
Captain  F.  Mace,  N.Z.C.  ;  Captain  J.  R.  Rushton  ;  Captain 
Joseph  Scott  ;  Captain  J.  Stichbury  ;  and  numerous  others. 

The  use  of  many  historic  pictures  not  hitherto  published 
was  given  by  Mr.  Justice  Chapman  and  Mr.  H.  Fildes,  Welling- 
ton ;  Mr.  H.  E.  Partridge,  Auckland ;  Dr.  P.  Marshall,  Mr. 
H.  D.  Bates,  and  Mr.  T.  W.  Downes,  W7anganui ;  Mrs.  B.  A. 
Crispe,  Mauku  ;  Mr.  W.  H.  Skinner,  New  Plymouth  ;  and  others. 

The  late  Mr.  Alexander  Turnbull,  of  Wellington,  who  be- 
queathed his  library  to  the  nation,  was  keenly  interested  in  the 
compilation  of  this  History,  and  in  his  kindly  way  placed  all 
the  material  in  his  collection  at  my  disposal,  and  searched 
out  documents  which  threw  additional  light  on  events  in  New 
Zealand's  "  breaking-in  "  period. 

I  desire  also  to  record  the  names  of  my  principal  Maori 
authorities,  most  of  them  veterans  of  the  wars  from  1845 
onwards,  who  at  various  times  gave  information  : — • 


VIII 


PREFACE. 


Ngapuhi   Tribe:     Ruatara    Tauramoko  ;     Ngakuru    Pan  a, 

Rihara  Kou  ;    Rawirrte  Ruru  ;    Hone  Heke,  M.P. 
Waikato  tribes  :  Patara  te  Tuhi ;  Honana  Maioha  ;  Mahutu 

te  Toko  ;    Te  Aho-o-te-Rangi ;    Hori  Kukutai. 
Ngati-Paoa  (Hauraki)  :    Hori  Ngakapa  te  Whanaunga. 
Ngati-Maniapoto    (King    Country)  :     Tupotahi ;    Te    Huia 

Raureti   and   his   son    Raureti   te   Huia ;     Pou-patate ; 

Peita  Kotuku  ;    Te  Rohu   (Rewi  Maniapoto's  widow)  ; 

Taniora  Wharauroa. 
Ngati-Raukawa  :    Hitiri  te  Paerata. 
Ngai-te-Rangi  (Tauranga)  :    Hori  Ngatai. 
Te  Arawa  (Rotorua-Maketu  district)  :   Kiharoa  ;    Te  Araki 

te    Pohu ;    Taua    Tutanekai ;     Heeni    Pore    (Te    Kiri- 

Karamu)  ;  Te  Rangituakoha  ;  Hohapeta  te  Whanarere  ; 

Te  Matehaere  ;   Rangiriri 
Ngati-Tuwharetoa   (Taupo   district)  :    Te   Heuheu   Tukino, 

M.L.C.  ;   Tokena  te  Kerehi ;   Waaka  Tamaira  ;  Wairehu. 

Urewera  :    Eria  Raukura  (Te  Kooti's  chief  priest)  ;   Netana 
Whakaari ;  Te  Whiu  Maraki ;  Tupara  Kaho  ;  Te  Kauru. 

Whakatohea  (Opotiki)  :   Hira  te  Okioki. 
Ngati-Porou  :   Tut  a  Nihoniho. 

Taranaki :    Te  Whiti  o   Rongomai   (the   prophet   of   Pari- 
haka)  ;  Hori  Teira. 

Ngati-Ruanui  (Taranaki)  :  Tauke  ;  Te  Kahu-Pukoro  ;   Pou- 
Whareumu  Toi ;  Whareaitu. 

Pakakohi  (Patea)  :   Tutange  Waionui ;  Tu-Patea  te  Rongo. 

Most  of  those  mentioned  were  warriors  who  fought  either 
against  or  for  the  Government ;  in  a  number  of  instances  they 
explained  on  the  battle-ground  the  details  of  engagements  ;  few 
of  them  survive  to  recall  the  conditions  and  events  of  a  life 
which  has  vanished  for  ever. 

A  great  deal  of  trouble  has  been  taken  to  obtain  original 
illustrations,  and  Mr.  A.  H.  Messenger,  draughtsman  in  the  New 
Zealand  Forest  Service,  himself  a  member  of  a  pioneer  Taranaki 
family,  has  drawn  for  the  History  many  pictures  in  line  and 
wash  from  authentic  material. 


PREFACE.  JX 

To  the  Hon.  the  Minister  of  Internal  Affairs,  and  to  the 
Under-Secretary  of  that  Department,  my  gratitude  is  due  for 
the  liberal  arrangements  which  made  the  writing  and  publica- 
tion of  this  work  possible. 

The  principal  campaigns  and  expeditions  dealt  with  in  the 
History  are  as  follows  :— 

(i.)  Hone  Heke's  War  in  the  north,  1845-46. 

(2.)  The  campaign  in  the  Wellington  district,  1846 

(3.)  The  war  at  Wanganui,  1847. 

(4.)  The  first  Taranaki  War,  1860-61. 

(5.)  The  second  Taranaki  War,  1863. 

(6.)  The  Waikato  War,  1863-64. 

(7.)  The  Tauranga  campaign,  1864. 

(8.)  The  first  Hauhau  War,  Taranaki,  1864-66. 

(9.)  The  Opotiki  and  Matata  operations,  1865. 
(10.)  The  East  Coast  War,  1865. 

(n.)  Fighting  in  Tauranga  and  Rotorua  districts,  1867. 
(12.)  Titokowaru's  War,  West  Coast,  1868-69. 
(13.)  The  campaigns  against  Te  Kooti  (East  Coast,  Taupo,  and 
Urewera  country),  1868-72. 

The  period  covered  in  the  present  volume  is  from  the 
outbreak  of  Heke's  War  in  1845  to  the  end  of  the  Kingite 
wars  in  Taranaki,  Waikato,  and  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  1864. 
The  second  volume  is  devoted  to  the  Hauhau  campaigns, 
1864-72. 

Wellington,  New  Zealand,  J.   COWAN. 

June,   1922. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. — THE  OLD  RACE  AND  THE  NEW.  PAGE 

New  Zealand's  pioneering  story — Likeness  to  North  American  frontier 
history — The  contact  between  pakeha  and  Maori — Test  of  battle 
arouses  mutual  respect — The  romance  and  adventure  of  New  Zea- 
land history — The  native-born  and  the  patriotism  of  the  soil — 
Difficulties  of  the  bush  campaigns — Military  qualities  of  the  Maori 
underestimated  by  early  British  commanders — Maori  population  in 
the  "  forties  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  I 

CHAPTER  II. — THE  BEACH  AT  KORORAREKA. 

A  bay  of  adventure  —  The  old  landmarks  —  The  whaleships  of  the 
"  forties  " — Scenes  on  Kororareka  Beach — The  whalemen  and  the 
Maoris — The  old  trading-stores — Aboard  a  New  Bedford  whaling- 
barque — The  days  of  oil  and  bone  .  .  .  .  .  .  6 

CHAPTER  III. — HERE  AND  THE  FLAGSTAFF. 

"  God  made  this  country  for  us  " — Hone  Heke's  character — His  fears 
for  the  future  of  his  race — Early  traffic  with  the  whaleships — 
British  Customs  dues  cause  a  decrease  in  Bay  of  Islands  trade 
— Heke's  raid  on  Kororareka — The  Maiki  flagstaff  cut  down — 
Governor  Fitzroy  meets  the  Maoris — Heke  and  the  American  flag 
— Troops  sent  to  the  bay — The  flagstaff  cut  down  again  .  .  13 

CHAPTER  IV. — THE  FALL  OF  KORORAREKA. 

Heke's  ambush  on  Signal  Hill — An  attack  at  dawn — The  flagstaff  cut 
down  a  fourth  time — Kawiti  attacks  the  town — Encounter  with  a 
naval  force — Captain  Robertson's  heroic  fight — Sailors,  soldiers, 
and  settlers  defend  the  town — Gallant  work  of  Hector's  gunners — 
The  beach  stockade  blown  up — A  mismanaged  defence — Evacuation 
of  Kororareka  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ...  23 

CHAPTER  V. — THE  FIRST  BRITISH  MARCH  INLAND. 

Operations  against  the  Ngapuhi  —  Pomare's  village  destroyed  —  The 
friendly  Maori  tribes — Tamati  Waka  Nene's  loyalty  to  the  British — 
Pene  Taui,  and  the  consequences  of  a  pun — Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme's 
march  inland  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  32 

CHAPTER  VI. — THE  FIGHTING  AT  OMAPERE. 

The  Taiamai  country  and  the  plains  of  Omapere — Skirmishes  between 
Heke's  warriors  and  Tamati  Waka's  force — White  free-lances  in 
the  fray — John  Webster  and  F.  E.  Maning — Jackey  Marmon,  the 
white  cannibal — Heke's  stockade  at  Puketutu — British  attack  on 
the  pa  —  Kawiti's  desperate  courage  —  Heavy  skirmishing  and 
bayonet  fighting — British  withdraw  to  the  Bay  of  Islands — The 
Kapotai  pa  destroyed  .  .  . .  .  .  . .  •  •  37 


XII  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. — THE  ATTACK  ON  OHAEAWAI.  PAGE 

The  campaign  renewed — Maori  battle  at  Te  Ahuahu — Heke  severely 
wounded  —  Colonel  Despard's  expedition  to  Ohaeawai  —  A  mid- 
winter march  —  The  heart  of  the  Ngapuhi  country  —  The  camp 
before  Ohaeawai — Pene  Taui's  strong  stockade — The  Maori  artil- 
lery— Scenes  in  the  stronghold — The  British  bombardment  begins — 
Defects  of  the  artillery — Failure  of  the  "  stench-balls  "  .  .  .  .  47 

CHAPTER  VIII. — THE  STORMING-PARTY  AT  OHAEAWAI. 

The  bombardment — Despard's  fatal  blunder — Orders  to  storm  the  pa 
—The  forlorn  hope  —  The  bayonet  charge  on  the  stockade  — A 
survivor's  narrative  —  Repulse  of  the  storming-parties  —  The  pa 
evacuated — Return  of  the  troops — Ohaeawai  to-day  . .  . .  57 

CHAPTER  IX. — THE  CAPTURE  OF  RUA-PEKAPEKA. 

Arrival  of  the  new  Governor,  Captain  George  Grey — Another  expedition 
prepared — Kawiti's  mountain  stronghold,  "  The  Cave  of  the  Bats  " 
— Arduous  march  of  the  British  troops — The  camp  before  Rua- 
pekapeka — A  general  bombardment — Accuracy  of  the  gunnery — 
A  Sunday-morning  surprise — British  forces  enter  the  fort — The 
Maoris  driven  into  the  bush — Peace  in  the  north  . .  .  .  70 

CHAPTER  X. — WELLINGTON  SETTLEMENT  AND  THE  WAR  AT  THE  HUTT. 

Colonel  Wakefield's  purchases — Trouble  in  the  Hutt  Valley — "  Dog's 
Ear  "  declines  to  quit — Fort-building  in  Wellington — Fort  Arthur, 
at  Nelson — Stockade  and  blockhouses  at  the  Lower  Hutt— American 
frontier  forts  the  model  for  New  Zealand  stockades — Fortified  posts 
built  at  Karori  and  Johnson ville — Troops  arrive  from  Auckland — 
H.M.S.  "  Driver,"  the  first  steamship  in  Port  Nicholson — Maoris 
evicted  from  Hutt  settlements — Retaliatory  raids  on  the  settlers — 
The  first  skirmishes — British  camp  established  at  Porirua  .  .  85 

CHAPTER  XI. — THE  FIGHT  AT  BOULCOTT'S  FARM. 

A  clearing  in  the  Hutt  forest— The  British  post  at  Boulcott's  Farm — 
An  early-morning  surprise  attack  —  Maoris  overwhelm  the  picket 
— The  gallant  bugler's  death  —  Troops'  desperate  battle  with  the 
natives — A  commissariat  carter's  plucky  drive — Major  Last's  rein- 
forcements to  the  rescue — Skirmish  near  Taita — A  hard  afternoon's 
fighting  . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  101 

CHAPTER  XII. — OPERATIONS  AT  PORIRUA. 

The  British  camp  at  Paremata  —  McKillop's  naval  patrol  —  Skirmish 
with  Rangihaeata  on  the  shore  of  Paua-taha-nui — A  war-party  from 
Wanganui — Despatch  to  Governor  Grey — Surprise  visit  to  Taupo 
pa — The  capture  of  Te  Rauparaha  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  109 

CHAPTER  XIII. — PAUA-TAHA-NUI  AND  HOROKIRI. 

Te  Rangihaeata's  stockade- — Its  site  to-day  —  Government  expedition 
from  the  Hutt  —  Capture  of  Paua-taha-nui  —  Te  Rangihaeata's 
mountain  camp  —  British  expedition  to  Horokiri  —  Shelling  the 
Maori  position — British  forces  withdraw  to  Porirua — Remains  of 
Horokiri  defences — Pursuit  of  the  fugitives  . .  . .  . .  120 


CONTENTS.  XIII 

CHAPTER  XIV. — THE  WAR  AT  WANGANUI.  PAGE 

An  unfortunate  settlement  —  The  New  Zealand  Company's  defective 
purchase — An  accident  and  its  sequel — Massacre  of  the  Gilfillans — 
Wanganui  besieged  by  the  river  tribes  —  The  Rutland  Stockade 
and  blockhouses — Natives  attack  the  town — British  reinforcements 
arrive — The  Battle  of  St.  John's  Wood — A  skirmish  in  the  swamp 
— Withdrawal  of  the  Maoris,  and  return  of  peace  .  .  . .  131 

CHAPTER  XV. — TARANAKI  AND  THE  LAND  LEAGUE. 

New  Plymouth  and  early  land  disputes — Purchases  of  settlement  blocks 
— Wiremu  Kingi's  return  to  the  Waitara — Formation  of  the  Maori 
Land  League — Intertribal  fighting  ..  ..  ...  ..140 

CHAPTER  XVI. — THE  MAORI  KING. 

Movement  for  union  of  the  Maori  tribes — The  selection  of  a  King — The 
Arawa  decline  to  join  the  Kingite  cause — Great  meeting  at  Pukawa, 
Lake  Taupo — Te  Heuheu's  picturesque  symbolism — Tongariro  the 
centre  of  the  Maori  union — Potatau  te  Wherowhero  chosen  as  King 
— Wiremu  Tamehana's  patriotic  argument  .  .  .  .  .  .  145 

CHAPTER  XVII. — THE  WAITARA  PURCHASE. 

Government  bargain  with  Teira — Wiremu  Kingi's  protests  disregarded 
— Maori  objections  to  sale  of  the  Waitara  Block — The  settlers'  need 
of  land  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  150 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — THE  FIRST  TARANAKI  WAR. 

Survey  of  the  Waitara  Block  resisted — Martial  law  proclaimed — The 
Imperial  and  colonial  troops — Defences  of  New  Plymouth — The 
first  shot — Capture  of  the  L  pa  (Te  Kohia) — Settlers  build  outposts 
for  defence — The  Bell  Block  and  Omata  stockades  .  .  .  .  154 

CHAPTER  XIX. — THE  BATTLE  OF  WAIREKA. 

Southern  tribes  fortify  Waireka — Settlers  killed  at  Omata — Expedition 
despatched  to  Waireka  —  A  hot  afternoon's  fighting  —  Volunteers 
and  Militia  outnumbered  and  surrounded — The  defence  of  Jury's 
Farmhouse  —  The  "Niger"  bluejackets  capture  Kaipopo  pa  —  A 
Victoria  Cross  won — Return  of  the  civilian  force — Imperial  officers' 
mismanagement — Reinforcements  reach  New  Plymouth  .  .  .  .  166 

CHAPTER  XX. — PUKE-TA-KAUERE  AND  OTHER  OPERATIONS. 

A  winter  campaign — British  attack  pas  on  the  Waitara — Maori  fortifi- 
cations at  Puke-ta-kauere  and  Onuku-kaitara — Kingite  reinforce- 
ments from  the  Upper  Waikato — A  Ngati-Maniapoto  account — 
Rewi  Maniapoto  and  his  war-party — Major  Nelson's  unfortunate 
expedition- — Hand-to-hand  fighting  —  Heavy  losses  of  the  4oth 
Regiment  —  The  slaughter  in  the  swamp  —  Skirmishes  near  New 
Plymouth — The  expedition  to  Kaihihi — Three  Maori  forts  captured  178 

CHAPTER  XXI. — THE  ENGAGEMENT  AT  MAHOETAHI. 

Ngati-Haua  enter  the  war — Wetini  Taiporutu's  challenge  to  the  British 
— The  Battle  of  Mahoetahi — Imperial  and  colonial  storming-parties 
— Maoris  make  a  desperate  resistance  —  Close-quarters  fighting  — 
Defeat  of  the  natives  and  death  of  Wetini — Song  of  lamentation 
for  the  slain  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .188 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XXII. — OPERATIONS  AT  KAIRAU  AND  HUIRANGI. 


Maior-General  Pratt's  Waitara  campaign  —  Maori  fortifications  at 
Kairau,  Huirangi,  and  Te  Arei— The  British  troops  advance — Field- 
engineering  work — Stockades  and  redoubts  built — Skirmishing  on 
the  plain  of  Kairau— Sapping  towards  Te  Arei  pa  .  .  196 

CHAPTER  XXIII.— THE  FIGHT  AT  No.  3  REDOUBT. 

Maori  surprise  attack— Attempt  to  storm  No.  .3  Redoubt,  Huirangi — 
A  desperate  morning's  work — Native  forlorn  hope  destroyed — A 
British  officer's  graphic  story  .  .  200 

CHAPTER  XXIV. — PRATT'S  LONG  SAP. 

The  sap  towards  Te  Arei — Trench-digging  and  redoubt-building — A 
tedious  advance — Details  of  the  field-engineering  work — Heavy 
skirmishing — Hapurona's  stronghold  heavily  bombarded — Terms  of 
peace  agreed  upon — End  of  the  first  Taranaki  War — Heavy  losses 
of  the  settlers  .  .  .  .  .  .  •  •  • .  206 

CHAPTER  XXV. — THE  SECOND  TARANAKI  CAMPAIGN. 
Governor  Grey's  Maori  policy  —  Tataraimaka  Block  reoccupied  —  The 
Waitara  purchase  abandoned  —  An  ambush  at  Wairau  and  its 
consequences — Hori  Teira's  adventure ' — War  renewed  in  Taranaki 
— Settlers'  forest-ranging  corps  formed — The  storming  of  Katikara 
— The  Maori  toll-gate — Expeditions  and  skirmishes — The  fight  at 
Allan's  Hill  —  Maori  stronghold  at  Kaitake  attacked  —  Its  final 
capture  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  -.215 

CHAPTER  XXVI. — THE  WAIKATO  WAR  AND  ITS  CAUSES. 
The  Maori  sentiment  of  nationalism — Growing  friction  with  the  Ad- 
ministration— Native  demand  for  self-government— The  Govern- 
ment institution  at  Te  Awamutu — The  Hokioi  and  the  Pihoihoi 
Mokemoke  —  Ngati-Maniapoto  evict  Mr.  Gorst  —  The  Maori  plan 
of  campaign  —  Proposed  attack  on  frontier  settlements  —  Maori 
ammunition  supplies — Invitations  to  the  southern  tribes — Wiremu 
Tamehana's  warning.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  225 

CHAPTER  XXVII. — MILITARY  FORCES  AND  FRONTIER  DEFENCES. 

Fhe  Government's  war  resources — Strength  of  the  British  and  colonial 
forces — Universal  military  service — The  Auckland  Militia  —  Fort 
Britomart  —  Military  posts  south  of  Auckland  —  Redoubts  and 
stockades  in  frontier  settlements — Posts  along  the  Great  South 
Road — Churches  fortified  for  defence — The  road  to  the  Waikato  . .  236 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. — THE  FIRST  ENGAGEMENTS. 

Maoris  required  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance — Government  Proclama- 
tion to  the  Kingites — Eviction  of  natives  on  the  Auckland  frontier 
— A  settler  and  his  son  tomahawked — General  Cameron  crosses  the 
Manga-tawhiri  River — The  gathering  of  the  Waikato  clans — Te 
Huirama's  trenches  at  Koheroa — British  attack  the  position- 
Defeat  of  the  Kingites — An  ambush  at  Martin's  Farm,  Great  South 
Road — Forest  skirmish  at  Kirikiri — War-parties  in  the  Wairoa  and 
Hunua  Ranges  —  Attacks  on  settlers  —  The  Koheriki  raiders  —  A 
Wairoa  scouting  expedition — Felling  the  forest,  Great  South  Road 
— British  party  surprised  at  Williamson's  Clearing,  Pukewhau — 
Skirmishes  at  Pokeno  and  Razorback — Kingites  kill  Mr.  Armitage 
at  Camerontown — British  expedition  from  Tuakau  .  .  . .  244 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XXIX. — THE  FOREST  RANGERS.  PAGE 

A  special  corps  necessary  for  guerilla  fighting  in  the  bush — Formation 
of  the  Forest  Rangers — Jackson's  first  company — Arms  and  equip- 
ment for  forest  fighting — The  bowie-knife-— Varied  character  of  the 
Rangers  —  Settlers,  bushmen,  gold-diggers,  and  sailors  —  Arduous 
work  in  the  roadless  bush — Von  Tempsky  joins  the  Rangers — A 
daring  reconnaissance — The  two  scouts  at  Paparata  .  .  .  .  257 


CHAPTER  XXX. — THE  DEFENCE  OF  PUKEKOHE  CHURCH  STOCKADE. 

Presbyterian  church  at  Pukekohe  East  fortified  by  the  settlers — De- 
scription of  the  stockade — The  post  attacked  by  a  Kingite  war- 
party — Gallant  defence  by  seventeen  men — Maori  charge  repulsed 
—  Heavy  fighting  at  close  range  —  Arrival  of  reinforcements  —  A 
British  bayonet  charge — Maoris  driven  off  with  heavy  loss — An 
attack  on  a  farmhouse  (Burtt's  Farm)  .  .  .  .  .  .  265 


CHAPTER  XXXI. — OPERATIONS  AT  THE  WAIROA. 

Kingites  in  the  Wairoa  Ranges — Auckland  reinforcements  for  the  settle- 
ment—Engagements with  the  Maoris  at  Otau — An  early-morning 
surprise  attack — Native  raids  on  the  settlers — Homestead  attacked 
at  Mangemangeroa — Two  boys  killed — The  Forest  Rangers'  expe- 
ditions—  Jackson's  company  surprises  a  Koheriki  camp  —  Seven 
Maoris  killed  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  281 


CHAPTER  XXXII. — MAUKU  AND  PATUMAHOE. 

Mauku  Settlement  in  1863 — The  village  church  fortified — Lusk's  Forest 
Rifle  Volunteers — Skirmish  at  the  "  Big  Clearing,"  Patumahoe — 
Mauku  Rifles  and  Forest  Rangers  in  bush  warfare — The  Titi  Hill 
Farm,  Mauku  —  Invasion  by  a  Kingite  war-party  —  A  desperate 
fight  at  close  quarters — Skirmishing  from  log  to  log — Lieutenants 
Perceval  and  Norman  killed — Lieutenant  Lusk  withdraws  to  the 
stockade — Arrival  of  British  reinforcements  .  288 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. — THE  RIVER  WAR  FLEET. 

Colonial  gunboats  for  the  Waikato  River — Arrival  of  the  "  Avon,"  the 
first  steamboat  on  the  Waikato  —  Reconnaissances  under  fire  — 
Gunboat  "Pioneer"  built  at  Sydney  for  the  river  campaign — Four 
small  armoured  gunboats  placed  on  the  Waikato — The  "  Koheroa  " 
and  "  Rangiriri  "  —The  Waikato  a  strategic  highway  into  the 
Maori  country  —  The  Royal  Navy  ships  —  The  coast  and  harbour 
patrols  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  300 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. — THE  TRENCHES  AT  MEREMERE. 

Kingite  entrenchments  on  the  Meremere  ridge  —  The  Maori  artillery 
—  River  reconnaissances  in  the  gunboats  —  The  "Avon"  and 
"  Pioneer  "  under  fire — General  Cameron  reconnoitres  the  stronghold 
—  Meremere  outflanked  and  evacuated  —  The  Miranda  expedition 
— A  chain  of  redoubts  built — Operations  of  the  Auckland  Naval 
Volunteers  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  308 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. — THE  BATTLE  OF  RANGIRIRI.  PAGE 

Maori  fortifications  on  Rangiriri  Hill — Trenches  from  lake  to  river — 
Position  attacked  by  General  Cameron  —  Land  forces  and  river 
flotilla — Artillery  preparation,  and  assaulting-parties- — The  outer 
trenches  carried  —  Maori  central  redoubt  remains  impregnable  — 
Royal  Artillery  and  Royal  Navy  storming-parties  repulsed — Heavy 
British  losses — Surrender  of  the  pa — Prisoners  sent  to  Auckland — 
The  escape  from  Kawau  Island  .  .  318 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. — THE  ADVANCE  ON  THE  WAIPA. 

The  Upper  Waikato  invaded — Advance  of  Cameron's  army — Scenes  on 
the  Waikato  River — The  Water  Transport  Corps  flotilla — Ngarua- 
wahia  occupied — Strong  fortifications  at  Paterangi,  Pikopiko,  and 
Rangiatea — Native  genius  in  military  engineering — The  approaches 
to  Rangiaowhia  blocked — Maori  artillery  at  Paterangi — Te  Reti- 
mana  the  gunner — The  bathing-party  at  Waiari — A  skirmish  on  the 
Mangapiko  banks — Forest  Rangers'  sharp  fighting — How  Captain 
Heaphy  won  the  V.C. — Heavy  losses  of  the  Maoris  .  .  .  .  327 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. — THE  INVASION  OF  RANGIAOWHIA. 

A  night  march  from  Te  Rore — Paterangi  and  Rangiatea  outflanked — 
British  column  invades  Rangiaowhia — An  early-morning  surprise 
visit — Skirmishing  in  the  Kingite  village — Colonel  Nixon  shot — 
Huts  burned  and  defenders  killed — Dramatic  death  of  a  Maori 
warrior — "  Spare  him,  spare  him  !  " — Skirmishing  at  the  Catholic 
church — Paterangi  garrison  hasten  to  defend  Rangiaowhia — Hai- 
rini  Hill  entrenched — Position  attacked  by  British  force — Trenches 
stormed  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet — A  cavalry  charge — Defeat  of 
the  Kingites — British  advance  up  the  Horotiu  River — Field  force 
enters  Kihikihi,  Rewi's  headquarters  —  Maoris  retreat  across  the 
Puniu  River  . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  341 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII.— THE  SIEGE  OF  ORAKAU. 

The  peach-groves  and  wheat-fields  of  Orakau  —  War-council  of  the 
Kingites — Decision  to  continue  the  war — Site  for  a  fort  selected  at 
Orakau — Rewi's  pessimism  and  the  Urewera's  insistence — Unsuit- 
able position  of  the  pa — Brigadier-General  Carey's  advance — The 
pa  surrounded — British  assaults  repulsed — A  sap  commenced — 
Maori  reinforcements  appear  —  Scenes  and  war-councils  in  the 
redoubt — The  heroic  three  hundred — Proposal  to  abandon  the  pa 
rejected — Short  of  water  and  ammunition — Firing  wooden  bullets 
— End  of  second  day's  siege  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  355 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. — THE  SIEGE  OF  ORAKAU  (CONTINUED). 

The  Last  Day. 

Dawn  of  the  third  day — "  Let  us  charge  out  before  it  is  light  " — Tupo- 
tahi's  advice  rejected  —  Heavy  fire  concentrated  on  the  redoubt 
— Sufferings  of  the  defenders — The  sap  approaching  the  outworks 
—  Shell-fire  and  hand-grenades  —  General  Cameron's  summons  to 
surrender — Mair's  interview  with  the  Maoris — Re"wi's  council  of 
war — The  Maoris  defiant  ultimatum,  "  Peace  shall  never  be  made 
— never,  never,  never  !  " — The  fighting  renewed — Hand-grenades 
thrown  into  the  pa  —  The  defenders  retreat  fighting  —  The  flight 
through  the  swamp — Pursuit  by  infantry  and  cavalry — Incidents 
of  the  chase — Splendid  heroism  of  the  Kingites — Half  the  garrison 
killed — The  bayoneting  of  Hine-i-turama  .  .  . .  •  •  377 


CONTENTS.  XVII 

CHAPTER  XL. — THE  END  OF  THE  WAIKATO  WAR.  PAGE 

Ngati-Maniapoto  entrenchments  south  of  the  Puniu — Fortified  posi- 
tions at  Haurua,  Te  Roto-marama,  and  Paratui — British  advance 
terminates  at  the  Puniu — Army  headquarters  at  Te  Awamutu — 
Ngati-Haua  iortihcations  at  Te  Tiki-o-te-Ihingarangi — The  position 
evacuated — The  last  shots  in  the  Waikato  War  :  A  skirmish  at 
Ara-titaha — Settlement  of  the  conquered  country  .  .  .  .  398 

CHAPTER  XLI. — THE  ARAWA  DEFEAT  OF  THE  EAST  COAST  TRIBES. 
Tai-Rawhiti  tribes  organize  an  expedition  to  Waikato  —  The  loyal 
Arawa's  resistance  —  East  Coast  Kingites  march  for  Rotorua — 
Arawa  block  the  way  at  Rotoiti — Skirmishing  on  the  lake-side — 
Invaders  compelled  to  return  to  the  coast — An  advance  on  Maketu 
— Kingite  trenches  at  Te  Whare-o-te-Rangi-marere — The  invaders 
driven  back — Shelled  by  the  warships — A  running  fight  along  the 
beach — The  Battle  of  Kaokaoroa — Repulse  of  the  East  Coast  tribes  404 

CHAPTER  XLII.— THE  GATE  PA  AND  TE  RANGA. 

British  expedition  to  Tauranga — Redoubts  built  at  Te  Papa — Ngai-te- 
Rangi  erect  fortifications — Rawiri  Puhirake's  challenge — The  forts 
at  Waoku  and  Tawhiti-nui— Construction  of  the  Gate  Pa — The 
British  attack — A  heavy  cannonade — General  Cameron  orders  an 
assault— Panic-stricken  troops — Chivalry  of  the  pa  garrison — A 
half-caste  heroine — Relieving  the  wounded  under  fire — Heavy  losses  • 
of  the  British — The  trenches  at  Te  Ranga— Attack  by  Colonel 
Greer's  column  —  British  charge  with  the  bayonet  —  The  Maori 
works  carried  with  heavy  slaughter  —  Desperate  hand-to-hand 
fighting — End  of  the  Tauranga  campaign  .  .  . .  .  .  411 


APPENDICES. 

Supplementary  Notes  to  Chapters  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   431 

Forest  Fighting,  Patumahoe  (1863)  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    445 

The  Wreck  of  H.M.S.  "  Orpheus  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    447 

Militia  Duty  in  the  Waikato  War  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .   448 

List  of  Engagements  and  Casualties  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    452 

JNDEX  ..  .  .  ..  ..  ..  ...  .-454 


ii — N.Z.  Wars. 


XVIII  LIST   OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Kororareka,  Bay  of  Islands 

Hone  Heke       .  .              . .              •  •  •  •  .  .        14 

Tamati  Waka  Nene         .  .              .  .  1 7 

Hone  Heke,  Hariata,  and  Kawiti  •  •        21 

The  Flagstaff,  Russell,  Bay  of  Islands  .  .  .  .        24 

The  English  Church,  Russell          . .  •  •  27 

Memorial  to  Sailors,  Russell  .  .        3° 

Destruction  of  Pomare's  Pa,  Otuihu  •  •        33 

The  Battle  of  Puketutu,  1845  . .        41 

Riwhitete  Pokai                .  .  .  •  •  •                         43 

British  Attack  on  the  Kapotai  Pa  .  .        45 

The  Ohaeawai  Stockade                 .  .  .  .  •  .                        54 

Rihara  Kou,  of  Kaikohe                 .  .  .  .  .  .              .  .        56 

Repulse  of  the   Storming -parties  at  Ohaeawai  .  .        61 

Colonel  Cyprian  Bridge  .  .              .  .  . .  .  .        62 

W.  H.  Free,  a  Veteran  of  Ohaeawai  .  .        63 

Hare  Puataata                 ....  .  .        64 

Native  Church  at  Ohaeawai           .  .  ..  ..               ..69 

Sections  of  Rua-pekapeka  Pa       .  .  .  .        74 

The  Bombardment  of  Rua-pekapeka  .  .  .  .                                .  .        77 

The  Capture  of  Rua-pekapeka      .  .  79 

Ruatara  Tauramoko        .  .               .  .  .  .  . .        81 

Maihi  Paraone  Kawiti    .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .               .  .               .  .        82 

The  British  Frigate  "  Castor  "  .  .  .  .                         83 

Fort  Arthur,  Nelson,  1843              .  .  .  .  .  .               .  -               .  .        91 

Fort  Richmond  and  the  Hutt  Bridge  .  .  93 

An  Early  Colonial  Home  (Karori)  .  .  .  .               .  .               •  •        95 

H.M.S.  "  Driver "            .  .               . .  .  .  .  .               .  .                         97 

Boulcott's  Farm  Stockade,  Hutt  .  .  .  .  .  .      104 

Ruins  of  Fort  Paremata,  Porirua ..  ..  ..               ..               ..112 

Te  Rangihaeata               ..              ..  ..  ..               ..               ..114 

Te  Rauparaha  .  .               . .               . .  . .  . .                                . .      117 

Paua-taha-nui  Stockade                 ..  ..  ..               ..               ..123 

The  Church  at  Paua-taha-nui        ..  ..  ..               ..               ..124 

Attack  on  Rangihaeata's  Position,  Horokiri  . .  .  .                       126 

Summit  of  the  Ridge,  Horokiri     ..  ..  ..               ..               ..128 

The  Rear  of  Rangihaeata's  Position  .  .  . .               .  .               .  .      128 

Front  of  Rangihaeata's  Entrenchment  .  .  .  .               .  .               .  .      130 

Rutland  Stockade,  Wanganui        ..  ..  ..               ..               ..133 

Topine  te  Mamaku          .  .              .  .  .  .  .  .              .  .                      135 

The  Skirmish  at  St.  John's  Wood,  Wanganui  .  .  .  .               .  .      138 

Wiremu  Tamehana          .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .               .  .               .  .      146 

Marsland  Hill,  New  Plymouth      .  .  .  .  .  .               . .                       157 

Bell  Block  Stockade,  Taranaki      ..  ..  ..               ..                       161 

The  Omata  Stockade,  Taranaki    .  .  .  .  .  .               .  .               .  .      163 

Proclamations  under  Martial  Law,  Taranaki  .  .  .  .               .  .      165 

Sir  Harry  Atkinson         .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .               .  .               .168 

Charles  Wilson  Hursthouse            .  .  .  .  .  .               .  .                       170 

The  Battle  of  Waireka   ..               ..  ..  ..171 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS.  XIX 

PAGE 

Colonel  W.  B.  Messenger                 .  .  .  .  .  .  172 

Captain  Cracroft,  R.N.  ..               ..  ..174 

The  War-steamer  "  Victoria  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  177 

British  Positions  at  the  Waitara  ..  ..  ..  .-  .  .  186 

The  Battlefield  of  Mahoetahi         .  .  .  .  190 

The  Mata  rikoriko  Stockade           .  .  198 

British  Positions  at  Huirangi,  1 86 1  ..  ..  ..  207 

The  Attack  on  Te  Arei,  1861  ..  ..  210 

Sir  George  Grey                .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  228 

Tawhiao,  the  Maori  King               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  230 

Sir  John  E.  Gorst            .  .               .  .  .  .  231 

Patara  te  Tuhi                  .  .               .  .  •  .  .  .  233 

Fort  Britomart,  Auckland              ..  ..  ..  ..  ..238 

St.  John's  Redoubt,  Papatoetoe   .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  %. .  239 

The  Queen's  Redoubt,  Pokeno      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  241 

The  Bluff  Stockade,  Havelock,  Waikato  River  .  .  .  .  .  .  243 

Hori  Ngakapa  te  Whanaunga       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  249 

The  Alexandra  Redoubt,  Tuakau  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  256 

Majoi  William  Jackson  .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  259 

Major  Von  Tempsky        .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  261 

Pukekohe  East  Presbyterian  Church  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  268 

Attack  on  Pukekohe  East  Church  Stockade  .  .  .  .  .  .  270 

Captain  Joseph  Scott      .  .               .  .  .  ,  .  .  .  .  272 

Paerata  Bluff  and  Burtt's  Farm  .  .  .  .  . .  .  .  .  .  275 

Burtt's  Farm  Homestead,  Present  Day  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  276 

Attack  on  Burtt's  Farmhouse,  Paerata  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  277 

Camp  of  Movable  Column,  near  Papatoetoe  .  .  .  .  .  .  281 

Galloway  Redoubt,  Wairoa  South  .  .  .  .  .  .  282 

Maori  Flag  captured  in  the  Wairoa  Ranges  .  .  .  .  285 

Stockade  at  Wairoa  South             .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  287 

Mauku  Church  and  Stockade,  1863  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  290- 

Mauku  Church,  Present  Day         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  293 

Major  D.  H.  Lusk            .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  295 

The  River  Gunboat  "  Pioneer  "    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  302 

The  River  Gunboat  "  Koheroa  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  303 

Putataka,  Waikato  Heads              .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  304 

British  Screw  Corvettes  "  Miranda  "  and  "  Fawn  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  305 

The  Gun-schooner  "  Caroline  "     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  305 

H.M.S.  "  Eclipse  "           .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,  306 

British  Troopship  "  Himalaya  "  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  307 

Gunboat  "  Pioneer  "  shelling  Meremere  ..  ..  ..  ,.311 

The  Esk  Redoubt            ..               ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  314 

British  Storming-party  at  Rangiriri  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  323 

Entrenchments  at  Rangiriri           .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  325 

Ngaruawahia,  the  Maori  Capital  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  328 

Maori  Redoubt  at  Paterangi          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  335 

The  Forest  Rangers  at  Waiari      .  .  *.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  338 

Waiari,  Mangapiko  River               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  '-$^o/ 

Maori  Mission  Church,  Rangiaowhia  .  .  .  .  .  .  -  .  .  344 

The  Fighting  at  Rangiaowhia        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  345 

Wahanui  Huatare            .  .              .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  349 

The  Mission  Church,  Te  Awamutu  .  .  .  .  .  .  •  •  353 

The  Battlefield  of  Orakau,  Present  Day  .  .  .  .  .  .  •  •  357 

Rewi  Maniapoto               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  368- 

Te  Huia  Raureti              .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  372 

Major  William  G.  Mair  .  .               .  .  .  .  .  ,  .  .  .  .  380 

Hitiri  te  Paerata               .  .               .  .  .,,  .  .  .  .  .  .  386 

Tupotahi           . .               . .               .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .  390 

Ahumai  te  Paerata          .  .               . .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  393 


XX  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

I'AGE 

After  Fifty  Years  :  Ngati-Maniapoto  Survivors  at  Orakau      .  .  .  .  395 

Kingite  Chiefs,  Ngati-Maniapoto  Tribe       . .  .  .  401 

The  Gate  Pa  Entrenchments         .  .  •  •  42° 

HoriNgatai      ....  ..422 

The  British  Encampment  at  Tauranga        . .  .  .  424 

Henare  Taratoa                                                •  •  •  •  •  •  427 

Surrender  of  the  Ngai-te-Rangi  Tribe          .  .  .  .  .  .  428 

PLANS  AND  SKETCH-MAPS. 

North  Island  of  New  Zealand,  showing  Scenes  of  Engagements 

Frontispiece. 

Bay  of  Islands  District  .  .              .  .  38 

Ohaeawai  Pa  (Ground  Plan  and  Sections)  .  .              . .  .  .  51 

Rua-pekapeka  Pa            .  .               .  •               •  •               •  •  •  •  .  .  72 

Cross-section  of  Rua-pekapeka     .  .              .  .              .  .  .  .  73 

Valley  of  the  Hutt,  Wellington     .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  87 

The  Pekapeka  Block,  Waitara      .  .  .  .  151 

New  Plymouth,  showing  Entrenchments,  1860-61    .  .  .  .  156 

Marsland  Hill  Fortification             .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  1.58 

The  Omata  Stockade      .  .               .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  163 

The  Seat  of  War,  North  Taranaki                ..               ..  ..  .  .  181 

The  Battlefield  of  Mahoetahi         .  .              .  .              .  .  .  .  190 

No.  3  Redoubt,  Huirangi,  Waitara               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  201 

The  Sap  towards  Te  Arei  Pa         .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  212 

Operations  at  Katikara,  Tataraimaka          .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  219 

The  Attack  on  Kaitake  Pa,  Taranaki          .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  223 

The  Queen's  Redoubt,  Pokeno      .  .              .  .               .  .  .  .  242 

The  Engagement  at  Koheroa,  Waikato       .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  247 

Ring's  Redoubt,  Kirikiri                 .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  251 

Pukekohe  East  Church  Stockade ..               ..               ..  ..  ..  266 

Mauku  Church,  showing  Rifle  Loopholes    .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  291 

Map  of  South  Auckland  District,  1863        .  .               .  .  .  .  . .  299 

The  Entrenchments  at  Mcremere.  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  309 

The  Entrenchments  at  Rangiriri  ..               ..               ..  ..  ,.320 

Cross-section  of  Maori  Redoubt,  Rangiriri.  .               .  .  .  .  321 

The  Waikato-Waipa  Delta,  showing  Fortifications   .  .  .  .  .  .  331 

Paterangi  Pa    .  .               .  .               . .               .  .               .  .  .  .  333 

Entrenchments  at  Pikopiko  (Puketoki)       .  .               .  .  .  .  336 

Rangiaowhia  and  Hairini                .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  342 

Locality  Plan  of  Orakau                 .  .              .  .              .  .  .  .  .  .  356 

The  Orakau  Battlefield  .  .              .  .              .  .               .  .  .  .  .  362 

The  Orakau  Pa                .  .               .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  364 

Orakau  Pa  (another  Plan)              .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  365 

Fortifications  at  Te  Tiki-o-te-Ihingarangi  ..               ..  ..  ..  400 

Waiari,  Mangapiko  River               .  .               .  .               . .  .  .  .  .  403 

Battle-grounds,  Lake  Rotoiti,  Maketu,  and  Kaokaoroa  .  .  .  .  406 

The  Monmouth  Redoubt,  Tauranga             ..              ..  ..  ..412 

Attack  on  the  Gate  Pa,  Tauranga                 .  .               .  .  .  .  . .  414 

Sketch-plans  of  the  Gate  Pa          . .              .  .              .  .  .  .  ..417 

The  Attack  on  Te  Ranga               .  .               .  .               .  .  .  .  .  .  42  6 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  OLD  RACE  AND  THE  NEW. 

THE  story  of  New  Zealand  is  rich  beyond  that  of  most 
young  countries  in  episodes  of  adventure  and  romance. 
Australia's  pioneering  -  work  was  of  a  different  quality 
from  ours,  mainly  because  the  nation-makers  of  our  neighbour 
encountered  no  powerful  military  race  of  indigenes  to  dispute  the 
right  of  way.  The  student  of  New  Zealand  history  seeking  for 
foreign  parallels  and  analogies  must  turn  to  the  story  of  the  white 
conquest  in  America  for  the  record  of  human  endeavour  that 
most  closely  approaches  the  early  annals  of  these  Islands.  There 
certainly  is  a  remarkable  similarit}',  in  all  but  landscape,  between 
the  old  frontier  life  in  British  North  America  and  the  United 
States  and  the  broad  features  of  the  violent  contact  between 
European  and  Maori  in  our  country.  The  New  England  back- 
woodsman and  the '  far-out  plainsman  were  faced  with  many  of 
the  life-and-death  problems  which  confronted  our  New  Zealand 
settlers  on  the  Taranaki  and  Waikato  and  East  Coast  borders. 
In  reading  such  fascinating  books  as  "  The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac," 
"French  Pioneers  in  the  New  World,"  or  "  The  Winning  of  the 
West/'  the  family  likeness  of  the  adventures  of  the  pathfinder 
and  the  forest  fighter  to  the  New  Zealand  life  of  the  "  sixties  " 
is  irresistibly  forced  upon  the  mind.  There  was  the  same  dual 
combat  with  wild  nature  and  with  untamed  man  ;  there  was  the 
necessity  in  each  land  for  soldierly  skill ;  the  same  display  of 
all  grades  of  human  courage  ;  much  of  the  same  tale  of  raid  and 
foray,  siege,  trail-hunting,  and  ambuscade.  There  was  as  wide 
a  difference  in  frontier  and  forest  fighting-ability  between  the 
imperial  troops  of  the  "  forties  "  and  early  "  sixties  "  and  the 
soldier-settlers  who  scoured  the  bush  after  Titokowaru  and  Te 
Kooti  as  there  was  between  General  Braddock's  unfortunate 
regular  troops  of  1755  and  the  provincial  scouts  and  hunters  who 
learned  how  to  beat  the  Red  Indian  at  his  own  game,  and  later 
to  defy  British  armies.  It  is  to  the  pages  of  Francis  Parkman, 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  and  Henry  Cabot  Lodge  that  the  New- 
Zealander  must  turn  for  historic  parallels  in  the  story  of  the 
nations,  rather  than  to  those  of  Macaulay,  Green,  or  Freeman. 

The  inevitable  shock  of  battle  between  the  tribesman  of 
Aotea-roa  and  the  white  man  who  coveted  and  needed  his  surplus 
lands  is  a  feature  of  our  history  which  has  had  no  small  influence 
upon  our  national  existence  and  national  type.  It  coloured  our 
story  as  no  other  element  could  ;  tragic  as  it  was,  it  at  least 
i— N.Z.  Wars. 


2  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

redeemed  our  history  from  the  commonplaces  of  a  sleek  com- 
mercialism. The  white  adventurer  let  go  his  anchor  on  these 
shores  with  the  Briton's  characteristic  assertion  of  superiority  over 
the  brown  races  of  mankind ;  the  white  settler  of  our  beginnings 
too  often  exhibited  an  ignorant  contempt  fcr  the  mat-girt  or 
blanket-swathed  aboriginal.  The  Maori,  for  his  part,  swaggering 
through  the  settlements  with  double-barrel  gun  and  tomahawk, 
ready  to  fight  to  the  death  for  a  punctilio  and  avenge  in  blood 
some  absurd  breach  of  personal  tapu,  did  not  trouble  to  conceal 
his  scorn  for  the  pakeha  whose  only  concern  was  huckstering 
and  profit-making.  Early  Governments  truckled  to  savage  in- 
solence for  the  sake  of  peace  ;  the  Maori,  sometimes  for  the  same 
reason,  shrugged  off  the  insults  and  swindlings  of  the  coarser  grade 
of  white  with  a  contemptuous  "  Hei  aha  /  "•  "  What  does  it 
matter  !  "  But  it  was  in  the  last  and  unavoidable  test,  when 
bayonet  met  long-handled  tomahawk  and  when  British  artillery 
battered  Maori  stockades,  that  the  two  races  came  to  gauge  each 
other's  manly  calibre,  and  came,  finally,  to  respect  each  other 
for  the  capital  virtues  that  only  trial  of  war  can  bring  to  mutual 
view.  For  all  the  reverses  that  befell  the  ill-planned  and  unskil- 
fully conducted  British  efforts  in  the  field  in  the  early  campaigns, 
the  shrewd  Maori  soon  divested  himself  of  his  illusions  of  military 
superiority  ;  he  came  to  realize  that  he  had  at  last  met  his  match, 
and  henceforth  his  concern  was  deep  lest  the  incoming  shiploads 
of  whites  should  wipe  him  off  the  face  of  his  ancestral  lands.  On 
the  European's  side  the  conceit  which  found  expression  in  the 
declared  opinion  that  a  company  of  British  grenadiers  could 
march  from  end  to  end  of  New  Zealand  and  carry  all  before 
them  was  quickly  exchanged  for  an  admission  that  the  naked 
Maori  was  a  better  warrior  than  the  heavily  armed  British  soldier, 
man  for  man,  in  the  forest  environment  in  which  he  had  been 
schooled  to  arms  and  the  trail  from  his  infancy.  Each  admitted 
the  other's  pre-eminence  under  certain  conditions,  and  each 
protagonist  came  to  admire  the  primal  quality  of  valour  in  his 
opponent.  The  Ngapuhi  who — to  their  own  amazement — hurled 
back  assaulting  columns  of  the  finest  British  infantry  at  Ohae- 
awai  had  secret  tremors  at  the  spectacle  of  the  forlorn  hope's 
desperate  courage  ;  well  they  knew  that  in  the  end  they  could 
not  hope  to  prevail  over  men  of  such  mettle.  And  the  soldier 
who  saw  women  and  even  children  facing  death  in  a  beleaguered 
redoubt  of  sod  walls,  choosing  to  die  with  their  men  rather  than 
surrender,  first  marvelled  at  the  devotion  of  such  a  race  and  then 
came  to  love  them  for  their  savage  chivalry.  The  wars  ended 
with  a  strong  mutual  respect,  tinged  with  a  real  affection,  which 
would  never  have  existed  but  for  this  ordeal  by  battle. 

From  the  days  when  venturesome  trading  brigs  and  schooners 
lay  at  uneasy  anchor  in  New  Zealand  bays,  with  boarding  net- 
tings triced  up  and  carronades  loaded,  down  to  the  firing  of  the 


THE    OLD    RACE    AND    THE    NEW.  3 

last  shot  against  Te  Kooti  in  the  Urewera  Ranges,  the  story  of 
contact  between  European  and  Maori  is  full  of  episodes  of  the 
quality  which  makes  the  true  romance.  Those  episodes,  whether 
isolated  adventures  or  protracted  campaigns,  may  not  have  pre- 
sented themselves  to  the  participants  in  precisely  that  light  ;  it 
remains  for  the  present  generation,  bred  up  in  peaceful  occupa- 
tion of  the  Maori  islands,  to  appreciate  what  may  be  called 
the  poetry  of  the  last  century's  work  and  endeavour  in  New 
Zealand,  as  opposed  to  the  more  prosaic  story  of  industrial 
evolution. 

In  examining  these  tales  of  other  days  and  in  testing  the 
historical  knowledge  of  the  average  New-Zealander  the  fact  is 
toe  apparent  that  the  young  generation  would  be  the  better  for 
a  more  systematic  schooling  in  the  facts  of  national  pioneer  life 
and  achievements  which  are  a  necessary  foundation  for  the  larger 
patriotism.  Yet  the  passionate  affection  with  which  the  Maori 
clung  to  his  tribal  lands  is  a  quality  which  undeniably  tinges 
the  mind  and  outlook  of  the  farm-bred,  country-loving,  white  New- 
Zealander  to-day.  The  native-born  has  unconsciously  assimilated 
something  of  the  peculiar  patriotism  that  belongs  to  the  soil ; 
the  genius  loci  of  the  old  frontiers  has  not  entirely  vanished  from 
the  hills  and  streams.  Not  only  the  tribespeople  of  Hone  Heke 
and  Wiremu  Tamehana  and  Wahanui,  but  the  New-Zealander 
of  British  descent,  may  feel  the  truth  which  the  Sage  expressed 
in  "  Past  and  Present  " :  "  The  Hill  I  first  saw  the  sun  rise 
over,  when  the  sun  and  all  things  were  in  their  auroral  hour, 
who  can  divorce  me  from  it  ?  Mystic,  deep  as  the  world's 
centre,  are  the  roots  I  have  struck  into  my  native  soil ;  no  tree 
that  grows  is  rooted  so."  And  the  native-born  whose  eyes  in 
childhood  are  daily  lifted  to  Taranaki's  high  snow-cap,  who 
watches  from  the  farmhouse  the  morning  mists  trailing  up  like 
the  smoke  of  fairies'  camp-fires  from  the  gullies  of  Pirongia,  oi 
who  sees  from  afar  Ruapehu's  icy  heliograph  flash  back  the 
sunrise — this  son  of  New  Zealand  cannot  but  come  to  love  the 
landscape  saliencies  of  his  native  place  with  something  of  the 
Maori  adoration  for  "  my  parent  the  Mountain." 

Regarding  these  old  wars  in  the  light  of  the  ordeal  of  battle 
from  which  the  civilized  world  has  lately  emerged,  the  pakeha- 
Maori  conflicts  seem  chivalrous  tournaments.  The  formidable 
character  of  the  country  in  most  of  the  operations,  while  it 
increased  the  hardships  of  the  campaigns,  went  to  keep  the 
casualties  low.  As  in  the  wars  of  British  and  French  in  the 
Canadian  forests,  described  by  Parkman  in  "  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe,"  "the  problem  was  less  how  to  fight  the  enemy  than  how 
to  get  at  him."  And  exasperated  Imperial  commanders,  from 
Despard  down  to  Cameron  and  Chute,  realized  as  their  columns 
toiled  ponderously  and  painfully  over  unmapped  country  in  search 
of  a  too-mobile  foe,  through  unroaded  swamps,  bush,  and  ranges, 


4  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

and  unbridged  rivers,  the  truth  of  the  dictum  that  geography  is 
two-thirds  of  military  science. 

It  is  curious  to  discover  in  the  early  records  how  little  the 
military  commanders  and  officials  realized  the  military  quality 
of  the  Maori.  We  find,  even  before  New  Zealand  became  a 
British  colony,  the  Resident  at  the  Bay  of  Islands,  Mr.  Busby, 
declaring  in  a  letter  to  the  Colonial  Secretary  of  'New  South  Wales 
urging  the  despatch  of  a  detachment  of  soldiers  to  uphold  the 
authority  cf  the  Resident  and  the  Ngapuhi  confederation  of 
native  chiefs,  "  With  regard  to  the  number  of  troops  which  it 
might  be  necessary  to  maintain,  it  would,  I  think,  require  little 
knowledge  of  military  tactics  to  satisfy  one  who  has  witnessed 
the  warfare  of  the  native  that  one  hundred  English  soldiers 
would  be  an  overmatch  for  the  united  forces  of  the  whole  Islands. 
But  in  fact  there  is  little  risk  of  even  two  tribes  uniting  to 
oppose  them."* 

Equally  fatuous  was  the  debate  in  the  Legislative  Council  at 
Auckland,  in  1842,  upon  the  question  of  arresting  the  cannibal 
chief  Taraia  for  his  attack  upon  the  Katikati  Maoris  at  Ongare  ; 
it  was  actually  suggested  that  the  old  warrior  should  be  served 
with  a  summons  by  a  constable  in  his  fortified  pa.  In  1844, 
after  the  tragic  blunder  of  the  Wairau,  Governor  Fitzroy  reported 
of  the  Wellington  and  Nelson  officials  and  settlers,  "  No  one 
appeared  disposed  to  give  the  natives  credit  for  courage  or  skill 
in  warfare  ;  no  one  seemed  to  doubt  but  that  they  would  fly 
before  a  very  small  detachment  of  military  ;  the  prevailing  feeling 
appeared  to  be  for  a  collision."  That  collision,  when  it  came  in 
the  North,  revealed  the  unsuspected  capacity  of  the  natives  to 
meet  and  defeat  —  given  their  own  conditions  of  fighting  —  the 
best.  British  troops.  While  Hone  Heke  and  Kawiti  were  building 
their  stockades  and  moulding  their  bullets  for  their  "  fighting 
friends,"  the  redcoats,  the  Polynesian  cousins  of  the  Maori,  the 
Tahitians,  were  fearlessly  withstanding  the  French  ;  and,  just  as 
the  Ngapuhi  speedily  undeceived  the  too-confident  Despard,  the 
warriors  of  the  Society  Islands  falsified  the  boast  of  the  officer 
who,  previous  to  an  encounter  in  rear  of  Papeete,  was  heard  to 
declare,  "  Give  me  fifty  men  and  I'll  march  through  Tahiti." 

In  Hone  Heke's  day  the  Maori  population  so  greatly  out- 
numbered the  whites,  who  were  here  on  sufferance,  that  the 
confidence  of  such  commanders  as  Despard  and  some  of  the 
officials  and  administrators  of  the  hour  is  inexplicable  except  on 
the  theory  of  an  overweening  faith  in  the  white  man's  military 
invincibility.  A  Government  return  of  the  native  population  of 
New  Zealand,  laid  before  the  Legislative  Council  at  Auckland 
in  l845>  gave  an  aggregate  of  109,550,  being  the  estimate  of  the 

*  From  manuscript  letter,  3th  June,  1837,  in  Mr.  Busby's  letter-book, 
New  Zealand  archives. 


THE    OLD    RACE   AND   THE   NEW.  5 

Chief  Protector  of  Aborigines.  Of  this  number  40,000  were  put 
down  as  proselytes  of  the  Anglican  Church  missionaries,  about 
16,000  under  the  Wesley ans,  and  about  5,000  were  Roman 
Catholics  ;  all  the  rest  were  termed  "  Pagans."  The  Ngapuhi 
Tribe  was  estimated  to  number  12,000,  and  the  Rarawa  4,000  ; 
Ngati-Whatua,  2,000  ;  Ngati-Maru  (under  the  famous  chief  Taraia), 
4,000  ;  making  in  all  22,000  in  the  North  Auckland  districts  and 
on  the  shores  of  the  Hauraki  Gulf  and  about  the  Thames  River. 
The  East  Coast  population,  from  Tauranga  round  to  Hawke's 
Bay,  was  estimated  at  30,000.  Waikato,  under  the  great  Te 
Wlierowhero,  numbered  18,400.  In  Taranaki  proper  there  were 
only  2,000  people  ;  there  were  in  South  Taranaki  3,000  of  the 
Ngati-Ruanui  and  other  tribes.  The  Rotorua  people  mustered 
9,000  all  told,  and  the  Taupo  clans  1,500  (a  curiously  small  esti- 
mate). 'From  Wanganui  along  the  west  coast  of  the  Wellington 
Province  and  round  to  the  country  of  the  Ngati-Kahungunu 
at  Ahuriri  (now  Napier)  there  were  21,950  people,  of  whom  Te 
Rauparaha  headed  5,000  in  the  Otaki  and  adjacent  districts. 
In  the  South  Island  there  were  4,700  Maoris,  consisting  of  1,000 
Ngati-Toa  (Rauparaha's  tribe),  chiefly  at  Cloudy  Bay  (Wairau), 
100  of  the  vanquished  Rangitane,  and  3,600  Ngai-Tahu,  whose 
principal  chief  was  Taiaroa,  of  Otago. 

The  New-Zealander  of  the  2nd  August,  184.5,  commenting  upon 
these  figures,  said  that,  the  return  showed  there  were  nearly 
7O,cjo  natives  within  three  hundred  miles  of  Auckland.  "This 
most  important  fact,"  it  added,  "  should  awake  vigilance  as  well 
as  stimulate  firmness  and  decision  in  the  present  crisis." 

In  1847  Lieutenant  W.  Servantes,  interpreter  to  the  Forces, 
estimated  the  Maoris  numbers  at  90,000.  Bishop  Selwyn's 
calculation  of  the  total  was  60,000.  But  Governor  Grey,  in 
1849,  estimated  the  native  population  at  120,000  :  and  Dr. 
Shortland,  in  1851,  agreed  with  the  Governor's  figures. 

Even  taking  the  lowest  estimate,  it  is  apparent  that  a  com- 
bined effort  by  the  natives  in  the  "  forties  "  or  early  "  fifties  " 
could  have  driven  the  pakeha  population  into  the  sea.  Had  the 
"  Land  League "  or  the  Pai-Marire  fanaticism  been  born  ten 
years  earlier,  or  had  a  military  genius  like  Te  Kooti  led  the  Maori 
tribes  against  the  whites  in  1845  and  1846,  the  story  of  New 
Zealand  would  read  very  differently.  Certainly,  had  the  Maoris 
but  realized  their  strength,  had  they  then  possessed  any  political 
organization  beyond  the  tribal,  it  was  in  their  power  to  have  kept 
these  Islands  indefinitely  in  the  semi-savage  condition  of  1840, 
tolerating  only  the  missionaries  and  a  few  coast-trading  pakeha- 
Maoris.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  true 
benevolence,  the  hospitality,  and  the  continued  friendship  of  such 
men  as  Tamati  Waka  and  Patuone,  Te  Kawau,  Te  Where whero, 
and  Te  Puni,  the  British  flag  might  not  be  flying  in  New  Zealand 
to-dav. 


CHAPTER   II. 


THE  BEACH  AT  KORORAREKA. 

There  are  some  bays  in  the  South  Pacific  on  whose  shores  wild 
history  has  been  made — strands  saturate  with  a  hundred  romantic, 
adventurous,  and  tragic  memories.  Pre-eminently  one  of  these 
is  the  beach  of  Apia,  in  Samoa ;  another,  steeped  almost  as 
deeply  in  early-days  legend  and  war-time  history,  is  Kororareka, 
Bay  of  Islands.  From  the  dawn  of  civilized  enterprise  on  our 
coasts  we  hear  of  Kororareka  and  its  fleets  of  whalers  at  anchor, 
its  Maori  "  ship-girls,"  its  gun-play  between  quarrelsome  native 
hapus,  and  its  all-pervading  flavour  of  license  and  lawlessness  ; 
this  period  of  pagan  freedom  followed  by  an  unwilling  reformation 
under  the  influence  of  reputable  settlers  and  the  British  flag,  a 
brief  day  of  importance  as  the  capital  of  the  new-made  colony, 
and  the  final  debacle  when  the  flagstaff  on  its  sentry  hill  was  laid 
in  dust  and  the  blockhouses  and  grog-shops  alike  went  up  in  flames. 
Kororareka — the  modern  Russell — remains  to-day  a  place  apart, 
curiously  little  advanced,  at  any  rate  in  population,  by  the  passage 
of  three-quarters  of  a  century,  and  shorn  of  its  ancient  commercial 
glory  ;  a  sedate,  pretty  seaside  township  where  the  round  of  life 
in  a  delicious  climate  is  seldom  disturbed  by  intrusive  shipping. 
The  pervading  air,  a  half -regretful  recollection  of  a  red-blooded 
past,  is  reminiscent  of  some  of  the  old  gold-digging  towns  on  the 
coast  of  Westland. 

The  old  landmarks  are  readily  to  be  picked  out.  A  modern 
flagstaff  stands  on  the  exact  spot  on  Maiki  Hill,  300  feet  above 
us  yonder,  where  Hone  Heke,  Haratua,  and  their  kin  four  times 
felled  the  British  signal-mast.  The  steep  hills  behind  the  little 
town  are  still  clothed  for  the  most  part  in  manuka  and  fern  as  they 
were  in  Heke's  day,  with  an  immigrant  admixture  of  gorse  and 
sweetbrier.  The  old  English  church,  with  its  marks  of  cannon- 
shot,  still  stands  in  the  burying-ground  around  whose  fence  Kawiti 
fought  the  British  bluejackets  in  1845. 

Let  us  picture  something  of  the  aspect  of  Kororareka  Beach 
in  the  war-brewing  "  forties."  This  straggling  town,  its  single 
street  fitting  itself  closely  to  the  rim  of  the  gravelly  beach,  is  a 
mingling  of  pakeha  and  Maori  architecture.  One-  and  two-storied 
weatherboard  stores  and  publichouses  have  for  close  neighbours 
thatched  whares  of  slab  and  fern,  tree-trunk  and  raupo.  Near  the 
southern  end  of  the  beach  is  a  Maori  village  enclosed  by  a  palisade 
of  split  trees  and  manuka  stakes.  There  is  no  jetty ;  the  boats 


THE   BEACH   AT  KORORAREKA.  7 

of  men-o'-war  whalers,  and  trading  craft  alike  are  hauled  up  on 
the  beach,  Over  in  the  north  cove  by  Waipara  Spring  two  boats' 
crews  from  an  American  whaleship  are  towing  off  a  string  of  water- 
casks  roped  together.  Out  in  the  bay  lie  half  a  dozen  deep-sea 
vessels,  most  of  them  New  Bedford  whale-hunters  ;  nearer  the 
beach  sundry  fore-and-afters,  schooner-  or  cutter-rigged,  swing  to 
an  anchor  ;  one  or.  two  of  these  are  owned  and  sailed  by  Maoris, 
for  the  East  Coast  native  is  not  only  a  first-rate  sailor,  but  is 
beginning  to  taste  the  pleasures  and  profits  of  shipowning.  Natives 
in  their  blankets  and  mats  lounge  on  the  beach-edge,  dozing, 
smoking,  or  arguing  in  the  vociferous  manner  of  the  Maori.  Nga- 
puhi  girls,  barefooted  and  bareheaded,  well  plumped-out  of  figure, 
swing  up  and  down  the  roadway  flaunting  the  print  gowns  and 
the  brightly  coloured  "  roundabouts  "  and  the  glittering  ear-rings 
bought  with  the  dollars  of  the  sailormen.  Some  of  them  are 
lately  from  the  mission  stations,  maybe,  but  the  temptations  of 
Kororareka  and  the  whaleships  are  irresistible.  Many  a  native 
wears  a  little  metal  cross  or  a  crucifix  about  his  neck,  or  a 
figure  of  the  Virgin  hung  by  a  black  ribbon  or  tape  from  one 
ear,  balancing  a  shark's  tooth  or  a  greenstone  in  the  other — for 
the  Catholic  religion,  newly  come  to  the  Bay,  is  highly  popular, 
and  Bishop  Pompallier  numbers  his  converts  by  the  hundred. 
Most  of  the  able-bodied  men,  tall  athletes  with  tattooed  faces, 
are  armed.  You  see  a  party  of  young  bloods  spring  ashore  from 
a  canoe,  in  from  one  of  Pomare's,  Heke's,  or  Kawiti's  pas  up  the 
harbour,  and  observe  that  every  man  has  his  short-handled  toma- 
hawk, brightly  polished  of  blade,  thrust  through  his  flax  girdle 
just  over  the  hip  or  at  the  small  of  the  back  ;  he  would  no  more 
stir  from  home  without  it  than  a  Far  West  plainsman  of  the 
old  days  would  move  abroad  without  his  six-shooter.  Many  also 
carry  their  flint-lock  guns,  which  they  call  ngutu-parera  ("  duck- 
bill " — from  the  shape  of  the  hammer)  ;  and  note,  too,  the  new 
percussion-cap  gun,  double-barrelled,  which  the  Maori  is  able  to 
obtain  from  Sydney  trading  craft,  while  his  antagonist  soon-to-be, 
the  British  soldier,  must  for  some  years  yet  be  content  with  the 
ancient  musket. 

Whaleship  watches  on  shore  leave  make  lively  business  in  the 
bar-rooms  over  their  rum  and  ale.  The  captains  have  the  parlours, 
sacred  to  the  quarter-deck,  and  there  they  sit  over  their  Scotch 
whisky  or  their  cognac  or  squareface  exchanging  the  news  of  all 
the  seas,  and  relating  their  whale-fishing  successes  and  misadven- 
tures from  the  Aleutians  to  Foveaux  Strait  and  from  the  Japan 
coast,  to  the  Kermadecs.  Hard  old  tyrants  some  of  these  whaling 
skippers,  from  Nantucket,  or  New  Bedford,  or  Martha's  Vineyard, 
or  Boston,  Mass.  ;  of  all  sailors  they  are  the  monarchs  absolute  ; 
their  cruises  last  for  years,  and  their  crews  they  hold  by  the  strong 
hand,  and  good  rewards  to  the  natives  for  the  capture  of  deserters 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


tn       rf  rt 
?      Si 

?« 


<D 


PC 


K,  Q^    HH 

<  i^ 


<  51 

I 

< 

5 

M 
0 


W     ff 


THE    BEACH   AT   KORORAREKA.  g 

Raffish-looking  crews  they  captain.  No  two  men  wear  clothes 
alike  ;  some  have  blue  monkey-jackets  and  duck  trousers,  some 
are  in  the  dungarees  of  shipboard  work  ;  their  headgear  is  a  study 
in  the  variety  of  forecastle-made  caps  of  canvas,  Scotch  caps, 
tarpaulins,  and  shapeless  hats  of  patched  cloth.  Lean,  hard- 
worked  hunters  of  the  world's  biggest  game  ;  harpooneers,  and 
oarsmen,  and  blubber-flenchers  from  all  the  seafaring  countries 
of  the  world  :  long-limbed,  drawling  men  of  the  New  England 
States ;  coal-black  darkies  from  Jamaica ;  half-breed  Indians 
from  the  State  of  Maine  ;  piratical  ear-ringed  Portuguese-negroid 
nondescripts  from  the  Azores  and  Cape  de  Verde  Islands  ;  brisk 
Irish  lads  unmistakable  ;  and  here  and  there  a  sturdy  man  of 
Kent  or  Devon  who  has  run  perhaps  from  a  British  man-of-war 
with  a  flogging  captain  and  found  worse  than  the  "  cat  "  in  the 
oil-soaked  whaler. 

Follow  the  stores-buying  captain  or  chief  officer  of  the  "  Levi 
Starbuck  ".into  one  of  the  weatherboard  trading-houses,  blue  with 
strong  tobacco  and  thick  with  the  tang  of  tarred  rope.  This 
interior  is  a  typical  South  Sea  warehouse ;  the  proprietor  is  ship- 
chandler,  sea-stock  dealer,  ironmonger  and  gunsmith,  grog-seller, 
gunpowder-purveyor,  and  a  dozen  other  trades.  He  can  provide 
a  ship  with  anchor  and  cable,  or  set  the  Maoris  on  the  track  of 
Captain  Ephraim  J.  Nye's  runaway  boat-steerer  with  admirable 
despatch  ;  provide  a  3oo-ton  barque  with  a  complete  new  set  of 
sails  or  sufficient  muskets  and  ammunition  to  conquer  a  cannibal 
island.  There  are  blankets,  prints,  red  sealing-wax,  tomahawks, 
bullet-moulds,  iron  pots,  tobacco  by  the  cask,  for  the  Maori  trade ; 
sugar  and  molasses  and  rum  from  the  West  Indies ;  salt  beef  and 
pork  and  adamant  biscuit  for  sea-fare  ;  sou'-westers,  cutting-in 
spades,  harpoon-line  by  the  hundred  fathom,  lance-heads,  charts, 
binnacle  lanterns,  spy-glasses,  and  boat-compasses ;  pistols  and 
knuckle-dusters  for  the  afterguard,  holystones  and  squeejees  and 
coal-tar  to  keep  the  fists  of  the  'foremast  hands  out  of  mischief. 

Now  board  one  of  those  whaleships  lying  out  yonder  at  an 
?asy  anchor — the  ships  that  made  this  Bay  of  Islands  famous — 
and  you  shall  see  the  most  conservative  of  all  craft  afloat.  While 
every  other  phase  of  sea-life  and  every  other  kind  of  ship  has 
changed  out  of  all  likeness  to  the  olden  type,  the  sailing  whaler 
does  not  alter.  Step  into  the  stern-sheets  of  one  of  those  beauti- 
fully modelled  carvel-built  whaleboats  with  the  tobacco-chewing 
New  England  mate  standing  at  the  22-foot  steer-oar.  See  how 
the  crew  of  five  stretch  back  to  it  with  their  ash  oars — the  long, 
full  stroke  of  the  true  whaleman,  who  will  have  none  of  your 
quick  and  jerky  Navy  oarsmanship.  A  few  of  those  long  strokes 
and  we  are  clambering  up  a  rope  ladder  on  to  the  white-scrubbed 
decks  of  a  ship  as  clean  as  a  yacht  for  all  her  greasy  trade.  The 
pervading  but  not  unpleasant  smell  of  oil,  the  stuff  that  permeates 


I0  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

her  every  timber  and  fills  half  the  casks  in  her  hold  ;  the  rows 
of  sharp-ended  3O-foot  boats  at  her  cranes  and  davits ;  the 
leather-  or  canvas-covered  harpoons  and  lances  whose  long  shafts 
project  from  each  boat  ;  the  barrel  slung  as  a  crow's-nest  at  her 
maintopgallant-masthead — these  all  proclaim  her  calling.  But 
there  is  something  more  about  her  that  tokens  her  a  ship  apart 
from  all  others,  this  barque  "  Narwhal,"  or  "  Levi  Starbuck," 
"  Canton  Packet,"  "  Pocahontas,"  or  "  Charles  W.  Morgan,"  or 
however  she  may  be  named.  The  bluff-bowed  square-sterned  craft, 
with  her  sides  all  hung  with  boats  painted  light  blue  like  the 
sea,  has  an  indescribable  air  of  having  been  out  of  the  world  for 
years  and  years.  The  whale-hunter  under  canvas  seems  almost 
part  of  the  sea,  so  long  are  the  absences  from  port,  so  habituated 
the  crews  to  the  ways  of  the  great  deep. 

In  such  a  craft  as  this  Herman  Melville  sails  sperm-whale 
chasing  at  the  time  of  our  narrative  ;  it  is  from  just  such  a 
barque  as  the  "  Charles  W.  Morgan  "  or  the  "  Awashonks  "  that 
he  deserts  to  find  the  beautiful  valley  of  Taipi  and  to  give  the 
world  an  undying  true  romance  of  the  South  Seas.  The  "  Little 
Jule  "  of  his  Marquesan  and  Tahitian  adventures,  or  the  ivory- 
garnished  "  Pequod  "  of  "  Moby  Dick,"  may  veritably  be  one  of 
these  far-roving  barques  that  ride  at  the  quiet  anchorages  of 
Kororareka  and  Wahapu  this  year  1845. 

If  you  are  privileged  to  explore  the  wrinkled  canvas-backed 
charts  or  look  into  the  captain's  log-book  you  will  see  curious 
symbols  that  belong  to  the  whale-fishing  trade  alone.  The  pen- 
cilled zigzag  lines  of  the  vessel's  cruising  course  across  the  Pacific 
are  punctuated  every  here  and  there  with  rough  drawings  of  a 
whale's  flukes,  or  the  head  of  a  great  sperm  bull,  or  maybe 
a  school  of  porpoises.  Each  pictograph  tells  a  tale  of  oil- 
getting,  or  of  "  drawn  irons  "  and  a  lost  whale  ;  perhaps  now 
and  again  a  boat  lost.  Each  emblem  of  a  "  kill  "  is  figured  with 
the  number  of  barrels  obtained.  "  Dirty  work  for  clean  money  "  : 
sperm-oil  these  years  of  1840-50  rises  steadily  until  it  is  worth 
a  dollar  a  gallon,  and  bone  from  the  "right"  whale  is  quoted  at 
£200  per  ton  in  New  York. 

Observe  that  all  these  merchant  ships  are  armed,  some  with 
a  single  iron  carronade  or  a  brass  gun  on  each  side,  some  with 
whole  broadsides  of  four  or  six  guns,  Q-pounders  and  12-pounders. 
Yonder  taunt-masted  brig,  a  trader  from  Hobart  Town,  has  a  swivel 
gun  on  her  poop  as  well  as  a  whole  battery  on  her  main  deck; 
she  is  lately  in  from  a  sandalwooding  cruise  to  the  New  Hebrides 
and  New  Caledonia  and  a  voyage  to  China,  and  she  has  used  her 
guns  against  Western  Pacific  cannibals  and  Canton  pirates.  The 
merchant  sailor  of  1845  had  to  be  gunner  too  ;  and  it  is  aboard 
these  traders  and  whalers  that  some  of  our  young  Ngapuhi, 
making  a  voyage  for  the  love  of  adventure  and.  the  open  sea-road, 


THE   BEACH   AT   KORORAREKA.  II 

have  learned  to  load,  lay,  and  fire  artillery,  a  science  that  is  to 
be  of  use  presently  to  their  war-chief  Heke. 

Such  were  some  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  Kororareka 
Bay  in  the  early  years  of  British  sovereignty.  The  visits  of 
whaleships  were  all-important,  for  it  was  almost  solely  with  them 
that  the  business  of  the  white  dealers  and  the  Maori  barterers 
lay.  In  1845  there  were  more  than  six  hundred  American  ships 
and  barques  engaged  in  whale-fishing,  and  of  these  a  considerable 
number  visited  New  Zealand  annually ;  and  English,  French, 
Sydney,  and  Hobart  whalers  also  frequented  the  coast.  Mr. 
John  Webster,  of  Hakianga,  related  in  his  reminiscences'  that 
when  he  landed  at  Russell  Town  from  Sydney  on  the  ist  May, 
1841,  there  were  over  twenty  whaling-vessels  in  the  Bay,  and 
the  beach  was  alive  with  seamen  and  their  officers.  It  was  the 
season  when  all  the  whalers  put  in  for  provisions  and  to  fit  out 
for  another  year's  chase  of  the  sperm  and  the  "  right  "  whale. 
But  the  number  of  visitors  quickly  lessened  when  the  Governor 
in  Council  imposed  a  Customs  tariff  on  the  staple  articles  of  trade, 
thus  making  the  port  highly  expensive  for  the  whalemen  ;  and, 
as  will  be  shown,  this  falling-off  in  trade  created  annoyance  and 
resentment  in  the  Maori  mind. 

The  white  population  of  Kororareka  in  its  days  of  prosperity 
was  about  a  thousand  ;  by  1845  this  number  had  fallen  to  some 
four  hundred.  In  1842  the  town  even  supported  a  newspaper, 
the  Bay  of  Islands  Observer,  a  four-page  weekly  sold  for  a  shilling. 
Traders'  advertisements  in  this  paper  give  us  an  insight  into  the 
commercial  life  of  the  place,  and  enable  us  to  picture  scenes  in  the 
'longshore  stores,  with  their  curious  variety  of  goods  stocked  for 
maritime  and  Maori  customers.  Thomas  Spicer,  "  Kororareka 
Beach,"  announced  that  he  had  for  sale  such  articles  as  "  duck 
frocks  and  trousers,  muslin  dresses,  assorted  prints,  fine  Congo 
tea;  fine  French  capers,  iron  pots,  tobacco,  salt,  shovels  and 
spades,  tomahawks,  cartouche-boxes,  superfine  beaver  hats,  and 
crockery."  C.  J.  Cook  and  Co.  informed  the  public  that  they 
dealt  in  ironmonger}/,  blankets,  tea,  sugar,  tobacco,  policemen's 
lanterns  umbrellas,  spittoons,  sealing-wax,  escutcheons,  solar 
lamps,  shot,  powder,  tinder-boxes,  salt  pork,  "  and  all  other 
necessary  commodities."  At  Wahapu  an  American,  Captain 
William  Mayhew — one  of  the  foreign  residents  from  whom  Hone 
Heke  received  political  inspiration — conducted  a  large  store  in 
which  he  stocked,  among  other  necessaries  of  life,  gunpowder  in 
casks  and  canisters,  flour,  tar,  anchors,  butter,  cheese,  shot, 
dungaree,  sealskin  caps,  silk  hats,  French  bedsteads,  double- 
barrelled  flint-lock  guns,  single-  and  double-barrelled  percussion 
guns,  ploughs,  pit-saws,  blankets,  slop  clothes,  and  sarsaparilla. 

There  was  a  "  Kororareka  Observatory."  William  Robertson, 
who  owned  this  establishment,  advertised  repairs  to  timekeepers, 


12  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

and  added  :  "  Commanders  of  vessels  may  have  their  chrono- 
meters rated  by  transit  observations  and  an  astronomical  clock 
kept  at  Greenwich  mean  time." 

In  1842  the  falling-off  in  maritime  trade  was  already  marked  ; 
nevertheless,  many  ship-commanders  preferred  Kororareka  to  more 
populous  ports.  Small  fleets  of  square-riggers  made  for  the  bay 
in  the  off-season  ;  for  example,  in  two  days  (4th  and  5th  May) 
in  1842  four  American  whaleships — the  "  Triad,"  "  Caledonia," 
"  Washington,"  and  "  Fanny  " — arrived  at  Kororareka,  bringing 
in  their  holds,  as  the  result  of  their  cruises  in  the  Pacific,  takes 
totalling  6,550  barrels  of  oil  and  51,000  Ib.  of  bone.  The  New 
Zealand  Gazette  and  Wellington  Spectator  of  September,  1844,  said  : 
"  The  receipts  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  from  furnishing  supplies  to 
whalers  averaged  for  several  years  about  £45,000  annually,  and 
now  this  trade  is  nearly  extinct."  Up  to  the  date  of  Heke's  War, 
however,  the  number  of  whaling-vessels  using  Russell  and  Wahapu 
as  ports  of  refitting  and  refreshing  was  still  considerable.  Captain 
McKeever,  of  the  United  States  warship  "St.  Louis,"  writing 
from  the  Bay  of  Islands,  I3th  March,  1845,  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  at  Washington,  said  :  "Of  the  high  importance  of  the 
Bay  of  Islands  to  our  whalesmen,  and  of  the  great  value  of 
American  interests  involved  here  (there  being  no  less  than  seventy 
or  eighty  of  the  whalers  touching  and  refitting  annually),  I  pre- 
sume you  are  well  aware,  and  I  am  safe  probably  in  saying  that 
no  other  port  or  harbour  in  the  world  competes  with  it  in  its 
importance  to  the  American  whaling  interests."  The  Bay  of 
Islands,  indeed,  was  regularly  visited  for  water,  wood,  and  stores, 
and  for  the  shipping  of  oil,  until,  in  the  final  days  of  the  American 
Civil  War,  the  Confederate  commerce-destroying  cruiser  "  Shen- 
andoah  "  left  a  trail  of  burning  New  England  whaleships  across 
the  Pacific  ;  and  even  in  the  "  nineties  "  I  have  seen  an  occasional 
whaling-barque,  such  as  the  "  Gayhead,"  of  New  Bedford,  lying 
at  anchor  at  Russell,  boating  off  her  water-casks,  as  in  the  early 
days,  from  the  perennial  spring  of  Waipara. 


CHAPTER  III. 


HERE  AND  THE  FLAGSTAFF. 

God  made  this  country  for  us.  It  cannot  be  sliced  ;  if  it. 
were  a  whale  it  might  be  sliced.  Do  you  return  to  your  own  country,  which 
was  made  by  God  for  you.  God  made  this  land  for  us  ;  it  is  not  for  any 
stranger  or  foreign  nation  to  meddle  with  this  sacred  country." — Hone  Heke's 
letter  to  ike  Governor,  1845. 

Robert  Louis  Stevenson  described  the  town  on  Apia  beach 
as  the  seat  of  the  political  sickness  of  Samoa.  Cosmopolitan 
Kororareka  was  the  seat  of  the  troubles  of  north  New  Zealand; 
its  flagstaff  was  the  putake  o  te  riri,  in  Maori  phrase — the  root 
and  fount  of  the  wars.  And  Hone  Heke,  one-time  mission  pupil, 
malcontent,  and  rebel  general,  played  as  bold  a  part  in  the 
drama  of  our  early  days  as  ever  the  patriotic  Mataafa  enacted 
in  his  little  world  under  Upolu's  palms  in  the  last  two  decades 
of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Hone  Heke's  character  was  curiously  composite — a  mingling  of 
passionate  patriotism,  ambition,  bravado,  vanity,  and  a  shrewd- 
ness sharpened  by  his  partial  civilization.  Heke  foresaw  more 
clearly  than  most  of  his  countrymen  the  fatal  consequences  to  the 
Maori  of  white  colonization  and  the  flooding  of  the  country  with 
an  alien  population  who  would  regard  the  native  New-Zealander 
with  none  of  the  sympathy  entertained  for  him  by  the  long-settled 
missionaries.  For  the  mission  people,  of  whatever  denomination, 
Ngapuhi,  like  most  other  tribes  in  1840,  cherished  feelings  of  deep 
regard  ;  they  knew  that  those  devoted  men  and  women  had  not 
come  to  the  Maori  islands  to  make  profit  out  of  the  natives'  igno- 
rance of  trade  values.  Many  a  coast  trader,  timber-miller,  and 
settler,  too,  were  held  in  high  estimation  by  the  tribes  of  the 
North  ;  they  had  won  the  affections  of  the  chiefs  and  people  by 
their  fair  methods  of  business,  and  by  kindly  services  in  times  of 
sickness  and  sorrow.  But  the  numerous  speculators  and  land- 
seekers  who  landed  in  north  New  Zealand  by  every  vessel  after 
the  hoisting  of  the  British  flag  furnished  them  with  an  argument 
for  a  policy  of  exclusion,  for  it  seemed  even  then  to  keen-visioned 
men  like  Heke  that  the  wholesale  immigration  of  so  strong  a  race 
must  in  years  to  come  inundate  the  chieftainship  of  the  Maori. 

At  the  same  time,  there  were  whites  whom  Ngapuhi  and  Te 
Rarawa  and  their  kin  desired  strongly  to  encourage  for  reasons  of 
self-interest.  These  were  the  captains  and  crews  of  the  whale- 
ships —  the  men  who  were  chiefly  responsible  at  once  for  the 
material  prosperity  and  the  moral  deterioration  of  the  northern 


14  NEW   ZEALAND   WARP. 

tribes.  The  whaleships  supplied  practically  the  whole  of  the  trade 
of  the  Bay  of  Islands  and  Mangormi,  as  the  kauri  timber  ships  did 
that  of  Hokianga ;  and  the  decrease  in  this  trade  directly  follow- 
ing the  establishment  of  British  sovereignty  went  far  to  convince 
Heke  and  Pomare,  and  the  many  others  who  lived  to  a  large 
extent  on  the  profits  accruing  from  the  visits  of  shipping,  that 
the  old  regime,  when  every  man  made  his  own  laws,  was  prefer- 
able to  the  new  order. 

Hone  Heke  was  nephew  to   Hongi   Hika,   and   married  that 
chief's  daughter,  Hariata  Rongo.      He  died  without  issue  ;    but 


From  a  pencil  drawing  by  J.  A.  Gilfillan. ] 
HONE  HEKE. 


his  elder  brother,  Tuhirangi,  of  Kaikohe,  begat  Hone  Ngapua,  who 
married  Niu,  who  gave  birth  in  1869  to  Hone  Heke  the  Second, 
who  came  while  vet  a  very  young  man  to  represent  the  Northern 
Maori  Electorate  in  the  New  Zealand  House  of  Representatives. 
Hone  Heke  the  First  engaged  in  the  intertribal  wars  of  the  North 
while  still  a  youth,  and  in  1830  he  displayed  energy  and  skill  in 
a  battle  at  Kororareka.  Three  years  later  he  was  one  of  the 
Ngapuhi  men,  under  Tit.ore,  who  sailed  their  war-canoes  down  the 
coast  to  Tauranga,  where  they  attacked  Otumoetai  and  other  pas. 
Heke  was  wounded  in  the  neck  in  this  expedition.  In  1837  he  took 
a  leading  part  in  the  fighting  against  Pomare  and  Te  Mau-Paraoa, 


HERE   AND   THE    FLAGSTAFF.  15 

whose  stockaded  pa  (destroyed  by  the  British  troops  in  1845) 
stood  on  Otuihu,  a  prominent  place  on  the  cliffs  above  the 
entrance  to  the  Waikare  and  Kawakawa  arms  of  Tokerau,  and 
about  six  miles  from  Kororareka  Town. 

In  an  interval  of  peace  in  the  "  thirties  "  young  Heke  lived  at 
Paihia  in  the  establishment  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Williams  (after- 
wards Archdeacon  of  Waimate),  and  the  respect  and  affection  for 
the  missionaries  then  engendered  in  his  mind  remained  a  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  his  otherwise  turbulent  character.  It  was 
at  Paihia  that  he  learned  something  of  the  history  of  the  outer 
world  —  a  smattering  of  knowledge  which  he  turned  to  shrewd 
account  in  his  arguments  with  the  Government  a  few  vears  later. 

The  portrait  of  Hone  Heke  is  an  index  to  his  character.  His 
nose,  though  not  the  predatory  ihu-kaka,  or  strong  hook-nose, 
that  distinguished  some  great  Maori  leaders;  was  prominent  and 
well-shapen  ;  his  prominent  jaws  and  chin  denoted  firmness  and 
resolution.  The  old  Kaikohe  natives  of  to-day  speak  of  Heke's 
kauae-roa,  his  long  chin,  as  the  salient  character  of  his  face.  He 
was  tattooed,  but  not  with  the  full  design  of  moko,  such  as  that 
borne  by  his  great  kinsman  and  antagonist,  Tamati  Waka  Nene. 

Heke's  dissatisfaction  with  the  state  of  maritime  trade  after 
1840  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at,  seeing  that  in  addition  to  the 
returns  from  the  sale  of  food-supplies  to  the  whalemen  he  had 
collected  a  kind  of  Customs  dues  from  visiting  ships.  Before  the 
British  flag  was  hoisted  he  and  his  cousin  Titore  divided  a  levy 
of  £5  on  each  ship  entering  the  Bay.  They  collected  their  dues 
from  the  ships  outside  the  anchorage,  boarding  them  in  their 
canoes  before  Tapeka  Point  was  rounded.  Many  ships  sailed  up 
to  the  anchorages  off  Wahapu  and  Otuihu,  in  the  passage  to  the 
Kawakawa  and  Waikare,  and  here  Pomare  collected  his  toll  from 
each  ship,  for  he  was  the  paramount  chief  of  the  inner  waters 
Pomare  also  was  the  principal  agent  in  the  disreputable  but 
profitable  business  of  supplying  girls  as  temporary  wives  to  the 
crews  of  the  whaleships  during  their  stay  in  port  This  was  a 
leading  line  of  Maori  traffic  with  the  shipping  in  unscrupulous 
old  Kororareka  and  Otuihu,  which  not  even  the  strong  mission 
influence  could  extirpate. 

In  1841,  in  a  Government  Ordinance,  Customs  duties  were 
set  forth  in  a  brief  schedule.  All  spirits,  British,  paid  45.  per 
gallon  to  the  Customs  ;  all  other  spirits,  foreign,  55.  Tobacco, 
after  the  ist  January,  1842,  was 'to  pay  is.  per  pound  on  the 
manufactured  article  and  gd.  per  pound  on  the  unmanufactured ; 
snuff  and  cigars,  2s.  per  pound.  Tea,  sugar,  flour,  and  grain 
were  taxed  £5  on  every  £100  of  value  ;  wine,  £15  per  £100  ;  all 
other  foreign  goods,  £5  per  £100.  In  1844  firearms  were  taxed 
30  per  cent.  And  when  the  storekeeper  had  passed  on  the 
increases  to  his  customers,  with  no  doubt  a  considerable  extra 
margin  of  profit  for  the  Maori  trade,  the  warrior  who  came  in 


!6  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

to  renew  his  supply  of  whin,  or  twist  tobacco,  to  purchase  a 
ne\v  blanket  or  a  musket,  or  to  lay  by  a  store  of  lead  for  moulding 
into  bullets,  received  the  clearest  proof  that  the  Treaty  which 
he  had  signed  had  not  improved  his  condition  of  life. 

To  this  concrete  evidence  of  trade  depression  was  added  a 
vague  but  widely  diffused  belief  that  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi 
was  merely  a  ruse  of  the  pakeha,  and  that  it  was  the  secret 
intention  of  the  whites,  so  soon  as  they  became  strong  enough, 
to  seize  upon  the  lands  of  the  Maori.  In  1844  the  news  reached 
New  Zealand  that  the  House  of  Commons  Committee  on  New 
Zealand  Affairs  had  resolved  that  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi  was 
a  part  of  a  series  of  injudicious  proceedings,  and  that  "  the 
acknowledgment  by  the  local  authorities  of  a  right  of  property 
on  the  part  of  the  natives  of  New  Zealand  in  all  wild  land  in 
these  islands,  after  the  sovereignty  had  been  assumed  by  Her 
Majesty,  was  not  essential  to  the  true  construction  of  the  Treaty, 
and  was  an  error  which  had  been  productive  of  very  injurious 
consequences."  In  other  words,  the  Committee  thought  the 
Government  should  seize  upon  all  native  land  not  actually 
occupied,  and  devote  it  to  the  use  of  white  settlers.  This  report, 
the  news  of  French  aggression  in  Tahiti  and  Raiatea,  Fitzroy's 
vacillating  land  policy,  and  simmering  resentment  over  the 
execution  of  Maketu  in  1842  for  the  murder  of  the  Robertson 
family  on  Motu-arohia  Island,  all  went  to  fan  a  war  feeling 
among  the  Ngapuhi. 

It  was  in  1844  that  Heke  came  to  the  decision  to  use  the 
setting-up  of  the  flagstaff  and  the  driving-away  of  the  whalers 
as  a  take,  or  pretext.  Shortly,  he  made  a  raid  upon  Kororareka 
with  a  strong  war-party,  on  a  tana  muru,  or  punitive  plundering 
expedition.  This  excursion  seems  to  have  been  devised  chiefly 
with  a  view  to  testing  the  temper  of  the  whites  and  ascertaining 
what  resistance  he  was  likely  to  meet  with  in  his  campaign 
against  the  kara,  the  colours  on  Maiki  Hill.  The  tana  was  by 
way  of  retaliation  for  an  insult,  serious  in  Maori  eyes,  offered 
by  a  woman  in  the  township.  This  woman  was  Kotiro,  a  native 
of  Taranaki,  who  had  been  led  away  captive  by  Ngapuhi 
fifteen  years  previously.  She  had  been  given  to  Heke~as  a  slave. 
When  she  had  been  for  some  years  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  she 
married  a  Scottish  blacksmith  named  Gray  :  one  of  her  children 
was  Sophia  Hinerangi,  the  celebrated  guide  at  Te  Wairoa  and 
Whakarewarewa,  Rotorua,  in'  after-years.  When  Gray  died, 
Kotiro  became  the  wife  of  another  white  man,  Lord,  who  kepi 
a  store,  lodginghouse,  and  butcher's  shop  on  Kororareka  beach. 
One  day  she  was  bathing  in  the  bay  with  a  number  of  other 
women  when  an  altercation  occurred.  The  name  of  Hone  Heke 
was  mentioned,  whereon  Kotiro  contemptuously  called  him  an 
"  upoko  poaka  "  ("  pig's  head").  This  was  a  kanga,  or  curse,  in 
Maori  notion  ;  and  the  women  promptly  sent  wcrd  thereof  to 


HERE   AND   THE   FLAGSTAFF.  17 

Heke.  The  taua  mum  was  the  sequel.  Heke  began  to  plunder 
Lord's  store  ;  the  trader  compromised  by  offering  a  cask  of  twist 
tobacco  as  compensation  for  the  insult.  This  offer  being  accepted, 
Lord  asked  for  time  to  procure  a  cask  of  tobacco  from  the  rear 
of  the  store  ;  but  this  time  he  employed  in  cutting  the  cask 
into  halves — it  was  the  only  one  he  had  in  stock.  He  then 
endeavoured  to  pass  the  half-cask  on  to  the  Maoris  as  a  whole 
one,  whereupon  there  was  furious  uproar.  Heke  and  his  men 
partly  looted  the  store  ;  the  woman  Kotiro  they  carried  off. 

This   was   on   Friday,   5th   July,    1844.     For   the   next   three 
days   the    war-party    remained    in   the   town,    the   young   bloods 


From  a  photo.] 

TAMATI  WAKA  NENE. 

swaggering  into  stores  and  private  houses  alike,  seizing  whatever 
they  fancied.  On  the  8th  July  the  .flagstaff  on  Maiki  Hill  was 
cut  down.  (Mr.  Hugh  Carleton,  in  his  "  Life  of  Henry  Williams/' 
states  that  on  this  first  occasion  the  flagstaff  was  not  cut  down 
by  Heke,  but  by  Harat.ua,  the  chief  of  Pakaraka.  Archdeacon 
William  Williams,  he  says,  dissuaded  Heke  from  the  deed,  which 
his  followers,  however,  resolved  to  carry  out.  "  Heke  remained 
in  his  canoe,  alleging  that  he  had  pledged  his  word  to  Archdeacon 
William  Williams  and  would  keep  it.  Whereupon  Haratua  jumped 
up,  axe  in  hand,  ran  up  the  hill  with  a  few  followers,  and  cut 
the  flagstaff  down.") 


ig  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Governor  Fitzroy's  troubles  were  now  approaching  their 
climax.  The  news  of  Ngapuhi's  deed  prompted  an  urgent  appeal 
to  headquarters  in  Sydney  for  troops  ;  there  were  only  ninety 
men,  a  company  of  the  8oth,  in  Auckland,  and  none  at  the  Bay 
of  Islands.  In  the  second  week  of  August  the  barque  "  Sydney  " 
arrived  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  from  New  South  Wales  with 
160  officers  and  men  of  the  gqth  Regiment.  On  the  24th  of  the 
month  H.M.S.  "  Hazard  "  dropped  anchor  off  Kororareka,  bringing 
from  Auckland  the  Governor  ;  the  Government  brig  "  Victoria  " 
arrived  in  company  with  the  frigate,  and  the  vessels  landed 
a  detachment  of  the  g6ih  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme ;  two 
light  guns  were  also  brought  ashore.  Heke  had  gone  inland, 
to  Kaikohe.  The  Governor  and  Hulme  were  for  immediate 
hostilities.  However,  a  meeting  was  arranged  at  the  mission 
station  at  Waimate  between  Fitzroy  and  the  chiefs  of  Ngapuhi. 
At  this  meeting  (2nd  September,  1844)  the  Governor  was  accom- 
panied by  the  commander  of  the  "  Hazard  "  and  Lieut. -Colonel 
Hulme.  Tamati  Waka  besought  the  Governor  to  remove  the 
troops  and  redress  the  native  grievances  in  respect  of  the  Customs 
duties,  which  had  caused  the  trouble  ;  he  and  the  other  chiefs 
on  their  part  undertook  to  keep  Heke  in  check  and  to  protect 
the  Europeans  in  the  district.  To  these  requests  Fitzroy  agreed. 
He  perceived  the  uselessness  of  aggressive  action  with  his  avail- 
able force,  and  ordered  the  troops  back  to  their  headquarters — 
the  99th  to  Sydney  and  the  8oth  to  Auckland — and  he  promised 
that  the  Bay  would  be  declared  a  free  Dort. 

This  promise  was  carried  out,  after  Ngapuhi  had  surrendered 
a  few  muskets  in  token  of  submission  and  Heke  had  offered  to 
erect  another  mast.  Customs  duties  were  abolished  throughout 
the  colony,  and  a  property-tax  substituted. 

In  October  trouble  was  renewed  at  the  Bay.  Depredations  on 
outlying  settlers  were  begun  by  the  restless  young  men.  On 
the  loth  January,  1845,  the  flagstaff  was  cut  down  a  second 
time.  On  the  preceding  day  Heke  had  visited  the  Acting-Consul 
for  the  United  States,  a  storekeeper  named  Henry  Green  Smith, 
at  Wahapu ;  this  trader  had  recently  replaced  one  Captain 
William  May  hew,  who  had  been  Acting  -  Consul  since  1840. 
Mayhew  had  helped  to  instil  into  the  minds  of  Pomare  and  Heke 
a  dislike  to  the  British  flag,  consequent  on  the  imposition  of 
Customs  duties.  From  him  and  other  Americans  the  discontented 
chief  had  heard  of  the  successful  revolt  of  the  American  colonies 
against  England,  and  the  lesson  was  not  forgotten  ;  he  burned  to 
do  likewise.  From  Smith  he  obtained  an  American  ensign,  and 
paddled  on  to  Kororareka ;  and  when  the  flagstaff  fell  to  a 
Ngapuhi  axe  for  a  second  time  up  went  the  foreign  colour  on 
the  carved  sternpost  of  Heke's  war-canoe.  The  warrior  crew 
paraded  the  harbour,  their  kai-hautu,  or  fugleman,  yelling  a 


HERE   AND   THE   FLAGSTAFF.  IQ 

battle-song,  Heke  at  the  steering-paddle,  the  American  flag  over 
his  head.* 

Excitement  and  apprehension  now  possessed  the  Bay  settle- 
ments.    The  "  Victoria,"  the  Government  brig,  sailed  into  Koro- 

*  There,  is  a  curious  discrepancy  between  the  original  despatches  from 
the  Bay  of  Islands  regarding  this  incident  and  the  correspondence  printed 
in  the  official  publications  of  the  day.  Governor  Fitzroy,  or  his  Colonial 
Secretary,  appears  to  have  considered  it  undesirable,  for  reasons  of  inter- 
national policy,  to  make  any  public  reference  to  the  American  share  in 
Heke's  rebellion,  hence  all  allusions  to  the  United  States  Consul  and  his 
flag  at  the  Bay  are  omitted,  with  the  result  that  a  hiatus  in  one  of  the 
blue-book  despatches  makes  it  unintelligible.  In  the  Grey  Collection  of 
documents  in  the  Auckland  Municipal  Library  there  are  manuscript  copies 
of  a  number  of  letters  from  Mr.  Thomas  Beckham,  Police  Magistrate,  to 
Governor  Fitzroy,  detailing  the  events  of  January,  1845.  The  first  of 
these  letters,  dated  Russell,  loth  January,  1845,  is  as  follows  : — 

"  It  is  with  regret  I  have  to  inform  Your  Excellency  that  John  Heke 
and  his  tribe  cut  down  the  flagstaff  soon  after  daylight  this  morning,  but 
without  doing  any  violence  to  the  Europeans  or  even  entering  the  town. 
The  reason  for  his  again  offering  this  insult  seems  to  be  a  general  dislike 
to  the  British  Government ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Heke 
was  at  the  American  Consul's  yesterday,  when  the  merits  of  the  Treaty  of 
Waitangi,  and  other  political  subjects  connected  with  this  colony,  were 
discussed,  after  which  he  obtained  an  American  ensign,  which  was  hoisted 
on  board  his  canoe  immediately  after  our  flagstaff  was  destroyed.  Under 
what  circumstances  this  flag  was  given  I  am  now  unable  to  say,  but  at  this 
present  crisis  it  looks  suspicious,  and  is  at  the  least  very  ill-judged.  It  is 
reported,  but  with  what  truth  I  cannot  affirm,  that  Heke's  ultimate  inten- 
tion is  to  pull  down  the  gaol  and  public  offices.  This  bad  disposition  does 
not  appear  to  be  prevalent  amongst  the  natives  generally." 

In  the  printed  despatches,  however,  the  words  between  "  British 
Government  "  and  "  Under  what  circumstances  "  are  omitted  ;  and  we 
are  left  to  conclude  that  the  mutilation,  or  suppression,  was  prompted  by 
a  desire  not  to  implicate  or  offend  the  Americans. 

In  a  further  letter  marked  "  Private,"  dated  Russell,  i6th  January, 
1845,  Mr.  Beckham  wrote  to  the  Governor  : — 

"  Heke  still  carries  the  American  ensign  in  his  canoe,  and  I  was  sorry 
to  observe  it  hoisted  at  the  Consul's  this  morning,  as  also  on  board  the 
United  States  ships,  which  is  quite  unusual,  except  on  the  arrival  or  depar- 
ture of  American  vessels,  which  was  not  the  case.  This  circumstance  con- 
firms the  suspicions  mentioned  in  my  letter  of  the  roth  instant,  and  I  am 
fearful  that  these  disturbances  in  opposition  to  the  Government  have  been 
fostered  by  the  Americans,  and  I  beg  to  suggest  for  Your  Excellency's  con- 
sideration the  propriety  of  causing  the  Consul's  flagstaff  to  be  removed  (if 
practicable),  as  it  now  stands  in  a  very  conspicuous  position." 

The  manuscripts  in  the  Grey  Collection  show  that  on  the  24th  January 
Mr.  Beckham,  under  instructions  from  the  Governor,  visited  Henry  Green 
Smith,  of  Wahapu,  "  the  person  at  whose  residence  the  American  ens.ign 
has  been  so  conspicuously  exhibited  lately,"  and  informed  him  that  he  (the 
Magistrate)  was  directed  to  prohibit  the  hoisting  of  any  national  flag  on 
shore  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  except  that  of  Great  Britain. 

Apparently  Mr.  Smith  made  a  pertinent  inquiry  as  to  Mr.  Beckham's 
authority,  for  on  the  25th  January  the  Magistrate  wrote  to  him  as  follows  : — 

"  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  this  date,  referring  to  my  communication 
of  the  24th  instant  relative  to  the  prohibition  of  any  national  flag  being 
hoisted  on  shore  except  that  of  Great  Britain,  I  now  do  myself  the  honour 
to  inform  you  that  I  did  so  by  the  directions  of  His  Excellency  the  Governor, 
and  to  state  that  the  United  States  flag  is  included  in  the  interdiction,  there 
being  no  Consul  at  this  port." 


20  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

rareka  Bay  on  the  lyth  January,  and  landed  a  small  detachment 
of  troops — a  subaltern  and  thirty  men  of  the  o,6th  Regiment — 
who  re-erected  the  flagstaff.  The  Rev.  Henry  Williams,  at  Paihia, 
consulted  on  the  i8th  by  the  Colonial  Secretary  and  the  Magistrate, 
advised  that  the  flag  should  not  be  flaunted  in  the  face  of  the 
natives,  at  any  rate  not  until  it  could  be  guarded  efficiently, 
otherwise  the  Maoris  would  have  it  down  again.  While  they  were 
speaking,  Heke  and  his  canoe  flotilla,  with  American  and  other 
flags  flying,  passed  close  to  the  Paihia  landing.  Before  it  was 
full  daylight  next  morning  the  staff  was  cut  down  for  the  third 
time  and  the  topmast  carried  away  ;  the  flag  itself  remained  in 
the  possession  of  the  friendly  natives  who  were  in  charge  of  the 
station.  Heke  and  his  men  fired  a  triumphant  volley  on  the 
beach  and  danced  a  war-dance. 

Thoroughly  alarmed  by  this  determined  resistance  to  the 
establishment  of  British  rule,  Fitzroy  wrote  to  Sir  George  Gipps, 
Governor  of  New  South  Wales,  making  urgent  application  for 
further  military  assistance.  He  declared  that  he  must  prepare 
for  operations  "  in  a  woody  country,  at  W^hangarei,  if  not  at  the 
Bay  of  Islands  "  (there  had  been  robberies  with  violence  at  the 
homes  of  settlers  at  Matakana  by  natives  from  Whangarei),  and 
he  must  also  take  precautions  for  the  safety  of  Auckland. 

In  compliance  with  this  request  (which  did  not  reach  Sydney 
till  the  I7th  February)  two  companies  of  the  58th  Regiment, 
the  famous  "  Black  Cuffs,"  numbering  207  of  all  ranks,  received 
orders  to  embark  for  Auckland,  but  by  the  time  they  reached 
the  Bay  of  Islands  (28th  April,  1845)  the  flagstaff  was  down 
again,  Kororareka  Town  was  in  ashes,  and  war  had  begun. 

The  opening  shots  were  fired  on  the  3rd  March,  1845,  eight 
days  before  the  final  disaster.  Heke  had  given  assurances  to 
the  friendly  chiefs  that  he  would  not  molest  the  white  settlers, 
except  in  retaliation  for  hostile  measures  by  the  Government ;. 
but  the  old  warrior  Kawiti  did  not  exercise  similar  forbearance. 
His  Ngati-Hine  and  allied  hapus  from  the  Kawakawa  and  Waiomio 
carried  out  a  series  of  raids  on  isolated  settlers  in  some  of  the 
small  bays  a  few  miles  from  Kororareka.  On  the  28th  February 
four  large  war-canoes  crowded  with  armed  natives  from  the 
Kawakawa  swept  down  the  Bay  and  landed  in  front  of  the  house 
occupied  by  Captain  Wright.  The  marauders  plundered  and 
burned  the  place.  Several  other  houses  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town 
were  similarly  looted  and  destroyed.  On  the  3rd  March  a  message 
reached  the  Police  Magistrate  that  a. party  of  Kawiti's  men,  who 
had  come  down  in  two  canoes,  were  plundering  the  house  of 
Benjamin  Turner,  an  old  resident  ;  his  home  was  at  the  Uruti,. 
a  deep,  narrow  bay  about  two  miles  in  rear  of  Kororareka. 
Beckham  sent  off  to  H.M.S.  "  Hazard  "  (which  had  arrived  from 
Wellington  on  the  I5th  February)  for  assistance,  and  the  Acting- 
Commander,  Lieutenant  Robertson,  went  ashore  with  a  party  of 


HERE    AND    THE    FLAGSTAFF. 


21 


From  a  drawing,   1846.] 


HONE  HEKE,  HIS  WIFE  (HARIATA),  AND  KAWITI. 


22  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

sailors  armed  with  muskets  and  cutlasses.  The  force  marched 
overland  to  Uruti,  while  the  frigate's  pinnace,  carrying  light  guns, 
was  sent  round  the  coast  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  the  retreat 
of  Kawiti's  canoes.  Both  arrived  too  late  ;  Turner's  house  and 
wheat-stacks  were  in  ashes.  Two  horses  had  been  taken  away 
by  a  native  track  over  the  hills  to  Otuihu,  and,  with  the  object 
of  recapturing  these  as  they  were  being  swum  across  the  sea-arm 
leading  to  the  Kawakawa  River  and  Waikare  Inlet,  the  pinnace, 
under  Lieutenant  Morgan,  was  sent  in  chase.  Pomare's  pa  at 
Otuihu  was  passed,  but  off  Opua  it  was  seen  that  further  pursuit 
was  useless,  and  the  boat  put  about  to  return  to  the  ship.  A 
fire  was  opened  on  the  pinnace  from  both  sides  of  the  channel. 
The  naval  lieutenant  returned  the  fire  with  grape-shot  from  his 
boat-guns  and  musketry.  Two  slight  skirmishes  in  rear  of  the 
town  followed  during  March. 

By  this  time  Kororareka  had  been  placed  in  a  condition  of 
defence,  though  by  no  means  an  efficient  condition  ;  the  chief 
thing  lacking  was  a  competent  leader  of  the  military  and  the  white 
inhabitants.  A  timber  stockade  was  built  around  Mr.  Polack's 
house  near  the  northern  end  of  the  beach  ;  this  was  to  be  the 
refuge-place  for  white  women  and  children.  A  blockhouse  was 
erected  on  a  small  hill  in  the  rear  of  the  stockade  and  the  town, 
close  to  the  track  leading  to  the  Maiki  flagstaff.  Here  were 
mounted  three  ship's  guns.  A  gun  was  taken  up  to  the  other  end 
of  the  town,  at  the  entrance  to  the  valley  leading  through  to 
Mata-uhi  Bay,  in  rear  of  Kororareka,  the  most  likely  avenue  of 
attack.  Mr.  C.  Hector,  a  solicitor  by  profession,  a  man  of  much 
spirit  and  resolution,  had  charge  of  the  blockhouse  battery.  For 
the  Mata-uhi  gun  a  crew  of  bluejackets  and  marines  was  sent 
ashore  from  H.M.S.  "  Hazard."  The  civilians  of  the  town  were 
organized  and  drilled  under  the.  superintendence  of  Lieutenant 
Phillpotts,  of  the  "  Hazard."  The  Government  brig  "  Victoria  " 
brought  from  Auckland  forty  stand  of  arms  and  a  thousand  rounds 
of  ball  cartridge  for  the  Militia.  As  a  regular  garrison,  there 
were  about  fifty  rank  and  file  of  the  96th  Regiment  from  Auckland, 
under  two  young  officers,  Lieutenant  E.  Barclay  and  Ensign  J. 
Campbell,  neither  of  whom,  as  events  developed,  possessed  the 
experience  needful  in  such  a  situation.  Twenty  of  these,  under 
the  junior  subaltern,  were  detailed  as  signal-station  guard  ;  the 
others  were  quartered  in  the  barracks  built  on  the  flat,  below  the 
three-gun  blockhouse.  A  detachment  of  bluejackets  and  marines 
from  the  "  Hazard "  was  also  stationed  in  the  barracks.  The 
new  flagstaff  had  been  safeguarded  by  the  construction  of  a  block- 
house around  the  foot  of  the  mast,  which  had  been  sheathed  with 
iron  to  a  height  of  about  10  feet  as  a  protection  against  the  Maori 
tomahawk.  A  trench,  crossed  by  a  plank,  surrounded  the  block- 
house, which  accommodated  the  garrison  of  twenty  men,  besides 
the  signalman,  an  old  man-of-war's-man  named  Tapper,  and  his 
native  family. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


THE  FALL  OF  KORORAREKA. 

Midnight  on  Maiki  Hill.  A  rattle  of  arms  at  the  blockhouse 
gateway  came  sharply  through  the  tenebrous  stillness  ;  the  guard 
was  relieved — the  soldier  whose  tedious  duty  was  ended  retired  to 
his  blankets,  and  the  only  half-awake  relief,  with  musket  and  fixed 
bayonet,  began  his  watch.  Here,  300  feet  above  the  sleeping 
town,  the  silence  was  intense  ;  it  was  a  windless  night,  with  raw 
fog  obscuring  the  gullies  and  floating  upward  in  thin  wafts.  Not 
a  sound  but  the  footfall  of  the  sentry  and  the  "  Kou-kou  "  of  the 
rum,  or  night-owl.  Those  owl-calls  were  unusually  frequent  was 
the  thought,  perhaps,  that  crossed  the  mind  of  the  solitary  soldier. 
Had  he  possessed  the  scout  instinct  he  might  have  noticed  that 
the  bird-calls  all  came  from  the  brushwood  on  the  east  and  south- 
east slopes  of  the  range,  the  aspect  towards  Oneroa  Bay  and  the 
lower  blockhouse.  Owl  called  to  owl,  and  the  regularly  repeated 
cries  grew  nearer  until  they  formed  a  semi-cordon  of  melancholy 
notes  about  the  flagstaff  hill.  Then,  too,  was  heard  the  screech 
call,  plain  as  spoken. words  to  the  Maori;  it  sounded  to  him  like 
"  Kiatoa!"  ("  Be  brave  !  ") 

It  was  a  fatal  cordon,  for  the  rurus  were  the  pickets  of  Heke's 
war-party  announcing  their  positions  to  each  other  and  keeping 
in  touch  as  they  crept  towards  the  little  fort  that  guarded  their 
objective,  the  flagstaff.  Two  hundred  Ngapuhi  warriors,  under 
Heke  and  Pokai,  had  landed  in  their  canoes  at  Oneroa,  in  rear  of 
Kororareka,  late  at  night,  and  were  now  working  their  way  up 
to  surprise  the  hill  post  at  the  first  streak  of  dawn.  Some  of  them 
crept  up  until  they  crouched  in  the  scrub  a  few  yards  from  where 
the  sentry  stood.  Most  of  them  lay  in  a  wooded  gully  close  to 
the  hilltop.  They  carried  gun  and  tomahawk,  and  belts  with  heavy 
leather  or  wooden  cartouche  -  boxes  were  strapped  about  them. 
The  tomahawk  was  the  weapon  most  favoured  for  such  tasks  as 
this  :  short-handled  with  wood  or  whalebone,  thrust  through  the 
girdle  at  the  hip  or  at  the  small  of  the  back,  as  the  olden  Scots 
and  the  Borderers  carried  the  "  lyttel  batayle  axe  "  mentioned 
in  Froissart's  story  of  the  Battle  of  Otterburne. 

Grey  dawn  ;  a  damp  fog-laden  break  of  day.  The  ruru  calls 
have  ceased  ;  the  dark  hills  are  steeped  in  utter  silence.  The 
hidden  warriors,  gripping  their  loaded  flint-lock  and  percussion- 
cap  guns,  are  ready  to  spring  from  their  cramped  couches  in  the 
brushwood  at  the  chief's  first  call.  Some  of  them  have  cut 
manuka  bushes  with  their  tomahawks  ;  these  are  to  provide  a 
moving  cover  for  themselves  as  they  creep  up  on  the  pakehas. 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


Now  the  door  of  the  little  blockhouse  on  Maiki  hilltop  opens  ; 
the  plank  bridge  is  thrown  across  the  trench,  and  half  a  dozen 
men,  all  armed,  and  five  of  them  carrying  spades,  come  out  into 
the  misty  morning.  The  youthful  officer  in  charge  of  the  post, 


From  a  photo, 


THE  FLAGSTAFF,  RUSSELL,  BAY  OF  ISLANDS, 


This  signal-mast  occupied  the  site  of  that  cut  down  by  Hone  Heke 
The  remains  of  the  olden  trench  which  surrounded  the  small  blockhouse  of 
1845  are  seen  at  the  foot  of  the  flagstaff. 


Ensign  Campbell,  takes  his  men  along  the  hill-slopes  to  the  edge 
of  the  range  overlooking  Oneroa  Bay  ;  here  they  set  to  work  to 
dig  a  trench,  intended  as  a  protection  against  any  attack  from 
that  direction. 


THE    FALL   OF    KORORAREKA.  25 

Scarcely  have  the  soldiers  commenced  their  spade-work  in  the 
dim  light  than  the  morning  silence  is  shattered  by  sudden  shots, 
then  rolling  volleys.  The  firing  comes  from  the  south  end  of  the 
town  below,  apparently  from  the  direction  of  Mata-uhi  Bay. 
Campbell  orders  his  men  back  to  the  blockhouse  ;  and  the  issue 
of  the  morning's  work  might  be  very  different  had  he  the  pru- 
dence to  remain  there  with  them  and  make  secure  his  post.  But 
in  his  curiosity  to  learn  what  is  going  on  below  he  leads  eight 
or  nine  men  out  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  overlooking  Kororareka, 
nearly  200  yards  from  the  blockhouse.  The  rest  of  the  garrison, 
twenty  men,  are  aroused,  and,  taking  their  arms,  are  putting  on 
their  belts  outside  the  ditch  facing  the  town. 

Now  is  Heke's  and  Pokai's  opportunity.  Little  by  little  the 
war-party  creeps  up,  some  daring  fellows  crawling  across  the 
open  with  manuka  bushes  and  branches  held  in  front  of  them. 
With  a  yell  from  their  leaders,  they  are  up  and  charging  into  the 
blockhouse  ;  it  is  nearly  empty  of  its  garrison. 

Ensign  Campbell  is  for  charging  back  to  the  stockade,  but 
Ngapuhi  are  too  quick  for  him.  They  are  already  in  the  stock- 
aded enclosure  and  its  trench,  and,  while  some  open  fire  on  the 
soldiers  outside,  others  dash  into  the  blockhouse,  killing  the  four 
soldiers  who  remain 'to  defend  it.  They  shoot,  too,  but  unintention- 
ally, a  little  half-caste  girl,  the  daughter  of  Tapper  the  signalman. 

The  surviving  soldiers,  confused  by  the  surprise  attack,  con- 
trive to  give  the  Maoris  a  volley,  but  before  another  round  can 
be  fired  it  is  seen  that  a  second  party  of  warriors  is  doubling  up 
from  a  gully  to  cut  off  the  soldiers  from  the  lower  blockhouse. 
Campbell,  therefore,  in  order  to  escape  being  nipped  between  the 
two  bodies,  must  fall  back  on  the  lower  blockhouse,  having  lost 
his  own.  This  he  and  his  men  do,  and  at  their  utmost  speed  ; 
while  the  triumphant  Ngapuhi,  not  without  much  labour — because 
of  the  iron  sheathing,  which  necessitates  digging  as  well  as  chop- 
ping— fell  the  flagstaff  for  the  fourth  time.* 

*  A  story  of  the  fourth  flagstaff  imparts  an  element  of  comedy  to  the 
history  of  blunders  and  tragedy  associated  with  the  Maiki  signal-hill.  Tt  is 
said  that  after  the  mast  had  been  cut  down  tor  the  third  time  and  another 
pole  had  been  procured  from  the  forest  the  new  stick  vanished  mysteriously 
one  night,  to  the  consternation  of  the  military  detachment  sent  to  set  it 
in  position.  It  was  discovered  that  it  had  been  hauled  away  by-. an  old 
chief  of  a  neighbouring  village,  who  declared  that  he  had  been  born  under- 
neath it  when  it  was  a  living  tree  ;  he  was  afraid  that  trouble  or  death 
would  befall  him  if  Heke  carried  out  his  customary  threat  and  felled  the 
mast.  It  would  be  an  aitua,  or  forerunner  of  disaster,  in  Maori  eyes.  The 
staff  having  disappeared,  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  obtain  one  to 
which  the  exasperating  Maori  was  not  likely  to  lay  claim.  The  Govern- 
ment went  to  the  shipping  for  its  next  spar  ;  the  officials  bought  the  mizzen- 
mast  of  a  foreign  vessel  in  the  harbour,  "  being  morally  certain,"  says  the 
New  Zealand  Spectator's  narrative  (22nd  March,  1845),  "  that  no  Maori 
could  have  been  born  under  it."  This  mast,  the  fifth,  stood  for  nearly 
two  months  before  Heke's  axe  laid  it  low  and  bereaved  Kororareka  of  a 
signal-station  for  eight  years. 


26  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Meanwhile  a  battle,  attended  with  more  credit  for  the  whites 
than  the  inglorious  affair  on  the  flagstaff  hill,  was  waged  in  the 
town  below. 

At  4  o'clock  that  morning  (nth  March,  1845)  a  force  of  forty- 
five  small-arms  men,  composed  of  bluejackets  and  marines  from 
H.M.S.  "Hazard,"  under  the  Acting-Commander,  David  Robertson 
(who  had  succeeded  Commander  Bell,  recently  drowned),  marched 
from  the  beach  to  the  heights  overlooking  Mata-uhi  Bay  for  the 
purpose  of  throwing  up  a  breastwork  on  the  face  of  the  hil] .  They 
had  just  reached  the  spot  when  the  sentry  at  the  one-gun  battery 
on  the  hill  on  the  opposite  or  southern  side  of  the  little  valley 
which  led  to  Mata-uhi  Bay  challenged  and  fired  ;  he  had  spied 
a  party  of  Maoris  creeping  up  on  his  position.  This  was  old 
Kawiti's  division,  comprising  Ngati-Hine  and  Roroa  men  ;  a 
leading  brave  was  Pumuka.  Kawiti's  share  of  the  day's  work 
was  to  make  an  attack  on  the  town  in  order  to  divert  attention 
from  the  main  task,  Heke's  assault  on  the  flagstaff. 

In  the  half-light  of  that  hazy  morning  a  hand-to-hand  combat 
was  fought  around  the  enclosure  of  the  English  church  as 
Robertson  and  his  men  fell  back  toward  the  town.  The  Maoris 
numbered  about  two  hundred.  These  the  forty-five  "  Hazards  " 
charged.  Musket  and  tupara  blazed  ;  British  cutlass  clashed  on 
Maori  long-handled  tomahawk.  The  frigate's  men  cut  their  way 
into  Kawiti's  party,  and  steadily  forced  them  back  towards 
Mata-uhi.  The  gun,  served  by  the  sailors,  was  used  at  point- 
blank  range  against  the  dark  warriors.  Captain  Robertson,  wielding 
his  sword  like  some  hero  of  old  romance,  killed  Pumuka  with 
one  blow,  and  felled  several  others  of  his  foes  in  the  combat  at 
the  churchyard  fence.  He  fell  at  last  severely  wounded  ;  he  was 
shot  through  both  legs,  his  right  thigh-bone  was  smashed,  his 
right  arm  was  shot  through  close  to  the  elbow,  and  his  temple 
was  grazed  by  a  pistol-shot.  The  "  Hazards  "  pursued  the  re- 
treating Maoris,  who  took  to  the  scrub  on  the  hills  and  joined  in 
the  firing  on  the  town  at  long  range.  Four  seamen  and  a  sergeant 
and  private  of  Royal  Marines  were  killed  in  the  half -hour  skirmish  ; 
besides  Captain  Robertson,  dangerously  wounded,  and  Acting- 
Lieutenant  E.  Morgan,  slightly,  six  men  were  wounded.  The 
command  of  the  naval  party  devolved  upon  Acting-Lieutenant 
Morgan.  After  charging  the  Maoris  and  completing  their  repulse 
in  the  Mata-uhi  gully,  he  engaged  in  a  musketry  battle  with 
Kawiti,  who  from  the  hills  opened  a  steady  fire. 

Now  the  detachment  of  the  96th  Regiment,  under  Lieutenant 
E.  Barclay,  whose  quarters  were  in  the  barracks  between  the 
beach  and  the  lower  blockhouse,  entered  the  battle.  Barclay 
had  seen  the  naval  force  march  out  towards  Mata-uhi,  and 
turned  out  his  men.  Their  first  shots  were  directed  on  parties  of 
Maoris  who  appeared  on  the  hills  to  the  left  of  the  barracks, 


THE    FALL   OF    KORORAREKA. 


27 


towards  Oneroa  Bay.  They  checked  the  advance  of  these  mus- 
keteers. Then  enemy  bullets  began  to  drop  around  the  soldiers 
from  the  steep  hills  behind  ;  and,  on  facing  about,  it  was  for  the 
first  time  seen  that  the  Maoris  had  captured  the  flagstaff  hill. 

A  message  now  arrived  from  Acting-Lieutenant  Morgan  in- 
forming the  96th  officer  that  a  party  of  the  enemy  held  the 
ground  at  the  back  of  the  English  church,  nearly  half  a  mile  from 
the  barracks.  The  military  detachment,  numbering  about  thirty, 
thereupon  quickly  advanced  in  skirmishing  order,  firing  as  they 
advanced.  Another  messenger  came  from  Morgan  ;  the  "  Hazard's  " 


THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH,  RUSSELL,  BAY  OF  ISLANDS. 

This  church  was  built  prior  to  the  war,  and  the  engagement  of  the 
nth  March,  1845,  between  the  sailors  of  H.M.S.  "  Hazard  "  and  the  Nga- 
puhi  warriors  under  Kawiti  was  fought  around  the  churchyard  fence  in  the 
foreground.  On  the  seaward  side  of  the  church  there  is  a  weatherboard  cut 
by  a  round  shot  from  the  "  Hazard,"  fired  after  the  evacuation  of  Kororareka. 


little  force  had  nearly  expended  its  ammunition,  and  Lieutenant 
Barclay  turned  back  towards  the  beach  to  join  the  sailors.  The 
one-gun  battery  had  been  abandoned,  but  not  before  the  gun 
had  been  spiked  by  a  gallant  seaman,  William  Lovell,  who  next 
moment  was  shot  dead.  The  sailors  retired  along  the  waterfront 
to  Polack's  stockade.  After  engaging  scattered  parties  of  natives 
from  the  flat,  who  drew  off  in  the  direction  of  Mata-uhi,  the 
Maoris  carrying  away  their  dead  and  wounded  as  they  retired, 
the  soldiers  turned  about  and  marched  to  the  lower  blockhouse 


28  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

in  rear  of  the  stockade.  Ensign  Campbell  and  his  dispossessed 
flagstaff-party  were  already  there  checking  the  advance  of  the 
enemy  wno  swarmed  along  the  heights  and  in  the  gullies  in  rear 
of  the  town. 

The  Kapotai  Tribe,  irom  the  Waikare,  the  third  division  of 
the  assailants,  were  now  into  the  fray,  firing  at  the  blockhouse, 
the  barracks,  and  the  stockade  from  the  half-circle  of  hills  that 
rimmed  the  town.  The  troops  replied  from  the  blockhouse  windows 
and  loopholes  and  the  sloping  ground  on  each  side.  The  ship's 
guns,  on  a  platform  outside,  were  worked  by  the  volunteer 
artillerymen  —  civilians  and  one  or  two  old  soldiers,  under  Mr. 
Hector. 

Heke  on  his  hilltop  station  stood  fast,  watching  the  combat 
below ;  he  had  taken  the  key  of  Kororareka,  which  was  all, 
indeed,  that  he  had  intended  or  expected. 

There  was  no  proper  co-ordination  of  operations  in  the  defence  ; 
the  naval  authority,  the  military,  and  the  Police  Magistrate 
each  gave  orders  and  acted  as  they  thought  fit,  independently 
of  the  others.  The  "  Hazard's  "  captain  being  out  of  action, 
Lieutenant  Phillpotts  took  command  of  the  ship.  He  directed  the 
abandoned  barracks  (behind  which  some  of  the  enemy  were  in 
cover)  and  the  captured  signal-station  to  be  shelled.  Round  shot 
and  grape-shot  were  thrown  at  the  natives  on  the  hills,  and  for 
several  hours  the  hills  of  the  Bay  echoed  and  re-echoed  the  roar 
of  the  frigate's  artillery. 

It  was  now  between  10  and  n  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 
There  was  a  brief  lull  in  the  fighting  ;  then,  about  n  o'clock, 
skirmishing  again  commenced.  There  were  a  hundred  armed 
civilians  in  Polack's  stockade— a  hastily  drilled  militia;  a  party 
of  these  men  was  sent  to  drive  off  some  Maoris  who  were  firing 
at  the  defenders  of  the  lower  blockhouse  from  the  hill  above  the 
barracks.  This  was  done,  and  the  Maoris  contented  themselves 
with  sniping  from  their  manuka  cover  on  the  heights. 

All  that  Heke  wished  for  had  been  accomplished  ;  but  now  a 
kind  of  panic  seemed  to  have  overtaken  some  of  those  in  authority. 
Heke  had  no  intention  of  attacking  the  civilian  population  ;  he 
had  hoisted  a  white  flag,  and  sent  down  under  its  protection 
the  wife  and  daughter  of  the  signalman  Tapper,  who  was  now 
employed  at  the  guns  of  the  lower  blockhouse.  About  noon  the 
white  women  and  children,  who  had  all  been  gathered  with  their 
menfolk  in  Polack's  stockade,  were  sent  aboard  the  ships  in 
harbour— the  "  Hazard,"  the  United  States  warship  "  St.  Louis," 
the  "Matilda"  (English  whaleship),  the  Government  brig,  and 
Bishop  Selwyn's  schooner.  This  was  a  rightful  measure  of  pru- 
dence as  it  developed,  but  there  was  scarcely  adequate  reason  for 
the  evacuation  of  the  town  by  the  able-bodied  men,  in  spite  of  an 
accident  which  occurred  soon  after  the  non-combatants  had  been 


THE   FALL   OF   KORORAREKA.  2Q 

removed  to  the  shipping.  A  careless  fellow  smoked  his  pipe  as 
he  worked  among  the  kegs  of  gunpowder  in  the  stockade  magazine. 
Loose  powder  on  the  floor ;  a  dropped  spark  ;  the  next  moment  a 
flash,  and  with  a  terrifying  roar  up  went  the  magazine  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  buildings  in  fragments.  The  whole  of  the 
reserve  ammunition  in  store  was  destroyed.  That  fateful  pipe  of 
tobacco  decided  the  fortunes  of  Kororareka. 

Lieutenant  Phillpotts,  the  senior  combatant  officer,  after  con- 
sultation with  Mr.  Beckham,  the  Magistrate,  now  determined  upon 
the  complete  evacuation  of  the  place.  He  gave  orders  that  the 
troops  and  the  civilian  population  should  go  aboard  the  ships. 
All  this  time  the  battery  on  the  mound  in  the  rear  of  the  stockade 
had  been  steadily  held  by  Hector's  civilian  gunners  and  Barclay's 
redcoats.  The  round  shot  probably  inflicted  little  harm  upon 
the  Maoris,  who  swarmed  on  the  scrub-matted  slopes  of  Titore's 
Mount  and  the  minor  hills  around,  but  the  gunnery  and  the  small- 
arms  fire  at  least  prevented  the  Kapotai  and  their  allies  from 
descending  into  the  town.  With  Mr.  Hector  were  his  two  plucky 
sons,  young  boys,  who  gallantly  carried  up  ammunition  from  the 
stockade  under  heavy  fire.  Tapper,  the  signalman,  was  wounded 
while  serving  one  of  the  guns. 

Hector's  disgust  was  extreme  when  he  was  informed  of  the 
decision  arrived  at  by  the  senior  naval  officer  and  the  Magistrate. 
He  went  down  to  the  beach  and  offered  to  retake  the  flagstaff 
hill  if  he  were  given  fifty  volunteers.  The  request  was  refused. 
Lieutenant  Barclay  also  went  down  for  ammunition  ;  when  he 
returned  he  found  that  the  guns  had  been  spiked — by  whose 
orders  was  not  clear.  Nothing  could  have  been  finer  than  Mr. 
Hector's  work  as  battery  commander,  and  it  certainly  was  not 
his  fault  that  the  post  had  to  be  abandoned.  A  review  of  the 
day's  fighting  and  the  day's  blunders  after  the  brave  Robertson's 
fall  at  the  head  of  his  men  prompts  the  conclusion  that  had  the 
conduct  of  operations  been  in  this  amateur  gunner's  hands  instead 
of  those  of  the  too-impulsive  Phillpotts  and  the  over-cautious 
Beckham,  the  town,  in  spite  of  the  destruction  of  the  stockade, 
need  not  have  been  abandoned  to  Ngapuhi. 

Riwhitete  Pokai,  of  Kaikohe,  recounting  half  a  century  after 
the  war  his  share  in  the  fall  of  Kororareka,  described  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  Ngapuhi  at  Phillpotts'  indiscriminate  shelling.  "  We 
treated  the  women  and  children  kindly,"  the  veteran  said,  "  and 
took  those  of  them  who  remained  late  off  to  the  ships  in  our  canoes. 
But  as  soon  as  all  the  refugees  were  on  board — and  even  before 
that — the  man-of-war  set  to  and  opened  fire  on  our  people  on 
the  beach.  It  was  an  act  of  treachery  to  shell  us  after  the  town 
had  been  given  up  to  us  by  the  whites.  When  the  firing  began 
some  of  us  were  sorry  we  had  not  tomahawked  all  the  pakehas 
we  could  find."  Such  was  the  Maori  viewpoint. 


3O  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

The  heavy  day  closed  with  occasional  shots  from  the  frigate, 
little  regarded  by  the  Maoris,  who  were  now  absorbed  in  the  joy 
of  looting,  drinking  the  grog  in  the  publichouses,  seizing  blankets, 
clothes,  tobacco,  preserved  foods,  and  all  the  varied  stock  of  the 
stores.  Some  employed  themselves  loading  their  canoes  that  had 
been  hastily  paddled  round  from  the  bay  in  the  rear  of  the  town. 
The  Hectors  and  a  number  of  other  families  were  in  Bishop  Selwyn's 
schooner,  the  "  Flying  Fish  "  ;  the  English  whaleship  received 
over  a  hundred,  the  American  frigate  "  St,  Louis  "  took  125  on 
board,  and  the  rest  found  quarters  in  the  "Hazard"  with  the 


Ccv  Sa»«  J  M  CARTHIC  RRL  I  AC^JSv* 
P«,««Atfx«Ay  RMLI  26* 
W.ievsu.  SEAHAH  24- 

I  -      34- 


LATE  OF 

H.M.S.  HAZARD 


IMRCHH845 


MEMORIAL  TO  THE  FALLEN  SAILORS, 
RUSSELL  CHURCHYARD. 


troops.  Captain  McKeever,  the  commander  of  the  "  St.  Louis," 
won  praise  from  the  British  for  his  courage  and  humanity. 
Considerations  of  neutrality  debarred  him  from  a  share  in 
the  fighting,  but  he  sent  his  unarmed  boats  ashore,  and  himself 
frequently  went  under  fire,  like  Bishop  Selwyn,  to  bring  off  the 
women  and  children. 

The  Maori  casualties  of  the  day  were  heavier  than  those  of 
the  British,  but  they  weighed  lightly  against  the  completeness 
of  the  victory.  The  British  lost  ten  seamen  and  marines  and 
privates  of  the  g6th  killed  ;  in  addition  two  people  died  from 


THE    FALL    OF    KORORAREKA.  •          3! 

injuries  received  in  the  explosion  of  the  magazine.  The  wounded 
numbered  twenty-three.  The  Maori  division  which  suffered  most 
was  Kawiti's,  which  in  the  fight  near  the  church  and  on  the 
Mata-uhi  track  lost  at  least  twenty  killed,  and  more  than  twice 
as  many  wounded.  The  total  native  losses  in  the  day  were  reported 
to  Governor  Fitzroy  as  thirty-four  killed  and  sixty-eight  wounded. 
The  united  forces  of  the  attackers  numbered  about  six  hundred. 
Lieutenant  Phillpotts  reported  them  at  double  that  figure. 

Some  of  the  more  determined  spirits  went  ashore  next  morning 
intent  on  salvage,  but  the  "  Hazard  "  again  opened  fire  on  the 
town.  The  Maoris  continued  the  work  of  looting,  filling  their 
canoes  with  goods  from  the  stores  ;  then  they  set  fire  to  one 
after  another  of  the  buildings.  The  English  and  Roman  Catholic 
churches  and  mission-houses,  including  Bishop  Pompallier's  home, 
were  scrupulously  protected  from  harm.  By  the  afternoon  all 
the  rest  of  the  town  was  burning.  Fifty  thousand  pounds'  worth 
of  property  went  up  in  flames  and  smoke.  Early  on  the  following 
day  (i3th  March)  the  fleet  of  five  sailed  for  Auckland,  and  as 
the  sorrowful  refugees  looked  back  they  saw,  long  after  they  had 
rounded  Tapeka  Point,  the  black  mass  of  smoke  that  lay  high 
and  unmoving  above  the  bay,  the  funeral  cloud  of  Kororareka. 


CHAPTER   V. 


THE  FIRST  BRITISH   MARCH   INLAND; 

Fears  of  invasion  by  Ngapuhi  seized  many  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  young  capita!  when,  two  days  after  the  sailing  of  the  fleet 
from  the  Bay,  the  five  shiploads  of  refugees  landed  at  Auckland 
and  the  distressed  people  of  Kororareka  spread  their  story.  A 
Militia  was  enrolled,  and  the  Auckland  citizen  soldiery  were  drilled 
daily  by  instructors  from  the  Regulars.  The  defences  of  the  town 
were  hastily  set  in  order.  Major  Bunbury  and  his  company  of  the 
Both  had  already  (1840-41)  partly  fortified  Britomart  Point  by 
constructing  stone  barracks.  These  barracks  formed  two  sides  of 
a  square  ;  one  side  was  loopholed  ;  the  buildings  were  capable  of 
accommodating  two  hundred  men,  besides  stores.  Fort  Britomart, 
as  it  was  now  called,  had  been  an  ancient  pa  of  the  Maoris,  a 
tonguelike  promontory,  protected  on  the  land  side  by  a  broad,  deep 
ditch  and  parapet.  The  military  utilized  part  of  these  defences ;  a 
portion  of  the  parapet  was  thrown  down  to  fill  up  the  ditch  at  the 
entrance.  On  one  side  of  the  interior,  where  of  old  the  warriors 
had  built  their  low-eaved  whares  and  kept  lookout  for  enemy 
canoe  flotillas,  an  octagonal  loopholed  guard-room  was  erected.  A 
hospital  was  also  built.  The  96th  and,  later,  the  58th  completed 
the  fortification,  and  several  guns  were  mounted.  The  windows  of 
St.  Paul's  Church,  a  brick  building  near  by,  were  planked  and 
loopholed  for  musketry. 

H.M.S.  "  North  Star  "  (Captain  Sir  Everard  Home),  a  twenty- 
six-gun  frigate,  arrived  at  Auckland  on  the  22nd  March.  She 
brought  from  Sydney  162  officers  and  men  of  the  58th  Regiment. 
Two  days  afterwards  the  schooner  "  Velocity "  arrived  from 
Sydney  with  fifty-five  officers  and  men  of  the  same  regiment,  and 
ordnance  stores.  In  April  the  barque  "  Slains  Castle  "  sailed  in 
from  Sydney,  bringing  the  remainder  of  the  58th — more  than  two 
hundred  rank  and  file — under  Major  Cyprian  Bridge.  On  the 
27th  April  an  expedition  totalling  470  officers  and  men  under 
Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme,  of  the  g6th  Regiment,  and  Major  Bridge 
sailed  from  Auckland  in  the  "  Slains  Castle,"  the  "  Velocity,"  and 
the  schooner  "  Aurora,"  with  the  object  of  re-establishing  the 
Queen's  sovereignty  at  Kororareka  and  carrying  the  war  into  the 
enemy's  country.  Besides  the  58th  and  96th.  there  were  on  board 


THE    FIRST    BRITISH    MARCH    INLAND. 


33 


about  fifty  volunteers,  most  of  them  late  inhabitants  of  Korora- 
reka,  under  the  courageous  civilian  Mr.  Hector.  A  small  force 
was  left  in  Auckland,  which  was  not  now  considered  in  danger, 
as  Te  Wherowhero,  the  great  chief  of  Waikato,  had  offered  to 
protect  the  capital  from  attack  by  Ngapuhi  —  his  hereditary 
enemies — or  any  other  foe.  Old  Apihai  te  Kawau,  of  Orakei,  and 
his  people  of  Ngati-Whatua,  who  had  sold  the  site  of  Auckland  to 
Governor  Hobson  in  1840,  could  also  be  relied  upon  as  friends  of 
the  whites. 

After  hoisting  the  British  flag  on  Kororareka  Beach,  Hulme's 
force  destroyed  Pomare 's  pa  at  Otuihu,  overlooking  the  channel 
tc  Opua  and  the  Waikare.  The  "  North  Star  "  was  anchored 


THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  POMARE'S  PA,  OTUIHU. 

H.M.S.  "North  Star"  in  the  foreground.  Pomare  was  detained  as 
a  prisoner  on  board  this  ship.  The  destruction  of  the  fortified  village 
was  carried  out  by  detachments  of  the  58th  and  g6th  Regiments. 

off  Otuihu,  and  Pomare  himself  was  secured  as  a  prisoner  by 
stratagem.  It  was  then  arranged  that  an  expedition  should  be 
directed  against  Heke's  stronghold  lately  built  near  the  shore  of 
Lake  Omapere. 

The  chiefs  who  with  their  tribes  and  hapus  definitely  ranged 
themselves  upon  the  side  of  the  Government  were  Tamati  Waka 
Nene  (Ngati-Hao  Tribe)  ;  Mohi  Tawhai  (Mahurehure  Tribe),  of 
Waima,  Hokianga  ;  Makoare  Tainui  (Te  Popoto)  ;  Wiremu  Repa 
(Ngati-Hao)  ;  Paratene  Kekeao  (Ngapuhi)  ;  Tamati  Pukututu 
(Uri-o-Ngonga) ,  of  the  Kawakawa  ;  Arama  Karaka  (Mahurehure)  ; 
2— N.Z.  Wars. 


34  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Rangatira  (Ngati-Korokoro)  ;  Moehau  (Hikutu)  ;  Nopera  Pana- 
Kareao  (Te  Rarawa).  Some  of  the  celebrated  chiefs,  such  as  the 
gigantic  cannibal  Tareha,  Waikato  (who  had  visited  England  in 
1820  with  Hongi  Hika),  and  the  Hokianga  leader  Papahia,  re- 
mained neutral ;  and  Pomare,  although  his  pa  was  destroyed  and 
he  himself  taken  prisoner  by  Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme,  did  not  take 
any  active  share  in  Heke's  work.  Several  chiefs  of  the  Kapotai, 
Ngati-Wai,  Ngati-Hau,  Uri-Kapana,  and  Uri-o-Hau  brought  their 
hapus  to  Heke's  assistance. 

Tamati  Waka  Nene  was  allied  by  blood  with  the  Hongi  and 
Heke  families.  He  had  been  Hongi's  comrade  on  the  war-path, 
and  he  had  carried  his  musket  and  tomahawk  as  far  south  as 
Cook  Strait  in  a  great  cannibal  campaign  twenty  years  before 
the  coming  of  the  British  flag.  Wise  in  knowledge  of  men  and 
of  military  science  as  the  Maori  had  developed  it,  endowed  with 
a  keen  intellect  and  well-balanced  reasoning-powers,  he  was  the 
most  able  of  all  the  Ngapuhi  chiefs,  and  the  best  qualified,  by 
natural  gifts  and  by  his  tribal  standing,  to  offer  resistance  to  the 
disaffected  sections  of  Ngapuhi.  His  brother  Patuone,  a  man  of 
high  character  and  a  warrior  of  fame,  also  took  up  the  British 
cause,  steadfastly  declining  to  have  any  part  in  rebellion  against 
the  Queen  whose  right  of  eminent  domain  he  had  accepted  in  the 
Treaty  of  Waitangi. 

One  of  the  chiefs  at  first  friendly  to  the  British  Government 
but  ultimately  found  fighting  in  the  cause  of  Maori  independence 
was  Pene  Taui,  of  Waimate  and  Ohaeawai.  A  curious  story  is 
told  of  Pene's  defection,  illustrative  of  the  serious  consequences 
often  entailed  by  trivial  incidents  among  the  Maoris.  In  1844, 
when  the  war  feeling  was  developing  throughout  the  north,  Pene 
Taui  was  authorized  to  convene  a  meeting  of  Ngapuhi  to  consider 
the  political  situation.  The  assembled  chiefs  resolved  to  plant 
large  quantities  of  food  (potatoes,  kumara,  taro,  and  maize)  in 
order  to  provide  for  a  general  gathering  of  the  northern  tribes  in 
the  Taiamai  district,  the  heart  of  the  Ngapuhi  country,  embracing 
the  beautiful  lands  from  Waimate  to  Ohaeawai.  The  meeting 
having  concluded,  Pene  Taui  sent  a  messenger  to  Tamati  Waka 
Nene,  at  Hokianga,  with  the  somewhat  peremptory  words,  "  Koia 
he  kai  "  ("  Plant  food").  When  the  herald  delivered  this  message 
in  public,  as  was  the  Maori  way,  Tamati  Waka,  resentful  of  its 
wording,  immediately  said,  sotto  voce  but  not  so  low  that  the  mes- 
senger could  not  hear,  "  Ko  ia  he  kai''  It  was  a  quick  play  upon 
Pene's  message  ;  the  point  lay  in  the  accenting  of  "  ia  "  ("  him  ") 
instead  of  "  ko  "  ("  plant  "}. "  Waka's  utterance  meant  "  Let  him 
be  food,"  or  "  He  shall  be  the  food."  The  messenger  heard  ;  he 
returned  to  Taiamai,  and  reported  Waka's  words  to  Pene  Taui. 
That  chief  was  so  enraged  at  Waka's  punning  kanga,  or  curse, 
likening  a  high  chief  to  food — cannibal  fashion — that  he  at  once 


THE    FIRST    BRITISH    MARCH    INLAND.  35 

made  common  cause  with  Hone  Heke,  taking  with  him  all  his 
tribe.  It  was  Pene  who  built  the  stockade  at  Ohaeawai  which 
Despard  a  few  months  later  found  impregnable.* 

H.M.S.  "  Hazard  "  having  arrived  from  Auckland,  the  fleet 
hove  up  and  sailed  across  the  Bay  to  Kent's  Passage,  where  the 
ships  anchored  under  shelter  of  the  island  of  Moturoa.  On  the 
following  morning  a  force  of  four  hundred  men,  including  about 
a  hundred  seamen  and  marines  from  the  frigates,  was  disembarked 
on  the  beach  of  Onewhero.  On  that  day  (3rd  May,  1845)  was 
begun  the  first  march  inland  of  British  troops  in  New  Zealand. 

Imperfectly  informed  as  to  the  route  of  march,  without 
transport  arrangements,  without  artillery,  inefficiently  rationed, 
and  without  tents  or  camp  equipage,  Hulme  set  out  into  an 
unknown  country  against  an  enemy  of  unknown  strength,  sus- 
tained apparently  by  the  hope  of  somehow  worrying  through, 
or  fortified  by  the  popular  belief  that  one  British  soldier  was 
equal  to  any  half-dozen  savages.  Neither  Hulme  nor  his  officers 
knew  anything  of  the  real  strength  of  Maori  fortifications  skilfully 
defended.  The  report  on  native  strongholds  prepared  by  Lieu- 
tenant Bennett  of  the  Royal  Engineers  in  1843,  after  a  visit  to 
Tauranga,  was  unknown  to  them.  Fortunate  it  was  for  them  and 
their  men  that  the  chivalrous  enemy  laid  no  ambuscades  on  the 
track  ;  the  Maori  was  not  so  considerate  in  the  wars  twenty  years 
later.  Doubly  fortunate  for  them  was  the  fact  that  Tamati  Waka 
Nene  was  their  ally  and  helper.  He  was  the  salvation  of  Hulme 
on  that  May  expedition,  as  he  was  of  the  Maori-despising  Despard 
a  few  weeks  later. 

The  opening  blunder  was  the  awkward  route  taken.  Instead 
of  transporting  the  force  by  boat  up  a  good  tidal  river,  the 
Kerikeri,  to  the  mission  station  at  the  landing,  only  fifteen  miles 
from  Kororareka,  whence  a  cart-road  led  to  the  Waimate,  fourteen 
miles,  the  commander  marched  his  force  along  a  rough  native 
track  south  of  the  river  for  nine  miles,  bivouacked  in  the  fern, 
and  broke  off  to  the  right  next  morning,  marching  through  torrents 
of.  rain  to  the  Kerikeri  mission  station.  The  result  was  that  the 
five  days'  biscuit  ration  and  two-thirds  of  the  reserve  ammunition 
were  spoiled  by  the  rain. 

From  Kerikeri  the  combined  naval  and  military  column  moved 
out  on  the  inland  trail  on  the  morning  of  the  6th  May.  The  clay 
road,  reduced  to  a  glue -like  mire  by  the  rain,  made  difficult 
marching.  Waka's  and  Rewa's  barefooted  warriors  watched  with 
pity  and  some  amusement  the  efforts  of  the  troops  to  march  in 
fours  and  keep  their  dressing  on  this  unkindly  highway  ;  they 
wondered  how  men  so  heavily  beswagged,  so  tightly  fastened 

*  This  incident  is  narrated  in  a  note  sent  to  me  by  Captain  Gilbert 
Mair,  who  adds,  "  Puns  are  of  rare  occurrence  among  the  Maoris." 


30  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

with  belts  and  straps  and  leather  stocks,  could  march  and  fight. 
The  bluejackets,  more  handily  equipped  and  comfortably  clothed, 
made  easier  work  of  it  ;  they  carried  with  them  a  war-rocket 
tube  from  the  "  North  Star  "  and  a  dozen  rockets,  which  it  was 
imagined  would  help  to  demolish  any  Maori  stockade  encountered. 
Acting-Commander  George  Johnson,  of  the  "  North  Star,"  was  in 
command  of  this  naval  brigade.  The  cart-road  to  Waimate  was 
followed  for  some  miles,  then  the  column  struck  in  a  direct  line 
across  country  for  Waka's  armed  camp  between  Lake  Omapere 
and  Okaihau,  twenty  miles  from  Kerikeri.  The  march  could 
have  been  simplified  had  the  force  passed  through  Waimate,  but 
the  members  of  the  Church  Mission  there,  the  Revs.  R.  Burrows 
and  R.  Davis,  had  made  strong  efforts  to  keep  the  mission  station 
tapu  from  armed  men  and  to  preserve  an  attitude  of  strict 
neutrality.  After  passing  the  Waimate  at  a  distance,  the  force 
entered  a  tract  of  forest,  chiefly  puriri ;  now  the  troops  had 
their  first  taste  of  New  Zealand  bush  work.  A  detachment  of 
Pioneers  of  the  5oth  had  been  thrown  ahead  with  Waka's  natives. 
With  their  axes  they  improved  the  difficult  Maori  pad-track, 
only  a  few  inches  wide,  for  the  passage  of  the  main  body. 
Unbridged  creeks  in  flood  were  waded,  small  swamps  were 
crossed,  hills  were  breasted,  and  at  last,  at  sundown,  the  bugles 
called  a  halt,  and  the  weary  soldiers  and  sailors  loosened  their 
packs  under  the  stockade  of  Tamati  Waka's  fortified  camp,  a  mile 
from  the  Omapere  Lake. 

Heke's  pa,  named  Puketutu,  was  two  miles  from  Nene's  fort, 
and  quite  close  to  Lake  Omapere.  The  fort  is  usually  but 
erroneously  referred  to  as  "  Okaihau  "  by  writers  on  the  northern 
war.  Okaihau  is  about  three  miles  to  the  west.  Half-way  between 
the  two  pas  was  the  small  hill  Taumata-Karamu,  the  scene  of 
many  skirmishes  between  Heke  and  Nene  in  April.  Now  and 
again  a  man  was  killed.  By  mutual  arrangement  no  ambuscades 
were  laid,  and  the  fighting  was  only  in  daylight. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE   FIGHTING   AT   OMAPERE. 

"  No  one  knew,  though  there  were  many  who  were  wise  after  the  event, 
that  these  tribesmen  (the  Mamunds)  were  as  well  armed  as  the  troops,  or 
trat  they  were  the  brave  and  formidable  enemies  they  proved  themselves 
tc  be.  '  Never  despise  your  enemies,'  is  an  old  lesson,  but  it  has  to  be 
leirnt  afresh,  year  after  year,  by  every  nation  that  is  warlike  and  brave."- — 
"  The  Story  of  the  Malakand  Field  Force,"  by  Winston  Churchill. 

"  We  expected  to  make  short  work  of  Johnny  Heke,"  said 
an  old  soldier  of  the  58th  describing  to  me  his  march  to  Lake 
Omapere.  But  the  difficulties  of  the  undertaking  so  confidently 
essayed  increased  as  the  objective  was  approached  and  the 
military  character  of  the  Maori  loomed  formidably  in  the  Biitish 
warrior's  vision.  The  unpropitious  season  heightened  the  troubles 
of  the  commander,  whose  deficiencies  in  artillery  and  commissariat 
were  fatal  to  any  chances  of  success.  The  greatest  blunder  of  all, 
the  failure  to  bring  even  the  lightest  of  ship's  guns,  although 
there  was  a  cart-road  for  the  greater  part  of  the  way  from  Kerikeri 
to  the  lake,  condemned  the  expedition  to  failure.  This  became 
fully  apparent  to  the  sanguine  Hulme  on  the  second  day  after  his 
arrival  on  the  terrain  whicn  Heke  had  selected  as  the  battle-ground. 

The  country  in  which  the  rival  armed  bands  of  Heke  and 
Waka  Nene  had  pitched  their  fortified  camps  was  an  ideal  region 
for  military  operations.  Towards  Lake  Omapere  the  land  was  a 
gently  undulating  plain  covered  with  manuka  shrubbery,  fern, 
flux,  and  tutu  bushes,  and  adorned  with  numerous  groves  of  the 
hardwood  puriri,  oak-like  in  the  spread  of  its  branches.  To  the 
east  lay  the  plains  and  hills  of  Taiamai,  the  delectable  land  of  the 
central  Ngapuhi  tribes.  What  swamps  there  existed  were  not 
large  and  could  readily  be  avoided  ;  streams  were  numerous  but 
small.  Many  of  these  little  rivers  issued  from  fissures  in  the 
volcanic  hillside,  welling  down  cold  and  crystal-clear  through  the 
Maori  cultivations  that  alternated  with  the  wilderness  of  fern  and 
tulu.  The  landscape  was  diversified  with  many  a  bold  volcanic 
cone.  Most  conspicuous  of  these  was  Te  Ahuahu  ("Heaped 
Up  "),  otherwise  known  as  Puke-nui  ("  Big  Hill  "),  a  long-extinct 
volcano  now  grassed  to  its  saucer-shaped  summit.  It  rises 
from  the  levels  near  the  northern  shore  of  the  lake  ;  its  height 


38  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

is  over  1,200  feet.  In  the  fighting  which  immediately  preceded 
the  arrival  of  the  troops  in  May,  1845,  Tamati  Waka  Nene 
fortified  a  position  on  this  hill.  To  the  west  lay  Okaihau,  with 
its  dense  woods  of  puriri  ;  to  the  south-west  the  Utakura  Stream, 
issuing  from  the  lake,  coursed  swiftly  down  to  the  harbour  of 
Hokianga.  Tamati  Waka's  first  palisaded  pa,  before  he  shifted 
to  the  Ahuahu  Hill,  was  built  near  Okaihau  Forest,  in  order  to 
check  Heke's  progress  westward  to  the  Hokianga  headwaters.  . 

There  had  been  considerable  fighting  in  the  month  of  April 
between  Heke's  warriors  and  the  hapus  friendly  to  the  whites, 
extending  over  this  open  country  between  Okaihau  and  Te 
Ahuahu.  Heke's  force  numbered  about  three  hundred  men  ;  his 
ally  Kawiti  joined  in  with  another  hundred  and  fifty  towards  the 


SCENES  OF  ENGAGEMENTS,  BAY  OF  ISLANDS  DISTRICT,   1845-46. 

end  of  April.  To  these  combined  war-parties  were  opposed  about 
four  hundred  men  under  Tamati  Waka,  Mohi  Tawhai,  and  Arama 
Karaka  Pi,  from  Hokianga  ;  Taonui,  Nopera  Para-kareao,  and 
other  chiefs  loyal  to  the  Treaty.  Besides  Waka's  fortified  camp, 
two  stockades  were  built  by  Taonui  and  his  tribe  from  Utakura, 
Hokianga,  and  by  Mohi  Tawhai  and  his  Mahurehure  hapu  from 
Waima.  All  these  three  forts  were  close  together  for  mutual 
support.  Two  or  three  white  men  joined  Waka  Nene  in  the 
field  as  volunteers.  One  of  these  was  the  afterwards  celebrated 
Judge  F.  E.  Maning,  the  author  of  "  Old  New  Zealand."  He  was 
a  tall  athletic  man,  whom  nothing  delighted  so  much  as  this 
opportunity  of  free-lance  fighting.  A  comrade  of  Maning's  was 
John  Webster,  of  Opononi,  Hokianga — a  settler  who  had  already 


THE    FIGHTING   AT   OMAPERE.  39 

seen  much  of  wild  life  in  Australia,  where  he  fought  the  blacks 
and  drove  cattle  on  long  overland  journeys  ;  in  after-years  he 
cruised  with  Ben  Boyd  in  the  schooner  -  yacht  "Wanderer." 
Webster  brought  to  Waka's  help  a  rifle  (a  novel  weapon  in  those 
days)  and  two  hundred  home-made  cartridges  ;  and  when  shooting 
began  he  took  his  place  in  the  rifle-pits  with  the  warriors  of 
Hokianga.  In  the  fighting  at  Ohaeawai  a  little  later  both  he  and 
Maning  shared.  And  another  white  warrior  came  in  with  his 
gun.  This  was  Jackey  Marmon,  a  wild  figure  and  the  chief  actor 
in  many  a  bloody  episode  of  old  New  Zealand.  He  was  an 
ex-convict  from  the  chain  gangs  of  Sydney ;  he  had  settled 
among  the  Maoris  in  the  days  when  New  Zealand  was  a  "  No- 
man's  Land,"  fought  in  their  wars,  and  even  shared  in  their 
cannibal  feasts ;  his  fondness  for  human  flesh  was  notorious 
among  both  Maori  and  pakeha  in  the  "  thirties "  and  early 
"  forties."  In  his  war-paint  of  red  ochre,  with  bare  chest  and 
arms  tattooed,  his  shaggy  head  decked  out  with  feathers,  musket 
slung  across  his  back,  cartouche-box  belts  buckled  around  him, 
a  long-handled  tomahawk  in  his  hand,  he  looked  the  perfect 
picture  of  a  savage  warrior. 

The  intertribal  skirmishing  went  on  until  the  arrival  of  the 
troops  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  May.  Heke's  pa,  Puketutu 
(sometimes  spoken  of  as  "  Te  Mawhe,"  although  the  hill  of  that 
name  is  some  distance  to  the  north-east),  was  now  the  immediate 
objective  of  attack ;  hitherto  the  fighting  had  been  in  open 
country  between  the  opposing  camps. 

Very  little  remains  to-day  to  mark  Puketutu  pa,  the  scene  of 
the  first  British  attack  upon  an  inland  Maori  fort ;  the  scene,  too, 
of  the  first  regular  British  charge  with  the  bayonet  against  a 
Maori  foe.  The  main  road  from  the  Bay  of  Islands,  via  Ohaeawai, 
to  Te  Horeke,  Hokianga,  cuts  through  the  site  of  the  northern 
part  of  Heke's  pa,  about  three  miles  before  Okaihau  Township  is 
reached.  The  fortification  measured  about  120  yards  each  way  ; 
it  was  a  rectangle,  with  several  s.alients  or  flanking  bastions,  of 
varied  outline  ;  from  these  each  side  of  the  pa  could  be  completely 
enfiladed.  There  appear  to  have  been  three  lines  of  palisading 
along  part  of  the  defences.  The  stockades  were  constructed  of 
stout  puriri  trunks  and  saplings  ;  the  outer  posts  were  from  5  inches 
to  10  inches  in  diameter,  and  carefully  loopholed.  A  high  breast- 
work was  thrown  up  inside  the  inner  fence  ;  the  trench  from  which 
the  earth  was  dug  was  about  5  feet  in  depth  ;  it  separated  the 
inner  and  middle  lines  of  palisade.  The  foot  of  the  pekerangi, 
about  15  feet  high,  was  strengthened  with  a  facing*  of  rocks  and 
stones  gathered  from  the  volcanic-lava  debris  which  lay  thickly 
around  ;  this  was  a  variation  from  the  usual  Maori  method  of 
leaving  the  foot  of  the  pekerangi  open  for  the  garrison's  fire. 
Another  innovation — used  at  Ohaeawai  also — was  the  coating  of 


40  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

the  outer  wall  with  green  flax.  A  large  portion  of  the  face  of  the 
palisade  was  reinforced  in  this  way  :  large  quantities  of  the  native 
harakeke,  or  flax,  were  cut  and  tied  in  bundles  ;  these  bundles 
were  closely  and  tightly  lashed  along  the  face  of  the  timbers 
just  above  the  roughly  piled  stone  buttress.  Thus  fastened,  the 
flax  formed  a  padding  or  fender  more  than  man-high  along  the 
stockade,  and  the  smooth,  thick  leaves  so  tightly  packed  prevented 
any  bullets  from  entering  through  crevices  in  the  war-fence.  The 
pa,  however,  was  not  quite  finished  when  it  was  attacked,  and 
had  it  been  reconnoitred  carefully  it  would  probably  have  been 
found  comparatively  vulnerable  in  the  rear  and  on  the  eastern 
flank. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  May  Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme  advanced 
his  fqrce.  By  9  a.m.  he  had  placed  his  redcoat  reserve  behind 
a  low  ridge  within  300  yards  of  Heke's  pa,  and  ordered  three 
parties  of  assault  to  take  up  their  positions.  The  first  of  these 
parties  consisted  of  the  seamen  of  the  frigates  "  Hazard  "  and 
"  North  Star,"  under  the  command  of  Acting-Commander  George 
Johnson,  formerly  of  the  "  North  Star  "  and  at  this  time  in 
temporary  command  of  the  "  Hazard  "  (in  place  of  Captain 
Robertson,  disabled  at  Kororareka).  The  second  party  was  the 
Light  Company  of  the  58th  Regiment,  under  Captain  Denny  ;  the 
third  was  composed  of  a  detachment  of  Royal  Marines  and  some 
men  of  the  g6th  Regiment,  under  Lieutenant  and  Adjutant 
McLerie  (58th  Regiment). 

As  the,  troops  moved  forward  with  fixed  bayonets  fire  was 
opened  upon  them  from  two  faces  of  the  pa.  One  party,  taking 
the  pa  in  rear,  marched  between  it  and  the  lake,  and  reached  a 
gentle  rise  within  200  yards  of  the  fort  and  just  above  the  lake. 
The  rocket-tube  from  which  so  much  was  expected  was  now  placed 
in  position  on  the  north-west  side  of  the  pa,  at  a  distance  of  about 
150  yards.  Twelve  rockets  were  fired  by  Lieutenant  Egerton 
("  North  Star  ")  and  his  bluejackets  without  any  effect. 

Kawiti,  who  had  hastened  to  Heke's  aid  with  a  body  of  about 
three  hundred  men,  had  halted  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
eastern  side  of  the  pa,  where  he  lay  in  ambush  under  the  brow 
of  a  low  undulation.  An  advanced  party  of  his  men  held  a  small 
breastwork.  The  troops  on  the  hill  advanced  their  right  flank 
and  drove  the  Maoris  from  the  shelter,  which  was  then  manned  by 
a  detachment  of  soldiers.  About  noon  Hone  Ropiha  (John  Hobbs, 
named  after  the  Wesleyan  missionary  at  Hokianga),  a  friendly 
scout  and  guide,  who  had  led  the  58th  and  the  sailors  round  the 
edge  of  the  lake  in  rear  of  the  pa  to  the  small  hill  overlooking 
Omapere,  detected  Kawiti's  war-party  lying  in  ambush  within 
50  yards  of  the  troops.  The  soldiers  turned  and  fired  a  volley, 
and  then  charged  with  the  bayonet,  inflicting  severe  loss  on 
Ngati-Hine. 


THE   FIGHTING   AT   OMAPERE. 


42  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS, 

A  British  ensign  was  hoisted  on  a  tall  flagstaff  in  the  stockade, 
then  up  went  Heke's  red  fighting-flag.  This  colour  was  hoisted 
and  hauled  down  several  times,  evidently  as  a  signal  to  Kawiti 
outside  the  pa. 

The  meaning  soon  was  made  clear.  The  chorus  of  a  war-song 
came  across  the  battlefield,  accompanied  by  the  clash  of  firearms 
and  the  thud  of  hundreds  of  feet.  Heke's  warriors  were  stimu- 
lating themselves  for  the  charge  by  a  preliminary  tutu-ngarahu. 
Forming  up  within  the  walls,  unseen  by  their  foes,  they  leaped 
into  the  action  of  the  dance,  led  by  Heke  himself,  and  this  was 
the  chant  they  yelled  (as  given  by  the  old  man  Rawiri  te  Ruru, 
of  Te  Ahuahu)  : — 

Ka  eke  i  te  wiwi; 

Ka  eke  i  te  wawa  ; 

Ka  eke  i  te  papara  hu-ai ; 

Rangi-tumu  huia. 

A  ha— ha  ! 

This  song  was  used  in  ancient  days  before  charging  up  to  the 
assault  of  an  enemy's  fortification.  Its  meaning  was  :  "  We'll 
reach  the  outer  palisade  ;  we'll  storm  the  inner  defence  ;  then 
we'll  storm  the  citadel ;  ah  !  then  the  chiefs  will  fall  before  us  !  " 

The  war-song  was  repeated  with  enormous  vigour:  "  E — el 
Ka  eke  i  te  wiwi !  "  Then  the  warriors  chanted  all  together  as 
they  leaped  this  way  and  that,  with  upthrust  guns,  this  centuries- 
old  battle-song  : — 

U-uhi  mat  te  waero, 

Ko  roto  ki  taku  puta. 

He  puta  nui  te  puta, 

He  puta  roa  te  puta. 

U — u  !     Weku,  weku  ! 

Weku  tnai  te  hiore  ! 

And  out  through  an  opening  in  the  rear  of  the  stockade  charged 
a  hundred  and  fifty  Ngapuhi  with  double-barrel  guns  and  long- 
handled  tomahawks.  Their  leader  was  Haratua,  of  Pakaraka. 
Kawiti  was  ready,  and  with  his  whole  body,  numbering  probably 
three  hundred,  he  joined  Heke  in  an  assault  upon  the  British. 

Captain  Denny,  commanding  the  Light  Company  of  the  58th, 
who  were  in  skirmishing  order  on  the  south-east  of  the  pa  and 
were  now  cut  off  from  the  main  body  by  Heke's  kokiri,  gave  the 
order  to  his  men  to  close  on  the  centre  ;  then,  "  Fix  bayonets — 
Charge  !  "  The  British  dash-  was  irresistible  ;  the  Maoris  were 
forced  back  to  the  cover  in  the  low  bush.  The  force  in  reserve 
fired  on  Heke's  men  as  they  advanced  to  take  the  troops  in  the 
rear,  and  checked  their  rush  towards  the  rise  above  the  lake  ; 
those  who  reached  that  spot  were  shot  or  bayoneted.  Brave  old 
Kawiti,  charging  at  the  head  of  his  warriors,  striving  to  drive  the 
troops  into  the  lake,  was  forced  back  with  heavy  loss  ;  one  of  his 
sons  was  killed  (one  had  fallen  at  Kororareka)  ;  many  other  men 


THE    FIGHTING   AT   OMAPERE. 


43 


were  killed  or  wounded.  Kawiti  himself  was  slightly  wounded, 
was  run  over  by  the  soldiers,  and  narrowly  missed  death.  Nor 
did  the  troops  escape  ;  several  were  killed  and  many  wounded. 
Kawiti 's  men  tomahawked  some  of  the  wounded.  The  British, 
on  their  side,  gave  no  quarter. 

The  "  Retire  "  was  sounded.     Kawiti  once  more  came  to  the 
charge,  dashing  upon  the  troops  with  desperate  courage.     Heke 


From  a  portrait  at  Kaikohe  by  S.  Stuart.] 

RlWHITETE    POKAI. 

in  the  meantime  had  withdrawn  his  men  to  the  pa.  It  could  end 
only  in  one  way  when  the  British  got  to  work  with  the  bayonet 
in  the  open  field.  But  even  now,  though  repeatedly  driven  back, 
the  warriors  outside  the  pa  did  not  entirely  relinquish  the  battle. 
They  skirmished  from  cover  until  the  soldiers  were  at  last  with- 
drawn by  sound  of  bugle. 


44  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

It  was  now  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  skirmishing, 
alternating  with  heavy  bayonet  fighting,  had  lasted  for  more  than 
four  hours.  Firing  was  maintained  from  the  pa,  and  replied  to 
by  the  troops  on  the  western  and  north-west  sides,  till  about 
sunset. 

In  the  British  retirement  to  the  camp  at  Tamati  Waka's  pa 
the  killed  were  left  behind.  Heavy  rain  came  on  ;  it  was  nearly 
dark  by  the  time  the  fight  ended.  The  bodies  of  thirteen  soldiers 
and  sailors  strewed  the  ferny  levels  about  the  pa  and  the  slopes 
above  the  lake  ;  another  man,  a  seaman  of  the  "  Hazard,"  died 
later  from  his  wounds.  The  wounded  numbered  forty-four  ;  they 
were  carried  off  by  their  comrades  along  the  edge  of  the  lake 
through  heavy  fire. 

Night  was  now  approaching,  and  when  the  fatigued,  wet,  and 
famishing  troops  left  the  field  their  foes  were  already  at  their 
evening  prayers  ;  and  the  last,  sound  the  soldiers  and  sailors  heard 
as  they  marched  off  was  a  hymn  chanted  by  hundreds  of  voices 
rising  through  the  air  still  pungent  with  gunpowder  smoke.  So 
ended  the  Battle  of  Puketutu — a  virtual  victory  for  the  Maoris, 
for  they  retained  possession  of  their  pa. 

The  Maori  loss  was  severe.  The  exact  casualties  were  not 
ascertained,  but  at  least  thirty  must  have  been  killed  and  many 
wounded.  For  weeks  after  that  day's  fighting  the  Ngapuhi 
women  and  bush-doctors  were  busy  tending  men  suffering  from 
severe  bayonet  and  gunshot  wounds.  A  favourite  method  of 
treating  such  injuries  was  to  bathe  the  wound  with  the  boiled 
juice  of  flax-root  and  then  plug  it  up  with  a  dressing  of  clay. 
Such  rough-and-ready  surgical  treatment  would  probably  have 
killed  the  average  white  man,  but  the  Maori  usually  made  a  quick 
recovery.  Many  of  the  best  warriors  of  the  north  fell  that  day. 
One  who  received  two  bayonet-thrusts  but  survived  to  fight  again 
was  Riwhitete  Pokai,  of  Kaikohe,  Heke's  relative  and  lieutenant. 
Even  in  his  old  age  Pokai  was  a  splendid  specimen  of  the  warriors 
of  Ngapuhi. 

Hulme  found  it  impossible  to  resume  hostilities  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  His  commissariat  was  exhausted  ;  there  were  no  accom- 
modation and  comforts  for  the  wounded  ;  men  were  falling  sick 
from  wet,  cold,  and  want  of  food  ;  heavy  rain  soaked  the  ground, 
made  travelling  difficult,  and  depressed  the  spirits  of  all.  The 
Colonel  therefore  decided  upon  a  retreat  as  soon  as  litters  could 
be  made  for  the  wounded. 

On  the  day  following  the  fight  the  Rev.  R.  Burrows  rode  in 
to  Puketutu  from  Waimate — he  had  viewed  the  operations  the 
previous  day  from  the  mountain  Pukenui — and  in  the  drenching 
rain,  at  Heke's  request,  he  carried  out  the  duty  of  collecting  and 
burying  the  dead  soldiers.  Heke's  men  assisted  him.  Eleven 
bodies  were  brought  from  the  spots  where  they  fell,  and  were 


THE    FIGHTING   AT   OMAPERE. 


45 


buried  in  the  trench  which  Kawiti's  warriors  had  dug  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  battlefield.  The  other  two  soldiers  were  buried 
about  a  third  of  a  mile  away,  near  the  shore  of  the  lake  and  not 
far  from  the  pa  Hulme  returned  to  Kerikeri  and  the  Bay,  and 
landed  his  wounded  at  Auckland  on  the  T_4th  May. 

Major  Cyprian  Bridge  (58th),  who  had  been  left  in  command 
at  the  Bay,  organized  a  boat  expedition,  and  early  on  the  I5th 
May  attacked  the  pa  of  the  Kapotai  Tribe  on  one  of  the  head 
creeks  of  the  Waikare  Inlet.  He  burned  the  pa  while  the  friendly 
Maoris,  under  Tamati  Waka,  fought  the  Kapotai  in  the  bush 


From  a  water-colour  drawing  by  Colonel  Cyprian  Bridge.} 

THE  BRITISH  ATTACK  ON  THE  KAPOTAI  PA,  WAIKARE  INLET,  BAY  OF  ISLANDS. 

(i5th  May,   1845.) 


Hauraki,  a  young  Hokianga  chief  on  Waka's  side,  brother-in-law 
to  F.  E.  Maning,  was  mortally  wounded  in  this  skirmish. 


NOTES. 

The  site  of  Puketutu  pa  is  perfectly  level  land,  and  is  intersected  by 
the  main  road  at  three  miles  from  Ohaeawai,  where  the  highway  closely 
approaches  the  rushy  margin  of  Umapere  Lake,  here  not  more  than 
150  yards  distant.  When  I  visited  the  place  (1919)  the  historic  spot  might 
have  been  passed  unnoticed  had  it  not  been  for  the  guidance  of  the  old 


46  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

man  Rawiri  te  Ruru,  of  Te  Ahuahu.  Rawiri  stopped  when  we  had  reached 
the  place  where  the  road  nears  a  little  bay  of  the  lake,  and  said,  "  This  is 
where  the  pa  stood."  On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  we  saw  the  ruined 
rifle-pits  and  earth  parapets  that  formed  part  of  the  defences  of  the  northern 
bastion,  with  scattered  stones  that  once  were  heaped  against  the  pekerangi 
to  strengthen  its  face.  The  large  trenches  are  still  4  to  5  feet  deep.  The 
main  portion  of  the  trench  still  traceable  is  fourteen  paces  in  length,  extend- 
ing at  right  angles  to  the  road  in  a  northerly  direction,  and  is  5  feet  wide  ; 
a  mound  or  parapet  separates  it  from  two  inner  pits  of  lesser  size  ;  from 
the  bottom  of  these  trenches  to  the  top  of  the  parapet  the  height  is  6  feet. 
The  stones  of  the  outer  work  are  scattered  about  in  the  bottom  of  the 
ditches  and  among  the  stunted  furze.  In  the  fern  and  grass  on  the  left- 
hand  side  of  the  road,  too,  we  find  some  of  these  ancient  stones  that  helped 
to  stop  the  big-bore  round  balls  of  the  Tower  musket  era.  In  the  paddock 
that  gently  slopes  from  the  road  down  to  the  lake  cattle  are  grazing  over 
the  old  battle-ground,  where  there  are  faint  indications  of  trenches  ;  the 
field,  though  ploughed  over  many  times,  retains  the  slight  undulation  that 
marks  the  war-ditches  dug  by  Heke's  warriors.  The  hill  of  Puketutu,  from 
which  the  pa  takes  its  name,  is  a  gentle  rise  about  half  a  mile  distant,  in 
the  direction  of  Ohaeawai.  A  little  farther  to  the  north-east  is  Mawhe,  a 
rounded  hill,  still  in  part  covered  with  puriri  groves ;  this,  too,  was  a 
fighting-ground  contested  by  Tamati  Waka  and  Heke. 

Riwhitete  Pokai  died  at  Kaikohe  in  1903,  aged  about  eighty-five  years. 
He  was  in  charge  of  one  of  the  war-parties  detailed  for  the  final  attack  on 
the  flagstaff  at  Kororareka  in  1845.  To  his  last  days  he  retained  the  warrior 
instinct  and  the  alert  "wariness  of  his  youth,  and  was  fond  of  instructing  the 
young  men  of  Ngapuhi  in  the  art  of  war  as  he  had  practised  it.  His  rifle 
and  muskets  were  always  kept  ready  for  use.  His  kinsmen  tell  of  a  charac- 
teristic trait  of  the  veteran.  He  slept  "  with  one  ear  awake,"  and  kept 
beside  him  an  ancient  sword-stick,  which  King  William  IV  had  sent  to 
Titore.  At  any  unusual  noise  in  or  near  his  room  he  would  leap  from  his 
bed  and  lunge  out  fiercely  with  this  weapon  in  the  darkness  at  his  imaginary 
enemy. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


THE  ATTACK  ON   OHAEAWAI. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme's  expedition  to  Omapere  was  criticized 
in  severe  terms  by  professional  men  and  lay  observers  alike. 
These  criticisms  were  directed  not  so  much  against  the  officer 
commanding  or  the  troops,  whose  courage  and  discipline  could 
not  have  been  higher,  but  against  the  ill-considered  policy  which 
had  hurried  an  imperfectly  equipped  force  into  the  wilds  against 
an  enemy  of  unknown  strength. 

It  was  now  approaching  midwinter,  and  the  rains  which  make 
camp  life  in  the  north  uncomfortable  and  reduce  the  tracks  to 
bogs  had  set  in  heavily.  The  weather  would  not  be  favourable 
for  campaigning  for  several  months.  Nevertheless,  Governor 
Fitzroy  and  the  military  authorities  resolved  to  recommence 
Operations  against  Heke,  fearing  that  the  longer  he  was  left 
unmolested  the  stronger  would  grow  his  forces. 

Heke  employed  his  respite  in  recruiting  his  war-parties  and 
gathering  in  supplies  of  ammunition  and  food.  He  was  not,  how- 
ever, left  in  peace,  for  the  ever-active  Waka  Nene,  with  three 
or  four  hundred  men  at  his  command,  was  encamped  between 
Okaihau  and  Ohaeawai,  and  intermittent  fighting  occurred  early 
in  June.  In  the  heaviest  engagement  Heke  received  a  severe 
gunshot  wound  in  the  thigh,  and  was  rescued  by  a  party  led  by 
the  tohunga  Te  Atua  Wera  (whose  atua,  or  familiar  spirit,  was 
the  Nakahi,  according  to  Ngapuhi  stories).  Each  side  lost  five  or 
six  killed  in  this  fight  (i2th  June). 

Early  in  June  Fitzroy  received  reinforcements  ;  the  barque 
"  British  Sovereign  "  arrived  at  Auckland  from  Sydney  with  the 
headquarters  of  the  Qgth  Regiment,  numbering  209  officers  and 
men,  under  Colonel  Despard,  who  had  seen  some  service  in  the 
East  Indies.  Colonel  Despard  took  charge  of  all  the  troops  in  the 
colony  and  organized  a  new  expedition.  In  the  middle  of  June 
the  transport  fleet  sailed  from  the  Waitemata  for  the  Bay  of 
Islands.  Disembarking  at  Onewhero  Beach,  Despard  marched  his 
force  to  Kerikeri  mission  station  ;  the  guns  and  stores  were  boated 
up  the  Kerikeri  River  by  the  "  Hazard's  "  bluejackets.  Thence 
the  route  was  through  Waimate  to  Ohaeawai ;  the  objective  was 
a  fort  which  Heke  and  Pene  Taui  were  reported  to  have  built. 


48  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

The  strength  of  the  column,  including  seventy-five  volunteers  from 
the  Auckland  Militia  and  eighteen  seamen  and  marines  from 
H.M.S.  "  Hazard/'  was  596  rank  and  file.  Major  Cyprian  Bridge, 
commanding  the  58th,  had  about  270  men  under  him,  the 
largest  unit  in  the  column.  Major  Macpherson  commanded  two 
companies  of  the  99th  Regiment,  and  Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme  a 
company  of  the  q6th.  Acting-Captain  Gecrge  Johnson,  of  the 
"  Hazard,"  with  him  Lieutenant  George  Phillpotts  (the  "  Topi  " 
of  the  Maoris),  brought  up  the  naval  party  to  work  the  guns. 
These  pieces  of  artillery  were  two  6-pounder  brass  guns  and  two 
i2-pounder  carronades. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23rd  June  the  force  marched  from 
Waimate  for  Ohaeawai,  seven  miles  away.  This  stage  of  the 
march  was  much  impeded  by  the  bad  roads  (or,  rather,  bullock- 
tracks),  the  unbridged  creeks,  and  a  deep  swamp. 

Waka's  advance  guard  of  Hokianga  Maoris  was  the  first  to 
come  under  fire.  The  Ohaeawai  garrison  had  sent  out  parties  of 
skirmishers,  and  firing  began  when  the  forces  had  passed  the  tino 
of  Taiamai  (the  remarkable  rock  from  which  the  district  takes  its 
name)  about  a  mile,  and  were  ascending  a  gentle  rise  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Ohaeawai.  Despard  heard  the  sound  of  musketry  on  his 
right  front,  and  moved  rapidly  forward  with  his  advance  guard 
(No.  9  Compan}'  of  the  58th  Regiment,  under  Lieutenant  Bal- 
neavis).  Some  of  the  friendly  natives  accompanied  the  white 
skirmishers ;  with  them  marched  Jackey  Marmon,  the  white 
cannibal  warrior.  Volleys  of  musketry  saluted  Balneavis  and 
his  men.  The  advance  was  over  rather  rough  ground,  covered 
with  high  fern  and  manuka,  with  here  and  there  a  native 
cultivation.  A  tall  stockade  came  in  sight.  At  about  500  yards 
from  the  north  face  of  the  Maori  fort  the  bugles  sounded  the  halt. 
Here,  on  gently  rising  ground,  within  musket-range  of  the  pa, 
Despard  encamped. 

Next  morning  (24th  June),  after  reconnoitring  his  enemy's 
position,  Despard  prepared  for  a  regular  siege,  and  opened  fire 
from  his  field-pieces.  In  the  meantime  we  may  leave  him 
anxiously  scanning  the  stockade  with  his  spy-glass  after  each  shot, 
and  see  for  ourselves  what  manner  of  fortress  this  was  that  the 
followers  of  Kawiti  and  Heke  now  held  in  defiance  of  British 
musket,  bayonet,  and  artillery. 

Ohaeawai  pa  in  its  original  form  was  the  headquarters  of 
the  chief  Pene  Taui.  He  strengthened  it  after  the  fighting  at 
Kororareka,  realizing  that  his  own  district  might  before  long 
become  a  theatre  of  war.  After  the  Battle  of  Puketutu,  Kawiti 
and  Heke  united  with  Pene  Taui  in  converting  Ohaeawai  into  a 
formidable  fort,  proof  against  artillery  as  well  as  musketry.  Old 
Kawiti,  wise  in  all  matters  of  warfare,  marked  out  the  lines  of 
the  new  fortification,  which  when  completed  more  than  doubled 


THE    ATTACK    ON    OHAEAWAI.  49 

the  size  of  the  original  stockade,  and  in  Heke's  absence  he 
superintended  the  labour  of  hauling  the  puriri  palisade  timbers 
from  the  forest  and  setting  them  in  position.  The  pa  stood  on 
elevated  ground,  a  terrain  well  adapted  for  defence,  except  in  one 
important  detail  :  it  was  commanded  by  a  conical  hill  about  a 
third  of  a  mile  away  on  the  north-west,  a  knoll  about  300  feet 
higher  than  the  site  of  the  stockade.  This  hill,  Puketapu,  on 
the  northern  flank  of  a  wooded  range  which  rose  immediately 
west  of  Ohaeawai,  was  partly  covered  with  puriri  groves.  The 
ground  fell  quickly  away  from  the  pa  on  all  flanks  but  the  north  ; 
the  track  from  Waimate  to  Kaikohe  passed  under  its  eastern 
front,  where  the  main  road  runs  to-day.  The  ground  sloped  very 
gradually  on  the  north,  and  it  was  that  side,  facing  the  quarter 
from  which  attack  was  expected,  that  the  garrison  made  par- 
ticularly strong.  Eastward  was  the  forest.  Through  the  valley 
which  half-encircled  the  pa  hill  on  the  west  and  north-west  sides 
flowed  a  small  stream,  intersecting  the  Kaikohe  track.  Beyond 
this  stream  on  the  west  swelled  the  ranges  in  a  cloud  of  forest. 
On  the  partly  cleared  land  to  the  north,  where  the  British  camp 
was  pitched,  stood  many  a  large  puriri.  One  of  those  puriri,  still 
standing,  could  tell  us,  had  it  a  tongue  like  Jason's  talking-oak, 
of  Despard's  council  of  war  held  beneath  its  boughs,  and  of  the 
shells  and  round  shot  which  the  guns  of  1845  sent  over  its  head. 
One  of  those  shots  fell  short — there  was  many  a  defective  charge 
— and  smashed  off  the  old  tree's  top  branch. 

The  fort  was  oblong  in  form,  with  salients  on  each  face  and 
at  two  of  the  angles  (south-east  and  south-west),  giving  the 
garrison  an  enfilading  fire  in  every  direction.  The  greatest  axis 
was  east  and  west ;  the  distance  from  the  eastern  to  the  western- 
most palisade  was  a  little  over  100  yards.  The  shortest  flank, 
the  western,  measured  40  yards ;  the  eastern  43  yards.  The 
original  and  the  newer  sections  of  the  pa  did  not  run  on  a 
continuous  alignment ;  Kawiti's  portion  was  constructed  slightly 
en  echelon,  projecting  a  few  yards  on  the  south  beyond  the 
eastern  division  of  the  pa.  The  palisades  and  trench,  however, 
made  an  uninterrupted  defence,  and  the  numerous  projections 
gave  an  admirably  complete  flanking  fire  ;  therein  shone  the  innate 
military  engineering  genius  of  the  Maori.  Part  of  the  lines  was 
defended  by  three  lines  of  stockade  timbers  ;  on  two  faces  the 
palisade  was  double.  The  outer  wall,  the  pekerangi,  or  curtain, 
was  formed  of  stout  timbers,  most  of  them  whole  trees,  sunk 
deeply  in  the  ground  at  short  intervals,  with  saplings  and  split 
timbers  closely  set  between  the  larger  posts,  all  bound  firmly 
together  with  cross-rails  and  torotoro,  or  bush- vines.  The  smaller 
timbers  did  not  quite  reach  the  ground  ;  it  was  through  the 
spaces  left  that  the  defenders  fired  from  their  shelter  in  the  trench 
behind  the  second  palisade.  The  outer  defence  was  completed 


5O  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

by  the  masking  of  the  timber  wall  with  green  flax,  as  at  Puketutu. 
The  stockading  was  10  to  15  feet  in  height  ;  it  was  covered 
from  a  foot  above  the  ground  to  the  height  of  8  or  10  feet 
with  a  thick  mantlet  of  green  flax-leaves  tightly  bound  to  the 
palisades.  This  padding  of  harakeke  not  only  afforded  considerable 
protection  by  deadening  the  impact  of  bullets,  but  masked  the 
real  strength  of  the  stockade. 

The  second  line  of  stockade,  the  kiri-tangata  ("  the  warrior's 
skin"),  was  stronger  than  even  the  well-constructed  pekerangi ; 
every  timber  was  set  in  the  ground  to  a  depth  of  about  5  feet,  and 
rose  above  ground  to  a  height  corresponding  with  that  of  the 
outer  line.  Many  of  the  palisades  so  planted,  set  close  together, 
were  whole  puriri  trees  a  foot  or  15  inches  in  diameter — some 
were  even  larger — and  some  when  cut  and  hauled  from  the 
fores  must  have  been  quite  20  feet  in  length.  This  line  of 
stockade  was  loopholed  ;  the  apertures  for  the  Maori  musketry 
fire  were  formed  by  taking  a  V  scarf  with  the  axe  out  of  the  two 
contiguous  timbers.  These  loopholes  were  on  the  ground-level  ; 
and  the  Maori  musketeer,  pointing  his  gun  through  the  aperture, 
was  thus  able  to  deliver  his  fire  under  the  foot  of  the  pekerangi 
without  in  the  least  exposing  himself.  The  distance  between 
the  two  fences  was  3  feet.  The  trench  in  which  the  musketeer 
squatted  was  5  to  6  feet  deep  and  4  or  5  feet  wide,  with  earth 
banquette  on  which  the  defenders  stood  to  fire,  and  traverses 
at  intervals  of  about  2  yards,  with  narrow  communicating-trench 
between  each,  admitting  of  only  one  man  passing  at  a  time. 
The  venerable  Rihara  Kou,  of  Kaikohe,  describing  it,  said  :  "  We 
could  travel  right  round  the  pa  in  the  trench,  winding  in  and 
out  '  ("  haere  kopikopiko  ana  "). 

Within  the  double  stockade  and  the  firing-trench  again,  on 
a  p'ortion  of  the  front  at  least,  there  was  a  third  line  of  timbers, 
a  palisade  about  10  feet  high,  against  the  outer  side  of  which 
the  earth  thrown  from  the  ditch  was  heaped.  Inside  all  these 
defences  were  the  living-quarters  of  the  garrison — the  warriors, 
and  the  wives  and  daughters  who  had  come  to  cook  for  them 
and  make  their  cartridges.  These  quarters  were  all  underground, 
and  were  made  shell-proof  by  being  covered  with  heavy  timbers, 
branches  of  trees,  and  earth.  The  roofs  of  some  were  built  with 
the  slope  of  the  usual  low  whare,  and  the  soil  from  the  excava- 
tions was  heaped  up  against  them  and  over  their  tops  until  they 
seemed  mere  mounds  of  earth.  These  subterranean  chambers 
(mas,  or  pits,  the  Maoris  called  them)  were  usually  6  feet  deep  ; 
some  were  as  large  as  a  good-sized  wharepuni,  about  30  feet  long 
and  20  feet  wide.  The  garrison  were  completely  sheltered  here, 
as  in  the  trench,  until  Despard's  guns  were  mounted  on  the  hill 
to  the  north-west,  and  even  then  few  of  the  Maoris  were  hit  by 
the  plunging  fire. 


THE   ATTACK   ON   OHAEAWAI. 

S. 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  OHAEAWAI  PA, 


Storming-parties. 


Showing  north-west  angle  attacked  by  British  stormmsr-parties 
(ist  July,   1845). 


SECTION  OF  STOCKADE  AND  TRENCHES. 


FLAX-MASKED  PALISADE. 


52  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

To  these  skilfully  planned  defences,  evolved  out  of  the  Maori's 
brain,  ever  resourceful  in  devices  to  combat  new  weapons,  there 
was  added  a  battery  of  artillery.  To  be  sure,  it  was  a  scrap-iron 
battery  :  it  consisted  of  four  old  ship's  guns  gathered  from 
one  quarter  and  another,  but  it  gave  a  finishing  touch  ta  the 
fortress.  Two  of  the  pieces  were  iron  g-pounders  ;  the  others  were 
smaller  iron  guns,  a  4-pounder  and  a  2 -pounder  swivel.  The 
two  smaller  guns  had  been  brought  in  bullock-drays  by  Heke 
and  his  friends  from  the  Bay  of  Islands.  One  of  the  weapons 
had  been  taken  as  spoils  of  war  from  Kororareka  after  the  fight 
of  the  nth  March.  One  of  the  9-pounders  had  a  curious  history  : 
it  was  one  of  two  which  the  Maoris  commandeered  from  the 
Waimate  mission  station.  The  history  goes  back  to  the  year  1823, 
when  the  ship  "  Brampton,"  which  had  brought  out  the  Rev. 
Henry  Williams  and  his  family,  went  to  pieces  on  a  reef,  which 
now  bears  her  name,  outside  Kororareka  Bay.  After  the  ship 
had  been  abandoned,  two  of  the  guns  with  which  she  was  armed 
were  brought  to  Paihia,  the  mission  station  opposite  Russell,  and 
were  used  there  for  firing  salutes  ;  afterwards  they  were  taken  to 
Waimate. 

One  of  the  g-pounders  found  after  the  siege  stood  in  a 
square  bastion  facing  the  east,  close  to  the  south-east  angle  of 
the  pa.  Another  was  mounted  at  an  angle  on  the  northern 
front,  facing  the  encampment  of  the  troops.  One  of  the  smaller 
pieces  stood  in  an  embrasure  on  the  same  front,  about  70  feet 
from  the  north-west  angle.  The  other  gun,  so  far  as  can  be 
gathered,  was  mounted  in  the  small  bastion  at  the  south-west 
angle.* 

The  Maori  garrison  of  the  pa  was  considerably  out- 
numbered by  the  troops.  The  strength  of  the  defenders  varied 
from  time  to  time,  as  men  were  continually  passing  between  the 
stockade  and  Kaikohe,  five  or  six  miles  in  the  rear.  A  strong 
bodyguard  had  been  sent  with  the  wounded  Heke  to  Tautoro, 

*  In  comparing  the  Maori  fortresses  with  the  contemporary  defensive 
works  of  other  primitive  races  we  find  the  closest  resemblance  to  the  New 
Zealand  pa  in  the  stockades  of  two  far-severed  peoples — the  Burmese  and 
the  Indians  of  some  of  the  western  States  in  North  America.  In  the  first 
Burmese  War  (1824)  the  British  soldiers  were  confronted  by  immense  jungle 
stockades,  built  sometimes  of  very  large  tree-trunks,  and  defended  also 
by  an  abbatis  of  pointed  stakes  and  felled  trees.  It  was  found  necessary 
to  breach  these  stockades  with  artillery.  In  Catlin's  "  North  American 
Indians"  a  Mandan  village  on  the  Upper  Missouri  is  described.  This  fort 
was  built  on  a  precipitous  cliff  40  or  50  feet  high.  The  stockade  was  built 
of  timbers  a  foot  or  more  in  diameter  and  18  feet  high,  set  firmly  in  the 
ground  at  a  sufficient  distance  apart  to  admit  of  guns  being  fired  between 
them.  "The  ditch,  unlike  that  of  civilized  modes  of  fortification,"  Catlin 
wrote,  "  is  inside  of  the  picquet,  in  which  the  warriors  screen  their  bodies, 
from  the  view  and  weapons  of  their  enemies  whilst  they  are  reloading  and 
discharging  their  weapons  through  the  picquets."  Exactly  this  plan  of 
defence  was  adopted  by  the  Maoris  in  the  New  Zealand  wars. 


THE    ATTACK    ON    OHAEAWAI.  53 

a  safe  place  of  retreat  some  fourteen  miles  away,  close  to  the 
beautiful  mounta  n  lake  of  Tauanui,  or  Kereru,  with  its  sacred 
islet.  The  natives  say  that  when  Despard  delivered  his  assault 
on  the  ist  July  there  were  not  more  than  a  hundred  men  in 
the  pa.  The  principal  hapus  composing  the  garrison  were  : 
Ngati-Rangi,  under  Pene  Taui ;  Ngati-Tautahi,  of  Kaikohe, 
under  Tuhirangi  (elder  brother  of  Heke)  ;  Ngati-Whakaeke, 
Ngati-te-Rehu,  and  Ngati-te-Rangi,  all  Heke's  hapus ;  Ngati- 
Kawa,  of  Oromahoe  ;  and  Te  Uri-Taniwha,  of  Te  Ahuahu  ;  also 
Ngati-Hine,  led  by  Kawiti. 

Picture  the  interior  of  Ohaeawai  stockade  that  midwinter 
of  1845.  The  northerly  gale  brings  a  thin  but  searching  rain  ; 
squalls  sometimes  obscure  the  battlefield  in  a  driving  mist.  The 
troops  in  their  leaky  tents  and  their  roughly  made  manuka 
shelters  are  uncomfortably  damp  ;  in  the  securely  roofed  dug- 
outs within  the  stockade  the  Maoris  are  snug  and  dry.  The 
floors  of  the  ruas  are  thickly  spread  with  soft  fern  and  flax  mats. 
In  the  store-pits  are  heaps  of  potatoes  and  kumara,  baskets  of 
dried  eels,  preserved  pigeons,  shell-fish  from  the  Kawakawa. 
In  the  larger  of  the  semi-subterranean  huts  are  fires  burning, 
fed  with  manuka  branches  and  heaps  of  kapia*  or  kauri-gum. 
At  some  of  these  fires  women  and  boys  are  roasting  potatoes  ;  at 
others  men  are  cleaning  and  polishing  their  flint-lock  muskets  and 
percussion-cap  guns.  In  the  safety  of  the  deeper  dugouts -groups 
are  busy  making  cartridges,  filling  the  thick  paper  holders  from 
small  kegs  of  gunpowder  ;  others  are  melting  lead  into  bullets, 
using  moulds  either  bought  from  the  trading-houses  before  the 
war  or  looted  last  March  from  the  stores  at  Kororareka.  There 
is  no  lack  of  powder  or  of  bullets  ;  even  after  hostilities  had 
begun  and  after  a  blockade  of  the  Bay  of  Islands  had  been 
established  the  Maoris  had  little  difficulty  in  finding  white 
traders  and  captains  of  coasting-vessels  or  timber-ships  (chiefly 
at  Hokianga)  ready  to  supply  ammunition  at  war  prices. 

Observe  these  half-stripped  fort-builders  and  gun-fighters  of 
Ngapuhi,  the  pick  of  Maori  manhood.  Tall  fellows,  with  the 
shoulders  and  chests  of  athletes  and  the  straight  backs  of  soldiers ; 
quick  darting  eyes,  always  on  the  alert ;  clean-shaven  faces  thickly 
scrolled  with  the  blue-black  tattoo  lines  of  the  moko.  Some  of 
the  veterans  have  scarcely  an  inch  of  skin  on  cheeks  and  nose 
and  brow  and  chin  clear  of  the  deeply  cut  lines  of  tattoo  ;  their 
tapu  heads  are  a  marvel  of  savage  carving.  There  are  boys  here 
only  just  entering  their  teens.  Yonder  is  a  youngster  of  twelve 
proudly  handling  a  hakimana,  a  single  -  barrel  percussion  -  cap 
musket  ;  it  is  his  first  gun,  and  he  is  waiting  with  mingled 
impatience  and  excitement  for  his  share  of  ammunition  that  will 
enable  him  to  take  his  place  in  the  fire-trenches.  (The  Maori 
took  to  the  war-path  young;  so,  indeed,  did  most  people  living 
a  primitive  or  semi-primitive  life.  In  the  American  backwoods 


54 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


THE   ATTACK   ON   OH  AE  A  WAI.  55 

in  the  old  Indian  fighting  -  days  the  settler's  son  often  was 
already  a  veteran  at  an  age  when  most  boys  are  at  school. 
"  A  boy  of  the  wilderness,"  Sir  George  Otto  Trevelyan  wrote 
in  "  The  American  Revolution/'  "  so  soon  as  he  had  passed  his 
twelfth  birthday,  was  recognized  as  part  of  the  garrison  of  the 
farm,  and  was  allotted  his  loophole  in  the  stockade  which 
encircled  it."  In  G.  M.  Trevelyan's  "  Garibaldi  and  the  Making 
of  Italy"  mention  is  made  of  a  Sicilian  boy  of  twelve  who 
behaved  with  such  admirable  courage  in  the  Battle  of  Milazzo 
(1860)  that  Garibaldi  made  him  a  sergeant  on  the  field.) 

Here  is  dour  old  Kawiti,  hero  of  many  fights,  burning  to 
avenge  the  death  of  his  son  on  the  battlefield  of  Puketutu.  Here 
is  that  most  daring  of  Ngapuhi  tomahawk-men,  young  Riwhitete 
Pokai.  his  two  bavonet-wounds  received  at  Puketutu  scarcely 
healed  yet.  Here  is  Ruatara  Tauramoko,  of  the  blue-blooded  clan 
known  as  the  Uri-Taniwha  ("Children  of  Sea-monsters");  clean- 
limbed, square-shouldered,  symmetrically  tattooed,  he  looks  the 
perfect  type  of  a  New  Zealand  warrior.  One  of  his  comrades, 
Wi  te  Parihi,  or  Pirihonga,  is  a  man  of  an  alien  tribe,  the  Arawa ; 
he  was  brought  here  as  a  captive  long  ago,  but  his  merits  have 
won  for  him  a  high  place  among  his  captor's  people  ;  he  and 
Pokai  are  spoken  of  to  this  day  with  admiration  as  Heke's  two 
greatest  toas,  or  braves.  And  in  the  trenches  also  you  may  see 
one  or  two  young  musketeers  whose  skin  is  curiously  light  in 
contrast  with  the  dark  curves  of  the  tattoo;  they  are  half-castes.* 

The  first  British  battery,  protected  by  a  breastwork,  was  placed 
about  100  yards  in  front  of  Despard's  camp,  on  gently  rising 
ground,  and  the  first  gun  was  fired  at  8  a.m.  on  the  24th  June. 
The  fire  was  kept  up  from  the  four  guns  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  day,  but  with  little  effect  upon  the  stockade. 

New  emplacements  were  made  ;  one  battery  was  not  more 
than  100  yards  from  the  stockade.  The  guns  made  no  impression 
on  the  stockade,  and  the  only  casualties  were  those  suftered  b}' 
the  troops.  Despard  at  last  wrote  to  Acting-Captain  George 

*  Ruatara,  like  his  comrade  Pokai,  showed  the  warrior  spirit  to  the 
last.  In  his  old  age,  at  Tautoro,  he  preserved  with  pride  his  armoury  of 
seven  guns — of  all  makes  and  periods,  from  flint-locks  to  modern  rifles — 
which  he  kept  carefully  cleaned  and  polished,  always  in  readiness  for  use 
if  needed.  Like  Pokai,  too,  he  took  delight  in  teaching  the  younger  gene- 
ration the  use  of  arms.  In  1901  he  was  one  of  the  northern  chiefs  in  the 
great  Maori  gathering  at  Rotorua  to  welcome  King  George  V  (then  Duke  of 
Cornwall  and  York).  The  tall  old  tattooed  warrior  made  a  picturesque 
figure  of  the  past  as  bareheaded  and  barefooted  he  marched  up  and  laid  his 
most  treasured  heirloom,  a  whalebone  hoeroa  or  broadsword,  at  Royalty's  feet. 

Rihara  Kou,  of  Kaikohe,  now  about  ninety  years  of  age,  was  in  the 
trenches  at  Ohaeawai,  using  his  first  gun  ;  he  would  then  be  about  twelve 
years  of  age.  Rihara  is  the  last  survivor  of  the  defenders  of  Ohaeawai  and 
Rua-pekapeka.  He  is  a  good  type  of  the  Ngapuhi,  with  a  fine,  intelligent, 
shrewd  face  and  long  snowy  hair  and  beard. 


-5  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Johnson,  of  H.M.S.  "  Hazard,"  which  was  anchored  in  the  mouth 
of  the  Kerikeri  River,  requesting  him  to  send  up  one  of  his 
32-pounders. 

Meanwhile  some  ingenious  artilleryman,  racking  his  wits  lor 
means  of  more  effective  attack,  bethought  him  of  the  empty 
shell-cases.  Could  they  be  converted  into  stench  bombs  or  balls, 
with  short  time-fuses,  and  fired  from  the  mortars  ?  Colour- 
Sergeant  R.  Hattaway,  of  the  58th,  narrated  the  incident.  Two 
old  soldiers  were  sent  to  assist  in  the  manufacture  of  the  balls 
or  shells;  the  experiment  was  regarded  with  high  hopes  by  the 
artillery  officers.  "  The  shells,"  wrote  Hattaway,  "  contained 
some  poisonous  substance  the  effect  of  which  was  expected  to 
deprive  the  rebels  of  all  animation,  and  leave  them  a  prey  to 


From  a  photo,  April.  192 2.} 

RIHA.RA  Kou,  OF  KAIKOHE. 
Last  survivor  of  the  defenders  of  Ohaeawai. 

the  European  victors.  As  day  by  day  passed  away  and  nothing 
occurred  to  disturb  the  natives  in  their  stronghold  it  was  con- 
cluded that  the  project  had  been  a  failure." 

This  curious  experiment,  the  first  and  only  instance  of  the 
use  of  poison-gas  in  New  Zealand,  was  attended  with  no  better 
success  than  the  other  means  adopted  for  the  capture  of  the  pa. 
The  composition  of  the  "  stench-balls "  remains  a  mystery ; 
unknown  also  is  the  number  of  these  shells  delivered  to  the 
Maoris  by  vertical  fire.  The  expectation  was  that  the  mortars, 
with  their  45°  angle  of  fire,  would  land  the  poison-shells  within 
the  trenches  or  the  dugouts,  where  their  explosion  would  produce 
stupefaction  as  well  as  consternation.  Wherever  they  exploded, 
they  failed  to  produce  any  noticeable  ill  effect  upon  the  Maoris 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE  STORMING-PARTY  AT  OHAEAWAI, 

Pene  Taui's  stockade  was  commanded  at  a  range  of  less  than 
one-third  of  a  mile  by  the  hill  Puketapu,  upon  which  DesparcTs 
Maori  allies  flew  the  British  ensign.  A  modern  field-gun  at  that 
distance  would  quickly  have  reduced  the  palisade  to  splinters. 
But  what  little  impression  was  made  by  gun-fire  upon  the  flax- 
masked  defences  was  repaired  by  the  garrison  each  night  ;  and 
even  when  the  32-pounder  arrived  from  the  frigate  "  Hazard  "  its 
projectiles  failed  to  breach  the  stockade.  On  the  3Oth  June  the 
gun  was  mounted  on  a  platform,  with  strong  timber  slides,  con- 
structed on  the  lower  slope  of  Puketapu  ;  two  of  the  smaller  guns 
had  been  placed  higher  up.  On  the  forenoon  of  the  ist  July  the 
32-pounder  opened  fire  obliquely  at  the  front  stockade. 

Every  one  was  absorbed  in  watching  the  effect  of  the  gun-fire. 
Suddenly  there  came  the  noise  of  musket-fire  in  the  rear,  on  the 
summit  of  Tamati  Waka  Nene's  hijl,  and  as  the  troops  turned 
about  in  astonishment  they  saw  the  friendly  Maoris,  men  and 
women,  flying  down  the  steep  slope  in  confusion,  and  with  them 
the  picket  (a  sergeant  and  twelve  men  of  the  58th)  posted  on  the 
hill  for  the  protection  of  the  6-pounder.  They  had  been  taken 
in  reverse  by  a  sortie-party  of  Maoris  from  the  pa,  advancing 
under  cover  of  the  forest  on  the  right  front  and  flank.  The 
natives  shot  one  soldier,  seized  the  gun,  and  hauled  down  Waka's 
flag,  which  they  carried  off.  Major  Bridge  and  his  58th  charged 
up  and  recaptured  the  hill.  A  few  minutes  later  Despard's  alarm 
and  disgust  turned  to  fury  when  he  saw  the  captured  British 
ensign  run  up  on  the  flax-halliards  of  the  Maori  flagstaff  in  the 
pa,  below  the  rebel  flag — a  kakaku  Maori,  as  one  of  my  Maori 
informants  describes  it — a  native  garment.  Then  it  was  that  the 
Colonel  made  up  his  mind  to  storm  the  pa  that  day.  He  imagined 
that  the  few  32  Ib.  shot — which  were  soon  expended — would  so 
loosen  the  stockades  as  to  enable  the  troops  to  cut  and  pull  them 
down.  Those  who  ventured  to  remonstrate  were  snubbed  or 
insulted.  Lieutenant  Phillpotts,  of  the  "  Hazard,"  was  roused  to 


58  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

such  indignation  by  the  Colonel's  retort  to  his  protest  against  a 
senseless  attack  that  he  threw  away  every  vestige  of  military 
attire  he  happened  to  be  wearing,  and  in  his  blue  sailor  shirt 
and  underclothes  rushed  to  his  death.  A  protest  from  the 
free-lance  allies  met  with  a  similar  reception.  John  Webster  tells 
the  story  : — 

"  Maning,  myself,  and  Nene  went  to  interview  Despard.  We 
knew  well  the  strength  of  the  pa  and  its  construction.  Maning 
was  the  spokesman,  and  commenced  with,  '  Sir,  we  heard  that  yon 
intend  assaulting  the  pa,  and  we  have  come  to  say  that  unless  a 
breach  is  made  it  will  cause  great  loss  of  life  and  will  fail.' 

'  What  do  you  civilians  know  of  the  matter  ?  '  replied  Despard. 

'  Sir,'  said  Maning,  '  we  may  not  know  much,  but  there  is 
one  that  apparently  knows  less,  and  that  is  yourself.' 

"  Despard  got  very  angry  and  threatened  to  arrest  us.  Nene 
now  inquired  what  the  chief  of  the  soldiers  was  saying.  Maning 
told  him. 

'  He  tangata  kuware  tend  tangata,'  said  Nene. 

'  What  does  the  chief  say  ?  '  Despard  inquired  of  his  inter- 
preter. (I  think  Meurant  was  the  interpreter's  name.)  He 
scratched  his  head  and  said,  '  It  is  not  complimentary.' 

'  But  I  order  you,  sir,'  said  Despard. 

'  The  chief  says  you  are  a  very  stupid  person,'  then  replied 
Meurant. 

"  It  was  impossible  to  make  any  impression  on  the  man  who 
had  so  many  fine  young  fellows'  lives  in  his  hands,  and  he  was 
prepared  to  sacrifice  them  through  mere  obstinacy." 

Tamati  Waka  Nene  offered  to  make  a  feint  attack  on  the 
stockade  in  the  rear,  in  order  to  divert  attention  from  the  soldiers' 
assault,  but  this  suggestion,  like  all  others,  met  with  a  refusal. 

The  Colonel  ordered  a  storming-party  to  parade  at  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  instructions  were  issued  by  his  brigade- 
major  (Lieutenant  and  Adjutant  Deering)  for  ^the  guidance 
of  the  officers  commanding  the  various  divisions.  The  troops 
were  ordered  to  get  their  dinners.  For  many  of  them  that  meal 
was  their  last.  Forebodings  of  disaster  possessed  some  of  the 
more  thoughtful,  but  in  spite  of  the  doubtful  character  of  the 
enterprise  there  was  a  distinct  element  of  elation  and  relief  among 
the  rank  and  file  at  the  prospect  of  an  attack  at  close  quarters. 
There  was  also  a  strong  desire  among  the  troops  to  avenge  the 
death  of  a  young  soldier  of  the  qgth  who  had  been  caught  by  the 
enemy  while  foraging  for  potatoes.  The  men  on  outpost  duty  had 
heard,  as  they  believed,  his  cries  of  agony ;  and  a  story,  palpably 
absurd,  was  circulated  after  the  fight  that  he  had  been  tortured 
to  death  by  burning  with  kauri-gum.  In  their  ignorance  of  Maori 
ways  they  credited  their  foes  with  the  practices  of  Red  Indians 
on  the  war-path. 


THE    STORMING-PARTY    AT   OHAEAWAI.  59 

At  3  o'clock  the  bugles  sounded  the  assembly.  Volunteers 
were  called  upon  for  the  forlorn  hope.  The  whole  of  the  men 
of  the  58th  stepped  forward.  The  right-hand  man,  front  and 
rear  rank,  of  each  section  was  ordered  to  the  front  ;  a  similar 
procedure  was  followed  in  the  ggth  Regiment.  Two  assaulting 
columns  were  composed  of  men  of  the  two  regiments,  with  a  number 
of  seamen  and  Pioneers.  When  the  selection  had  been  completed 
the  storming-parties  formed  up  in  the  little  valley  on  the  west 
and  north-west  side  of  the  pa,  about  100  yards  from  the  stock- 
ade. This  was  the  composition  of  trie  force  :  Advance-party,  or 
forlorn  hope — Lieutenant  Beattie  (99th  Regiment),  two  sergeants, 
and  twenty  men.  Assaulting  column — Major  Macpherscn  (99th 
Regiment),  forty  grenadiers  from  the  58th  and  forty  from  the 
99th,  with  a  small  party  of  seamen  from  H.M.S.  "  Hazard  "  and 
thirty  Pioneers  (to  carry  axes,  scaling-ladders,  and  ropes)  from 
the  Auckland  Volunteer  Militia  :  total,  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men.  Second  assaulting  column  —  Major  Bridge  (58th), 
with  the  remainder  of  the  grenadiers  of  the  58th,  made  up  to  sixty 
rank  and  file  from  a  battalion  of  that  regiment,  and  forty  rank 
and  file  from  the  Light  Company  of  the  99th  :  total,  one  hundred 
men. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme  was  posted  in  the  valley  west  of  the  pa 
with  a  supporting-party  consisting  of  a  hundred  men  of  the  two 
regiments  and  some  naval  men.  Major  Bridge's  party,  in  rear 
of  the  forlorn  hope,  took  up  a  position  exactly  north-west  of 
the  nearest  angle  of  the  stockade  (the  Maoris'  left  front)  ;  Major 
Macpherson  was  posted  due  north  of  the  same  angle,  under  cover 
of  a  grove  of  puriri  trees.  The  north-west  angle  of  the  pa  was 
the  principal  objective  of  attack — this  despite  the  fact  that  it  was 
enfiladed  by  loopholed  bastions  on  either  flank. 

There  came  now  an  awful  interval  of  waiting.  The  storming- 
parties  stood  ready  in  their  appointed  places,  while  the  guns 
in  rear  of  them  threw  shot  and  shell  into  the  stockade.  The 
glinting  lines  of  bayonets  caught  the  fitful  sunshine  of  a  wintry 
afternoon  ;  the  campaign-stained  red  tunics  and  white  cross- 
belts,  too,  were  brightened  by  those  gleams  of  gold  beneath 
the  drifting  clouds.  Tattered  was  many  a  uniform  ;  coats  and 
trousers  torn  and  roughly  patched  ;  some  of  the  men  barefooted, 
some  with  battered  boots  tied  on  their  feet  with  strips  of  flax- 
leaves. 

Half  an  hour  of  such  waiting,  then  out  blared  the  bugle.  It 
was  the  "  Advance."  There  was  a  quick  fire  of  orders  from 
commanders  of  columns — "  Prepare  to  charge  "  ;  "  Charge  "  ;  and 
with  a  "  Hurrah !  "  up  the  ferny  slope  dashed  the  advance-party. 
Major  Macpherson's  column  quickly  followed  ;  then  up  came 
Major  Bridge's  party  of  bearded  campaigners  in  four  ranks,  their 
commander  leading,  sword  in  hand. 


6o 


NEW    ZEALAND    WARS. 


STORMING-PARTY   AT   OHAEAWAI.  6l 

That  charge  up  the  bullet-swept  glacis  of  Ohaeawai  was 
described  to  me  with  graphic  word  and  action  by  the  last  survivor 
of  the  stormers,  Lieutenant  W.  H.  Free,  of  New  Plymouth,  who 
was  a  corporal  in  the  58th  under  Major  Bridge.  Free  was  a 
Count}/  Wicklow  lad  of  twenty  ;  he  had  enlisted  three  years 
previously,  and  one  of  his  recent  memories  was  a  voyage  from 
England  to  Hobart  Town  as  a  private  in  the  military  guard  in 
a  convict  ship,  the  "  Anson." 

"  We  formed  up  in  close  order,"  Free  said,  "  elbows  touching 
when  we  crooked  them  ;  four  ranks,  only  the  regulation  23  inches 
between  each  rank.  There  wre  waited  in  the  little  hollow  before 
the  pa,  sheltered  by  the  fall  of  the  ground  and  some  tree  cover. 
We  got  the  orders,  'Prepare  to  charge';  then  'Charge.'  Up  the 
rise  we  went  at  a  steady  double,  the  first  two  ranks  at  the 
charge  with  the  bayonet ;  the  second  rank  had  room  to  put  their 
bayonets  in  between  the  front-rank  men  ;  the  third  and  fourth 
ranks  with  muskets  and  fixed  bayonets  at  the  slope.  We  were 
within  100  yards  of  the  pa  when  the  advance  began  ;  when  we 
were  within  about  fifty  paces  of  the  stockade-front  we  cheered 
and  went  at  it  with  a  rush,  our  best  speed  and  '  divil  take  the 
hindmost.'  The  whole  front  of  the  pa  flashed  fire,  and  in  a 
moment  we  were  in  the  one-sided  fight — gun-flashes  from  the  foot 
of  the  stockade  and  from  loopholes  higher  up,  smoke  half-hiding 
the  pa  from  us,  yells  and  cheers,  and  men  falling  all  round. 

"  Not  a  single  Maori  could  we  see.  They  were  all  safely 
hidden  in  their  trenches  and  pits,  poking  the  muzzles  of  their 
guns  under  the  foot  of  the  outer  palisade.  What  could  we  do  ? 
WTe  tore  at  the  fence,  but  it  was  a  hopeless  business.  The  Pioneer 
party  left  all  the  axes  and  tomahawks  behind  ;  the  sailors  had 
their  cutlasses,  but  they  could  do  little  more  than  slash  at  the 
lashings  of  the  fence.  Only  one  scaling-ladder  was  carried  up. 
The  man  who  brought  it  stood  it  against  the  outer  stockade. 
'  Here  it  is,'  he  said,  '  for  any  one  who'll  go  up  it.'  But  who'd 
climb  the  ladder  ?  It  would  be  certain  death.  If  any  one  did 
try  it  he  didn't  live  many  moments. 

"  We  were  in  front  of  the  stockade,  firing  through  it,  thrusting 
our  bayonets  in,  or  trying  to  pull  a  part  of  it  down,  for,  I  suppose, 
not  more  than  two  minutes  and  a  half.  From  the  time  we  got 
the  order  to. charge  until  we  got  back  to  the  hollow  again  it  was 
only  five  to  seven  minutes. 

"  In  our  Light  Company  alone  we  had  twenty-one  men  shot  in 
the  charge.  As  we  rushed  at  the  pa  a  man  was  shot  in  front  of 
me.  and  another  was  hit  behind  me.  When  the  bugle  sounded 
the  retreat  I  picked  up  a  wounded  man,  and  was  carrying  him 
off  on  my  back  when  he  was  shot  dead.  Then  I  picked  up  a 
second  wounded  comrade,  a  soldier  named  Smith,  and  carried 
him  out  safely.  Our  captain,  Grant,  an  officer  for  whom  we  had 


.62  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

a  great  liking,  was  shot  dead  close  to  the  stockade.  Nothing 
was  explained  to  us  before  we  charged.  We  just  brought  our 
bayonets  to  the  charge  when  we  got  the  word,  and  went  at  it 
hell-for-leather." 

Free  narrated  that  he  and  his  comrades  of  the  58th  carried 
their  full  packs  even  in  the  charge — like  King  George  the  Third's 
troops  in  the  first  assault  on  Bunker's  Hill. 

Some  of  the  garrison,  appalled  by  the  valour  of  the  redcoats 
rushing  with  their  front  of  steel  upon  the  palisades,  took  fright 
and  made  for  the  rear  of  the  pa,  but  the  greater  number  stood 


From  a  portrait  about  1860.] 

COLONEL  CYPRIAN  BRIDGE. 

Major  (afterwards  Colonel)  Cyprian  Bridge,  of  the  58th  Regiment,  was 
uncle  to  Admiral  Sir  Cyprian  Bridge,  G.C.B.,  who  commanded  H.M.S. 
"  Espiegle  '  in  the  Pacific,  1882-85,  an(l  was  Admiral  in  command  of  the 
Australian  Station,  1895-97.  When  the  58th  returned  to  England  from  New 
Zealand  Major  Bridge  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  regiment. 
Mr.  H.  E.  Bridge,  of  Oriental  Bay,  Wellington,  is  a  son  of  the  Colonel. 
Five  sons  of  Mr.  Bridge  volunteered  for  the  Great  War  and  wore  khaki ; 
four  served  abroad  ;  one  was  mortally  wounded  on  Gallipoli,  and  one  was 
killed  in  action  in  France. 

fast  in  their  trenches,  reserving  their  fire  until  the  stormers  were 
within  25  or  20  yards.  When  the  few  faint-hearts  among  the 
Maoris  saw  that  the  stockade  was  impregnable  they  returned  to 


THE    STORMING-PARTY    AT   OHAEAWAJ. 


63 


their  posts,  and  assisted  in  the  final  repulse.  There  were  probably 
not  more  than  a  hundred  natives  in  the  pa  when  the  assault  was 
delivered. 

The  Maori  enfilading  fire  completely  commanded  the  angle 
which  was  the  centre  of  attack,  and  many  men  fell  on  the 
western  flank,  where  bullets  were  poured  into  them  from  a  small 
bastion.  Those  on  the  northern  face  became  targets  for  the 
Maori  gun-men  in  the  rectangular  salient  midway  on  that  flank. 
In  one  of  these  bastions  there  was  a  carronade  which  the  Maoris 
had  loaded  with  a  bullock-chain,  and  this  projectile,  fired  at 


W.  H.  FREE,  A  VETERAN  OF  OHAEAWAI. 

Corporal  Free  (58th)  was  the  last  survivor  in  New  Zealand  of  the 
stormers  at  Ohaeawai.  He  fought  in  the  Taranaki  War,  and  was  given  a 
commission  as  Lieutenant.  He  died  at  New  Plymouth  in  1919,  aged  93  years. 

close  quarters,  killed  or  wounded  several  soldiers.  Captain  W.  E. 
Grant  (58th)  fell  shot  through  the  head  in  one  of  the  first  volleys. 
Lieutenant  Edward  Beattie  (96th)  was  mortally  wounded.  The 
impulsive  naval  lieutenant,  Phillpotts,  ran  along  the  stockade 
to  the  right  (the  west  flank),  seeking  a  place  to  enter;  the  outer 
fence  had  suffered  most  damage  there.  He  actually  climbed 
the  pekerangi,  a  small  portion  of  which  had  been  loosened  by 
sword-cuts  delivered  against  the  torotoro  lashings  and  partly  pulled 
down.  There  he  fell,  shot  through  the  body.  A  young  sailor 


64 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


who  ran  up  the  solitary  ladder  which  Lieutenant  Free  mentioned 
was  shot  dead  and  fell  inside  the  stockade.  Brevet-Major  Mac- 
pherson  was  wounded  severely  ;  as  he  was  a  very  heavy  man  it 
was  only  with  difficulty  that  he  was  carried  off  the  field.  Ensign 
O'Reilly  (99th)  received  a  bullet  which  shattered  his  right  arm 
at  the  elbow.  "  The  soldiers  fell  on  this  side  and  on  that,"  said 
the  venerable  Rihara  Kou — the  whitebeard  made  an  expressive 


HARE  PUATAATA  (PUHIKURA),  OF  KAIKOHE. 
One  of  the  defenders  of  Ohaeawai. 


gesture  with  his  hands—"  they  fell  right  and  left  like  that,  like 
so  many  sticks  thrown  down." 

Through  the  din  of  musketry  and  yelling  the  notes  of  a  bugle 
were  heard.  It  was  the  "  Retire."  Major  Bridge  and  many  of 
his  men  thought  the  call  had  been  sounded  in  mistake.  However; 
the  retreat  was  repeated,  and  the  summons  was  obeyed.  The 


THE    STORMING-PARTY    AT   OHAEAWAI.  65 

Maoris'  independent  firing  increased,  and  more  were  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  withdrawal.  In  that  five  minutes  nearly  forty 
men  had  been  killed  and  seventy  wounded,  some  mortally. 

One-third  of  the  troops  engaged  fell  before  the  Maori  fire. 
The  large-calibre  bullets  inflicted  smashing  wounds  ;  in  many 
cases  the  combat  was  at  such  close  quarters  that  the  clothing  of 
the  soldiers  was  scorched  by  the  gunpowder-flash-.  Not  all  the 
wounded  were  carried  off ;  all  the  dead  were  left  where  they 
fell. 

Many  a  deed  of  gallantry  and  devotion  illumined  the  tragedy 
of  that  retreat.  Several  men  returned  again  and  again  through 
a  hot  fire  to  carry  off  wounded  comrades.  One  private  of  the 
58th,  Whitethread,  rescued  in  this  way  at  least  five  men  of  his 
own  regiment  and  the  ggth  ;  he  and  another  man,  J.  Pallett, 
carried  Major  Macpherson  into  camp.  Two  Scots  of  the  58th 
lay  dead  together  on  the  field  ;  the  one,  McKinnon,  was  carrying 
off  his  dying  or  dead  corporal,  Stewart,  on  his  back  when  he  was 
shot.  Corporal  Free  was  another  of  those  who  brought  away 
wounded  comrades  from  the  bullet-spitting  pekerangi. 

Now  out  upon  the  heels  of  the  rescuers  who  are  heroically 
bearing  off  the  wounded  there  charge  the  victorious  Maoris,  naked, 
powder-grimed,  yelling,  shaking  their  guns  and  their  long-handled 
tomahawks.  A  white-headed  tattooed  warrior,  astonishingly  agile 
in  spite  of  his  age,  dashes  along  the  palisade  front ;  he  is  seeking 
the  body  of  the  sailor-chief  "  Topi/  He  bends  over  Phillpotts's 
body ;  with  his  tomahawk  he  cuts  off  a  portion  of  the  scalp,  and 
bursts  into  a  pagan  chant.  It  is  the  incantation  of  the  whangai- 
hau,  offering  the  first  of  the  battle-trophies  to  the  supreme  war- 
god  of  the  Maori,  Tu-of-the-Angry-Face.  And  there,  amid  the 
bodies  of  dead  and  dying  whites  strewn  about  the  field,  the  warriors 
throw  themselves  into  the  movements  of -the  tutu-ngarahu.  This 
is  the  song  they  shout,  with  uptossed  guns  and  tomahawks  : — 

E  tama  te  uaua  e, 
E  tama  te  uaua  e, 
E  tama  te  maroro, 
Inahoki  ra  te  tohu  a  te  uaua  na, 
Kei  taku  ringa  e  mau  ana, 
Te  upoko  o  te  kawau  tataki 
Hi— he— ha  ! 

[TRANSLATION.] 

O  sons  of  strenuous  might, 
O  sons  of  warrior  strength, 
Behold  the  trophy  in  my  hand, 
Fruit  of  the  battle  strife — 
The  head  of  the  greedy  cormorant 
That  haunts  the  ocean  shore  ! 
3— N.Z.  Wars. 


66  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

A  moment's  breathing-space,  and  then  the  warriors  chant  all 
together  this  song  that  reverberates  among  the  hills  ;  the  words 
are  those  of  a.  mata,  or  prophecy  :— 

Ka  whaivhai,  ka  whawhai  ! 

E  he! 

Ka  ivhawhai,  ka  whawhai ! 
-  E  ha! 

Ka  whaivhai,  ki  roto  ki  te  awa 

Puave  katoa  ake  nei. 

E  ka  whawhai,  ka  whawhai ! 

Kihai  koe  i  mau  atu  ki  te  kainga  ki  Gropi, 

E  te  ainva  mai  a  Wharewhare. 

[TRANSLATION.] 

To  battle,  to  battle  ! 

E  hs ! 
To  battle,  to  battle  ! 

E  ha! 

We  shall  fight  in  the  valley 
Spread  open  before  us  ; 
We  shall  fight,  we  shall  fight  ! 
Ah  !     You  did  nofe  remain 
In  your  hpme-land  in  Europe. 
There  you  lie  overwhelmed 
By  the  swift  driving  wave  of  the  battle. 

And  late  into  the  wintry  night,  while  the  surgeons  in  the  British 
camp  are  dressing  wounds  and  amputating  shattered  limbs,  the 
choruses  of  battle-songs  and  the  cries  of  a  tohunga  in  an  ecstatic 
fit  of  prophesying  are  borne  across  the  battlefield.  The  dis- 
pirited soldiers,  hearing  that  eerie  sorcerer-voice,  imagine  it,  in 
their  ignorance  of  the  Maori,  to  be  the  screams  of  one  of  their 
captured  comrades  under  torture  by  fire. 

***** 

For  the  defeat  Colonel  Despard  blamed  the  seamen  from 
H.M.S.  "  Hazard  "  under  Lieutenant  Phillpotts,  and  the  party  of 
Auckland  Militia  who  accompanied  the  force  as  a  Pioneer  detach- 
ment. "  The  forlorn  hope,"  he  wrote,  "  had  been  provided  with 
well-sharpened  axes  and  hatchets  for  cutting  away  the  torotoro 
vines  which  fastened  the  stockade,  as  well  as  with  several  scaling- 
ladders  and  ropes  with  grappling-irons  for  the  purpose  of  pulling 
down  the  stockade."  All  these  articles,  except  one  scaling-ladder, 
were  left  behind  by  the  Pioneers  as  unnecessary  encumbrances. 

In  spite  of  Despard's  excuses  for  his  failure,  it  is  extremely 
doubtful  whether  even  scaling-ladders,  grappling-irons,  axes,  and 
other  apparatus  of  attack  would  have  enabled  the  storming- 
parties  to  carry  the  stockade.  Indeed,  it  was  fortunate  that  the 
pekemngi  so  stoutly  resisted  the  assault  except  at  one  point,  for 
had  the  troops  succeeded  in  demolishing  it  they  would  have  been 
faced  by  the  inner  fence  of  deeply  set  puriri  timbers,  which  could 


THE   STORMING-PARTY   AT   OHAEAWAI.  67 

not  be  hauled  down.  And  had  they  carried  this  main  line  of 
defence  there  would  still  have  been  the  trenches  and  pitted  interior 
of  the  stockade,  subdivided  by  barriers  and  thick  with  under- 
ground shelters,  from  which  every  white  could  have  been  shot 
down. 

Colonel  Despard  contemplated  an  immediate  retreat  upon 
Waimate,  and  orders  to  that  end  were  issued  on  the  morning  of 
the  2nd  July,  but  were  countermanded  as  the  result  of  remon- 
strances by  the  friendly  chiefs,  who  condemned  the  Colonel's 
proposal  to  abandon  the  field  leaving  the  dead  unburied,  and  to 
destroy  surplus  stores.  The  wounded  were  sent  off  in  carts  and 
litters  to  Waimate,  and  the  force  remained  encamped  before  the 
pa  for  another  ten  days.  Additional  ammunition  had  been  brought 
up  for  the  guns,  and  the  32-pounder  and  the  smaller  pieces  kept 
up  an  intermittent  bombardment. 

The  dead  were  not  buried  until  the  afternoon  of  the  3rd  July, 
when,  through  the  efforts  of  Archdeacon  Henry  Williams  and  the 
Rev.  R.  Burrows — who  had  been  eye-witnesses  of  the  battle — the 
natives  permitted  the  bodies  of  the  fallen  soldiers  to  be  collected. 
Thirty-two  bodies  were  placed  in  one  grave  and  eight  in  another. 
Several  bodies  were  found  later  lying  among  the  fern,  and  were 
buried  near  the  others. 

It  was  the  Maori  custom  to  abandon  a  fighting  pa  after 
blood  had  been  spilt  within  it,  and  it  was  not  surprising,  there- 
fore, to  the  missionaries  and  other  spectators,  and  to  the  friendly 
natives,  that  the  stockade  was  found  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  nth  July  to  have  been  evacuated  during  the  night.  Two 
dead  bodies  were  found ;  the  total  Ngapuhi  loss  was  never  exactly 
known,  but,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  it  did  not  exceed  ten 
killed. 

The  garrison  retired  on  Kaikohe  and  Tautoro,  to  the  south. 
At  those  places  they  prepared  for  farther  resistance  in  the  event 
of  being  followed  up  ;  but  the  exhausted  and  famished  troops 
were  in  no  condition  to  renew  the  campaign  immediately,  and  it 
was  considered  advisable  to  withdraw  to  the  mission  station  at 
the  Waimate. 

The  pa  was  destroyed — a  task  by  no  means  easy.  Some  of  the 
posts  of  puriri  defied  all  efforts  to  pull  them  down.  One  was  so 
large,  as  W.  H.  Free  narrated,  that  Captain  Matson,  who  was 
engaged  in  the  demolition  of  the  palisades,  was  unable  to  span 
it  with  his  outstretched  arms.  "  The  enemy  was  unable  to  carry 
off  his  guns,"  Colonel  Despard  reported,  "  and  we  have  taken 
three  iron  ones  on  ship-carriages,  and  one  more  was  found  dis- 
abled in  the  fortress."  (Hohaia  Tango,  of  Ohaeawai,  stated  that 
this  fourth  gun  was  mounted  near  the  north-west  angle  of  the 
pa  ;  it  was  smashed  by  a  shot  from  the  British  cannon,  which 
struck  it  in  the  muzzle.)  A  search  was  made  for  the  body  of 
3* 


68  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Captain  Grant,  who  was  known  to  have  been  shot  close  to  the 
palisades.  It  was  exhumed  from  a  light  covering  of  earth,  which 
had  been  laid  over  it  by  the  Maoris.  W.  H.  Free,  who  saw  it 
unearthed,  stated  that  portions  of  the  posterior  parts  and  also  the 
calves  of  the  legs  had  been  cut  off  by  the  Ngapuhi  ;  presumably 
the  flesh  was  eaten  as  a  battlefield  rite,  with  the  double  object 
of  absorbing  something  of  the  dead  officer's  virtue  of  bravery, 
and  of  weakening — as  the  pagan  Maori  believed — the  arms  and 
mana  of  the  white  troops.  Ceremonial  cannibalism,  of  which  this 
Ohaeawai  incident  was  the  solitary  instance  in  Heke's  War,  was 
revived  as  a  sequel  to  battle  in  the  Hauhau  Wars  of  1865-69  ; 
Titokowaru  countenanced  it  in  his  Taranaki  campaign  as  a  means 
of  fortifying  the  resolution  of  his  followers  and  of  terrifying  his 
white  enemies. 

On  the  I4th  July  the  British  struck  camp  and  marched  to  the 
Waimate,  where  the  troops  settled  themselves  in  the  quarters  they 
had  occupied  on  the  march  inland. 


NOTES. 

The  site  of  the  Ohaeawai  pa  is  now  occupied  by  a  Maori  church  and 
burying-ground.  The  scene  of  the  battle  is  five  miles  from  Kaikohe  and 
two  miles  from  the  Township  of  Ohaeawai.  A  Maori  church  of  old-fashioned 
design  is  seen  on  the  left  as  one  travels  from  Kaikohe  ;  it  stands  on  a  gentle 
rise  a  short  distance  west  of  the  main  road.  The  locality  is  usually  called 
Ngawha,  from  the  hot  springs  in  the  neighbourhood,  but  it  is  the  true 
Ohaeawai ;  tfre  European  township  which  has  appropriated  the  name  should 
properly  be  known  as  Taiamai.  The  church  occupies  the  centre  of  the 
olden  fortification,  and  a  scoria-stone  wall,  7  ft.  high,  encloses  the  sacred 
ground.  Tukaru  Tango  and  Hohaia  Tango,  two  elderly  men  of  Ngapuhi, 
with  whom  I  visited  the  place  (March,  1919),  said  that  this  fence  marked 
almost  exactly  the  outer  line  of  the  stockade.  The  churchyard  is  entered 
between  great  posts  that  might  well  have  served  as  palisade  himus.  On  the 
east  crest  is  a  stone  memorial  cross  bearing  this  Maori  inscription :  ' '  Ko  te 
Tohu  Tapu  tenei  o  nga  Hoia  me  nga  Heremana  o  te  Kuini  i  hinga  i  te 
whawhai  ki  konei  ki  Ohaeawai,  i  te  tau  o  to  tatou  Ariki  1845  Ko  tenei 
Urupa  na  nga  Maori  i  whakatakoto  i  muri  iho  o  te  maunga  rongo." 

The  translation  of  this  legend  is  :  "  This  is  a  Sacred  Memorial  to  the 
Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  the  Queen  who  fell  in  battle  here  at  Ohaeawai  in 
the  year  of  Our  Lord  1845.  This  burying-place  was  laid  out  by  the  Maoris 
after  the  making  of  peace." 

The  pa  site,  viewed  from  the  east  and  south,  is  a  commanding  position  ; 
on  the  north  the  land  is  level  for  some  distance  and  then  slopes  very 
gradually.  The  high  range  beyond  the  valley  on  the  west  is  still  well 
wooded  ;  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stockade-site  much  of  the  ancient  forest 
vegetation  remains,  the  puriri  predominating.  About  100  yards  to  the  west 
of  the  pa  is  a  hollow  through  which  runs  a  small  stream  from  the  slopes  of 
Puketapu  :  it  was  here  that  the  storming-parties  formed  up. 

"  Topi,"  as  the  natives  called  Phillpotts,  was  the  Maorified  form  of 
"  Toby,"  the  lieutenant's  nickname.  On  the  iyth  March,  1919,  standing 


THE   STORMING-PARTY   AT   OHAEAWAI.  69 

by  the  grave  of  the  three  officers  who  fell  at  Ohaeawai,  in  the  churchyard 
of  Waimate,  Rawiri  te  Ruru,  of  Te  Ahuahu,  asked  me,  "  Is  this  where  Topi 
is  buried  ?  "  When  shown  George  Phillpotts's  name  on  the  memorial  stone 
he  told  the  story  of  the  sailor's  death  as  preserved  in  his  family  of  the  Ngati- 
Rangi  Tribe.  "It  was  my  uncle  Horotai  who  killed  Topi,"  he  said. 
"  Horotai  was  a  great  fighter  ;  Topi  also  was  a  toa  (a  hero),  and  very  much 
liked  by  the  Maoris.  He  ran  up  to  the  pekerangi  and  got  inside  that  outer 
fence.  Horotai  was  inside  the  second  or  main  stockade,  the  kiri-tangata. 
He  thrust  the  barrel  of  his  gun  through  a  loophole  in  the  kiri-tangata  until 
it  touched  Topi  here" — and  Rawiri  put  his  hand  on  his  breast — "then 
Horotai  fired  and  Topi  fell  dead." 


From  a  sketch.  J.  C.,  /pip.] 

THE  NATIVE  CHURCH  AT  OHAEAWAI. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  RUA-PEKAPEKA. 

For  three  months  the  sound  of  the  bugle  and  all  the  stir  of  a 
military  camp  enlivened  the  mission  station  at  Waimate.  Em- 
ployment was  found  for  the  redcoats  in  surrounding  the  buildings 
with  a  trench  and  parapets  as  a  precaution  against  attack — much 
to  the  disgust  of  the  mission  people,  who  lamented  to  see  the 
neutral  station  transformed  into  a  fortified  encampment.  It  was 
not  until  the  middle  of  October  that  the  troops,  after  destroying 
Haratua's  pa  at  Pakaraka,  removed  to  Kororareka,  where  they 
awaited  the  next  movement  in  the  campaign. 

In  October  it  became  known  that  Lord  Stanley,  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  the  Colonies,  had  recalled  Captain  Fitzroy,  and  that 
Captain  George  Grey,  then  Governor  of  South  Australia,  had  been 
appointed  as  the  new  Governor  of  this  colony.  Captain  Grey 
landed  at  Auckland  from  the  East  India  Company's  armed  ship 
"  Elphinstone  "  on  the  i4th  November,  and  a  few  days  later  he 
arrived  at  Kororareka.  He  gave  the  insurgent  leaders  a  final 
opportunity  for  acceptance  of  ex-Governor  Fitzroy 's  terms  of 
peace,  which  stipulated  that  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi  should  be 
binding,  that  the  British  flag  should  be  respected,  that  plunder 
taken  from  the  Europeans  should  be  restored,  and  that  certain 
lands  should  be  given  up  to  the  Crown.  Old  Kawiti  had  already 
replied  to  Fitzroy,  refusing  the  demand  for  territory  :  ... 
You  shall  not  have  my  land — no,  never  !  Sir,  if  you  are  very 
desirous  to  get  my  land,  I  shall  be  equally  desirous  to  retain  it 
for  myself."  The  missionary  Burrows  was  asked  to  convey  Grey's 
letter" to  Heke.  "Let  the  Governor  and  his  soldiers  return  to 
England,  to  the  land  that  God  has  given  them,"  replied  Heke, 
"  and  leave  New  Zealand  to  us,  to  whom  God  has  given  it.  No ; 
we  will  not  give  up  our  lands.  If  the  white  man  wants  our 
country  he  will  have  to  fight  for  it,  for  we  will  die  upon  our 
lands." 

Governor  Grey  sent  to  Auckland  for  all  available  forces. 
Ships-of-war  and  battalions  of  soldiers  were  concentrated  in  the 
Bay.  The  latest  addition  to  the  fleet  of  British  ships  in  New 
Zealand  waters  was  H.M.S.  "  Castor,"  a  frigate  from  the  China 
Station.  A  transport,  the  barque  "  British  Sovereign,"  had 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    RUA-PEKAPEKA.  7! 

brought  over  another  two  hundred  men   of  the  58th   Regiment 
from  Sydney,  besides  some  artillery. 

It  had  been  ascertained  that  the  enemy  were  gathered  to  the 
number   of  several   hundreds   in   the  new  pa   at   Rua-pekapeka, 
which  was  reported  by  the  friendly  Maoris  to  be  stronger  even 
than  Ohaeawai.     On  the  8th  December,  1845,  the  British  advance 
upon  Kawiti's  bush   fortress   began   with   more   than  1,100  rank 
and   file   under   Colonel   Despard,   besides   friendly   Maoris.      The 
route  of  march  was  over  more  difficult  country  than  that  traversed 
by  the  Ohaeawai  expedition.     The  ships  sailed  up  to  the  entrance 
of  the  Kawakawa  River,  thence  transport  was  by  boat  for  several 
miles  ;    from  the  head  of  navigation  the  way  lay  through  fifteen 
miles  of  roadless  hills,  forests,  swamps,  and  streams  to  Kawiti's 
mountain  fort. 

The   following   troops   were   engaged   in   the   attack   on   Rua- 
pekapeka  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Despard  : — 

Officers.      Men. 

Seamen   of   H.M.S.    "  Castor,"    "  North   Star," 
"  Racehorse,"  and  H.E.I.C.  "  Elphinstone," 
under    Captain    Graham    and    Commander 
Hay,  R.N.  .      . .  . .  . .  . .     33        280 

Lieutenant  Wilmot,  R.A.,  and  Captain  Marlow, 
R.E.   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . .       2 

Royal  Marines  (Captain  Langford)     . .  . .       4  80 

58th  Regiment  (Lieut. -Colonel  Wynyard)         . .     20         543 
99th  Regiment  (Captain  Reed)  . .  . .       7         150 

H.E.I.C.  Artillery  (Lieutenant  Leeds)  .  .       i  15 

Volunteers  from  Auckland  (Captain  Atkyns)  i  42 

68     1,110 

.  Native  allies  under  Tamati  Waka  Nene,  Patu- 

one,  Tawhai,  Repa,  and  Nopera  Pana-kareao     . .         450 

Ordnance  :  Three  naval  32-pounders,  one  i8-pounder,  two 
12-pounder  howitzers,  one  6-pounder  brass  gun,  four  mortars, 
and  two  rocket-tubes. 

The  modern  road  from  the  Township  of  Kawakawa  to  Rua- 
pekapeka  runs  closely  parallel  to  Despard's  line  of  march  ;  in 
fact,  the  two  routes  are  identical  as  the  site  of  Kawiti's  strong- 
hold is  approached.  At  the  head  of  boat -navigation  on  the  Kawa- 
kawa River  a  fortified  camp  was  established  in  the  pa  of  a  friendly 
chief,  Tamati  Pukututu.  Here  troops,  guns,  and  stores  were 
landed,  and  Commander  Johnson,  of  the  "  North  Star,"  was  given 
charge  of  the  post  with  seventy  men.  Captain  Graham,  of  the 
frigate  "  Castor,"  was  senior  naval  officer  at  the  seat  of  war,  and 
his  bluejackets  and  those  of  the  "  North  Star,"  "  Racehorse,"  and 
"  Elphinstone  "  were  useful  in  the  heavy  work  of  transporting  the 


72 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


artillery.  The  march  of  the  combined  naval  and  military  force 
was  a  fine  feat  of  pioneering,  for  it  was  necessary  to  make  roads, 
fell  bush,  roughly  bridge  streams,  and  to  use  block  and  tackle  in 
hauling  the  guns  over  rough  ground  and  up  steep  hills.  The 
men  were  compelled  to  carry,  in  addition  to  their  arms  and  equip- 
.ment,  boxes  each  containing  a  24  Ib.  or  32  Ib.  shell.  The  way  in 
places  led  over  fern  hills  and  ridges  ;  in  places  it  plunged  into 
patches  of  heavy  timber. 

Before  narrating  the  events  of  that  midsummer  of  1845-46, 
let  us  view  "  The  Cave  of  the  Bats  "  as  it  exists  to-day,  and 
observe  how  the  soldierly  genius  of  Ngapuhi  selected  and  fortified 
a  position  of  strategic  value — commanding,  remote,  and  difficult 
of  approach. 

Passing  a  lonely  little  schoolhouse  perched  on  a  hilltop,  eleven 
miles  by  the  present  road  from  Kawakawa,  the  traveller  descends 


PLAN  OF  RUA-PEKAPEKA  FORTIFICATION. 

into  a  gully,  with  a  flat-topped  hill,  some  800  feet  in  altitude, 
above  him  on  his  left.  It  was  on  this  level  ridge  that  the  British 
column  in  1845  obtained  the  first  sight  of  the  Ngapuhi  stronghold, 
and  here  the  batteries  were  planted  and  began  to  shell  the  pa  at 
1,200  yards— long  range  for  the  artillery  of  those  days.  Climbing 
the  opposite  side  of  the  valley  we  find  ourselves  on  a  level  stretch 
of  ground,  which  the  army  chroniclers  of  Heke's  day  described  as 
a  "  small  plain."  It  is  of  very  inconsiderable  extent,  and  falls 
steeply  away  on  either  hand  into  the  valley.  Here  the  final 
British  camp  was  pitched,  and  the  guns  advanced  for  the  bom- 
bardment of  the  hill-fort,  at  a  range  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
On  this  ridge,  fringed  and  dotted  with  puriri  trees,  is  an  isolated 
farmhouse.  Just  before  it  is  reached  the  fern-grown  remains  of 
the  British  entrenchments  are  passed  ;  the  main  road,  in  fact, 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    RUA-PEKAPEKA. 


73 


goes  through  the  centre  of  the  position.  Somewhere  here,  too, 
are  the  unmarked  graves  of  the  Imperial  men  who  fell  in  the 
attack.  The  exact  place  is  forgotten  ;  maybe  one  rides  over  the 
spot  where  the  bones  of  the  redcoats  and  bluejackets  lie.  In  the 
yard  under  the  great  twisted  puriri,  whose  boughs  trembled  -before 
the  reverberations  -of  Despard's  guns,  the  farmer's  children  are 
playing  a  game  of  bowls  of  their  own  devising  with  four  cannon- 
balls —  rusty  old  round  shot  that  were  hurled  from  British 
6-pounders  and  12-pounders. 

Beyond  the  farmhouse  the  road  dips  into  a  little  hollow, 
flanked  by  thick  forest  on  the  left  and  a  grass  paddock'  on  the 
right.  We  halt  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  beneath  a  grove 
at  the  intersection  of  two  roads,  and  there,  before  us  and  above 
us,  in  the  fork  of  the  roads,  is  Rua-pekapeka  pa — its  palisades  long 
demolished  except  for  charred  posts  here  and  there,  its  crumbling 


From  Royal  Navy  Officers'  Survey,  1846.] 

CROSS-SECTION  OF  RUA-PEKAPEKA  PA. 

(W.  to  E.) 

parapets  clothed  with  fern  and  flax  and  koromiko.  This  spot  is 
very  nearly  1,000  feet  above  sea-level ;  it  is  the  northern  face 
of  the  Tapuaeharuru  ("  Rumbling  Footsteps  ")  Range.  On  either 
hand  the  ground  slants  steeply  down  into  forested  depths  ;  this 
narrow  neck  on  which  we  stand  was  the  only  route  by  which  the 
pa  could  be  approached.  Ascending  the  hillside  we  soon  come  to 
the  ruined  ramparts.  Half-burned  puriri  logs,  almost  imperish- 
able, lie  about  the  hillside  ;  there  are  the  stumps  of  trees  felled 
by  the  Maoris  when  clearing  the  glacis  of  the  pa.  Three  or  four 
stockade-posts,  roughly  trimmed  puriri  trunks,  stand  on  the  line 
of  the  double  stockade  ;  they  resist  age  and  weather  to-day  as 
they  did  the  British  round  shot  and  fire-stick  long  ago.  One  of 
these  stockade-posts  stands  at  the  lower  end  of  the  fort,  near  the 
north-west  angle.  It  leans  over  the  track,  a  tree-trunk  of  irregular 


74 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


shape,  with  a  rough  elbow  where  the  main  branch  had  been  lopped 
off ;  it  stands  12  feet  high,  and  is  about  14  inches  in  diameter  in 
the  butt.  White  and  spectral  with  age,  it  is  still  charred  in  places 
with  the  fire  of  1846.  This  part  of  the  work  must  have  presented 
a  formidable  face  to  the  attacking  force  ;  even  now  the  height 
from  the  bottom  of  the  outer  ditch  to  the  top  of  the  fern-grown 
maioro,  or  earth  wall,  at  the  north-western  bastion  is  15  feet.  On 
the  south  side  of  the  pa  a  post  standing  8  feet  above  the  ground, 
with  a  diameter  of  i  foot  by  8  inches,  a  mossy  old  puriri  trunk, 
still  bears  the  marks  of  the  axe.  A  fern-hung  pit  proves  to  be 


Detail  of  .north-west  angle,  Rua-pekapeka. 


From  sketches  by  J.  Cowan,  i8th  March,  1919.} 

Remains  of  palisade  and  well,  south  side  of  fortification. 
SECTIONS  OF  RUA-PEKAPEKA  PA. 


one  of  the  Maori  wells  marked  on  the  British  naval  officers'  plan 
of  the  pa  drawn  in  1846  ;  at  its  bottom  is  a  pile  of  posts  and 
battered  saplings  from  the  demolished  stockade.  There  is  another 
well  on  the  sketch-plan  ;  this  we  presently  discover  inside  the  pa. 
From  this  side,  the  south  and  west,  the  ridge  drops  quickly  to 
the  valley  lying  500  or  600  feet  below  and  spreading  away  into 
the  distances  of  bush  and  smoky-blue  ranges. 

At  the  rear  (the  east  end)  of  the  pa  is  another  lichen-crusted 
stockade-post,  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  track  which  trends 
out  through  the  olden  gateway.  At  another  part  of  the  outer 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    RUA-PEKAPEKA.  75 

entrenchment  we  find  a  squared  post,  mossy  with  age,  lying  on 
the  ground  ;  it  is  between  4  feet  and  5  feet  in  length  ;  its  butt  is 
sharpened  to  a  point  in  order  to  enable  it  to  be  driven  into  the 
ground — one  of  the  line  of  smaller  stakes  between  the  whole-tree 
himu. 

The  pa  slopes  to  the  west  and  north,  inclined  towards  the 
ridge  by  which  the  troops  advanced,  and  therefore  its  interior  lay 
exposed  to  artillery  fire  from  the  far  side  of  the  little  valley 
intervening  between  the  batteries  and  the  range-face  ;  but  the 
system  of  shot-proof  and  bomb-proof  ruas,  or  underground  shelters, 
protected  the  garrison  from  the  guns  of  those  days.  We  descend 
into  one  of  these  ruas  near  the  centre  of  the  pa.  Its  mossy  floor 
is  6  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground  ;  it  has  a  narrow  entrance 
or  shaft,  and  then  it  opens  out  fan  wise  underneath  into  a  com- 
paratively wide  chamber.  The  interior  is  partly  blocked  up  with 
the  fallen  debris  of  seventy-six  years,  but  sufficient  of  its  original 
shape  and  dimensions  remain  to  convince  us  of  its  convenience 
and  safety  in  the  siege-days,  when  its 
top  was  roofed  over  with  logs  and 
earth,  and  when  subterranean  ways 
connected  it  with  the  neighbouring 
ruas  and  the  main  trench.  The  whole 
place  is  pitted  with  these  burrow-like 
ruas.  The  parapets  and  trenches  are 
in  the  most  perfect  state  of  preserva-  KAWITI  s  CARRONADE. 

tion  on  the  western  and  south-western        A  broken   12 -pounder  lying 
aspects.      Here  the  trench  is  5  feet    in  rear  of  Rua-pekapeka  pa, 
deep,  and  from  the  ditch-bottom  to 
the  top  of  the  parapet  the  height  is 

8  or  10  feet.  The  trench  system  would  still  conceal  a  little 
army. 

Due  north,  blue-shimmering  in  the  haze,  is  Russell  Bay,  with 
the  islands  of  the  outer  bay  sleeping  on  its  breast ;  beyond  again, 
the  ocean.  The  Maoris  from  here  could  see  the  ships  lying  at 
anchor  twenty  miles  away,  could  mark  every  daylight  movement 
in  their  direction,  and  could  even  see  the  flagstaff  hill,  the  root  of 
all  these  troubles. 

The  pa  was  about  100  yards  in  length  and  70  yards  in 
width,  with  flanking  bastions  of  earthwork  and  palisade.  A  plan 
drawn  by  the  master  of  H.M.S.  "  Racehorse  "  shows  that  in  the 
small  bastion  on  the  east  face,  the  highest  part  of  the  pa,  a 

§  double  ditch  and  an  earthed-over  bell-shaped  shelter  separated 
the  two  outer  rows  of  palisade  (the  pekerangi  and  kiri-tangata) 
from  a  high  inner  stockade.  To-day  there  are  indications  that 
on  a  portion  at  least  of  the  west  end  also  a  row  of  palisades 
stood  on  the  inner  side  of  the  ditch.  The  work  was  much 
broken  into  flanks  for  enfilading-fire,  and  the  trench  was  cut 


76  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

with  traverses  protecting  the  musketeers  against  a  raking  fire 
or  a  ricochet  from  a  cannon-shot. 

The  advance  from  Kororareka  occupied  the  troops  from  the 
8th  until  the  3ist  December,  by  which  time  the  column  pitched 
the  last  camp  and  threw  up  field-works  on  the  level  space 
described.  Mohi  Tawhai  with  his  Mahurehure  friendlies  had 
pushed  on  ahead  and  quickly  constructed  a  stockade  on  this 
small  plateau  600  to  700  yards  from  the  pa.  The  guns  were 
brought  up  by  horses  and  bullock  teams,  with  the  assistance 
of  man-power  at  many  a  hill  and  watercourse.  It  was  the 
ist  January,  1846,  before  Kawiti's  garrison  made  any  attempt 
to  bar  the  slow  but  certain  progress  of  the  British  troops  towards 
their  mountain  fort.  On  that  day  a  small  party  of  the  pa 
defenders  made  a  sortie  from  the  pa  and  engaged  a  number  of 
the  friendry  Maoris  in  the  bush.  The  chief  Wi  Repa,  one  of  the 
best  fighters  in  the  native  auxiliary  force,  was  severely  wounded. 
The  enemy  cut  off  and  killed  one  white  man,  a  volunteer  Pioneer 
from  Auckland.  On  the  same  day  Colonel  Despard  sent  a  strong 
body  of  infantry  into  the  forest  on  the  narrow  plateau  that 
separated  him  from  his  antagonists,  and  this  force  took  up  a 
position  on  a  partly  cleared  space  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of 
the  stockade.  Here,  under  cover  of  the  timber  which  screened 
the  troops  from  the  view  of  the  Maoris,  a  palisade  and  earthwork 
were  commenced,  and  by  nightfall  the  position  was  ready  for  a 
battery.  A  large  body  of  Maoris  sallied  out  from  the  pa  and 
made  an  attempt  to  turn  the  flank  of  the  advanced  party. 
They  were  engaged  by  Tamati  Waka  and  his  brother  Wi  Waka 
Turau,  Nopera  Pana-kareao,  and  Mohi  Tawhai  with  two  hundred 
men.  It  was  a  tree-to-tree  fight  in  which  only  Maoris  could 
well  be  engaged.  Kawiti's  men  were  driven  back  with  a  loss 
of  several  men  killed  and  nearly  a  score  wounded.  On  the 
Government  side  five  Maoris  were  wounded. 

Another  stockade  was  built  considerably  in  advance  and  more 
to  the  right,  facing  the  south-western  angle  of  the  pa.  This 
position  was  not  more  than  160  yards  from  the  front  of  Kawiti's 
position.  An  i8-pounder  and  a  12-pounder  howitzer  were 
mounted  here.  In  the  larger  stockade,  about  350  yards  from 
the  pa,  there  were  mounted  two  32-pounders  and  four  mortars. 
Despard's  main  camp  on  the  5th  January  was  about  750  yards 
from  the  pa.  Mounted  in  front  of  this  position,  with  thick 
woods  in  its  front  and  rear,  were  three  guns  —  a  32-pounder, 
a  i2-pounder  howitzer,  and  a  light  6-pounder,  besides  rocket- 
tubes. 

The  Pioneer  axemen  attacked  the  heavy  timber  immediately 
in  front  of  the  advanced  gun-positions,  and  the  greater  part  of 
the  Maori  stockade  soon  lay  exposed  to  cannon-fire.  The  small 
battery  in  the  valley  below  the  pa  commanded  a  range  along 


THE   CAPTURE   OF   RUA-PEKAPEKA. 


77 


78  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

both   west   and  south  flanks,   and  concentrated  its   fire   on   the 
south-west  angle. 

It  was  the  morning  of  the  loth  January  before  the  grand 
bombardment  began.  All  the  batteries  were  complete,  and 
sufficient  supplies  of  ammunition  were  brought  up,  the  Maoris 
of  the  friendly  contingent  assisting.  Every  gun  spoke,  the  three 
naval  pieces  hurling  their  32  Ib.  round  shot  against  the  palisade- 
front,  the  i8-pounder  and  i2-pounder  in  the  advanced  stockade 
throwing  their  metal  against  the  south-west  timber  bastion,  and 
the  smaller  guns  and  the  rocket-tubes  attending  to  the  interior 
defences  and  searching  the  huts  and  ruas.  There  were  two  pieces 
of  artillery  in  the  pa,  a  12-po under  carronade  and  a  4-pounder  ; 
one  of  these  Kawiti  had  placed  in  position  at  the  east,  or  rear, 
end  ;  the  other  in  an  emplacement  just  inside  and  above  the 
trench  on  the  western  face.  There  were  gunners  among  the 
Maoris  able  to  lay  and  fire  these  pieces,  but,  as  at  Ohaeawai,  there 
was  a  shortage  of  projectiles.  The  12-pounder  came  to  grief 
early  in  the  bombardment  ;  an  18  Ib.  shot  from  the  advanced 
battery  in  the  hollow  struck  it  in  the  muzzle  and  smashed  it. 

The  storm  of  shot  and  shell,  kept  up  with  little  intermission 
all  day,  soon  began  to  make  impression  on  Kawiti 's  puriri  war- 
fence.  Some  of  the  palisade-posts,  nearly  20  feet  high  and  more 
than  i  foot  in  thickness,  were  battered  to  pieces  by  the  impact 
of  the  32  Ib.  and  18  Ib.  balls,  and  some  of  the  less  deeply  set 
were  knocked  out  of  the  ground.  By  the  afternoon  a  breach 
had  been  made  in  the  stockade  at  the  north-western  bastion, 
and  at  a  point  midway  between  that  salient  and  the  south-west 
angle.  This  face  was  the  lowei  end  of  the  pa,  and  the  efforts 
of  the  artillerists  were  centred  on  demolishing  the  palisade  here 
and  widening  the  breaches  sufficiently  for  a  general  assault,  for 
which  the  impatient  Despard  longed.  The  Colonel  had,  indeed, 
intended  launching  a  storming-party  against  the  pa  when  the 
first  breach  was  made,  but  the  Governor,  Captain  Grey,  vetoed 
the  proposal,  which  would  simply  have  resulted  in  another 
Ohaeawai.  Mohi  Tawhai,  too,  had  entered  a  protest  immediately 
upon  learning  of  Despard's  intention. 

Governor  Grey  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  whole  of  the 
operations ;  indeed,  he  was  more  than  a  mere  spectator,  for 
he  sighted  one  of  the  guns,  and  he  had  reconnoitred  the  pa 
under  fire  more  than  once.  Sergeant  Jesse  Sage  (58th)  recounted 
that  the  young  Governor  frequently  walked  through  the  bush  to 
a  position  well  within  musket-range  from  the  pa  ;  he  would  take 
a  sergeant  or  corporal  of  an  advanced  picket  with  him,  and, 
bidding  the  non-commissioned  officer  take  cover,  would  stand 
with  his  telescope  examining  the  stockade,  shots  flying  around 
him — "  fearlessly  doing  his  duty,"  said  Sage,  "  as  brave  a  man 
as  ever  walked." 


THE   CAPTURE   OF   RUA-PEKAPEKA. 


79 


8o  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Nightfall  brought  no  cessation  of  the  cannonade,  for  each  gun 
was  fired  every  half-hour,  and  rockets  were  frequently  thrown 
into  the  pa,  to  prevent  the  garrison  from  repairing  the  damage 
to  the  stockade.  The  guns  were  laid  with  great  accuracy 
throughout  the  firing ;  the  directing  officers  were  Lieutenant 
Bland  (H.M.S.  "  Racehorse  ")  and  Lieutenant  Leeds  (H.E.I.C.S. 
"  Elphinstone  ")  ;  Lieutenant  Egerton  (H.M.S.  "  North  Star  ") 
was  in  charge  of  the  war-rocket  tube. 

It  was  discovered  afterwards  that  the  shelling  had  effectually 
swept  the  pa,  so  much  so  that  some  of  the  projectiles  had  gone 
right  through  several  stockade-lines  ;  holes  were  found  ripped  in 
the  rear  palisades.  "  We  were  safe  underground  when  the  big 
guns  began  to  hurl  their  mata-purepo  at  us,"  says  old  Rihara 
Kou,  of  Kaikohe.  "  What  had  we  to  fear  there  ?  "  But  the 
persistent  showering  of  cannon-balls  by  night  as  well  as  day 
made  life  in  the  pa  so  uncomfortable  that  the  garrison  now  began 
to  fear  that  the  place  could  not  be  defended  much  longer. 

Hone  Heke,  recovered  from  his  wound,  had  only  arrived  in 
the  pa  on  the  night  before  the  bombardment,  with  a  body  of  his 
tribesmen  from  Tautoro  and  Kaikohe.  His  contingent  brought 
the  forces  in  the  Rua-pekapeka  up  to  about  five  hundred  men. 
That  day  under  the  artillery  fire  convinced  him  that  the  pa 
must  be  evacuated,  and  he  counselled  Kawiti  to  take  to  the 
forest  and  fight  the  soldiers  there,  where  they  could  not  haul  their 
heavy  guns.  But  Kawiti  determined  to  fight  his  fort  to  the  end. 

The  following  morning,  nth  January,  was  Sunday.  The 
artillery  fire  was  continued  from  all  the  batteries.  There  was 
no  answering  fire  of  musketry  from  the  pa  loopholes.  A  dozen 
Maori  scouts,  under  Wi  Waka  Turau,  worked  up  to  the  stockade 
near  the  south-west  angle  and  crept  in  through  one  of  the  breaches 
made  by  the  guns.  Wi  Waka  signalled  to  his  brother  Tamati 
Waka,  who  was  with  Captain  Denny  and  a  hundred  men  of  the 
58th  awaiting  the  result  of  the  reconnaissance.  The  troops  came 
up  with  a  rush  and  were  inside  the  double  palisade  and  trench, 
and  pushing  up  over  the  hut-and-fence-cumbered  ground  towards 
the  higher  end,  before  their  presence  was  detected  and  the  yell 
of  alarm  raised,  "  The  soldiers  are  in  the  pa." 

The  garrison  had  nearly  all  left  the  pa  by  the  hidden  ways 
that  morning,  and  were  sheltering  behind  the  rear  earthworks 
and  stockade  in  a  dip  of  the  ground — some  for  sleep  undisturbed 
by  rockets  and  shells,  some  to  cook  food,  the  majority  for 
religious  worship.  Kawiti  himself,  sturdy  old  pagan,  remained 
in  his  trenched  shelter  with  some  of  his  immediate  followers. 

The  alarm  given,  the  astonished  Kawiti  and  his  Maoris  gave 
the  troops  a  volley.  Running  out  to  the  east  end,  they  joined 
Heke  and  his  men.  A  determined  effort  was  made  to  regain  the 
stronghold,  but  the  stockade  now  became  the  troops'  defence. 


THE    CAPTURE    OF    RUA-PEKAPEKA. 


8l 


Meanwhile  Colonel  Despard  had  rushed  up  strong  reinforcements, 
and  presently  hundreds  of  soldiers  were  within  the  pa,  pouring 
a  heavy  fire  from  the  east  and  south-east  faces  upon  the  Maoris, 
who  took  cover  behind  trees  and  breastworks  of  logs,  and 
maintained  a  fire  upon  the  pa.  A  crowd  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
rushed  out  through  the  rear  gateway  and  attacked  the  Maoris 
on  the  edge  of  the  bush.  A  number  of  the  "  Castor's  "  bluejackets 
dashed  into  the  bush  and  became  easy  targets  for  Kawiti's 
musketeers,  who  shot  several  of  them  dead.  The  58th  and  qgth, 
more  seasoned  to  native  tactics,  took  advantage  of  all  the  cover 
that  offered,  and  killed  and  wounded  a  number  of  their  foes. 
The  skirmish  developed  into  an  ambush,  skilfully  laid  by  Kawiti, 
who  directed  Ruatara  Taura- 
moko  to  feign  a  retreat  with 
a  party  of  men  in  order  to 
draw  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
into  the  forest,  while  he  lay 
in  wait  on  either  side  behind 
the  logs  and  trees.  This  piece 
of  Maori  strategy  proved  suc- 
cessful. Surprise  volleys  were 
delivered  from  cover,  and  a 
number  of  whites  fell ;  the 
others  discreetly  retreated,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  plentiful 
cover.  In  this  bush  battle 
some  hundreds  of  men  were 
engaged,  and  Kawiti  certainly 
made  a  stout  fight  to  retrieve 
his  fallen  fortunes.  Every  tree 
concealed  a  Maori  sniper ; 
every  mass  of  fallen  logs  was 
a  bush  redoubt.  Corporal 
Free  saw  a  Maori  shot  in  a  (Uri-Taniwha  hapu,  Ngapuhi  Tribe. 
puriri.  "  He  had  been  potting 

away  at  us  from  the  branches,"  said  the  veteran,  "  and  shot  two 
or  three  of  our  men.  At  last  we  noticed  the  bullets  striking  the 
ground  and  raising  little  showers  of  dust  and  twigs,  and  looking 
up  we  discovered  the  sniper.  Several  of  us  had  a  shot ;  one  of 
my  comrades  got  him,  and  he  came  tumbling  to  the  ground, 
crashing  through  the  branches  and  turning  round  and  round  as 
he  fell." 

The  forest  engagement  lasted  until  2  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. Before  that  time  Kawiti  and  Heke  had  determined  to 
withdraw  all  their  people  to  the  inaccessible  back  country  ;  the 
fight  in  the  rear  of  the  pa  was  prolonged  in  order  to  give  time 
for  the  wounded  to  be  carried  off.  As  in  old  Maori  warfare,  the 


RUATARA  TAURAMOKO. 


82 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


picked  men,  the  young  toas,  such  as  Ruatara,  fought  a  hard 
rearguard  action,  then  vanished  into  the  bush  to  rejoin  the  main 
body.  They  lost  heavily ;  behind  one  log  where  the  troops 
had  been  held  up  for  more  than  half  an  hour  Mr.  George  Clarke 
found  nine  stalwart  young  men  lying  side  by  side. 

Thus  fell  Rua-pekapeka.  The  British  loss  was  twelve  killed 
— seven  of  whom  were  "  Castor  "  men — and  thirty  wounded, 
including  Mr.  Murray,  a  midshipman  of  the  "  North  vStar." 

Colonel  Despard,  who  had  by  this  time  come  to  admit  the 
Maori's  originality  and  skill  in  fort-building,  declared  in  his 
despatches  that  "  the  extraordinary  strength  of  this  place,  par- 
ticularly in  the  interior  defence, 
far  exceeded  any  idea  that  could 
have  been  formed  of  it."  Every 
hut,  he  found,  was  a  little 
fortress  in  itself,  strongly  stock- 
aded all  round  with  heavy 
timbers  sunk  deeply  in  the 
ground  and  placed  close  to  each 
other,  with  a  strong  earthwork 
thrown  up  behind  them. 

It  was  apparent  that  the 
garrison  had  been  in  straits  for 
food-supplies.  Little  was  found 
in  the  pa  except  fern-root. 

The  troops  set  fire  to  the 
huts  and  stockading,  but  the 
earth-works  and  the  trench 
system  were  of  such  dimensions 
that  Despard  decided  to  leave 
them  undemolished  and  march 
his  troops  back  to  the  Bay  of 
Islands. 

This  success  ended  the 
Northern  War. 

Brave  old  Kawiti,  while  can- 
didly confessing  at  a  meeting  at  Pomare's  pa  that  he  had  had 
enough  of  war  as  waged  by  his  "  fighting  friends  "  the  British, 
consoled  himself,  with  the  knowledge  of  having  acted  a  valiant 
part:  "Peace,  peace  — that  is  all  I  have  to  say.  I  did  not 
commence  the  war,  but  I  have  had  the  whole  brunt  of  the 
fighting.  Recollect,  it  is  not  from  fear,  for  I  did  not  feel  fear 
when  the  shot  and  shell  were  flying  around  me  in  the  pa."  And 
there  was  a  very  proper  warrior  pride  in  Kawiti's  declaration  to 
a  chief  after  the  meeting  :  "  I  am  satisfied  ;  I  intend  making 
peace,  but  not  from  fear.  Whatever  happens  to  me  hereafter,  I 
have  one  consolation — I  am  not  in  irons,  nor  am  I  in  Auckland 


MAIHI  PARAONE  KAWITI. 

(Son  of  Kawiti,  the  defender  of  Rua- 
pekapeka.) 


THE   CAPTURE   OF   RUA-PEKAPEKA.  83 

Gaol.  I  have  stood  five  successive  engagements  with  the  soldiers 
belonging  to  the  greatest  white  nation  in  the  world,  the  soldiers 
that  we  have  been  told  would  fight  until  every  man  was  killed. 
But  I  am  now  perfectly  satisfied  they  are  men,  not  gods  [atua], 
and  had  they  nothing  but  muskets,  the  same  as  ourselves,  I  should 
be  in  my  pa  at  the  present  time." 

At  this  meeting  it  was  stated  by  Heke's  and  Kawiti's  Maoris 
that  the  casualties  on  their  side  since  the  taking  of  Kororareka 
were  sixty  killed  and  about  eighty  wounded. 


Drawing  by  A.  H.  Messenger,  after  a  sketch,  1852.] 

THE  BRITISH  FRIGATE  "CASTOR." 

H.M.S.  "Castor"  was  an  oak  frigate  of  1,293  tons,  built  in  1832.  She 
took  part  in  the  Syrian  campaign  of  1840,  and  shared  in  the  bombardment 
of  St.  Jean  d'Acre.  After  cruising  on  the  coast  of  Ireland  she  was  sent 
out  to  the  East  Indies  Station  and  New  Zealand.  Seven  of  her  men  were 
killed  in  the  fighting  at  Rua-pekapeka  pa,  nth  January,  1846.  H.M.S. 
"  Dido  "  arrived  at  Auckland  from  the  East  Indies  on  the  2nd  June,  1847, 
and  relieved  the  "  Castor,"  which  sailed  for  England  three  days  later.  In 
1852  the  "  Castor  "  was  Commodore  Wyvill's  ship  on  the  Cape  Station, 
and  her  commander  was  sent  to  the  scene  of  the  wreck  of  the  transport 
"  Birkenhead  "  to  render  help.  The  frigate  remained  afloat  for  seventy 
years.  For  many  years  she  was  employed  at  South  Shields  as  drill-ship 
for  the  Royal  Naval  Reserve. 

A  Proclamation  by  the  Governor  permitting  those  who  had 
been  concerned  in  the  war  to  return  peacably  to  their  homes  was 
received  with  relief  by  Ngapuhi  and  their  allies.  Proclamations 
raised  the  blockade  of  the  east  coast  from  Whangarei  to  Mangonui 


84  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

and  Doubtless  Bay,  and  also  relieved  the  Bay  of  Islands  district 
within  a  circle  of  sixty  miles  in  any  direction  from  Russell  from 
the  operation  of  martial  law,  which  had  existed  since  the  26th 
April,  1845.  So  peace  came,  a  peace  unembittered  by  confiscation 
of  land  or  by  vendettas  provocative  of  future  wars. 

Heke  lost  the  war,  but  carried  his  point.  In  1848  he  declared 
that  the  tupapaku  (the  corpse)  of  the  flagstaff  at  Kororareka 
should  not  be  roused  to  life,  because  those  who  had  died  in 
cutting  it  down  could  not  be  restored  to  the  land  of  the  living. 
This  attitude  he  maintained  to  the  day  of  his  death  (1850). 
While  he  lived,  and  while  Kawiti  lived,  the  signal-mast  was  not 
re-erected  on  Maiki  Hill.  This  was  the  chief  point  in  dispute, 
and  tactfully  the  new  Governor  did  not  insist  upon  the  restora- 
tion of  the  tupapaku.  The  Port  of  Russell  carried  on  without 
a  shipping  signal-station  until  1853,  when  Maihi  Paraone  Kawiti 
— son  of  Heke's  ally — and  his  kinsmen  set  up  a  new  mast  in  token 
of  the  friendship  between  the  two  races.  Governor  Grey's  wisdom 
in  refraining  from  confiscation  of  land  was  justified  by  results,  for 
Ngapuhi  have  ever  since  1846  been  loyal  friends  of  the  whites. 
The  forfeiture  of  lands  would  have  bred  not  only  intertribal  feuds 
but  long  resentment  against  the  Government.  That  Ngapuhi  were 
given  no  opportunity  of  cherishing  such  memories  is  something  for 
which  we  have  reason  to  be  thankful  to-day,  for  it  was  this  tribe 
and  its  neighbours,  with  the  loyal  Ngati-Porou  of  the  East  Coast, 
that  made  the  strongest  contribution  to  the  Maori  battalion  in 
the  Great  War.  Ngapuhi,  Te  Rarawa,  and  kindred  tribes  of  the 
north  of  Auckland  sent  over  six  hundred  of  their  young  men  to 
join  the  contingent  which  fought  so  well  on  Gallipoli  in  1915,  and 
later  did  good  work  as  Pioneers  in  France. 


CHAPTER   X. 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT    AND    THE    WAR    AT    THE 

HUTT. 

The  north  pacified,  Governor  Grey  turned  his  attention  to  the 
Cook  Strait  settlements,  where  the  position  for  the.  last  year  had 
verged  upon  war.  The  New  Zealand  Company's  loose  methods 
in  the  purchase  of  native  lands  had  been  followed  by  the 
repudiation  of  bargains,  the  estrangement  of  the  two  races,  and 
the  blocking  of  settlement.  But  the  warriors  who  insisted  upon 
muskets,  gunpowder,  and  shot  as  the  chief  portion  of  the  payment 
for  the  land  upon  which  Wellington  now  stands  were  not  at  all 
dissatisfied  in  1840  with  the  bargain  they  had  made.  They  had 
secured  arms,  without  which  their  tenure  of  the  district  in  those 
days  of  almost  constant  intertribal  jealousy  and  conflict  would  have 
been  precarious,  and  they  had  given  nothing  of  great  value  in 
exchange  ;  for  they  were  mentally  resolved,  if  it  had  not  been 
openly  stated,  that  they  would  not  suffer  their  existing  cultiva- 
tions and  other  grounds  valuable  as  food-producing  places,  such 
as  the  portions  of  the  forest  richest  in  birds — the  kaka,  pigeon, 
and  tui — to  pass  away  for  ever  out  of  their  hands. 

Colonel  Wakefield  and  his  coadjutors  in  the  first  work  of 
settlement  suffered  to  a  considerable  extent  from  their  want  of 
knowledge  of  Maori  laws  and  customs  with  respect  to  land, 
and  also  from  their  inability  to  make  the  natives  understand 
the  precise  tenor  of  their  questions  and  their  documents.  Richard 
Barrett,  the  whaler  and  trader,  upon  whom  they  placed  reliance  as 
interpreter  and  go-between,  was  illiterate,  and  his  knowledge  of 
the  Maori  tongue  scarcely  extended  beyond  colloquial  phrases. 
Wakefield  does  not  appear  to  have  given  close  attention  to  the 
validity  of  the  native  vendor's  title  ;  so  long  as  he  found  a  chief  or 
gathering  of  chiefs  willing  to  sell  such-and-such  an  area  of  bush, 
mountain  and  plain,  he  was  satisfied.  He  was  presently  to  gain  by 
tragic  experience  a  knowledge  of  the  time  and  care  necessaiy  to 
complete  a  really  safe  and  satisfactory  purchase  of  land  from  the 
Maori.  Doubtless  there  was  at  the  back  of  Wakefield's  mind  a 
feeling  that  once  the  lands  were  settled  by  a  strong  body  of  British 


86          •  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

settlers,  ready  and  able  to  hold  their  farms  against  all  comers,  the 
native  population  would  quickly  diminish  in  importance,  if  not  in 
numbers. 

Mr.  Spain,  the  Land  Claims  Commissioner,  in  1845  awarded 
the  New  Zealand  Company  71,900  acres  of  land  in  Wellington  and 
vicinity,  excepting  the  villages  and  the  lands  that  were  actually 
occupied  by  the  natives  and  thirty-nine  native  reserves.  At  the 
same  time  the  Commissioner  disallowed  the  Company's  claims  to 
the  Wairau  and  Porirua  lands,  and  in  the  end  it  was  arranged 
(1847)  that  the  sum  of  £2,000  should  be  paid  to  Ngati-Toa  and 
their  kindred  for  the  disputed  territory  at  Porirua,  and  £3,000  for 
the  Wairau. 

There  seems  to  have  been  considerable  uncertainty  among 
settlers  and  Maoris  alike  as  to  the  exact  situation  and  boundaries 
of  some  of  the  reserves,  more  especially  those  in  the  Hutt  Valley, 
and  to  this  lack  of  precise  information  much  of  the  trouble 
with  the  discontented  tribes  was  due.  In  1846  we  find  even  the 
consistently  friendly  chief  Te  Puni  complaining  that  the  Ngati-Awa 
reserves  at  the  Taita  were  occupied  by  European  settlers.  As  the 
result  of  the  failure  to  inform  the  Maoris  of  the  position  and  bounds 
of  the  areas  reserved  for  them,  the  natives  in  some  instances  cleared 
tracts  of  land  outside  the  reserves,  and  in  other  cases  occupied 
and  cleared  bush  land  that  had  been  sold  to  settlers  :  disputes 
and  suspicion  were  thus  engendered. 

The  principal  opposition  to  the  white  occupation  of  Hutt  lands 
came  in  the  first  case  from  a  chief  named  Taringa-Kuri  ("  Dog's 
Ear"),  otherwise  known  as  Kaeaea  ("  Sparrowhawk  ").  He  de- 
rived his  first  name  from  his  preternatural  keenness  of  hearing  ; 
when  out  scouting,  say  the  Maoris,  he  would  put  his  ear  to  the 
ground  and  detect  the  approach  of  an  enemy  at  a  great  distance. 
"  Dog's  Ear  "  headed  the  Ngati-Tama  Tribe,  connected  both  with 
Ngati-Awa  and  with  Ngati-Maniapoto.  The  clan  had  fought  its 
way  down  the  west  coast  as  allies  of  Te  Rauparaha  and  Te  Rangi- 
haeata  in  the  "  twenties."  He  and  his  people  received  a  sixth 
part  of  the  goods  first  given  by  Colonel  Wakefield  in  payment  for 
the  Wellington  lands.  When  the  disputes  arose  as  to  the  owner- 
ship of  the  Hutt  Valley,  "  Dog's  Ear  "  and  his  people  cut  a  line 
through  the  bush  as  a  boundary  dividing  the  lower  valley  from 
the  Upper  Hutt,  contending  that  the  upper  part  should  be  reserved 
for  Ngati-Tama*  and  their  friends  Ngati-Rangatahi.  In  1842  he 

*  Not  many  of  the  Ngati-Tama  Tribe  were  engaged  in  the  war  in  the 
Hutt  Valley.  The  majority  had  gone  with  Pomare  Ngatata  to  the  Chatham 
Islands.  Later,  a  number  of  Ngati-Tama,  as  the  result  of  quarrels  with 
.Ngati-Mutunga  at  the  Chathams,  migrated  to  the  Auckland  Islands  in  a 
French  whaler.  To  their  disgust  they  found  that  the  climate  of  the  Aucklands 
was  so  wet  and  cold  that  their  potatoes  would  not  grow.  They  were 
removed  a  few  years  later  and  returned  to  the  Chatham  Islands. 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT  AND   THE   WAR   AT   THE   HUTT. 


87 


built  a  village  called  Makahi-nuku,  fortified  with  palisades,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hutt  about  two  miles  above  the  present  Lower  Hutt 
Bridge,  and  cleared  and  cultivated  part  of  a  section  purchased 


'   Taita  <S/ocAac/e. 


Richmond '. 
THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  HUTT,  WELLINGTON, 

Showing  stockades  and  scenes  of  engagements,  1846. 

from  the  Company  by  Mr.  Swainson.  This  section  became  the 
chief  centre  of  contention  between  the  whites  and  the  natives. 
In  this  action  "Dog's  Ear"  was  supported  by  the  direct 


88  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

instructions  of  Te  Rauparaha  and  Te  Rangihaeata.  But  he  had 
stated  in  his  evidence  before  Mr.  Spain's  Court  that  Ngati-Awa 
and  Ngati-Rangatahi  sold  the  Hutt  lest  they  would  be  invaded 
by  Te  Rauparaha  with  his  Ngati-Toa,  and  Te  Whatanui  with  his 
Ngati-Raukawa,  from  Otaki  and  the  Manawatu.  Those  leaders 
were  much  offended  at  Ngati-Awa  having  taken  possession  of  and 
sold  the  lands  in  the  Hutt  Valley.  The  Ngati-Rangatahi  came 
originally  to  Porirua  from  the  upper  part  of  the  Wanganui  River  ; 
their  leading  men  in  the  war-time  migration  were  Kapara-te-hau, 
Te  Oro,  Te  Kohera,  and  Kaka-herea ;  the  last-named  died  in 
1844.  Ngati-Rangatahi  shared  in  the  Wairau  affair  in  1843,  and 
soon  afterwards  occupied  land  on  the  banks  of  the  Hutt  under 
Te  Rangihaeata's  encouragement.  The  sum  of  £400  was  paid  to 
Te  Rauparaha  and  Te  Rangihaeata  by  the  Government  on  behalf 
of  the  New  Zealand  Company,  by  way  of  second  purchase  of  the 
Hutt  Valley  ;  nevertheless  the  actual  occupants  of  the  land  did 
not  benefit  by  this  payment,  and  they  declined  to  remove. 

By  the  end  of  1845  the  New  Zealand  Government  had  the 
support  of  five  British  ships-of-war  and  nearly  a  thousand  Regular 
troops.  These  forces,  with  the  exception  of  some  men  of  the  58th 
stationed  at  the  Bay  of  Islands  and  two  companies  left  in  Auck- 
land as  a  garrison,  and  the  frigate  "  Racehorse  "  and  the  brig 
"  Osprey,"  left  at  the  Bay,  were  now  available  for  the  restoration 
of  order  in  the  Wellington  settlements.  There  was  also  available 
a  considerable  and  already  fairly  well-trained  body  of  Militia, 
organized  under  the  Militia  Ordinance  passed  at  Auckland  on 
the  5th  March,  1845.  Under  this  enactment  a  citizen  force  was 
constituted  for  military  service,  composed  of  all  able-bodied  men 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  sixty.  Militiamen  were  liable 
for  service  within  twenty-five  miles  of  the  post-offices  in  their 
towns,  and  their  period  of  drill  was  twenty-eight  days  in  the  year. 
In  Wellington  the  news  of  the  war  in  the  north  and  the  disputes 
in  the  Hutt  Valley  had  stimulated  a  volunteer  spirit  indepen- 
dently of  the  conscription  measure,  and  in  April,  1845,  the  daily 
musters  of  townsmen  for  military  drill  on  Thorndon  Flat  and 
at  Te  Aro  totalled  220  of  all  ranks.  These  drills  were  held  at 
5  o'clock  in  the  evening  ;  in  addition  there  was  a  morning  daily 
drill  for  the  more  enthusiastic  held  alternately  on  the  parade- 
ground  at  either  end  of  the  town.  The  Militia  drilled  with  the 
old  Tower  flint-lock  muskets  imported  by  the  New  Zealand  Com- 
pany for  bartering  with  the  Maoris  ;  they  were  exactly  the  same 
make  as  the  guns  with  which  the  Company  had  purchased  the 
Wellington  lands  from  the  Ngati-Toa  and  Ngati-Awa.  Later,  per- 
cussion-cap guns  were  served  out.  The  uniform  was  not  elaborate 
or  showy,  but  it  was  more  suitable  for  campaigning  than  the  tight 
red  tunics,  high  stocks,  and  awkward  headgear  of  the  Regulars. 
The  oldest  surviving  pioneer  of  the  Hutt  recalled  that  it  consisted 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT   AND   THE   WAR   AT   THE    HUTT.         89 

of  a  blue  shirt,  a  cap  similar  to  that  worn  by  sailors,  and  "  any 
kind  of  trousers." 

A  redoubt  was  built  on  Mr.  Clifford's  property  on  Thorndon 
Flat,  very  close  to  where  the  Normal  School  now  stands  (Hobson 
Crescent).  It  has  sometimes  been  described  as  a  stockade,  but  it 
was  simply  a  square  earthwork  with  a  surrounding  trench.  The 
parapet  of  sods  and  earth  was  reinforced  with  timbers  at  intervals 
inside.  All  round  the  parapet  were  wood-framed  loopholes  for 
musket-fire  ;  the  timbers  forming  them  not  only  kept  them  clear 
of  earth  but  strengthened  the  parapet.  In  1846,  when  the  troops 
were  on  field  service,  a  Militia  guard  of  a  sergeant,  a  corporal,  and 
twelve  men  did  duty  daily  at  the  fort. 

A  more  extensive  work  was  that  constructed  at  the  southern, 
or  Te  Aro,  end  of  the  town,  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  citizens. 
This  was  a  large  earthwork  forming  two  sides  of  a  redoubt  ;  the 
other  two  sides  were  left  open,  but  the  houses  which  stood  there 
were  capable  of  defence.  A  pioneer  resident  of  Wellington,  Mr. 
John  Waters,  who  landed  in  Port  Nicholson  in  1841,  describes  this 
Te  Aro  fortification  as  follows  :— 

"  The  earthwork  consisted  of  a  ditch 
and  a  strong  parapet.  The  trench  was 
6  feet  deep,  and  the  sod  wall  was  about 
6  feet  high.  The  area  enclosed  was 

the  ground  between  Manners  Street  From  a  sketchby  Judge  H  s  Chap_ 
and  the  sea,  which  then  flowed  to  the  man  in  letter,  i845.] 

ground  on  which  the  Town  Hall  now     CROSS  -  SECTION    OF    FIELD- 
stands.      The  longer  side  of  the  earth-         WORK  AT  TE  ARO,  WEL- 
work  was  that  which  ran  from  Manners         LJNGTON. 
Street   a  short    distance   westward   or 

inland  of  what  is  now  Lower  Cuba  Street.  There  was  an  acre 
of  land  fronting  Manners  Street  between  the  Bank  of  New  Zealand 
(present  Te  Aro  branch)  and  the  angle  of  the  work.  The  length 
of  this  side  of  the  fortification  was  about  330  feet.  The  other 
flank,  which  was  considerably  shorter,  ran  at  right  angles  inland 
along  the  north  side  of  Manners  Street  towards  its  present 
intersection  with  Willis  Street.  The  Wesleyan  Chapel  in  Manners 
Street  was  just  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  to  the  earth- 
works. The  trench  and  parapet  enclosed  several  large  buildings, 
including  Bethune  and  Hunter's  and  other  brick  stores,  the  bank, 
and  some  houses.  There  was  a  boatbuilding  yard,  besides  jetties 
and  store  buildings,  down  on  the  beach  inside  the  wall.  I  do  not 
recollect  any  guns  in  this  fortification. 

"  On  the  eastern  side  of  Lower  Cuba  Street,  close  to  what 
is  now  Smith's  corner,  was  a  stockade  enclosure  in  which  the 
Government  commissariat-stores  building  stood.  This  stockade 
was  constructed  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  a  Maori  palisaded 
pa.  It  consisted  of  large  split  totara  posts  sunk  in  the  ground  at 


0,0  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

intervals,  the  space  between  them  closely  fenced  with  high  slabs 
or  pickets  with  pointed  tops,  and  fastened  with  horizontal  rails 
inside." 

These  defences  of  1845  were  not  the  first  field-works  con- 
structed in  Wellington  for  protection  against  the  Maoris.  After 
the  Wairau  tragedy  in  1843  measures  were  taken  by  the  New 
Zealand  Company  and  the  townspeople,  independently  of  the 
Government,  to  fortify  the  northern  and  southern  ends  of  the 
settlement,  and  guns  were  mounted  in  the  works.  These  were 
i8-pounders  which  had  originally  been  mounted  on  Somes  Island, 
which  the  New  Zealand  Company  in  1840  regarded  as  a  suitable 
site  for  a  fort.  One  of  the  fortifications  of  1843  was  in  Thorn- 
don  ;  one  was  a  small  battery  constructed  on  Clay  Point,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  settlement.  "  It  was  on  the  seaward  ex- 
tremity of  the  flat  above  Pipitea,"  says  the  pioneer  settler  already 
quoted,  Mr.  John  Waters,  "  that  the  first  Thorndon  redoubt  was 
built,  or  rather  commenced.  I  remember  that  very  well,  because 
I  saw  it  being  built  by  the  volunteers  of  the  town  in  1843,  just 
after  the  Wairau  fight,  and,  in  fact,  assisted  in  the  work  as  a  boy. 
It  stood  very  close  to  the  cliff  above  Pipitea,  between  the  present 
steps  at  the  foot  of  Pipitea  Street  and  the  English  Church  of  St. 
Paul's,  but  much  nearer  Pipitea  Street  than  the  church.  Just 
below  it  on  the  beach-front,  now  Thorndon  Quay,  was  the  police- 
station,  a  long  whare  thatched  with  raupo.  We  boys  were  given 
a  holiday  one  day  to  help  the  men  by  carrying  the  sods  which  had 
been  cut  close  by  to  the  workers,  who  placed  them  in  position  on 
the  parapet.  The  earthwork  was  not  completed  ;  the  rear  was 
left  open.  It  consisted  of  three  sides  of  an  oblong,  the  longer  side 
facing  the  sea,  and  the  flanks  extending  back  a  short  distance 
westward.  It  was  not  of  any  great  size.  The  redoubt  ditch  was 
about  5  feet  in  depth  and  the  same  in  width.  We  boys  used  to 
amuse  ourselves  by  helping  to  deepen  it.  The  earth  parapet  was 
about  6  feet  high.  The  later  redoubt  was  built  in  a  different  place 
altogether,  further  in  on  Thorndon,  towards  what  is  now  Fitzher- 
bert  Terrace."  The  southern  fortification  was  the  battery  on  Clay 
Point,  Clay  Hill,  or  Flagstaff  Hill,  as  the  spot  was  variously  named ; 
after  the  construction  of  the  work  it  was  named  "Waterloo 
Redoubt."  Clay  Point  (now  demolished)  was  the  abrupt  termi- 
nation of  a  ridge  which  trended  down  to  the  sea  at  the  place 
which  is  now  the  junction  of  Lambton  Quay  and  Lower  Willis  Street. 
The  sea  then  flowed  and  ebbed  where  the  Bank  of  New  Zealand 
now  stands,  and  the  cliff  jutted  out  steep-to  above  the  narrow 
beach,  then  the  only  thoroughfare.  After  Wairau,  the  townspeople 
formed  a  working-party,  cut  a  track  to  the  flat  top  of  the  hill, 
and  dragged  up  three  of  the  New  Zealand  Company's  guns — 
ship's  howitzers  (i8-pounders)  on  wooden  carriages.  The  work 
was  not  an  enclosed  redoubt,  but  a  parapet  facing  the  sea — an 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT   AND    THE    WAR   AT   THE    HUTT.         9! 

emplacement  and  protection  for  the  guns,  with  a  trench  9  feet 
wide.     The  work  was  completed  in  one  day. 

The  infant  Town  of  Nelson  also  had  its  fortification  in  1843, 
when  the  episode  of  the  Wairau  and  reports  of  coming  Maori 
raids  stimulated  the  people  to  vigorous  measures,  with  the  result 
that  the  place  was  provided  with  the  strongest  fort  south  of 
Auckland.  The  resident  agent  of  the  New  Zealand  Company, 
Mr.  Fox  (afterwards  Sir  William  Fox),  agreed  to  advance  the 
necessary  funds  for  the  work,  protesting  at  the  same  time  that 
the  provision  of  means  of  public  safety  was  the  duty  of  the 
Government.  Nelson's  fort,  named  after  Captain  Arthur  Wake- 
field,  who  fell  at  Wairau,  occupied  the  most  conspicuous  place 
in  the  middle  of  the  settlement,  the  hill  at  the  top  of  Trafalgar 
Street  on  which  Nelson  Cathedral  now  stands.  The  following 


Drawn  from  a  sketch  by  the  late  Hon.  J.  W.  Barnicoat,  M.L.C.] 

FORT  ARTHUR,  NELSON,  IN  1843. 
(Nelson  Cathedral  now  occupies  the  site  of  this  fortification.) 


description  of  the  redoubt  and  stockade  was  given  in  the  Nelson 
Examiner  of  the  23rd  December,  1843  :— 

"  Fort  Arthur  enclosed  the  hill  forming  part  of  Trafalgar  Square.  It 
was  built  from  the  design  and  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  J.  S. 
Spooner.  It  covers  rather  more  than  an  acre  of  ground.  It  is  built  in  the 
form  of  an  oblong  hexagon,  with  bastions  at  each  angle.  The  embank- 
ments, or  ramparts,  and  the  bastions  are  of  earth,  faced  with  sods,  squared 
and  laid  in  courses.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  moat,  8  feet  deep  and  12  feet 
wide,  over  which  is  placed  a  drawbridge  at  the  north  end.  Inside  the 
rampart  is  a  trench,  5  feet  deep,  for  musketry.  On  an  inner  and  level 
elevation,  and  enclosing  the  church  and  Survey  Office,  is  a  stockade, 
7  feet  high,  built  of  2-inch  planking,  double,  with  a  space  between  of 
2  inches  filled  with  earth,  making  it  ball-proof,  and  surmounted  with  a 
cheveaux  de  frise.  It  is  in  the  shape  of  an  oblong  square,  156  feet  by 
48  feet,  with  flanking  towers  at  the  corners  10  feet  high  ;  pierced  through- 
out with  loopholes  for  rifles  and  musketry,  and  ports  for  the  great  guns 
(long  i8-pounder  carronades)." 


92  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Nelson  was  not  the  only  place  in  the  South  Island  in  which 
it  was  considered  necessary  in  1843  to  erect  fortified  posts.  The 
English  and  French  residents  of  Akaroa  resolved  that  three  small 
blockhouses  should  be  erected  as  a  provision  for  the  safety  of 
the  settlers  and  their  families.  One  of  these  blockhouses  was 
built  at  the  eastern  end  of  Akaroa  Town,  near  the  beach  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Oinaka  Stream  ;  the  Bruce  Hotel  now  occupies  the 
site.  Another  was  placed  midway  along  the  bay,  on  the  water- 
front, near  the  spot  where  the  police-station  now  stands.  The 
third  was  erected  in  Otakamatua  Bay,  near  the  head  of  the 
harbour.  These  buildings  were  the  first  posts  of  the  true  block- 
house type,  with  overlapping  upper  storeys,  built  in  New  Zealand. 

The  settlers  of  the  Hutt  Valley  acutely  realized  their  defence- 
less state,  and  early  in  the  year  1845  they  decided  to  assure  some 
measure  of  protection  by  building  a  stockaded  fort  in  some 
central  position,  a  garrison  station  to  which  they  might  hurry 
their  families  in  the  event  of  a  conflict.  The  site  selected  was 
the  left  (east)  bank  of  the  Heretaunga,  at  the  bridge  ;  the  exact 
spot  is  now  a  bed  of  gravel  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  about 
100  yards  below  the  present  Lower  Hutt  Bridge.  The  fortifica- 
tion was  designed  by  a  settler  who  was  officer  in  command  of  the 
Hutt  Militia,  Captain  George  Compton  ;  he  had  lived  in  the 
backwoods  of  North  America,  and  he  planned  the  stockade  upon 
the  pattern  of  the  forts  built  by  the  United  States  pioneers  for 
defence  against  the  Indians.  Fort  Richmond,  as  it  came  to  be 
called,  in  compliment  to  Major  Richmond,  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Southern  District,  was  a  square  work  95  feet  each  way,  with 
flanking  bastions  at  two  diagonally  opposite  angles,  commanding 
the  bridge  and  the  river  on  both  sides.  The  walls  were  built  of 
large  slats  of  timber,  9  feet  6  inches  in  height  above  the  ground 
and  5  to  6  inches  in  thickness.  The  flanking  bastions  were  small 
two-storeyed  blockhouses,  one  15  feet  and  the  other  12  feet  square  ; 
the  upper  storey  was  not  set  square  with  the  lower,  but  diagonally 
across  it  (as  shown  in  Mr.  Swainson's  sketch  in  the  Wellington 
Art  Gallery  collection).  This  design,  an  idea  originating  on  the 
American  frontier,  enabled  a  fire  to  be  directed  from  above  upon 
any  attack  on  the  base  of  the  bastion.  A  better  method  of  con- 
struction, however,  was  generally  adopted  in  the  blockhouses  on 
the  New  Zealand  frontiers  in  the  "  sixties,"  in  which  the  upper 
storey  projected  over  the  lower  by  2  or  3  feet  all  round.  The  Fort 
Richmond  stockade  was  loopholed  on  each  side,  and  the  block- 
houses in  each  storey ;  these  apertures  for  musket-fire  were  about 
4  feet  apart.  The  one-armed  veteran  John  Cudby  (in  1919  ninety 
years  of  age)  informed  the  writer  that  he  helped  to  cart  the 
timber  for  the  fort.  Most  of  the  timber  was  cut  in  the  forest 
which  then  covered  the  flat  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  present 
Lower  Hutt  Railway-station,  the  Pito-one  side.  The  stockade 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT   AND   THE   WAR   AT   THE   HUTT. 


93 


slabs  were  chiefly  pukatea,  a  light  but  tough  and  strong  wood  ; 
totara  and  kahikatea  pine  were  mostly  used  for  the  block- 
houses. The  cost  of  the  construction  of  the  fort  was  set  down 
at  £124  ;  this  was  exclusive  of  the  value  of  the  timber,  which 
was  given  free  by  Captain  Compton,  and  voluntary  labour  by 
settlers  estimated  at  a  value  of  £54  los.  The  stockade  was 
completed  in  April,  1845,  and  the  Militia  company  of  the  Hutt 
occupied  it  until  a  redcoat  garrison,  a  detachment  of  the  58th 
Regiment,  marched  in  on  the  24th  April. 

That  little  fort  in  the  forest-clearing,  guarding  the  Hutt 
bridge-head,  and  embodying  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  peril 
that  entered  into  the  life  of  frontier  settlement,  was  in  essentials 
a  replica  of  the  border  posts  in  the  American  Indian  country. 
It  was  the  first  of  scores  of  stockades  and  blockhouses  on  the 


From  a  drawing  by  W.  Swainson.] 

FORT  RICHMOND  AND  THE  HUTT  BRIDGE  (1847). 

Maori  border-line  throughout  this  North  Island,  the  advanced 
settler's  refuge  and  protection,  many  of  them  garrisoned  until  the 
early  "  eighties."  The  sketches  and  descriptions  that  remain  of 
Fort  Richmond,  and  many  a  post  of  military  settlers  or  Armed 
Constabulary  in  the  later  wars,  recall  like  scenes  in  the  Ameri- 
can woods  pictured  for  us  in  Whittier's  poem,  "  The  Truce  of 
Piscataqua  "  : — 

Once  more  the  forest,  dusk  and  dread, 
With  here  and  there  a  clearing  cut 
From  the  walled  shadows  round  it  shut ; 
Each  with  its  farmhouse  builded  rude, 
By  English  yeomen  squared  and  hewed, 
And  the  grim  flankered  blockhouse  bound 
With  bristling  palisades  around. 


94  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Not  only  the  New  England  and  Kentucky  stockades  but  the 
forts  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  scattered  over  the  northern 
continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  Vancouver,  were  in  design  the 
prototypes  of  our  New  Zealand  stockades.  Their  walls  were  built 
of  slabs  and  solid  tree-trunks,  as  high  as  20  feet,  with  bastioned 
angles  for  enfilading-fire.  Fort  Douglas,  which  stood  on  the  Red 
River  a  hundred  years  ago,  an  illustration  of  which  is  given  in 
Bryce's  work  on  the  history  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  was 
very  similar  to  Fort  Richmond.  It  had  a  close-set  palisade  of  slabs 
and  tree-trunks  facing  the  river  ;  at  the  corners  were  tower-like 
timber  flanking  bastions. 

The  Karori  settlers  followed  the  example  of  those  at  the  Hutt 
in  the  construction  of  a  small  fortified  post,  in  order  to  guard 
against  an  attack  from  Ohariu.  This  place  of  defence,  built  in 
May  and  June,  1846,  was  surrounded  by  a  ditch,  and  the  site 
chosen  for  it  was  on  rising  ground  in  the  oldest  settled  part  of 
Karori,  a  clearing  walled  in  by  a  dense  and  lofty  forest,  600  feet 
above  sea-level.  It  was  built  exactly  on  the  crown  of  the  gentle 
rise  of  ground  in  Karori  Township,  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the 
deep  cutting  in  Lancaster  Street  as  one  walks  up  from  the  main 
road,  and  only  a  few  yards  from  the  electric-car  line.  This  was 
the  most  central  and  commanding  spot  in  the  Karori  clearings 
of  1846  ;  the  ground  about  it  was  still  encumbered  with  half- 
burned  logs  and  stumps.  The  forest  had  been  felled  for  about 
100  yards  from  the  stockade  on  the  south  and  west  sides,  but 
there  was  standing  timber  in  the  little  valley  alongside  which 
the  main  road  runs  to-day.  The  stockade  was  small,  measuring 
about  28  or  30  feet  in  length  by  20  feet  in  width  ;  its  greatest 
axis  ran  about  north-east  and  south-west.  Around  it  was  dug 
a  trench,  3  feet  in  width  and  4  feet  in  depth  ;  this  ditch 
filled  with  water  in  the  winter  soon  after  it  was  excavated.  The 
stockade  was  constructed  of  heavy  timbers,  chiefly  rimu  (red- 
pine)  and  miro.  The  logs  were  split,  squared  up  with  the  axe, 
and  roughly  trimmed  into  points  at  the  top  ;  these  timbers 
measured  6  or  7  inches  in  thickness,  and  when  firmly  sunk 
in  the  ground  close  alongside  each  other  formed  a  solid  wall 
10  feet  high.  Loopholes  for  musket-fire  were  made  by  cutting 
away  with  saw  and  tomahawk  a  piece  in  the  sides  of  a  number 
of  the  timbers  before  they  were  set  in  the  ground  ;  the  apertures 
so  formed  were  shoulder-height  from  the  ground,  between  2  and 
3  feet  apart,  and  measured  about  5  inches  in  length  vertically 
by  3  inches  in  width.  Between  the  foot  of  the  stockade  and  the 
surrounding  small  trench  there  was  a  space  of  3  to  4  feet  ;  the 
earth  from  the  trench  was  packed  firmly  against  the  base  of  the 
timbers.  The  space  thus  left  enabled  the  sentries  on  duty  at 
night  to  walk  around  the  post  between  trench  and  wall.  The 
doorway  in  the  stockade  faced  the  south  ;  the  door  was  of  thick 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT   AND   THE   WAR   AT   THE   HUTT. 


95 


slabs,  and  for  want  of  iron  hinges  it  was  pivoted  on  timber 
sockets,  after  the  manner  still  seen  in  some  remote  settlements. 
Within  the  stockade  the  settlers  built  a  small  house  of  sawn 
rimu,  roofed  with  kahikatea  shingles  ;  this  house  measured  about 
16  feet  by  12  feet,  and  was  divided  into  two  rooms.  One  of 
these  rooms  was  for  the  men  of  the  Militia  garrison,  and  the 
other  for  the  women  and  children  of  the  settlement  in  the  event 


From  an  oil-painting  by  C.  D.  Barraud.] 

AN  EARLY  COLONIAL  HOME. 

Judge  H.  S.  Chapman's  residence,  "  Homewood,"  Karori,  Wellington, 
in  1849.  The  site  of  this  pioneer  dwelling,  in  the  rata  and  rimu  forest,  is 
now  the  heart  of  the  suburban  Township  of  Karori.  The  Hon.  F.  R. 
Chapman,  son  of  the  first  Judge  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  Zealand, 
was  born  in  "Homewood."  The  place  was  temporarily  abandoned  during 
the  war  of  1846. 

of  a  Maori  attack.  In  one  corner  was  a  fireplace  with  chimney  of 
clay.  The  floor  was  the  bare  earth.  There  was  a  clear  space  of 
10  feet  all  round  between  this  house  and  the  stockade-wall.* 


*  This  description  of  the  Karori  stockade  is  the  first,  yet  published. 
The  details  were  given  chiefly  by  Mr.  George  Shotter.  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  at  Karori  (died  1920). 


g6  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

The  Karori  Militiamen  who  built  the  stockade,  assisted  by  a 
party  of  bluejackets  from  H.M.S.  "  Calliope  "  and  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  armed  police  from  Wellington  under  Mr.  A.  C.  Strode, 
numbered  thirty  or  forty  small  farmers,  sawyers,  and  bullock- 
team  drivers.  The  post  was  designed  chiefly  as  a  protection 
against  possible  attack  from  the  natives  at  Ohariu  Bay  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Makara  Stream,  and  in  the  nights  of  alarm  a  good 
lookout  was  kept  in  that  direction.  Some  of  the  settlers  worked 
on  their  holdings  with  cartridge-belts  over  their  shoulders  and  a 
"  Brown  Bess  "  lying  close  by.  However,  most  of  the  Ohariu 
Maoris  left  by  canoe  for  Porirua  and  places  higher  up  the  coast. 
There  was  greater  danger  from  kokiris,  or  small  raiding-parties,  of 
Rangihaeata's  force.  The  armed  settlers  formed  sections  each  of 
eight  or  nine  men  for  garrison  duty,  and  these  detachments  in 
turn  occupied  the  stockade-house  at  night.  The  Militia  mustered 
for  drill  three  times  a  week — two  hours'  drill  on  each  muster-day. 

On  a  commanding  position  on  the  Wellington- Porirua  Road  a 
stockade  was  built  on  Mr.  Johnson's  land,  Section  11/181,  now 
the  heart  of  the  Township  of  Johnsonville.  The  stockade  was  a 
structure  of  thick  slabs,  with  slits  for  musket-fire.  There  was  a 
small  loft,  to  which  access  was  given  by  a  ladder. 

On  Sunday,  the  2Oth  April,  1845,  a  report  reached  Wellington 
that  a  strong  body  of  natives  "  all  painted  and  feathered  "  had 
descended  on  the  Lower  Hutt  Valley,  and  had  given  notice  of 
their  intention  to  attack  the  whites'  stockaded  pa  next  day. 
Major  Richmond  ordered  fifty  men  of  the  58th  Regiment  to  the 
Hutt.  The  quickest  means  of  reaching  the  scene  of  trouble  was 
by  water.  The  brig  "Bee"  was  lying  at  anchor  off  the  town 
ready  for  sea,  and  the  soldiers  were  boated  aboard  her.  Making 
sail  for  Pito-one,  the  brig  landed  her  troops  on  the  beach.  At 
3  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  2ist  the  detachment  marched  into 
the  stockade,  relieving  the  little  garrison  of  Militia  and  forestalling 
the  native  plan.  A  few  days  later  two  i8-pounder  guns  belonging 
to  the  New  Zealand  Company  were  sent  out  from  town  and 
mounted  on  the  bastion  blockhouses. 

During  1845  two  companies  of  Regulars  had  been  stationed  in 
Wellington.  As  soon  as  it  was  possible  to  withdraw  troops  from 
the  Bay  of  Islands  preparations  were  made  for  a  transfer  of  the 
military  forces  to  Wellington,  and  on  the  3rd  February,  1846,  a 
body  of  nearly  six  hundred  men  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Hulme  em- 
barked at  Auckland  for  the  south.  The  fleet  which  transported 
them  consisted  of  the  British  frigates  "  Castor  "  and  "  Calliope," 
the  war-steamer  "Driver"  —which  had  just  arrived  from  the 
China  Station — the  Government  brig  "  Victoria,"  and  the  barque 
"  Slains  Castle."  Inclusive  of  a  detachment  of  the  ggth  Regi- 
ment, lately  arrived  from  Sydney  in  the  barque  "  Lloyds,"  the 
following  was  the  detail  of  the  force  :  58th  Regiment— one  field 


WELLINGTON    SETTLEMENT   AND   THE   WAR   AT   THE    HUTT.         97 


III 


II 


tn    Ol  <+-i 

<r>  rt  o 


3*J 

O    O  ^ 


ujo  r\   f-H 

.Sao 


4— N.Z.  Wars. 


C)g  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

officer,  two  captains,  four  subalterns,  and  202  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates  ;  99th  Regiment  —  one  field  officer,  two 
captains,  six  subalterns,  and  250  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates ;  96th  Regiment  —  one  captain,  four  subalterns,  and 
seventy-three  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  ;  also  a 
detachment  of  Royal  Artillery. 

The  excitement  created  by  the  opportune  arrival  of  so  large  a 
body  of  British  soldiers,  bringing  the  total  force  of  redcoats  in 
Wellington  up  to  nearly  eight  hundred  men,  was  heightened  by 
the  novel  spectacle  of  a  steam- vessel.  H.M.S.  "  Driver  "  was  the 
first  steamship  to  visit  the  port  ;  she  was  a  wonderful  craft  to 
many  a  colonist,  and  amazing  to  the  Maoris,  who  congregated  to 
watch  the  strange  pakeha  ship,  driven  by  fires  in  her  interior, 
moving  easily  and  rapidly  against  wind  and  tide.  The  "  Driver  " 
was  a  paddle-steamer  of  1,058  tons,  with  engines  of  280  horse- 
power ;  she  was  rigged  as  a  brig.  She  was  armed  with  six  guns. 
Her  crew,  under  Commander  C.  O.  Hayes,  numbered  175  officers 
and  men.  The  vessel  had  recently  been  engaged  in  the  sup- 
pression of  piracy  in  the  East  Indies.  Her  figurehead  attracted 
much  attention  :  it  represented  an  old-time  English  mail-coach 
driver  with  many-caped  greatcoat  and  whip. 

On  the  27th  February  some  of  the  troops  marched  to  the 
principal  village  occupied  by  the  Maoris  on  the  Hutt  banks  and 
destroyed  it.  The  natives  had  abandoned  their  homes  on  the 
advance  of  the  soldiers,  and  were  camped  in  the  forest  above 
Makahi-nuku.  The  Governor  sent  a  missionary,  the  Rev.  Richard 
Taylor,  as  a  messenger  to  the  Ngati-Tama  and  Ngati-Rangatahi, 
promising  that  if  they  left  the  place  peaceably  he  would  see  they 
were  given  compensation  for  their  crops.  The  destruction  of  the 
village  appears  to  have  been  rather  hasty,  for  Kapara-te-Hau,  the 
principal  chief,  had  agreed  to  the  terms,  and  promised  to  leave 
the  following  day. 

In  retaliation  for  the  destruction  of  their  villages  and  cultiva- 
tions on  the  banks  of  the  Hutt  the  Maoris  on  the  ist  and  3rd 
March,  easily  eluding  the  troops  who  were  in  camp,  carried  out 
systematic  raids  of  plunder  and  destruction  on  the  farms  of  the 
white  settlers.  Dividing  into  small  armed  parties  and  moving 
with  rapidity  and  secrecy  upon  the  Hutt  and  the  Waiwhetu,  they 
visited  each  home  separately,  stripped  the  unfortunate  people  of 
all  their  property  but  the  clothes  they  were  wearing,  destroyed 
furniture,  smashed  windows,  killed  pigs,  and  threatened  the  settlers 
with  death  if  they  gave  the  alarm.  They  took  away  such  goods 
as  they  could  carry,  and  destroyed  the  rest,  but  did  not  burn 
the  houses.  Little  bands  of  distressed  settlers  and  their  families, 
robbed  of  nearly  all  they  had  in  the  world,  and  temporarily 
without  means  of  livelihood,  trudged  into  Wellington.  By  order 
of  Governor  Grey  the  plundered  people  were  supplied  with  rations. 


WELLINGTON   SETTLEMENT   AND  THE  WAR   AT  THE   HUTT.        99 

The  numbers  of  persons  to  whom  rations  were  served  out  on 
the  5th  March  were :  Adults,  79 ;  children,  140 ;  infants,  17 : 
total,  236. 

The  troops  remained  inactive  on  the  day  of  the  principal  raid 
(ist  March),  greatly  to  the  indignation  of  the  civilians.  Then  it 
became  known  that  the  Governor  was  undecided  whether  or  not 
to  proceed  with  hostile  measures  against  the  natives.  He  had  been 
advised  by  the  Crown  law  authority  that  he  was  acting  illegally 
in  evicting  the  Maoris,  inasmuch  as  the  grants  issued  by  Governor 
Fitzroy  after  the  purchase  of  the  valley  had  excepted  all  native 
cultivations  and  homes.  The  legal  adviser,  further,  was  of  the 
opinion  that  the  natives  were  justified  in  resisting  such  eviction 
by  force  of  arms. 

Captain  Grey,  however,  was  not  long  influenced  by  this  opinion. 
He  quickly  made  up  his  mind  to  protect  the  settlers  at  all  hazards, 
and  on  the  3rd  March  he  issued  a  Proclamation  declaring  the  esta- 
blishment of  martial  law  in  the  Wellington  District,  bounded  on 
the  north  by  a  line  drawn  from  Wainui  (near  Pae-kakariki)  on  the 
west  coast  to  Castle  Point  on  the  east. 

The  first  shots  in  the  campaign  were  fired  on  the  morning  of 
Tuesday,  the  3rd  March,  1846.  A  party  of  natives  under  cover 
of  the  bush  and  felled  trees  fired  on  Captain  Eyton's  company  of 
the  96th,  who  were  stationed  some  distance  in  advance  of  the  camp 
at  Boulcott's  Farm,  two  miles  above  Fort  Richmond.  Several 
volleys  were  fired  into  the  camp.  The  fire  was  returned  effectively, 
and  the  Maoris  were  obliged  to  retreat.  When  the  news  of  the 
definite  outbreak  of  war  reached  the  Governor  in  Wellington  he 
ordered  H.M.S.  "  Driver  "  to  weigh  anchor  and  steam  to  Pito-one 
with  troops.  The  soldiers  embarked  were  Captain  Russell's  com- 
pany of  the  58th,  twenty  men  of  the  99th,  and  thirty  of  the  96th, 
under  Lieutenant  Barclay.  A  party  of  men  of  the  three  regiments 
was  also  despatched  to  the  Hutt. 

On  the  2nd  April  a  Lower  Hutt  settler  named  Andrew  Gillespie 
and  his  young  son  Andrew  were  attacked  and  so  terribly  toma- 
hawked that  they  both  died.  Gillespie  was  the  first  settler  placed 
in  possession  of  the  land  at  the  Hutt  from  which  the  natives  had 
been  evicted  in  the  previous  month.  Te  Pau,  of  Ngati-Rangatahi, 
was  the  leader  of  the  raiding-party.  The  Gillespie  tragedy  stirred 
Governor  Grey  to  speedy  action.  A  police  party  set  out  for 
Porirua,  as  the  result  of  a  message  received  by  the  Rev.  O.  Hadfield 
from  Rauparaha,  who  gave  a  hint  that  the  slayers  might  be  found 
in  his  district.  Then,  for  the  first  time,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
hostile  hapus  had  built  a  stockaded  and  entrenched  stronghold  at 
the  head  of  the  Paua-taha-nui  arm  of  the  Porirua  Harbour,  five 
miles  from  the  open  sea.  Porirua,  the  Governor  perceived,  was 
practically  the  key  of  the  west  coast  ;  a  military  station  there 
would  keep  communications  open,  and  would  also  directly  menace 


IOQ  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Rangihaeata  and  his  insurgents,  and  strike  at  the  rear  of  any 
force  attacking  the  Hutt.  A  bcdy  of  250  men  of  the  58th  and  99th 
Regiments,  under  Major  Last,  embarked  in  the  warships  "  Driver  " 
and  "  Calliope  "  and  the  barque  "  Slains  Castle  "  ;  on  the  9th 
April  the  three  vessels  sailed  up  the  coast  to  Porirua,  where  the 
troops  were  landed.  The  force  encamped  on  the  low  sandy  point 
near  Toms'  whaling-station,  just  within  the  mouth  of  the  harbour, 
and  presently  their  tents  gave  place  to  a  barracks  of  stone, 
surrounded  by  a  stockade.  At  the  same  time  the  Governor 
took  measures  for  the  construction  of  a  good  road  from  Wel- 
lington to  Porirua  by  the  military,  under  Captain  Russell  (58th 
Regiment).*  Another  useful  step  was  the  formation  of  an  armed 
police  force  of  fifty  men,  under  the  command  of  Major  Durie 
as  inspector,  with  Mr.  Chetham  Strode  sub-inspector.  The  police 
company  was  divided  into  four  sections,  each  consisting  of  ten 
whites  and  one  Maori,  under  a  sergeant  ;  small  detachments  were 
stationed  at  the  outposts  at  the  Hutt,  Porirua,  and  Ohariu.  At 
the  end  of  April  H.M.S.  "  Calliope  "  was  despatched  to  Porirua, 
and  then  began  a  boat  patrol  of  the  shallow  inner  waters,  which 
the  warship  could  not  enter. 

*  Mr.  Kilminster,  of  Karori  Road,  Wellington,  who  arrived  from  London 
in  the  ship  "  Lady  Nugent  "  in  1841  and  landed  at  Pipitea,  gives  the 
following  information  (1020)  regarding  the  military  stockades  which  in 
1846  protected  the  Wellington  Porirua  Road  : — 

"  Whe,n  I  was  a  boy  I  frequently  went  out  along  the  Porirua  Road 
with  my  father,  who  was  engaged  in  transport  work  for  the  troops,  and  I 
remember  the  old  stockaded  posts  very  well.  First  of  all,  as  one  went  out 
from  Wellington  there  was  a  small  outpost  at  Khandallah,  not  fortified  ; 
this  was  popularly  known  as  '  Mount  Misery,'  and  officially  as  '  Sentry-box 
Hill/  now  abbreviated  to  '  Box  Hill/  The  present  road  over  Box  Hill, 
Khandallah,  passing  close  to  the  little  church,  goes  almost  exactly  over 
the  spot  where  the  outpost  was  quartered.  This  was  a  kind  of  midway 
lookout  place  between  Wellington  and  Johnsonville,  and  was  garrisoned 
by  a  few  men  from  Johnsonville.  At  Johnsonville — then  known  as  '  John- 
son's Clearing  '—there  was  a  stockade,  strongly  built  of  roughly  squared 
timbers.  Then  there  were  stockades  at  intervals  down  to  Porirua  Harbour 
— Middleton's,  Leigh's,  and  Elliott's.  Leigh's  stockade  stood  on  Tawa  Flat. 
Fort  Elliott  stood  near  the  head  of  the  harbour.  From  Porirua  there  was  a 
ferry  service  in  large  boats  down  the  harbour  to  Fort  Paremata.  These 
places  of  defence  along  the  road  between  Johnson's  and  Porirua  were  built 
in  this  way  :  A  trench  was  dug,  and  large  split  trees  and  small  whole  trees 
were  set  in  close  together,  and  the  earth  firmly  filled  in  round  them  ;  this 
palisade  was  loopholed  for  musket-fire." 


CHAPTER   XI. 


? 


THE  FIGHT  AT  BOULCOTT'S  FARM. 

Two  miles  above  the  stockade  at  the  Hutt  Bridge  a  pioneer 
settler,  Mr.  Boulcott,  had  hewn  a  home  out  of  the  forest.  His 
clearing  bordered  the  left  bank  of  the  river  ;  most  of  it  was  in 
grass  ;  the  rough  edges  of  the  farm  were  cumbered  with  half- 
burned  logs  and  stumps,  and  on  three  sides  was  heavy  timber  ; 
the  fourth  side  faced  the  river  and  the  fringing  thickets  on  the 
other  bank  ;  beyond  were  the  wooded  steep  hills  that  hemmed 
in  the  Hutt  Valley  on  the  west.  A  rough  and  narrow  bush  road, 
corduroyed  "  with  fern-tree  trunks  in  the  marshy  portions, 
wound  through  the  forest  from  the  bridge  at  the  fort  ;  it  was 
little  more  than  a  track,  and  in  many  places  the  branches  of  the 
rim  u  and  rata  met  overhead  and  kept  the  road  in  dampness  and 
shadow.  Here  and  there  were  settlers'  clearings,  with  houses  of 
sawn  timber  and  shingled  roofs,  or  of  slabs  and  nikau  palm  or 
raupo  reed  thatch  ;  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes  were  grown 
in  these  oases  in  the  desert  of  bush.  Where  rows  of  shops,  cottages, 
and  bungalows,  with  beautiful  orchards  and  gardens,  cover  the 
floor  of  the  Hutt  Valley  to-day,  there  were  but  these  roughly 
trimmed  forest  homes. 

The  most  advanced  post  of  the  Regular  troops  in  May,  1846, 
was  on  BoulcotVs  Farm,  where  fifty  men  of  the  58th  Regiment 
were  stationed  under  Lieutenant  G.  H.  Page.  Some  little  distance 
higher  up  the  valley,  at  the  Taita,  an  outpost  was  established  near 
Mr.  Mason's  section,  where  a  small  detachment  of  the  Hutt  Militia 
was  stationed.  Half  the  force  of  soldiers  at  Boulcott 's  were 
quartered  in  a  large  barn,  around  which  a  stockade  of  slabs  and 
small  logs  had  been  erected  and  loopholed  for  musket-fire.  The 
rest  of  the  troops  were  accommodated  in  small  slab  outhouses  near 
the  barn  and  in  tents.  Lieutenant  Page  and  his  soldier  servant 
occupied  Mr.  Boulcott's  cottage  ;  the  owner  of  the  place  and  his 
two  men  servants  used  a  small  house  adjoining.  It  was  upon 
this  post  that  the  Maoris,  under  Rangihaeata's  orders,  and  led  by 
Topine  te  Mamaku  (otherwise  Te  Karamu),  of  the  Ngati-Haua-te- 
Rangi,  Upper  Wanganui,  made  a  desperate  assault  at  daybreak 
on  the  morning  of  the  i6th  May,  1846. 


102  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

During  the  week  preceding  this  attack  a  general  opinion  was 
entertained  at  the  Hutt  that  some  sudden  movement  was  con- 
templated by  Rangihaeata.  A  naval  reconnoitring-party  had  been 
fired  upon  by  the  hostiles  at  Paua-taha-nui,  and  the  failure  of  the 
authorities  to  retaliate  had,  as  it  proved,  emboldened  Rangihaeata 
and  his  fellow-warriors  to  launch  one  of  those  lightning  blows  in 
which  the  Maori  bush  fighter  delighted.  Te  Puni's  warning  and 
offers  of  help  were  disregarded,  and  even  a  word  of  caution  from 
Rauparaha  did  not  seem  to  stir  the  Superintendent  from  his 
indifference.  The  Governor  was  now  absent  at  Auckland  (the 
troublesome  Taringa-Kuri  had  gone  with  him  in  the  "Driver"). 
Rauparaha,  in  a  letter  received  in  Wellington  some  days  before 
the  attack,  stated  that  when  Major  Richmond  and  Major  Last 
were  at  Porirua  during  the  previous  week  he  said  to  them,  in 
bidding  them  to  be  on  their  guard  against  a  sudden  attack,  "  Kei 
Heretaunga  te  huaki  ai  ;  kia  mohio  ;  huihuia  atu  nga  pakeha  " 
("  At  Heretaunga  the  assault  will  be  made.  Be  wary  ;  concen- 
trate the  white  men  ").  As  if  that  were  not  enough,  a  chief  of 
the  Pipitea  pa,  Wellington,  called  on  Major  Richmond  on  Friday, 
the  1 5th  May  (the  day  before  the  attack),  to  warn  him  of 
the  danger  and  to  offer  the  assistance  of  his  people.  But  no 
extra  precautions  were  taken.  Maori  and  settler  alike  knew 
that  Rangihaeata  would  strike  ;  .  the  civil  and  military  heads 
alone  seemed  blind  or  indifferent.  For  economy's  sake  Major 
Richmond  disbanded  the  Militia  in  Wellington,  and  reduced  the 
company  at  the  Hutt  to  twenty-five  men  ;  this  was  a  few  days 
before  the  blow  fell.* 

The  fog  of  early  morning  enveloped  bush  and  clearing  that 
dawn  of  Saturday,  i6th  May  ;  a  white  band  of  denser  vapour 
coiling  down  the  valley  above  the  tree-tops  showed  the  course  of 
the  silent  river.  The  sentry  near  the  river-bank,  in  front  of  the 
inlying  picket's  tent,  shivered  with  the  chilly  touch  of  the  hour 
that  precedes  daybreak.  As  he  turned  to  pace  his  beat,  with 
musket  and  fixed  bayonet  at  the  slope,  his  glance  fell  upon  some 
low  bushes  seen  obscurely  through  the  curling  mist  a  few  yards  to 
his  front.  They  seemed  nearer,  he  thought,  than  they  had  been 
a  few  moments  before.  Next  instant  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  a 

*  The  Hon.  Dr.  Pomare,  M.P.,  narrates  an  incident  illustrative  of  the 
insurgents'  strategy.  His  informant  was  old  Tungia,  of  Ngati-Toa.  A  day 
or  two  before  the  attack  on  Boulcott's  Farm  either  Rangihaeata  or  Te  Mamaku 
sent  a  scout  up  to  the  Tinakori  Range,  near  the  present  wireless  station. 
Here  the  man  lit  a  large  fire,  and  he  employed  the  earlier  part  of  the  night 
in  walking  round  and  round  this  fire  with  the  idea  of  giving  any  watchers 
below  the  impression  that  a  large  force  of  warriors  was  gathered  there  to 
descend  on  Wellington,  and  so  diverting  attention  from  the  Hutt.  A  con- 
siderable part  of  the  British  force  at  the  Hutt  was  presently  ordered  into 
the  town,  and  was  in  Thorndon  barracks  when  Te  Mamaku  descended  on  the 
post  at  Boulcott's. 


I 


THE    FIGHT    AT    BOULCOTT'S    FARM.  IO3 


shaggy  head  and  a  gun-barrel  above  one  of  those  bushes.  The 
Maoris  were  creeping  up  on  the  camp,  with  bushes  and  branches 
of  scrub  held  before  them  as  screens.  "  Maoris  \"  he  yelled  as 
he  levelled  his  "  Brown  Bess  "  and  fired,  then  snatched  another 
cartridge  from  his  pouch  and  ran  to  the  picket  tent,  trying  to 
reload  as  he  ran,  but  was  overtaken  and  tomahawked. 

A  volley  was  delivered  from  fifty  Maori  guns.  The  Maoris 
fired  low,  to  rake  the  floor  of  the  tents.  A  second  volley  ;  another 
from  a  different  flank  ;  then  on  came  the  enemy  with  the  toma- 
hawk. Not  a  soldier  of  the  picket  escaped.  Those  who  were  not 
killed  by  the  volley  fell  to  the  short-handled  patiti.  In  and  about 
the  picket  tent  four  soldiers  lay  dead.  One  of  these  was  William 
Allen,  whose  name  will  be  remembered  so  long  as  the  story  of 
Boulcott's  Farm  is  told.  Allen  was  a  tall,  young  soldier;  he  was 
bugler  to  his  company.  When  the  sentry's  shot  was  heard  he 
leaped  up,  seized  his  bugle,  and,  running  outside  the  tent,  he  put 
the  bugle  to  his  lips  to  blow  the  alarm.  In  the  act  of  sounding 
the  call  he  was  attacked  by  a  Maori,  who  tomahawked  him  in  the 
right  shoulder,  nearly  severing  his  arm,  and  felled  him  to  the 
ground.  Struggling  to  rise,  the  brave  lad  seized  the  bugle  with 
his  left  hand  and  again  attempted  to  warn  his  comrades,  but  a 
second  blow  with  the  tomahawk,  this  time  in  the  head,  killed 
him.  The  bugler's  call  was  not  needed,  however,  for  the  whole 
camp  had  been  awakened  by  the  sentry's  shot  and  the  answering 
volleys. 

The  garrison  of  Boulcott's,  now  reduced  to  forty-four  or 
forty-five  men,  was  confronted  by  quite  two  hundred  warriors — 
Rangihaeata's  band  and  Te  Mamaku's  musketeers  from  the  Upper 
Wanganui.  Lieutenant  Page's  house  was  surrounded  by  the 
Maoris  in  a  very  few  moments  after  the  destruction  of  the  picket. 
Page,  on  the  first  alarm,  had  snatched  up  his  sword  and  loaded 
pistol,  and  rushed  out  with  two  men,  but  was  confronted  by  scores 
of  the  natives.  Driven  back  into  the  cottage,  the  three  sallied  out 
again,  and,  joined  by  several  soldiers  from  one  of  the  sheds,  they 
fought  their  way  to  the  barn,  firing  at  close  quarters  at  their  foes, 
who  attempted  to  charge  in  upon  them  with  the  tomahawk. 
The  party  of  men  in  the  barn,  three  sections,  each  under  a  sergeant, 
fought  their  post  well  and  successfully,  taking  turns  in  firing 
through  the  light  stockade  and  in  returning  to  the  shelter  of  the 
building  to  reload. 

The  Maoris  evidently  had  calculated  on  completely  surprising 
the  troops  ;  but  what  they  did  not  accurately  estimate  was  the 
steadiness  of  disciplined  Regular  troops.  Lieutenant  Page,  having 
hacked  and  shot  his  way  to  the  stockade,  assembled  his  men,  and, 
leaving  a  small  party  to  hold  the  fort,  came  out  into  the  open 
again  and  boldly  attacked  his  antagonists.  Extending  the  men 
in  skirmishing  order,  with  fixed  bayonets,  he  advanced.  In  the 


104 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


m 


a;     o 

r:     W 


••3    H 

CH    j_> 
P  MH 

le 


I 


ped 


a 

!i 

£  2 

rt  ^ 

o 
<u 


"8 


THE    FIGHT   AT   BOULCOTT'S    FARM.  IO5 

height  of  the  engagement  a  party  of  seven  of  the  Hutt  Militia, 
who  had  been  disbanded  on  the  previous  Monday,  but  who  fortu- 
nately retained  their  arms,  came  gallantly  to  the  assistance  of  the 
hard-pressed  troops,  and  fought  side  by  side  with  the  redcoats. 
Their  arrival  was  the  turning-point  in  the  fight.  The  rebels, 
seeing  these  Militia  men  dash  into  the  battle,  began  to  retire,  and 
at  last  were  driven  across  the  Hutt,  after  an  engagement  lasting 
about  an  hour  and  a  half.  The  Maoris  formed  up  on  the  west 
side  and  danced  a  war-dance.  Page  estimated  their  numbers  at 
about  two  hundred. 

A  little  later  that  morning  John  Cudby,  then  a  youth  of  seven- 
teen, who  was  engaged  in  carting  commissariat  from  Wellington  to 
the  troops  at  Boulcott's  Farm  (for  Mr.  W.  B.  Rhodes,  the  con- 
tractor for  supplying  rations),  harnessed  up  in  the  yard  of  the 
"  Aglionby  Arms,"  Burcham's  Hotel,  near  the  bridge  stockade,  and 
drove  out  into  the  bush  for  the  front,  unaware  of  the  fight  which 
had  just  been  waged  a  short  two  miles  away.  In  this  duty  it 
was  the  practice  of  Cudby  and  the  other  carters  to  bring  out  their 
loads  along  the  beach  road  as  far  as  Burcham's  in  the  afternoon, 
stay  there  that  night,  and  go  on  to  Boulcott's  Farm  or  the  Taita 
in  the  morning.  Cudby  had  previously  had  the  protection  of  an 
escort  of  fifteen  men  under  a  non-commissioned  officer,  but,  to  use 
his  own  words,  "  the  poor  fellows  at  the  stockade  were  wrorked  to 
death,  and  so  I  said  I'd  do  without  them  in  the  future/'  His  sole 
companion  henceforth  was  a  clerk,  the  military  issuer.  A  double- 
barrel  gun  loaded  with  slugs  was  carried  in  the  cart,  but  it  never 
became  necessary  to  use  it.  (This  gun  was  the  means  of  depriving 
Cudby  of  his  left  arm  a  few  months  later  in  Wellington  ;  one  of 
the  barrels  accidentally  exploded,  the  charge  shattering  the  lad's 
hand  and  necessitating  amputation  of  the  arm  at  the  elbow.)  The 
carter  and  his  companion  were  in  the  middle  of  the  bush,  jolting 
over  the  boggy  "  corduroy  "  patches  of  road,  when  they  were  met 
by  two  men  in  a  cart  driving  furiously  from  the  camp.  One  of 
them  shouted  :  "Go  back,  boy,  go  back !  The  Maoris  have 
attacked  the  camp  !" 

But  Cudby  did  not  turn  his  team.  "  I  dursen't  go  back,"  he 
cried  in  his  broad  English  dialect,  "  I  dursen't  go  back  ;  I've 
got  the  rations  to  deliver." 

The  two  carters  whipped  up  their  horse  and  hurried  on  toward 
Fort  Richmond,  while  Cudby,  in  fear  every  moment  of  receiving  a 
volley  from  ambush  in  the  dark  timber  that  almost  overhung  him, 
but  resolved  to  fulfil  his  duty,  drove  on  to  Boulcott's.  When  he 
arrived  at  the  camp  he  saw  laid  out  in  the  barn  six  dead  bodies, 
the  soldiers  who  had  fallen  ;  one  of  them  was  Bugler  Allen,  whom 
he  knew.  It  was  Cudby  wrho,  later  in  the  day,  took  the  bodies 
in  his  cart  to  a  spot  on  the  river-bank  where  they  were  temporarily 
buried — a  place  since  washed  away  by  floods. 


IO6  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Meanwhile  bodies  of  troops  despatched  by  Major  Last — who  had 
been  informed  of  the  attack  by  messenger  from  the  front — were 
on  the  march  out  from  Thorndon  barracks  and  the  Hutt  stockade 
to  reinforce  the  camp.  These  troops  reinforcing  Page  drove  the 
Maoris  into  the  bush  and  silenced  them. 

Six  whites  lay  dead,  and  four  were  severely  wounded.  Two 
of  the  wounded,  Sergeant  E.  Ingram  and  a  civilian  named 
Thomas  Hoseman,  an  employee  of  Mr.  Boulcott,  died  some  days 
later.  The  losses  of  the  Maoris  were  not  accurately  known,  for 
all  who  fell  were  carried  off,  but  two  were  seen  shot  dead,  and  ten 
or  more  were  wounded,  some  of  them  severely. 

Now  the  authorities,  civil  and  military,  were  compelled  by 
the  pressure  of  public  opinion  to  accept  Te  Puni's  generous  offer 
to  arm  his  Ngati-Awa  men  for  the  campaign.  A  hundred  stand 
of  arms  were  supplied  to  the  hapus  at  Pito-one,  and  the  men 
at  the  town  pas  were  also  given  muskets.  Mr.  David  Scott,  a 
colonist  who  understood  the  Maoris  and  their  ways,  was  appointed 
to  act  as  the  European  staff  officer  of  the  native  contingent, 
co-operating  with  the  chiefs  Te  Puni,  Wi  Tako  Ngatata,  and 
other  tribal  heads.  The  quality  of  the  arms  supplied  the  natives 
for  their  guerilla  work  was  poor  —  so  poor  that  many  of  the 
guns  were  unfit  for  use,  and  the  ammunition  had  become  wet 
and  unserviceable.  These  friendly  Maoris,  however,  made  no 
delay  in  taking  the  field.  Their  total  numbers  were  about  two 
hundred  and  fifty  ;  most  of  these  assembled  at  Pito-one  two  or 
three  days  after  the  fight,  and  then  marched  out  to  a  position 
between  Fort  Richmond  and  Boulcott 's,  where  they  built  a 
temporary  kainga. 

The  olden  battle-ground  is  now  the  golfers'  links.  Boulcott 's 
homestead  of  1846  (Section  46/111)  was  close  to  the  spot  where 
the  Lower  Hutt  Golf  Club's  house  now  stands.  The  frequent 
floods  and  the  repeated  changes  of  the  river's  course  have  con- 
siderably altered  the  original  contour  of  the  place,  and  the  actual 
site  of  the  stockade  has  been  transformed  to  a  gorse-covered 
waste  of  gravel. 

The  citizens  appealed  for  arms.  Muskets,  accoutrements,  and 
ammunition  were  served  out  to  a  large  number  of  men,  who  were 
sworn  in  as  Volunteers.  The  residents  of  Te  Aro.  formed  a 
Volunteer  Corps  a  hundred  and  fifty  strong,  under  Mr.  Edward 
Daniell  as  captain,  Mr.  Kenneth  Bethune  as  lieutenant,  and 
Mr.  G.  D.  Monteith  as  ensign.  Nightly  patrols  were  established  to 
guard  against  an  expected  at  ack  on  the  town,  and  strong  lines 
of  pickets  of  the  Regulars,  Volunteers,  and  Militia  encircled  the 
town  and  patrolled  the  outskirts.  Captain  Stanley  landed  seventy 
"  Calliope  "  sailors  to  assist  in  the  event  of  a  hostile  visit. 

On  the  I5th  June  the  Maoris  killed  with  the  tomahawk  another 
settler,  Richard  Rush,  near  the  present  Lower  Hutt  Railway-station. 


THE    FIGHT    AT    BOULCOTT'S    FARM.  IOy 

On  the  i6th  June  a  composite  force  marched  out  from  Boul- 
cott's  Farm  on  a  reconnaissance  towards  the  Taita  district  and  the 
stretch  of  the  Hutt  River  near  that  post.  The  object  of  Captain 
Reed,  in  command,  was  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  tracks  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Taita  and  the  fords  across  the  river, 
and  also  to  ascertain  the  position  of  the  Maoris,  who  were 
believed  to  be  in  the  vicinity.  The  force  consisted  of  about 
fifty  Regular  troops,  nine  of  the  Hutt  Militia,  and  fifteen  Ngati- 
Awa  Maoris.  The  main  body  of  the  Ngati-Awa,  under  Te  Puni, 
meanwhile  remained  in  their  camp  near  the  stockade.  The  track 
to  the  Taita  was  narrow  and  wet  ;  the  high  jungly  bush  was  on 
both  flanks.  When  within  about  half  a  mile  of  the  outpost  at 
the  Taita  (which  was  two  miles  from  Boulcott's  Farm)  the 
advance-guard  emerged  upon  a  new  clearing,  most  of  it  a  mass 
of  fallen  trees,  forming  perfect  cover  for  an  ambush.  As 
the  clearing  was  entered  one  of  the  Ngati-Awa  men  in  the 
advance  mounted  a  log  to  obtain  a  view  of  the  surrounding 
felled  timber  and  the  track  ahead.  Just  below  him  he  saw 
some  armed  natives  crouching.  Firing  his  musket  and  shouting 
an  alarm,  he  leaped  down  from  the  log  and  threw  himself  flat 
on  his  face  on  the  ground.  A  volley  followed  instantly,  delivered 
at  about  fifteen  paces  from  behind  the  logs  on  the  left  flank  of 
the  road.  The  Ngati-Awa  scouts  and  advance-guard,  from  cover 
on  the  same  side  of  the  track  as  the  enemy,  returned  the  fire  ; 
and  the  white  troops,  extending  in  skirmishing  order,  held  the 
cover  on  the  right  flank  of  the  road.  Presently  it  was  discovered 
that  they  were  being  outflanked,  and  a  retirement  was  found 
necessary.  The  column  fell  back  in  good  order  on  Boulcott's, 
carrying  several  wounded  men. 

Lieutenant  Herbert  was  wounded.  Half-way  to  the  stockade 
the  force  was  met  by  a  relieving  body  headed  by  the  subaltern 
in  charge  of  the  post  and  by  Te  Puni  with  a  hundred  men.  The 
senior  officer  directed  the  subaltern  to  form  an  advance-guard 
in  the  direction  of  Boulcott's,  and  the  stockade  was  reached  at 
dark.  The  combined  Ngati-Awa  force,  after  seeing  their  white 
comrades  into  camp  in  safety,  doubled  back  towards  the  scene 
of  the  action.  Some  of  the  enemy  had  gone  ;  the  others  were 
busying  themselves  in  digging  up  potatoes  from  one  end  of  the 
clearing — it  was  partly  for  this  purpose  that  they  had  crossed 
the  river  that  day.  Te  Puni  and  his  active  fellows  engaged  those 
still  on  the  ground,  and  the  skirmish  resulted  in  the  withdrawal 
of  the  rebels,  who  recrossed  the  river  near  the  Taita  and  took 
to  the  safety  of  the  bush  on  the  western  hills. 

In  the  meantime  the  Hutt  Militiamen  stationed  at  the  Taita 
post — a  small  blockhouse  surrounded  by  a  stockade — had  heard 
the  sound  of  the  battle  in  the  bush,  and  had  engaged  in  a  brisk 
little  skirmish  of  their  own.  Ensign  White  left  the  stockade 


IO8  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

with  a  sergeant  and  twelve  men,  and  advanced  in  the  direction  of 
the  firing.  The  little  party  of  Militia  came  under  fire  very  soon 
after  they  had  entered  the  bush.  They  replied  to  the  Maoris 
with  coolness  and  skill,  taking  cover  behind  trees  and  fallen 
timber,  and  continued  the  engagement  for  more  than  an  hour. 
At  last,  realizing  that  his  detachment  was  in  danger  of  being 
outflanked  and  surrounded  by  a  superior  force  of  the  enemy — 
many  of  whom  were  armed  with  double-barrel  guns — Mr.  White 
withdrew  to  the  stockade. 


NOTES. 

Mr.  Peter  Speedy,  of  Belmont,  Lower  Hutt,  who  was  born  in  Wellington 
in  1842,  informs  me  that  the  Belmont  Creek,  which  runs  out  through  his 
property,  was  an  old  war-track  of  the  Maoris  between  the  Heretaunga  and 
the  Porirua  districts.  The  trail  led  up  the  rocky  bed  of  the  creek  for  about 
half  a  mile  to  a  place  where  the  stream  forked  ;  thence  there  was  an  ascent 
up  a  steep  and  narrow  forested  spur.  The  natives  had  cleared  a  part  of  this 
ridge,  which  was  only  a  few  yards  wide,  and  when  Speedy  was  bushfelling 
there  many  years  after  the  war  he  found  the  remains  of  huts  which  had 
been  roofed  with  totara  bark,  also  stones  used  in  the  earth-ovens,  a  rusted 
bayonet,  a  musket-barrel,  and  other  relics  of  1846.  The  lofty  ridge  was  an 
excellent  position  for  defence,  and  it  had  evidently  been  used  as  a  temporary 
pa  in  the  war-days.  The  ground  falls  precipitously  away  for  several  hun- 
dreds of  feet  on  either  side  into  the  canon-like  valleys.  It  was  no  doubt 
by  this  route  that  the  war-party  descended  on  Boulcott's  Farm  in  May, 
1846  ;  and  it  was  this  track  also  that  the  Militia  and  friendly  natives  took 
in  the  march  to  Paua-taha-nui.  The  track  entered  the  gorge  very  close 
to  the  spot  where  the  Belmont  Railway-station  now  stands.  The  Maori 
name  of  the  range  in  rear  of  Belmont  is  Te  Raho-o-te-Kapowai. 

Another  Porirua  war-track  ascended  the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Hutt  about  a  mile  lower  down  the  valley,  not  far  from  the  present  railway- 
station  of  Melling  ;  it  trended  across  the  hills  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
peak  called  Pokai-mangumangu.  When  the  Hon.  Dr.  Mani  Pomare  was 
clearing  the  site  for  his  present  home  overlooking  the  Hutt  he  discovered 
the  remains  of  an  old  Maori  camp  on  a  wooded  terrace  commanding  a  wide 
view  over  the  valley.  The  track  was  up  the  adjacent  spur  near  Mr.  B.  M. 
Wilson's  house. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


OPERATIONS  AT  PORIRUA. 


To  the  relief  alike  of  Wellington  townsmen,  outlying  settlers, 
and  Ngati-Awa  friendlies,  Governor  Grey  returned  to  Port  Nichol- 
son from  Auckland  on  the  ist  July  in  H.M.S.  "  Driver,"  and 
immediately  infused  energy  into  the  lagging  campaign  against 
Te  Rangihaeata.  He  revisited  the  military  posts,  made  arrange- 
ments for  the  more  speedy  construction  of  the  Wellington -Porirua 
Road  and  the  road  up  the  Hutt  towards  the  Wairarapa,  and  had 
mutually  satisfactory  interviews  with  Te  Puni  and  his  leading 
chiefs.  On  the  I2th  July  the  "  Calliope  "  landed  at  Paremata 
Point  Major  Last  and  a  small  reinforcement  of  twenty  men  of  the 
58th  and  forty-two  of  the  QQth,  under  Lieutenants  Page  and  De 
Winton  and  Ensign  Blackburn.  The  frigate  also  took  to  Porirua 
a  boat  intended  to  be  used  as  a  gunboat  in  patrolling  the  inner 
shallow  waters  of  Porirua  and  the  Paua-taha-nui  arm.  The  little 
craft  was  the  longboat  of  the  barque  "  Tyne,"  which  had  been 
wrecked  on  the  Rimurapa  rocks  at  Sinclair  Head.  An  energetic 
midshipman,  of  the  "  Calliope/'  Mr.  H.  F.  McKillop,  soon  after- 
wards promoted  to  a.  lieutenancy,  was  given  charge  of  the  gun- 
boat, which  proved  highly  useful  in  the  task  of  reconnoitring  the 
upper  waters  and  in  occasional  skirmishes  with  Rangihaeata's  men. 
Mr.  McKillop  had  already  made  a  reconnaissance  of  Rangihaeata's 
position  in  a  light  four-oared  boat,  and  had  discovered  that  the 
rebel  pa,  although  apparently  not  formidable  in  construction,  was 
strategically  strong  in  situation,  being  at  the  extreme  head  of 
Paua-taha-nui  Inlet,  partly  surrounded  by  water,  swamp,  and 
bush,  and  difficult  of  approach  either  by  land  or  by  sea.  This 
expedition  (loth  May)  was  a  lively  morning's  adventure,  in  which 
McKillop  and  his  comrades  narrowly  escaped  being  cut  off. 

McKillop's  patrol  would  have  been  outmatched  in  a  contest 
with  the  war-canoes  which  made  a  barbaric  parade  on  the  lake- 
like  waters  of  Paua-taha-nui.  A  naval  boat  several  times  ven- 
tured up  near  the  head  of  the  arm,  and  on  two  occasions  was 
compelled  to  retreat  before  these  craft  packed  with  Maoris.  Two 
or  three  of  the  largest  canoes  were  each  manned  by  about  fifty 
warriors,  most  of  them  armed  with  double-barrel  guns.  When, 


no 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


however,  the  longboat  of  the  barque  "  Tyne  "  was  procured  and 
converted  into  a  gunboat  (oars  and  sail)  with  a  i2-pounder 
carronade  mounted  in  the  bows,  besides  a  small  brass  gun  lent  by 
Captain  Stanley  of  the  "  Calliope  "  frigate,  the  scales  were  more 
evenly  balanced.  McKillop  felt,  with  these  two  pieces  of  artillery 
and  the  addition  of  six  bluejackets  to  his  crew,  that  his  little 
man-of-war  was  fit  match  for  the  whole  of  Rangihaeata's  canoe 
flotilla. 

On  the  morning  of  the   ijih  July  the  young  naval  officer, 
scanning  the  wooded  coasts  and  the  placid  waters  of  the  sea-lake, 


PORIRUA    AND    PAUA-TAHA-NUI    (1846). 

observed  a  large  number  of  dark  figures  on  the  cleared  part  of  a 
long  point  of  hilly  land  which  formed  the  largest  promontory  on 
the  southern  side  of  the  Paua-taha-nui,  and  distant  a  little  over 
a  mile  from  Paremata  camp.  Through  the  narrow  sea-passage 
where  the  railway-bridge  now  crosses  the  water  near  the  Pare- 
mata fishing  village  McKillop  followed  the  main  channel  of  the 
tidal  basin  north-eastward  until  he  was  abreast  of  the  promon- 
tory (to-day  known  as  Long  Point).  Nothing  was  stirring  on 
shore  ;  every  figure  had  vanished  ;  but  the  officer  ordered  his 


OPERATIONS   AT   PORIRUA.  Ill 

crew  to  pull  close  in  to  the  shore,  and  when  within  a  few  yards 
of  the  rocks  fired  a  charge  of  canister  into  the  manuka  and  small 
ngaio  trees.  Yells  of  mingled  pain,  fright,  and  rage  arose,  and 
from  the  bushes  leaped  a  horde  of  shaggy-headed  figures  with 
flashing  gun-barrels.  It  was  only  for  a  few  seconds  that  their 
dusky  faces  were  seen  ;  they  quickly  took  cover  and  opened  a 
hot  fire  on  the  bluejackets.  The  gunners  again  raked  the  foliage 
with  canister,  and  this  fire  brought  out  the  Maoris.  Firing  as 
they  came,  they  rushed  into  the  open,  and,  seeing  that  the  boat 
was  within  a  few  yards  of  the  shore,  many  of  them  dashed  into 
the  shallow  water  on  the  edge  of  the  main  creek,  attempting  to 
board  the  boat.  The  men's  beds  and  blankets  had  been  lashed 
up  in  their  hammocks  and  fastened  round  the  top-sides  and  gun- 
wale of  the  boat,  forming  a  bullet-proof  inner  breastwork.  The 
encounter  was  at  such  close  quarters  that  it  was  almost  impos- 
sible for  the  warriors  to  miss.  Nearly  every  bullet  struck  the 
boat,  and  although  she  was  coppered  almost  up  to  the  gunwale 
many  balls  passed  through,  to  be  stopped  by  the  sailors'  bedding 
parapet. 

The  Maoris,  it  was  now  seen,  were  led  by  Te  Rangihaeata 
himself.  For  the  first  time  in  the  campaign  he  personally  headed 
his  men  in  a  charge  against  the  whites.  The  warriors  made  an 
attempt  to  board  the  boat,  imagining  that  she  was  aground,  so 
close  was  she  to  the  point.  One  party  made  an  attack  upon  the 
quarter,  and,  as  the  carronade  in  the  bows  did  not  bear  upon 
these  men,  McKillop  slewed  his  brass  gun,  which  was  on  a  swivel, 
and  fired  at  them.  The  gun  burst  ;  the  midshipman  was  knocked 
down,  his  eyebrows  were  singed  off,  and  for  some  moments  he 
was  blinded  by  the  explosion,  and  the  flying  lock  cut  his  head. 
Fortunately,  no  other  harm  was  done,  and  when  McKillop  had 
recovered  from  the  shock  and  had  washed  the  powder  out  of  his 
eyes  he  was  relieved  to  find  that  the  Maoris  had  been  beaten  back 
from  the  boat's  side,  and  that  a  charge  of  canister  had  checked 
the  main  party  of  assailants.  Again  the  warriors  came  on,  led 
by  Rangihaeata,  dashing  out  through  the  shallow  water,  some 
firing  one  barrel  as  they  came  and  reserving  the  other  for  the 
boarding  rush.  The  continued  fire  of  canister  from  the  carronade 
and  McKillop's  accurate  use  of  his  double-barrel  gun  finally  beat 
back  the  assailants. 

The  crew  completed  their  victory  by  firing  several  12  Ib.  solid 
shot  into  the  bushes  where  the  Maoris  had  taken  cover,  and 
returned  to  Paremata. 

By  Proclamation  dated  the  i8th  June,  signed  by  Captain 
George  Grey,  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  operation  of  martial  law 
in  the  "  Island  of  New  Ulster,"  as  the  North  Island  was  officially 
styled,  was  extended  from  Wainui  to  Wanganui.  The  district 
under  martial  law  was  now  the  whole  of  that  part  of  the  Island 


112 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


to  the  southward  of  a  line  drawn  from  Wanganui  on  the  west  to 
Castle  Point  on  the  east  coast ;  the  Town  of  Wellington  itself 
was  excluded.  Reinforcements  were  hurried  round  the  coast  to 
Porirua.  This  was  the  result  of  alarming  news  received  from  the 
north.  A  large  war-party  of  Upper  Wanganui  natives  was  on 
the  march  down  the  coast  to  reinforce  Te  Rangihaeata  and  Te 
Mamaku  ;  the  main  body  had  by  this  time  reached  Rangitikei, 
while  an  advance-party  was  at  Waikawa,  near  Otaki.  The  expe- 
dition was  headed  by  the  righting  chiefs  Ngapara  (who  was  a  near 
relative  of  Te  Rangihaeata)  and  Maketu,  two  of  the  most  turbu- 
lent warriors  of  the  Wanganui  country.  This  news  was  brought 
by  a  young  Wanganui  settler,  Richard  Deighton,  who  had  chanced 


Photo,  J.  C.,  1918.] 


RUINS  OF  FORT  PAREMATA,  PORIRUA. 


to  obtain  sight  of  a  letter  bearing  Te  Rauparaha's  signature, 
addressed  to  the  inland  and  up-river  natives  of  the  Wanganui 
tribes,  urgently  inviting  them  to  join  their  chief  Te  Mamaku  and 
his  ally  Te  Rangihaeata  in  the  campaign  against  the  European 
settlements.  Mr.  Deighton  went  to  Mr.  Samuel  King,  the  Police 
Magistrate  in  Wanganui,  and  told  him  the  substance  of  the  letter, 
informing  him  also  that  he  believed  a  war-party  was  being 
organized  up  the  river  with  the  object  of  joining  the  rebels  in 
the  Wellington  district.  In  confirmation  of  this,  the  residents 
of  Wanganui  a  few  days  later  were  startled  by  the  appearance 
in  the  town  of  a  body  of  over  two  hundred  Maori  warriors. 
Deighton,  knowing  this  to  be  a  subterfuge,  induced  the  Magistrate 


OPERATIONS    AT    PORIRUA.  113 

to  write  a  despatch  to  the  Governor  at  Wellington,  undertaking 
to  deliver  it  into  Captain  Grey's  hands  in  time  to  prevent,  the 
Wangariui  war-party's  coalition  with  the  rebels  at  Porirua  and 
the  Hutt.  The  letter  was  written  on  very  thin  paper  in  Indian 
ink,  and  one  of  Deighton's  sisters  sewed  it  in  the  collar  of  his 
coat.  On  the  following  day  the  war-party  left  the  Wanganui 
bank  and  set  out  on  the  march,  accompanied,  as  was  the  Maori 
way,  by  a  number  of  women,  who  carried  food  and  cooked  for 
their  lords  on  the  journey.  Some  of  these  women  had  their  young 
children  with  them.  The  pakeha  despatch-bearer  joined  them  and 
marched  with  them,  telling  the  leader  Maketu  that  he  was  anxious 
to  reach  Wellington  as  soon  as  possible,  as  there  was  a  box  of 
goods  awaiting  him  there  from  his  father  in  England.  After  a 
series  of  adventures  Deighton  reached  Wellington  just  in  time  to 
catch  Governor  Grey  as  he  was  about  to  leave  for  Auckland,  and 
delivered  to  him  hot  only  the  Wanganui  despatch  but  also  a  letter 
to  Rauparaha  which  Maketu  had  confidingly  entrusted  to  him. 
He  had  left  the  Maoris  at  Rangitikei. 

Grey  acted  quickly  after  assuring  himself  of  Rauparaha's 
duplicity.  He  ordered  a  force  of  troops  and  armed  police  aboard 
the  warship  "  Driver,"  with  some  bluejackets  from  the  "  Calliope." 
The  "  Driver  "  next  morning  anchored  off  Waikanae,  in  the  strait 
between  Kapiti  Island  and  the  long  beach  where  the  Waikanae 
River  issues  from  its  sand-dunes.  Here  Captain  Grey  went  ashore 
and  visited  the  Ngati-Awa  Tribe  ;  they  were  gathered  in  their  pa, 
under  Wiremu  Kingi  te  Rangitaake,  who  afterwards  fought  the 
British  troops  in  the  Taranaki  War.  To  Wiremu  Kingi  and  his 
chief  men  the  Governor  explained  the  danger  which  existed  of 
a  coalition  between  the  Wanganui  war-party  and  Rangihaeata's 
force,  and  requested  the  assistance  of  the  Waikanae  people  in 
preventing  a  junction.  Kingi  promised  that  if  Maketu  brought 
his  taua  along  the  beach  through  Ngati-Awa  territory  they  would 
intercept  and  attack  him,  but  told  Grey  that  they  could  not  take 
the  tribe  into  the  bush  if  the  expedition  left  the  coast  route  and 
travelled  through  the  ranges  to  the  head  of  Paua-taha-nui  or  the 
Hutt.  With  this  attitude  the  Governor  was  satisfied  ;  he  satisfied 
himself  also,  from  what  he  heard  at  Waikanae,  that  Rauparaha 
was  playing  the  Government  false.  This  fully  decided  him  in  his 
decision  to  strike  swiftly.  Rowing  off  again  to  the  "  Driver," 
Grey  requested  the  commander  to  get  under  way  and  steam  down 
past  Porirua,  as  if  going  to  Wellington,  and  then  return  after  dark 
and  anchor  off  the  entrance  to  the  harbour.  This  stratagem  lulled 
any  suspicions  the  Ngati-Toa  and  their  wary  chief  might  have 
entertained  when  they  observed  the  warship  on  the  coast. 

The  Ngati-Toa  village  of  Taupo,  where  Te  Rauparaha  dwelt  in 
fancied  security  with  his  wives,  tribesmen,  and  slaves,  stood  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  entrance  to  Porirua  Harbour ;  the 


114  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

thatched,  low-eaved  huts,  fenced  in  with  palisading,  occupied  the 
sandy  foreshore  exactly  where  the  seaside  Township  of  Plimmer- 
ton  stands  to-day.  A  small  stream  flowed  into  the  bay  on  the 
Paremata  side  of  the  settlement  ;  the  other  or  seaward  side  was 
bounded  by  a  little  knoli  of  a  cape,  the  wahi-tapu,  or  holy  place 
of  the  pa  ;  it  remains  the  only  bit  of  Taupo  held  inviolate  by  the 
modern  remnant  of  Ngati-Toa.  The  British  military  encampment 


From  a  drawing  by  Charles  Heaphy,  about  1840.1 

TE  RANGIHAEATA. 
("  The  Dawn  of  Day.") 


on  the  Paremata  sandy  flat  in  the  inner  bay  was  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  pa. 

In  spite  of  the  naval  patrol  on  the  waters  of  the  inner  harbour 
the  hostile  Maoris  maintained  their  communication  with  Raupa- 
raha  and  his  people  at  Taupo,  either  by  canoe  at  night  or  by  the 
bush  tracks  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Paua-taha-nui  arm.  Gun- 


OPERATIONS   AT   PORIRUA.  115 

powder  and  other  supplies  for  Rangihaeata's  men  were  carried 
through  the  bush  by  these  tracks  from  Pae-kakariki  and  Taupo. 
Unknown  to  the  British,  Rangihaeata  himself  was  in  Taupo  pa 
about  a  week  before  the  "  Driver  "  made  her  surprise  visit.  He 
spent  a  night  in  Rauparaha's  house.  In  the  morning  his  mind 
was  filled  with  forebodings.  He  said  to  his  kinsman,  "  O  Rau, 
last  night  I  dreamed  a  dream,  a  dream  of  evil  to  come.  It  will 
be  well  if  you  come  away  with  me.  Leave  this  place  ;  it  is  full 
of  danger." 

He  strongly  counselled  Rauparaha  to  leave  the  sea-coast  and 
go  with  him  to  Pana-taha-nui,  where  he  would  be  safe.  But  Rau- 
paraha, although  uneasy,  declined  to  leave  Taupo.  His  wife  Te 
Akau  was  ill  and  unable  to  travel.  Te  Akau  was  his  chief  wife  ; 
she  had  come  down  the  west  coast  with  him  from  Kawhia  in  the 
great  migration  of  Ngati-Toa  a  quarter  of  a  century  previously, 
and  he  was  not  willing  to  leave  her  now,  when  she  was  unable  to 
move.  Despite  his  nephew's  premonition  and  warning,  therefore, 
he  decided  to  remain  at  Taupo  for  the  present.  Rangihaeata 
himself  returned  at  once  by  the  bush  track  to  his  pa  at  the 
head  of  the  harbour. 

It  was  towards  midnight  on  the  22nd  July  that  the  "  Driver  " 
with  her  force  of  special-service  men  anchored  off  the  bay.  The 
Governor  and  Captain  Stanley  sent  for  Mr.  McKillop,  the  mid- 
shipman of  the  "  Calliope  "  who  had  distinguished  himself  on  the 
Paua-taha-nui  patrol.  To  the  young  officer  the  Governor  unfolded 
his  scheme.  Te  Rauparaha  was  to  be  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
treason  ;  the  chief  Te  Kanae  and  several  other  Maoris  of  Taupo 
were  also  to  be  captured.  It  was  necessary  to  take  the  wily  old 
man  by  surprise,  and  McKillop  was  chosen  for  the  task,  as  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  Maoris  and  their  village.  Major  Durie,  the 
officer  in  charge  of  the  Wellington  armed  police,  was  requested 
to  capture  Te  Kanae  and  the  other  men.  Mr.  Deighton  was 
instructed  to  go  ashore  with  the  party  and  interpret  the  charge 
of  treason  to  Rauparaha  and  assist  in  making  him  a  prisoner. 

With  the  first  glimmering  of  day  McKillop  and  his  boat's  crew 
landed  on  the  rocks  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  eastward  of  the  pa. 
The  other  boats  were  busily  employed  landing  the  two  hundred 
redcoats  and  bluejackets  and  the  police. 

"  If  the  natives  come  out  of  their  pa  take  no  notice  of  them, 
but  follow  me  silently,"  said  the  interpreter  to  McKillop  ;  "  I 
know  where  the  old  man's  house  is."  Wading  the  small  stream- 
near  the  pa,  the  little  party  ran  as  quietly  as  they  could  up  to 
the  middle  of  the  village,  and  Deighton  pointed  out  Rauparaha's 
whare.  It  was  now  fully  daylight.  The  arresting-party  hastened 
on  to  the  chief's  house,  and  there  they  came  upon  Rauparaha  ; 
the  suspicious  old  warrior  had  just  crawled  out  through  the  low 
doorway  into  the  thatched  porch.  His  wife  Te  Akau  was  by  his 


Il6  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

side  ;  she  called  the  customary  greeting,  "  Haere  mai,  haere  mail  " 
Deighton  informed  Rauparaha  that  the  force  had  come  by  the 
Governor's  order  to  take  him  on  board  the  man-of-war  to  be  tried 
for  having  given  the  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions  with  which 
he  had  been  supplied  by  the  Government  to  Te  Rangihaeata,  then 
in  open  rebellion  against  the  Government. 

The  interpreter  had  scarcely  spoken  the  words  before  the  old 
savage,  who  was  seated  immediately  in  front  of  the  low  doorway, 
threw  himself  back  with  an  extraordinarily  active  movement  for 
a  man  of  his  age,  and  in  an  instant  seized  a  taiaha,  with  which  he 
made  a  blow  at  his  wife's  head,  realizing  that  she  had  been  the 
indirect  cause  of  his  arrest.  McKillop,  who  had  been  standing  on 
the  alert  within  arm's  reach  of  Rauparaha,  jumped  forward  and 
warded  off  the  blow  with  his  pistol.  At  the  top  of  his  voice  the 
chief  shouted,  "  Ngati-Toa  el  Ngati-Toa  e!"  It  was  a  call  to 
his  tribe  for  rescue.  Out  from  the  whares  rushed  the  Maoris,  but 
their  chieftain  was  already  in  the  grip  of  the  sailormen.  McKillop 
had  him  by  the  throat,  while  his  four  men  secured  him  by  legs 
and  arms,  and  held  him  in  spite  of  his  desperate  struggles  and  the 
fact  that  his  naked  body  was  as  slippery  as  an  eel's,  coated  with 
a  mixture  of  kokowai,  or  red  ochre  and  shark-oil.  The  coxswain 
of  McKillop's  boat,  an  old  sailor  named  Bob  Brenchley,  was  the 
first  of  the  men  to  grip  an  arm  of  the  prisoner.  Rauparaha 
savagely  fixed  his  teeth  in  Brenchley's  bare  arm.  The  bluejacket 
laughingly  shook  his  arm  free,  and  with  his  open  hand  lightly 
smacked  Rauparaha's  face,  exclaiming,  "  Why,  ye  damned  old 
cannibal,  d'ye  want  to  eat  a  fellow  up  alive  ?  "  Rauparaha,  in 
spite  of  his  struggles,  was  carried  down  to  McKillop's  pinnace, 
which  had  been  rowed  along  to  the  beach  in  front  of  the  pa. 
The  village  was  by  this  time  surrounded  by  the  force  from  the 
"  Driver,"  and  any  attempts  at  rescue  were  useless.  Captain 
Stanley,  of  the  "  Calliope,"  who  had  just  come  ashore  from  the 
"  Driver,"  called  out,  "  Here,  you,  Mr.  Deighton,  it  was  you  who 
discovered  the  old  devil's  treachery  ;  you  shall,  if  you  like,  have 
the  honour  of  taking  him  off." 

The  interpreter  thanked  the  naval  captain,  and  jumped  into 
the  boat.  Mr.  McKillop  remained  ashore  to  complete  his  work, 
and  the  captive  was  quickly  rowed  off  to  the  war-steamer.  As 
the  crew  pulled  out  they  passed  Motuhara,  a  small  beach  settle- 
ment where  some  of  the  Ngati-Toa  lived.  Rauparaha  again  lifted 
up  his  voice  in  a  cry  to  his  tribe  for  rescue  :  "  Ngati-Toa  e ! 
Ngati-Toa  e!"  The  interpreter  told  the  chief  that  if  a  canoe 
did  put  off  to  the  rescue  it  would  only  take  back  a  dead  man, 
for  he  (Deighton)  would  certainly  shoot  him  first.  The  old  man, 
looking  the  interpreter  directly  in  the  eyes,  said  bitterly,  "  Shoot 
now  ;  it  would  be  better  I  were  dead  among  my  own  tribe  than 
alive  as  a  prisoner  and  slave  in  the  hands  of  an  enemy." 


OPERATIONS    AT   PORIRUA. 


Major  Durie  and  his  police  had  little  trouble  in  arresting  the 
minor  chiefs,  Wiremu  te  Kanae,  Hohepa  Tamaihengia,  and  two  or 
three  others.  Every  whare  in  Taupo  and  in  the  villages  out  west- 
ward of  the  point,  Motuhara  and  Hongoeka,  was  searched  for 


From  a  drawing  by  John  Bambridge,  at  St.  John's  College,  Tamaki,  Auckland,  i6t,h  June,  1847.] 

TE  RAUPARAHA. 


guns  and  ammunition.  Over  thirty  muskets,  many  tomahawks, 
a  quantity  of  ball  cartridge,  eight  casks  and  kegs  of  gunpowder, 
cartouche-boxes,  and  a  small  4-pounder  cannon  were  seized. 


H8  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

While  the  sailors  and  police  were  transferring  the  captured 
arms  to  the  boats  the  word  came  that  a  large  party  of  Rangi- 
haeata's  men  was  putting  off  in  canoes  to  assist  Rauparaha,  the 
alarm  of  an  attack  on  Taupo  pa  having  reached  the  stronghold 
at  Paua-taha-nui.  McKillop  and  his  bluejackets  were  quickly 
aboard  their  gunboat  and  pulling  up  towards  Paua-taha-nui  to 
meet  the  Maoris.  There  were  fifty  men  in  a  war-canoe  paddling 
down  the  arm,  but  they  put  about  and  retreated  at  their  utmost 
speed.  The  naval  boat  rowed  up  in  pursuit  until  the  shallows 
at  the  harbour-head  were  reached,  opening  fire  with  the  bow 
carronade.  The  Maoris  were  chased  back  into  their  pa  with 
McKillop's  round  shot  flying  about  them  ;  then  five  or  six  shots 
were  fired  into  the  stockade  on  the  hill  where  the  midshipman 
had  enjoyed  his  morning's  reconnaissance  some  weeks  previously. 

A  few  hours  later  Wellington  was  astonished  by  the  news  of 
the  Governor's  well-planned  coup.  The  chiefs  were  transferred 
to  the  "  Calliope,"  and  in  that  frigate  they  were  detained  as 
prisoners  of  war.  No  charge  was  formulated  against  them,  but 
it  was  undesirable  that  they  should  be  at  large,  and  the  cause  of 
peace  was  certainly  advanced  by  their  capture.  Te  Rauparaha 
was  well  treated  ;  he  was  a  guest  rather  than  a  prisoner.  He  was 
taken  to  Auckland  in  the  frigate,  and  was  permitted  to  visit  his 
son,  Tamehana  te  Rauparaha,  at  St.  John's  College,  Selwyn's  esta- 
blishment at  the  Tamaki ;  he  was  given  numerous  presents,  and 
entertained  with  the  consideration  to  which  his  rank  in  the  Maori 
nation  entitled  him.  It  was  his  delight  to  appear  in  a  naval 
captain's  epauletted  uniform  ;  our  sketch — the  best  drawing  of 
Te  Rauparaha  in  existence — shows  him  attired  in  this  costume  on 
his  visit  to  St.  John's  College  in  1847.  He  was  not  permitted  to 
return  to  his  tribe  until  January,  1848,  when  he  was  landed  at 
Otaki  by  H.M.S.  "  Inflexible."  By  that  time  his  power  for  strife 
had  passed.  Possibly  he  was  a  more  dignified  figure  as  a  captive 
than  in  his  olden  home  at  Otaki,  shorn  of  its  ancient  savage 
glory.  In  Tamehana  te  Rauparaha's  manuscript  narrative  of  his 
father's  life  (Grey  Collection,  Auckland  Public  Library)  there  is  a 
poetic  speech  delivered  by  the  old  man  to  his  son  when  in  deten- 
tion aboard  the  "  Calliope  "  in  Port  Nicholson  after  Tamehana's 
return  from  the  North  :  "  Kei  mea  mai  te  tangata  tenei  au  te  noho 
pouri  nei  ia  au  e  noho  taurekareka  atu  nei  i  runga  i  taku  kaipuke 
manuao  nei  i  a  '  Karaipi  '  ;  kaore  rawa  aku  pouri,  kaore  au  e  mohio 
ana  e  noho  taurekareka  ana  au.  Ki  taku  whakaaro  e  noho  rangatira 
ana  au,  he  whare  rangatira  i  a  aku  korero  e  korero  atu."  ("  Let 
not  men  think  that  I  abide  in  grief  as  I  now  remain  in  slavery 
aboard  my  warship  the  '  Calliope  '  ;  no,  it  is  not  so.  I  know 
not  any  grief,  though  I  so  remain  a  prisoner.  In  my  mind 
I  am  abiding  here  as  a  chief,  and  my  abode  is  an  abode  of 
a  chief.") 


OPERATIONS   AT   PORIRUA.  119 

The  son  in  his  manuscript  likens  these  words  to  those  of  the 
Apostle  Paul,  who  declared  that  his  prison-house  was  a  royal 
dwelling.  A  pakeha  poet  had  expressed  very  much  the  same 
sentiment  when  he  wrote,  long  before  Rauparaha's  day — 

Stone  walls  do  not  a  prison  make, 
Nor  iron  bars  a  cage. 


NOTES. 

The  incident  of  Rangihaeata's  dream  (moemoea)  and  his  warning  to 
Rauparaha,  and  the  old  chief's  attack  upon  his  wife,  was  related  to  me  by 
the  nearest  surviving  relative  of  Rangihaeata,  Heni  te  Whiwhi  (died  1921), 
of  Otaki.  She  said  the  reason  Rauparaha  made  a  blow  at  Te  Akau  when  he 
was  informed  that  he  was  under  arrest  was  that  he  instantly  remembered 
that  had  it  not  been  for  her  illness  he  would  have  been  in  a  safe  retreat 
inland.  McKillop  and  the  other  Europeans  imagined  erroneously  that  Rau- 
paraha struck  at  his  wife  because  he  believed  she  had  betrayed  him. 

After  the  war  a  block  of  land  on  the  coast  at  Hongoeka,  near  Plimmerton, 
was  made  over  by  Rangihaeata  to  some  members  of  the  Ngati-Mutunga 
Tribe  in  return  for  their  services  in  carrying  gunpowder  from  the  coast  to 
his  pa  at  Paua-taha-nui.  These  Ngati-Mutunga,  some  of  them  old  men, 
made  up  small  casks  of  powder  in  flax-basket  pikaus  or  back-loads,  and 
transported  them  through  the  forests  and  ranges  of  Pukerua  and  along  the 
northern  shore  of  the  bay. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 


PAUA-TAHA-NUI    AND    HOROKIRI. 

A  traveller  taking  the  main  road  north  from  Wellington  City 
and  driving  round  the  head  of  the  Paua-taha-nui  Inlet  will  pass 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  spot  where  Te  Rangihaeata  and  his 
men  built  their  palisaded  and  rifle-pitted  stronghold  in  1846. 
The  exact  site  of  the  pa  can  readily  be  identified.  The  spot 
is  occupied  to-day  by  a  steepled  church  of  old  -  fashioned 
design,  crowning  as  in  a  picture  the  green  hill  above  the 
one-street  village  of  Paua-taha-nui  —  now  misspelled  Pahau- 
tanui.  The  salt  water  once  flowed  at  high  tide  nearly  to  the 
foot  of  that  rounded  hill ;  the  land  was  raised  several  feet  by  the 
earthquake  of  1855,  and  now  the  one-time  flats  of  sand  and  mud 
are  covered  with  grass,  and  the  beach  where  Maori  war-canoes 
and  pakeha  boats  lay  long  ago  has  become  a  sheep-paddock. 
A  little  stream  comes  down  from  the  hills  around  the  eastern 
and  southern  foot  of  the  mound,  and  joins  the  sea  200  yards 
below  the  place  where  our  main  road  crosses  on  a  wooden  bridge. 
The  hill  is  small-wooded  like  a  park  ;  white  grave-stones  gleam 
among  the  shrubs  and  trees  on  its  seaward  face.  It  is  a  slumberous 
pretty  spot — 

This  old  churchyard  on  the  hill 

That  keeps  the  green  graves  of  the  dead. 

Transformed  as  the  place  is  by  the  lapse  of  nearly  three- 
quarters  of  a  century,  one  still  may  reconstruct  in  imagination  the 
hilltop  as  it  was  in  Rangihaeata's  year  of  war.  It  was  a  cleverly 
chosen  retreat,  convenient  to  the  canoe-stream  and  the  harbour, 
yet  sufficiently  removed  from  deep  water  to  be  unapproachable 
by  heavily  gunned  war- vessels,  and  beyond  effective  musket-range 
from  any  but  the  smallest  boats.  It  was  protected  on  three 
sides  by  water  and  marshes.  On  the  south  and  south-east  there 
was  a  cliff,  at  its  highest  about  30  feet,  now  thickly  covered  with 
trees,  dropping  to  a  backwater  of  the  little  river.  On  the  scarped 
front — the  west — were  the  curving  stream,  with  its  swampy 
borders,  and  the  salt  water  ;  on  the  north  and  north-west  were 
swamps  and  small  streams.  The  stream  on  the  south  was 
navigable  for  good-sized  boats  and  canoes,  which  could  be  brought 


PAUA-TAHA-NUI    AND    HOROKIR1. 


121 


close  up  under  the  walls  of  the  pa.  The  grass-  and  shrub-grown 
scarps  in  the  English  churchyard  appear  to  mark  the  line  of  olden 
ditch-work  on  the  south  and  south-west  faces  of  the  pa.  In  the 
paddock  in  rear  of  the  church  there  are  shallow  trench  and 
potato-pit  excavations  and  levelled  spaces  indicating  the  sites 
of  houses. 

Rangihaeata's  stronghold,  on  the  spot  where  the  church  now 
stands,  was  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  with  two  rows  of 
palisades,  a  ditch  within  the  second  row,  6  feet  wide  and  5  feet 
deep,  and  whares  with  underground  communication.  The  outer 
stockade  was  a  weak  curtain,  but  the  inner  palisades  were  heavy 
timbers  up  to  10  inches  or  a  foot  in  thickness  and  about  15  feet 
high.  The  fort  was  about  eighty  paces  in  length  and  half 
that  in  width  ;  there  were  flanking  defences,  and  there  were 


GROUND-PLAN  OF  RANGiHAjiATA's  PA, 
At  the  head  of  Paua-taha-nui  Inlet,  1846. 

intricate  interior  passage-ways,  some  on  the  surface  fenced  with 
manuka  stakes,  so  narrow  that  only  one  man  could  pass  at  a 
time,  and  some  underground.  Shell-proof  shelters  covered  with 
slabs  and  tree-trunks  and  earth  were  connected  with  the  main 
trench  by  covered  ways,  and  the  main  trench  itself  was  cut  with 
traverses  protective  against  an  enfilading  fire  down  the  ditch. 
The  rear,  as  usual  in  Maori  pas,  was  the  weakest  in  defence  ;  but 
the  problem  would  have  been  to  reach  this  part,  naturally  guarded 
as  it  was  by  water,  swamp,  and  bush. 

Captain  Grey  decided  to  approach  the  pa  from  the  rear.  He 
ordered  a  body  of  Militia,  police,  and  Ngati-Awa  friendlies  to 
march  across  the  hills  from  the  Hutt  and  endeavour  to  carry 
the  place  by  surprise.  The  Regular  soldiers  were  excluded  from 
the  expedition,  not  being  suitable  troops  for  bush-work.  On  the 


122  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

afternoon  of  the  3ist  July  this  force,  consisting  of  fifty  men  of 
the  Hutt  Militia,  thirteen  of  the  armed  police,  and  150  Ngati-Awa 
Maoris,  left  the  Hutt  Valley  on  their  march  over  the  hills.  The 
Militia  were  under  the  command  of  Captain  McDonogh  and 
Lieutenant  White,  and  the  police  under  Mr.  Chetham  Strode.  One 
Imperial  officer,  Ensign  Middleton,  of  the  58th  Regiment,  accom- 
panied the  expedition,  and  Mr.  Ludlam  and  Mr.  Stilling  joined  as 
volunteers.  The  native  friendlies  were  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  D. 
Scott.  The  column  ascended  the  hills  on  the  western  side  of  the 
Hutt  River  nearly  opposite  Boulcott's  Farm  stockade,  and  followed 
a  native  track  over  the  ranges  to  the  upper  valley  of  the  Paua- 
taha-nui ;  this  track  was  the  route  used  by  the  enemy  in  their 
raids  from  the  Porirua  district  upon  the  Hutt.  Next  morning 
(ist  August)  the  two  foremost  guides  encountered  a  scout  of  the 
enemy,  a  minor  Upper  Wanganui  chief  named  Whare-aitu,  other- 
wise known  grotesquely  as  "  Martin  Luther."  He  was  captured. 
(In  September  he  was  court-martialled  for  rebellion  and  hanged 
at  Paremata.)  The  capture  was  made  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
pa,  and  the  incident  was  seen  by  some  women  from  the  hill 
stockade,  which  was  now  visible.  Screaming  out  an  alarm,  they 
ran  off  to  the  pa.  The  main  body  and  the  Militia  and  police  now 
came  doubling  up,  and  the  whole  force  moved  quickly  forward. 
The  pa  had  just  been  evacuated  when  the  force  rushed  it. 

The  next  stage  in  the  history  of  Paua-taha-nui  pa  was  its 
conversion  into  an  Imperial  military  post.  It  was  garrisoned  by 
detachments  of  Regular  regiments,  and  for  a  considerable  period 
after  hostilities  had  ceased  it.  was  occupied  as  an  advanced  post 
covering  the  construction  of  the  main  road  northward  to  Pae- 
kakariki  and  Waikanae  by  a  company  of  the  65th,  who  had 
arrived  in  Wellington  on  the  22nd  July,  1846,  by  the  barque 
"  Levant  "  from  Sydney — the  first  of  that  regiment  to  reach  New 
Zealand.  The  force  landed  by  the  "  Levant  "  consisted  of 
Captain  O'Connell,  Captain  Newenham,  Lieutenant  McCoy, 
Lieutenant  Turner,  and  Assistant-Surgeon  White  (65th)  ;  Ensign 
Barker  (58th) ;  eight,  sergeants,  seven  corporals,  and  162  rank 
and  file  of  the  58th  and  65th  Regiments. 

Our  illustration  showing  the  Paua-taha-nui  post  as  it  was  at 
this  period,  with  the  main  Maori  stockading  retained,  is  from  a 
water-colour  drawing  by  Lieut. -Colonel  W.  A.  McCleverty,  who 
was  sent  to  Wellington  from  Sydney  at  the  end  of  1846  as  Land 
Claims  Commissioner,  and  was  afterwards  given  command  of  the 
military  operations  at  Wanganui. 

The  scene  of  hostilities  now  shifted  northward.  Te  Rangi- 
haeata,  it  was  discovered,  had  taken  post  in  the  wooded  ranges 
high  up  above  the  Horokiri  (now  usually  known  as  Horokiwi), 
a  small  river  which  has  its  source  in  the  broken  country 
immediatelv  east  of  Pae-kakariki.  The  Government  forces  were 


PAUA-TAHA-NUI    AND    HOROKIRI. 


123 


strengthened — in  numbers,  at  any  rate — by  the  addition  of  over 
a  hundred  Ngati-Toa  men  from  the  Porirua  villages,  under  their 
chief  Rawiri  Puaha.  On  the  3rd  August,  1846,  a  forward  move- 
ment was  commenced.  The  forces  assembled  at  Rangihaeata's 
lately  abandoned  quarters  totalled  250  bayonets  —  Regulars  of 
the  58th,  65th,  and  99th,  the  Hutt  Militia,  and  the  Wellington 
armed  police — and  the  highly  useful  Ngati-Awa  friendlies,  number- 
ing 150.  On  Monday,  3rd  August,  the  force  began  the  march 
up  the  thickly  wooded  valley  of  the  Horokiri,  the  natives  in  the 
advance.  Puaha  led  his  tribe  ;  Mr.  D.  Scott  and  Mr.  Swainson 


From  a  drawing  by  Colonel  W.  A.  McCleverty,  1849.} 

PAUA-TAHA-NUI  STOCKADE. 


were  in  command  of  the  Ngati-Awa.  The  troops  were  commanded 
by  Major  Last,  with  Major  Arney  second  in  command.  Captain 
Stanley,  of  the  "  Calliope/'  accompanied  the  expedition.  A  number 
of  bluejackets  from  the  frigate  came  up  on  the  following  day, 
under  Mr.  McKillop.  A  recent  camp  of  Rangihaeata,  in  the  un- 
roaded  woods  three  miles  from  the  harbour,  was  occupied  for  the 
night.  Suspended  from  the  roof  of  one  of  the  whares  the  Militia 
found  the  bugle  which  had  been  taken  from  the  gallant  bugler 
William  Allen,  killed  in  the  fight  at  Boulcott's  Farm. 


124 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


The  Maori  party  in  the  advance  continued  the  march  early 
next  day  (4th  August),  leaving  the  rest  of  the  expedition  to  await 
their  report.  The  natives  wore  blue-serge  blouses,  \\ith  "  V.R." 
in  large  white  letters  front  and  back,  a  precaution  necessary  in 
bush  warfare,  where  it  was  otherwise  difficult  to  distinguish  between 
friendly  and  hostile  Maoris.  The  Maori  scouts  followed  the  trail 
until  they  found  that  the  enemy's  position  was  on  the  summit 
of  the  high  steep  range  to  the  right  (east)  of  the  narrow  gorge, 
where  the  flooded  Horokiri  came  pouring  down  into  the  valley. 

Early  on  the  6th  August  Major  Last  gave  orders  for  the 
advance  up  this  range  to  the  east  of  the  gorge.  The  white  force 
was  in  two  divisions.  The  first  consisted  of  seven  officers  and 
127  rank  and  file  of  the  seamen  from  the  "  Calliope,"  the  Regular 

soldiers,  the  Militia,  and  the  armed  police, 
under  Major  Arney  (58th).  The  second 
division,  of  five  officers  and  117  men 
of  similar  detail,  was  under  the  command 
of  Captain  Armstrong  (99th) .  The  Maori 
allies  under  their  white  officers  and  tribal 
chiefs  led  the  way,  feeling  for  the  enemy  ; 
then  came  a  detachment  of  Pioneers  with 
axes  and  other  tools  to  cut  a  way  through 
the  bush.  These  Pioneers  were  troops 
who  had  been  employed  on  the  Porirua 
"roadworks  ;  they  were  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Elliott  (99th) .  The 
troops  began  to  advance  at  9  a.m.,  and 
struggled  up  through  the  wet  bush  that 
choked  the  mountain-side.  The  steep 
lower  slopes  surmounted,  the  column 
worked  up  along  a  narrow  ridge,  which 
On  the  site  of  Rangihaeata's  proved  to  be  that  selected  by  Rangi- 

haeata    for    his  temporary   fortification. 
The  crest  of   the   range   was  toilsomely 

approached  ;  the  axes  of  the  Pioneers  made  the  forest  ring.  It 
was  a  curious  method  of  advancing  to  attack,  for  every  tree  felled 
ahead  of  the  troops  made  their  position  more  vulnerable.  An 
old  colonial  officer,  describing  to  the  writer  his  bush-fighting 
experiences  in  the  "  sixties,"  expressed  the  basic  principle  of 
forest  warfare  exactly  when  he  said,  "  We  very  soon  learned  to 
look  on  a  tree  as  a  friend."  The  Imperial  soldier  had  not 
gripped  that  useful  lesson  in  the  "  forties."  Major  Last's  idea 
of  skilful  tactics  was  to  "  cut  away  the  wood,"  as  he  expressed  it 
in  his  despatch,  in  his  advance  upon  the  bush-entrenched  foe. 

The  friendly  natives  now  reported 'that  Te  Rangihaeata's  posi- 
tion was  right  ahead  on  the  crown  of  the  ridge.  At  a  point  where 
it  narrowed  to  a  few  yards,  above  a  very  steep  slope,  they  had 


THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH  AT 
PAUA-TAHA-NUI, 


PAUA-TAHA-NUI   AND    HOROKIRI.  125 

dug  a  trench  and  constructed  a  parepare,  or  breastwork  of  tree- 
trunks  and  earth  ;  in  front  of  this  a  fairly  clear  glacis  had  been 
made  by  felling  the  bush  for  a  short  distance,  so  that  no  sheltered 
frontal  attack  could  be  made.  Major  Last,  after  reconnoitring 
the  place,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  fortification  was  "  very 
strong,"  composed,  as  he  believed,  of  logs  of  timber  placed  hori- 
zontally one  over  another,  with  loopholes  fcr  musketry  fire.  In 
reality  the  breastwork  was  not  a  formidable  affair,  but  the  enemy 
held  a  naturally  very  strong  position,  only  assailable  with  success 
by  turning  the  flanks,  an  operation  for  which  the  Regular  troops 
could  not  be  used  in  such  country. 

A  party  of  about  twenty,  consisting  of  soldiers,  bluejackets, 
and  Militia,  under  Lieutenant  G.  H.  Page  (58th),  Ensign  H.  M. 
Blackburn  (Q9th),  Mr.  McKillop,  and  Lieutenant  McDonogh,  ad- 
vanced to  within  about  56  yards  of  the  enemy's  position.  The 
main  body  of  the  troops  was  halted  in  close  formation  about 
100  yards  below  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  The  customary  method 
of  the  frontal  rush  so  much  favoured  by  British  officers  of  that 
day  was  suggested,  but  now  Major  Last,  warned  by  the  experience 
of  his  fellow -soldiers  in  Heke's  War,  declined  to  expose  his  force 
to  so  great  a  risk.  As  it  was,  the  charge  thus  far  proved  fatal 
to  three  of  the  British.  Ensign  Blackburn,  who  was  acting- 
brigade-major,  was  killed  by  a  Maori  concealed  in  a  tree.  The 
troops  fell  back  a  few  yards,  and  most  of  them  took  cover  behind 
a  large  tree  which  had  been  felled  across  "the  ridge  some  80  yards 
below  the  pa,  and  under  a  breastwork  thrown  up  at  this  spot  by 
the  Pioneers. 

For  several  hours  an  irregular  but  heavy  fire  was  maintained 
by  the  troops  and  their  native  allies,  and  some  thousands  of 
rounds  were  expended  for  very  little  result.  Firing  lasted  until 
about  dark,  when  Major  Last,  fearing  that  the  enemy  would  attack 
the  troops  in  this  position,  very  unfavourable  for  defence  against 
a  night  raid,  marched  the  greater  number  of  the  soldiers  down  the 
hill  to  the  camp  on  the  flat.  The  bluejackets  meanwhile  were 
despatched  back  through  the  bush  to  their  boats  at  Paua-taha- 
nui,  with  orders  to  go  to  the  Paremata  fort  and  bring  up  two 
mortars. 

McKillop  and  his  sailors,  with  a  number  of  Royal  Artillery 
men,  returned  on  the  following  day  (7th  August),  bringing  two 
small  mortars  and  ammunition.  It  was  a  wearisome  march  from 
the  Paua-taha-nui  to  the  camp  at  the  foot  of  the  range,  for  every- 
thing had  to  be  carried  on  the  back  over  the  narrow  and  slippery 
bush  trail.  The  pieces  were  mounted  on  a  terrace  close  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Horokiri  Stream,  and  served  by  a  detachment 
of  a  dozen  Royal  Artillery  men  under  Captain  Henderson.  The 
shelling  occupied  most  of  the  day  on  the  8th  August,  at  a  range 
of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  ;  about  eighty  shells  were  fired. 


126 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


At  the  same  time  the  Militia,  armed  police,  and  friendly  natives, 
joined  by  a  number  of  the  more  energetic  Regular  officers, 
skirmished  with  the  enemy  in  the  bush  near  the  pa.  The 
artillerymen  soon  found  the  range,  and  many  shells  fell  in  and 
around  the  rebel  position. 

Major  Last  by  this  time  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was 
not.  desirable  either  to  advance  his  Regulars  farther  or  to  remain 
in  his  present  camp.  On  the  loth  August  the  troops  were  marched 


Drawn  by  A.  H.  Messenger,  from  a  water-colour  sketch  by  Lieutenant 
G.  H.  Page  ( 58th  Regt.) ,  1846.] 

THE  ATTACK  ON  RANGIHAEATA'S  POSITION,  HOROKIRI. 


back  to  Paua-taha-nui,  whence  the  majority  were  boated  down 
the  harbour  to  the  main  camp.  The  natives  remained  on  the 
range  for  a  week  longer,  working  at  their  palisades  and  occasionally 
skirmishing  with  the  foe.  On  the  I3th  it  was  discovered  that 
Te  Rangihaeata  and  his  whole  force  had  quietly  abandoned  the 


PAUA-TAHA-NUI    AND    HOROKIRI.  127 

place  under  cover  of  darkness  and  rain.  The  weather  was  now 
exceedingly  wet  and  stormy,  and  the  friendlies  were  unable  to 
take  up  the  chase  until  the  I7th.  The  enemy  had  retired  north- 
ward along  the  narrow  forested  ridges  east  of  Horokiri  and  Pae- 
kakariki.  The  Ngati-Awa  Maoris  took  the  lead,  under  their  chiefs 
Te  Puni  and  Wi  Tako  Ngatata  ;  the  white  officers  with  them  were 
Mr.  Servantes,  of  the  99th  Regiment,  interpreter  to  the  forces, 
and  Mr.  D.  Scott. 

The  scene  of  the  engagement  of  the  6th  August.  1846,  is  the 
summit  of  a  steep  and  lofty  range  on  Mr.  N.  Abbott's  sheep-run 
at  Horokiri.  Mr.  Abbott's  homestead,  near  the  foot  of  the  range 
and  just  at  the  entrance  of  the  Horokiri  Gorge  (through  which 
the  main  north  road  runs  to  Pae-kakariki),  is  on  or  very  close 
to  the  site  of  the  main  camp  of  the  troops,  under  Major  Last, 
on  their  expedition  to  Rangihaeata's  mountain  stronghold. 
The  summit  of  the  steep  and  narrow  ridge  on  which  the 
rebels  made  their  stand  is  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  north 
of  the  homestead,  and  probably  between  700  and  800  feet 
above  sea-level.  Far  below  it  on  the  west  runs  the  main  road, 
winding  through  a  deep  and  narrow  wooded  gorge  ;  the  bottom 
of  the  ravine  is  occupied  by  the  Horokiri  Stream.  We  take  a 
leading  spur  which  leads  to  the  main  ridge,  and  we  find  that 
we  are  following  the  same  route  as  that  taken  by  the  troops 
when  all  this  region  was  blanketed  with  unroaded  bush.  A  little 
distance  up  the  spur  there  is  a  trench  or  long  rifle-pit,  now  more 
than  half  filled  in  and  softly  grassed  ;  it  does  not  run  across  the 
spur  "but  almost  parallel  with  it.  Several  hundred  feet  higher  up 
we  climb  on  to  the  knife-back  which  leads  to  the  knoll  on  the 
sky-line  where  the  Maoris  lay  behind  their  parepare,  or  breastworks 
of  earth  and  logs.  Fire-charred  logs  lie  about  the  hillside,  and 
the  slopes  are  black-pencilled  with  the  stumps  of  the  wheki,  a 
fern-tree  whose  butt  is  as  hard  as  ironbark  and  almost  inde- 
structible. It  was  this  fern-tree  that  the  Maoris  largely  used  in 
building  up  their  parepare  of  horizontal  timbers.  In  a  slight  dip 
in  the  ridge  a  line  of  depression  in  the  turf  running  partly  across 
the  narrow  saddle  is  readily  recognized  as  the  trench  cut  by  the 
Government  forces  on  the  6th  August,  after  the  encounter  in  which 
Lieutenant  Blackburn  was  killed.  The  spot  is  about  100  yards 
below  the  fortified  summit  of  the  ridge.  A  few  yards  onward 
the  ridge  rises  into  a  small  knoll ;  passing  over  this  there  is 
a  rather  steep  ascent  to  the  crest  of  Battle  Hill,  as  the  site  of 
the  pa  is  locally  called.  The  advance  is  not  in  a  direct  line  ;  the 
sharp  main  spur,  running  roughly  north  and  south,  now  twists 
to  the  north-east,  until  the  narrow  crest  of  the  range  is  reached, 
when  it  again  trends  due  northward.  From  east  to  west  the  top 
of  the  hill  is  only  ten  paces  in  width,  and  forty  paces  on  its  greater 
axis  north  and  south.  The  face  of  the  Maori  breastwork  was 


128 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


SUMMIT  OF  THE  RIDGE,  HOROKIRI,  HELD  BY  RANGIHAEATA,  1841 


Photos  by  F.  G.  Layton,  7920.] 

THE  REAR  OF  RANGIHAEATA'S  POSITION,  HOROKIRI,  1846. 


PAUA-TAHA-NUI   AND   HOROKIRI.  I2Q 


immediately  on  the  south  end  of  the  crest,  completely  commanding 
the  troops'  line  of  approach  from  the  south  and  south-west.  All 
traces  of  logwork  have  long  since  disappeared,  but  the  trench 
and  the  shelter-pit  dug  immediately  in  rear  of  the  parepare  are 
readily  traced.  The  ruined  trench,  after  the  lapse  of  three- 
quarters  of  a  century,  is  still  about  3  feet  deep,  and  its  ditch-like 
terminal  on  the  verge  of  the  precipitous  slope  on  the  south- 
east side  is  well  marked.  The  trench  extends  across  the  ridge 
a  distance  of  26  paces ;  it  is  roughly  zigzag  in  outline,  and 
about  its  centre  there  is  an  advanced  rifle-pit  ;  the  breast- 
work in  front  of  this  would  have  formed  a  bastion  for  enfilading 
the  front  of  the  work  on  right  and  left.  Four  paces  in  rear  of 
the  line  of  trench,  at  the  north  end,  there  is  a  grassy  nta,  a  pit 
9  feet  long  and  3  feet  deep,  occupying  half  the  width  of  the  ridge- 
crown.  It  was  originally  roofed  over  with  earth  and  timber  as 
a  shell-proof  shelter. 

The  Regular  troops  and  the  Militia  having  been  withdrawn 
from  the  field,  the  operations  in  the  forest  chase  were  left  entirely 
to  the  Ngati-Awa  allies,  with  their  white  officers,  and  the  Ngati- 
Toa,  under  Rawiri  Puaha.  The  scene  of  the  pursuit  was  the 
roughest  imaginable  terrain  for  campaigning.  Te  Rangihaeata's 
refuge  was  the  broken  country  a  few  miles  east  of  the  coast  be- 
tween Pae-kakariki  and  Waikanae.  Here  the  forested  ranges  slant 
steeply  to  the  narrow  belt  of  coastal  flats  ;  inland  the  landscape 
is  a  confusion  of  sharp  and  lofty  ridges  and  narrow  canon-like 
valleys  each  discharging  a  rocky-bedded  rapid  stream.  Into  this 
wild  bit  of  New  Zealand  range  and  wood  Te  Rangihaeata  and  his 
band  wrere  driven,  more  than  half-starved,  short  of  ammunition, 
but  determined  to  make  no  submission.  They  could  move  but 
slowly  because  of  the  number  of  women  and  children,  and  this 
consideration  impelled  them  to  construct  temporary  fortifications 
at  suitable  places,  similar  to  that  at  Horokiri,  where  they  could 
make  a  stand  and  give  the  non-combatants  time  to  move  ahead. 
It  would  have  been  a  simple  matter  to  have  descended  to  the 
level  country  on  the  sea-coast  north  of  Pae-kakariki,  but  here 
retreat  would  have  been  barred  by  Wiremu  Kingi  and  his  branch 
of  Ngati-Awa,  who  had  promised  Governor  Grey  to  block  the 
progress  of  rebel  war-parties  either  north  or  south  along  the 
beach. 

There  was  one  sharp  skirmish  in  the  pursuit ;  this  was  on  the 
seaward  side  of  the  Pouawha  Range,  inland  of  Wainui.  A  volley 
killed  three  of  the  Ngati-Awa.  friendlies ;  in  the  fight  which 
followed  their  antagonists  lost  four  shot  dead,  including  Te  Pau, 
a  chief  of  Ngati-Rangatahi,  who  had  led  the  party  that  killed 
the  Gillespies  at  the  Hutt.  The  fugitives  made  good  their  retreat 
along  the  ranges  inland  of  Waikanae  and  into  the  Manawatu 
country.  Te  Mamaku  and  his  men  returned  to  Wanganui.  The 
5— N.Z.  Wars. 


130 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


second  Wanganui  war-party,  whose  intentions  had  been  frustrated 
by  Mr.  Deighton's  march  with  a  despatch  to  the  Governor,  had 
abandoned  the  expedition  on  hearing  of  the  arrest  of  Te  Rauparaha. 
Te  Rangihaeata  entrenched  himself  with  about  a  hundred  men  on 
a  mound  called  Paeroa,  which  rose  like  an  island  from  the  swamps 
between  Horowhenua  and  the  Manawatu.  Here  he  declared  the 
soldiers  would  never  get  him.  The  pa  was  named  Poroutawhao  ; 
the  site  is  now  a  native  farm,  between  Levin  and  Foxton.  The 
low  hill  upon  which  the  palisaded  stronghold  was  built  was  all 
but  surrounded  by  miles  of  deep  flax-swamps,  threaded  with  slow- 
running  watercourses,  and  dotted  with  lagoons  swarming  with  wild 
ducks.  Here,  like  Hereward  the  Wake  on  the  mound  that  was 


THE  SITE  OF  RANGIHAEATA'S  ENTRENCHMENT,  HOROKIRI  RIDGE. 

his  last  stand  amidst  the  fens  of  Ely,  Te  Rangihaeata  and  his 
company  of  fight-loving  patriots  lived  in  barbaric  independence, 
and  feasted  on  the  eels  that  teemed  in  the  swamps  and  the  wild-- 
fowl they  snared  on  the  lagoons  and  rushy  runways. 

Te  Rangihaeata  died  at  Otaki  in  1856,  from  measles  aggra- 
vated by  a  cold  bath  in  a  river.  He  was  buried  at  his  pa  in 
Poroutawhao.  So  passed  a  type  of  the  old  pagan  order,  a  true 
irreconcilable,  averse  to  anything  of  the  white  man's  but  his 
weapons  of  war.  He  was  seldom  seen  in  any  dress  but  the 
picturesque  native  garments  of  flax  ;  and  a  commanding  figure 
he  was,  tomahawk  in  hand,  standing  2  inches  over  6  feet,  draped 
in  a  finely  woven  and  beautifully  patterned  parawai  or  kaitaka 
cloak. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 


I 


THE  WAR  AT  WANGANUI. 

The  New  Zealand  Company's  settlement  at  Wanganui  —  or 
Petre,  as  it  was  officially  named  in  compliment  to  Lord  Petre, 
one  of  the  directors  of  the  Company — was  the  most  unfortunate 
of  all  the  colonies  planted  by  the  Wakefields.  The  first  settlers 
under  the  Company  took  up  their  land  there  in  1841,  but  the 
natives  very  soon  disputed  their  title  to  many  of  the  sections, 
declaring  that  they  had  never  sold  the  land.  "  Our  case  is  indeed 
a  hard  one,"  Dr.  Wilson,  of  Wanganui,  wrote  in  his  diary  in  1846. 
"  Up  to  the  commencement  of  our  present  war  state  we  had 
waited  more  than  six  years  for  the  proprietorship  of  land  here 
which  we  paid  for  in  London  upwards  of  seven  years  ago  ;  but 
that  promised  land  has  never  yet  been  delivered  up  to  us."  When 
some  of  the  unfortunate  settlers,  despairing  of  ever  being  esta- 
blished in  secure  occupation  of  their  farm  sections  outside  the 
Town  of  Wanganui,  applied  to  the  Company  for  land  elsewhere 
in  New  Zealand  they  were  informed  that  only  in  the  Wanganui 
district  had  they  a  claim  for  land.  Those  who  left  Wanganui 
were  compelled  to  purchase  afresh  elsewhere,  and  those  who 
remained  presently  found  themselves  compelled  to  arm  for  defence 
against  the  Maoris  with  whom  they  had  hoped  to  live  in  neigh- 
bourly peace.  The  Company  blamed  the  Government  for  pre- 
venting selection  according  to  the  conditions  of  sale,  but  Governor 
Mobson  declared  that  nothing  contained  in  the  agreement  between 
the  Government  and  the  Company  had  any  such  reference  to  their 
engagements  with  private  parties,  and  held  that  the  Company  was 
bound  to  fulfil  the  conditions  it  had  entered  into  for  the  disposal 
of  their  lands.  Neither  Hobson  nor  Fitzroy,  however,  was  able 
to  improve  the  unhappy  position.  Not  until  a  campaign  had  been 
fought  and  Wanganui  relieved  from  a  state  of  siege,  and  the 
troubles  adjusted  by  Governor  Grey  and  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir 
Donald)  McLean,  was  the  peaceful  progress  of  the  district  assured. 

In  1845  there  were  not  many  more  than  two  hundred  Euro- 
peans in  Wanganui ;  there  were  about  sixty  houses.  This  little 
outpost  of  colonization  was  practically  surrounded  by  Maoris. 
The  native  population  along  the  Wanganui  River  was  estimated 
in  1846  at  four  thousand,  most  of  whom  were  on  very  friendly 
terms  with  the  settlers  themselves,  though  they  had  no  love  for 
the  New  Zealand  Company.  Living  was  rough  and  primitive,  but 

5* 


132  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

food  was  abundant  ;  the  Maoris  of  the  numerous  villages  from 
Wanganui  Heads  inland  plied  a  diligent  canoe-paddle,  bringing  in 
their  cargoes  of  pigs,  potatoes,  kumara,  vegetable  marrows,  and 
pumpkins  for  sale  by  barter.  Governor  Grey  in  1846  investigated 
the  condition  of  the  settlement,  and  made  arrangements  for  the 
completion  of  the  purchase  of  40,000  acres.  Major  Richmond,  the 
Superintendent  of  the  Southern  District,  was  deputed  to  settle  the 
details.  It  was  not  until  1848,  however,  that  the  sale  was  finally 
closed.  The  area  of  purchase  was  increased  to  80,000  acres, 
extending  to  the  Kai-iwi  River. 

In  December  of  1846  the  frigate  "  Calliope  "  and  the  Govern- 
ment brig  "  Victoria  "  brought  up  from  Wellington  and  landed 
at  Wanganui  180  men  of  the  58th  Regiment,  under  Captain  Laye 
and  Lieutenant  Balneavis,  four  Royal  Artillery  men  with  two 
12-pounder  guns,  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Captain)  T.  B.  Collinson, 
R.E.,  and  Mr.  Tyrone  Power,  D.A.C.G.  These  troops  set  about 
the  work  of  fortifying  the  town.  The  warship  also  brought 
up  the  small  gunboat  which  had  been  used  in  the  Porirua 
patrols.  Lieutenant  Holmes,  R.N.,  was  detailed  to  command 
the  gunboat  -  crew ;  with  him  was  a  young  midshipman  of 
the  "  Calliope/'  On  the  i6th  April,  1847,  a  minor  chief  of  the 
Wanganui  people,  by  name  Ngarangi,  went  to  the  midshipman's 
quarters  to  receive  payment  for  some  work  done.  The  juvenile 
officer,  by  way  of  a  joke,  presented  a  pistol  at  him ;  the 
charge  exploded,  and  Ngarangi  received  a  wound  in  the  head.  He 
was  well  tended,  and  soon  began  to  recover.  He  told  his  people 
that  the  wound  was  accidental ;  nevertheless  a  small  party  deter- 
mined to  exact  utu  for  the  blood-letting,  and  so  precipitate  war. 
Six  of  them  attacked  the  home  of  Mr.  J.  A.  Gilfillan,  in  the 
Mataraua  Valley,  severely  wounded  Gilfillan,  and  killed  his  wife 
and  three  children  with  the  tomahawk  ;  a  daughter  of  sixteen  was 
wounded.  Five  of  the  murderers  were  captured  by  a  party  of 
friendly  natives,  under  Hone  Wiremu  Hipango,  and  four  of  them 
were  court-martialled  in  Wanganui  and  hanged  on  the  Rutland 
Stockade  hill. 

The  natives  attached  to  the  Europeans  by  ties  of  friendship 
or  by  the  teachings  of  their  missionary,  Richard  Taylor,  agreed 
that  the  execution  of  the  tomahawk-party  was  a  proper  punish- 
ment. By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  Wanganui  warriors, 
however,  resolved  to  take  up  arms  to  avenge  the  deaths  of  the 
four.  The  execution  of  Whare-aitu  by  the  military  at  Paremata 
in  the  previous  year  was  also  a  provocative  factor. 

The  fortification  which  came  to  be  called  the  Rutland  Stockade 
was  constructed  on  a  sandy  hill  about  70  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  river,  near  the  northern  end  of  the  then  small  settlement  of 
Wanganui.  This  height,  the  most  commanding  ground  in  the 
town,  was  known  to  the  Maoris  as  Puke-namu  (Sandfly  Hill). 
It  was  the  terminal  of  a  gentle  ridge  which  extended  westward 


THE   WAR   AT   WANGANUI. 


133 


to  the  long  hill  whose  forested  slopes  were  given  the  name  of 
St.  John's  Wood.  The  space  enclosed  by  the  stockade  on  the 
level  summit  of  the  hill  measured  60  yards  by  30  yards.  The 
palisading  consisted  of  rough  timbers  and  whole  trees,  9  inches 
or  more  in  thickness,  set  closely  together,  sunk  3  or  4  feet  in  the 
sandy  soil,  and  standing  8  feet  high  above  ground.  The  tops 
of  the  logs  were  pointed  ;  this  shed  the  water  off  and  prevented 
decay.  These  uprights  were  braced  by  two  inner  horizontal 
rails,  and  loopholes  for  musket-fire  were  cut  in  the  stockade  all 
round.  The  two  i2-pounder  guns  landed  by  the  "  Calliope " 


RUTLAND  STOCKADE  AND  BLOCKHOUSES,  WANGANUI. 

This  photograph,  taken  in  the  early  "eighties,"  shows  in  the  foreground 
;he  monument  to  the  friendly  Maoris  killed  in  the  battle  with  the  Hauhaus 
Moutoa  Island,  Wanganui  River,  in  1864. 

were  mounted  in  the  stockade,  one  at  each  end.  Within  the 
enclosure  were  built  two  strong  wooden  blockhouses,  the  first 
blockhouses  with  overhanging  upper  storeys  built  in  the  North 
Island.  Upon  the  plan  of  these  structures  were  modelled  most 
of  the  frontier  blockhouses  built  during  the  wars  of  the  "  sixties." 
The  larger  of  the  two,  designed  for  the  accommodation  of  eighty 
soldiers,  consisted  of  two  buildings,  one  60  feet  by  20  feet,  on 
the  ground-floor  plan,  and  one,  at  right  angles  to  it,  measuring 
20  feet  by  20  feet.  The  smaller  blockhouse,  with  a  ground 
floor  of  40  feet  by  20  feet,  was  occupied  by  twenty  soldiers. 


134  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

These  blockhouses  were  of  two  storeys,  the  upper  floor  pro- 
jecting 3  feet  over  the  lower  building.  The  lower  storey  was 
10  feet  high  and  the  upper  one  8  feet.  The  lower  walls  were 
built  of  heavy  and  thick  timbers,  proof  against  all  projectiles 
likely  to  be  used  by  the  Maoris.  The  main  uprights,  6  feet  apart, 
were  12  inches  square  ;  the  intervening  spaces  were  filled  in  with 
horizontal  pieces  6  inches  square,  and  the  whole  was  lined 
inside  with  i-inch  boards.  Smaller  scantlings,  bullet-proof,  were 
used  in  the  upper  storey.  The  flooring  of  the  upper  storey  was 
2j  inches  thick.  The  projecting  part  of  the  upper  floor  could 
be  raised  on  hinges  between  each  girder,  for  musketry  fire.  Both 
storeys  were  loopholed  with  horizontal  slits,  4  feet  in  length  and 
6  inches  in  width,  filled  in  with  glass  and  shuttered  outside. 

This  well-planned  and  solidly  constructed  fort,  frowning  over 
the  little  town  and  inspiring  confidence  in  the  settlers,  cost 
between  £3,000  and  £4,000.  For  many  a  year  it  stood  there  on 
Puke-namu  Hill,  garrisoned  by  Imperial  soldiers  until  well  on 
toward  the  end  of  the  "  sixties,"  and  was  afterwards  used  by 
the  Armed  Constabulary.  When  the  57th  Regiment  arrived  the 
original  palisading  was  replaced  by  sawn  timbers.  So  well-built 
were  the  stockade  and  the  blockhouses  that  they  would  have 
stood  to  this  day,  a  memorial  to  the  troubled  days  of  Wanganui's 
infancy,  had  not  an  unsentimental  municipality  demolished  them 
in  the  "  eighties,"  greatly  to  the  disgust  of  patriotic  colonists. 

On  a  smaller  mound,  Patu-puhou  (or  Patu-puwhao),  south- 
ward of  Puke-namu,  the  military  erected  another  fortification, 
a  stout  stockade  enclosing  barracks.  This  post  was  named  the 
York  Stockade.  The  business  heart  of  modern  Wanganui  occupies 
the  space  between  these  two  fortress  hills,  now  converted  into 
public  parks. 

In  May  H.M.S.  "Inflexible,"  a  paddle  -  steamer  like  the 
"  Driver,"  landed  at  Wanganui  the  Grenadier  Company  of  the 
65th  Regiment,  a  hundred  strong,  from  Auckland.  This  rein- 
forcement brought  the  garrison  up  to  a.  strength  sufficient  to  hold 
their  positions,  but  insufficient  to  make  any  active  aggressive  move. 

In  the  meantime  the  natives  from  many  of  the  up-river 
settlements,  from  Tunuhaere  as  far  up  as  Taumarunui,  had  united 
in  a  strong  expedition  against  the  white  settlement,  and  came 
sweeping  down  the  river  in  their  war-canoes,  chanting  their 
paddling  time-songs  and  their  war-cries,  gathering  in  fresh  parties 
at  each  village.  When  the  combined  tana  halted  a  few  miles 
above  the  town  its  strength  was  five  or  six  hundred,  armed  with 
muskets  or  double-barrel  guns  and  well  provided  with  ammuni- 
tion. The  principal  c?iiefs  were  Topine  te  Mamaku,  with  his 
warriors  of  the  Ngati-Haua-te-Rangi  Tribe ;  Pehi  Turoa ;  Mawae, 
with  the  Ngati-Ruaka  ;  Tahana,  with  Patu-tokotoko  ;  Ngapara, 
and  Maketu.  For  some  days  the  hostiles  remained  out  of  sight 
of  the  town,  plundering  and  burning  settlers'  houses,  killing 


THE    WAR    AT   WANGANUI. 


135 


cattle,  and  lying  in  wait  for  stragglers.  A  soldier  of  the  58th, 
who  had  gone  out  a  mile  or  two  into  the  country  contrary  to 
orders,  was  caught  and  tomahawked.  His  mutilated  body  was 
brought  into  town  on  the  i/jih  May. 

Captain  Laye,  fearing  a  night  attack  on  the  town,  advised 
all  the  residents  to  leave  their  homes  each  night  and  spend  the 
hours  of  darkness  in  the  partly  fortified  houses  of  three  of  the 


From  an  oil-painting  by  G.  Lindauer,  in  the  Municipal  Art  Gallery,  Auckland.] 

TOPINE  TE  MAMAKU. 

This  old  warrior  was  prominent  in  the  fighting  at  the  Hutt  (1846)  and 
Wanganui  (1847).  He  was  the  principal  chief  of  the  Ngati-Haua-te-Rarjgi 
Tribe,  of  the  Upper  Wanganui.  One  of  his  honorific  names  was  "  Te  Ika 
nui  o  roto  o  te  Kupenga  "  ("  The  Great  Fish  in  the  Net  ").  A  celebrated 
tribal  proverbial  saying  in  reference  to  Te  Mamaku  was  :  Ka  unuunu  te 
PUYU  o  Tuhua,  ka  maringiringi  te  wai  o  puta,"  meaning,  "  If  you  withdraw 
the  plug  of  Tuhua  you  will  be  overwhelmed  by  the  flooding  hordes  of  the 
north,"  in  allusion  to  this  chieftain's  strategic  position,  holding  the  passage 
of  the  Upper  Wanganui.  Te  Mamaku  died  at  Tawhata  in  1887. 


136  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

principal  settlers,  named  Rees,  Nixon,  and  Smith.  This  practice 
was  observed  throughout  the  investment  of  the  town  by  the 
natives. 

Next  day  (igth  May)  an  attack  in  some  force  was  delivered 
against  the  town.  The  armed  Maoris  first  appeared  from  the 
seaward  and  western  sides  of  the  town,  and  as  there  were  others 
on  the  north  the  settlement  was  practically  invested  on  all  sides 
but  the  river.  The  besiegers  were  extended  in  parties  along  the 
sandhills,  and  a  large  number  took  up  a  position  on  the  southern 
side  of  Patu-puhou  Hill.  When  the  action  began  a  party  of 
fifteen  armed  civilians  held  the  crown  of  this  hill,  but  they  were 
soon  ordered  to  retire,  and  the  enemy,  sheltered  by  the  ridge 
from  the  fire  of  the  Puke-namu  stockade,  plundered  the  houses 
of  several  residents  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town.  The  houses 
raided  and  sacked  were  those  of  Messrs.  Allison,  Campbell,  Chur- 
ton,  Deighton,  Day,  Small,  and  Wilson.  Some  of  these  dwellings, 
near  the  riverside,  were  within  short  musket-range  of  the  lower 
stockade  (which  enclosed  the  Commercial  Hotel  on  the  flat),  and 
the  troops  in  that  post,  numbering  about  sixty,  opened  fire  on 
the  raiders.  The  soldiers  were  not  permitted  to  leave  either  of 
the  stockades.  Lieutenant  Holmes  brought  his  gunboat  down 
the  river  from  her  usual  anchorage  under  Shakespeare  Cliff  and 
fired  several  rounds  of  canister  from  the  bow  gun.  The  chief 
Maketu — he  who  had  headed  the  reinforcements  for  Rangihaeata 
in  the  previous  year — was  mortally  wounded,  and  Tatua,  of 
Ngati-Rangatahi,  also  fell. 

Some  arrangements  were  made  by  Captain  Laye  and 
Lieutenant  Holmes  for  the  better  defence  of  the  place ;  a 
small  howitzer  was  brought  down  from  the  Rutland  Stockade 
to  the  lower  fortified  post,  and  the  carronade  mounted  in  the 
gunboat  was  hoisted  on  to  the  deck  of  the  topsail  schooner 
"  Governor  Grey,"  where  it  would  be  of  greater  use,  and  would 
enable  the  naval  officer  in  command  to  protect  vessels  and 
troops  arriving. 

Governor  Grey  landed  from  H.M.S.  "  Inflexible  "  on  the  24th 
May  ;  with  him  came  the  old  hero  of  the  northern  war,  Tamati 
Waka  Nene,  the  Waikato  chief  Potatau  te  Wherowhero  (after- 
wards the  first  Maori  King),  and  several  other  chiefs  from 
Auckland.  The  rangatiras  accompanied  Captain  Grey  to  the 
friendlies'  village  at  Putiki,  where  Waka  endeavoured  to  stimulate 
the  missionary  party  to  a  decided  course  of  action  against  the 
hostiles.  Next  day  the  Governor,  with  over  three  hundred  soldiers 
(58th  and  65th)  and  a  number  of  armed  settlers,  made  a  recon- 
naissance in  force  of  the  ground  occupied  by  the  enemy  ;  the 
limit  of  the  march  was  a  point  about  three  miles  above  the  town. 
Simultaneously  the  gun-schooner  and  two  armed  boats  went 
up  the  river  covering  the  military's  right  flank.  A  few  rockets 
were  thrown  in  among  distant  groups  of  Maoris. 


THE   WAR   AT   WANGANUI.  137 

June  of  1847  was  a  month  of  harassing  blockade  for  the  whites 
cooped  up  in  the  narrow  limits  of  Wanganui  Town,  unable  to 
venture  in  safety  beyond  musket-shot  of  the  stockades.  One 
or  two  skirmishes  enlivened  the  futile  weeks.  Reinforcements 
under  Lieut. -Colonel  McCleverty  having  arrived  from  Wellington 
by  the  war -steamer  "Inflexible"  and  the  frigate  "Calliope," 
further  reconnaissances  in  force  were  made  up  the  valley  of 
tie  Wanganui.  The  natives'  position  was  six  or  seven  miles 
above  the  town  ;  they  had  fortified  temporary  pas,  and  imme- 
diately in  their  rear  was  the  forest,  where  they  could  not 
be  followed  with  any  chance  of  success  for  British  arms.  The 
extremely  cautious  tactics  of  the  British  commander  excited  the 
impatience  of  the  civilians,  who  candidly  criticized  the  careful 
defensive  attitude  maintained  by  the  troops.  There  were  between 
five  and  six  hundred  soldiers  in  the  garrison,  now  outnumbering 
the  Maoris,  but  their  commander,  McCleverty,  had  no  intention 
ol  attempting  any  bold  movement.  The  only  enterprise  displayed 
was  on  the  part  of  the  armed  settlers,  who  now  and  then  scouted 
out  in  small  parties  to  the  abandoned  farms  and  drove  in  such 
cattle  as  had  not  been  killed  by  the  raiders. 

Even  the  enemy  by  this  time  had  been  dissatisfied  with  this 
inconclusive  kind  of  warfare.  The  soldiers  would  not  come  out 
and  attack  them  on  the  ground  that  suited  the  native  manner 
of  fighting,  and  they  could  not  touch  the  soldiers  in  the  stockades. 
The  potato-planting  season  was  approaching,  and  it  would  soon 
be  necessary  for  the  warriors  to  return  to  their  homes  up  the 
river  and  attend  to  their  crops.  Before  they  took  to  their  canoes, 
however,  they  resolved  to  make  an  attack  upon  the  town  with 
their  full  force  and  endeavour  to  draw  the  troops  out  from  the 
forts.  This  decision  produced  the  most  important  action  in  the 
tedious  campaign. 

On  the  20th  July  the  Maoris,  numbering  about  four  hundred, 
appeared  on  the  low  hills  inland  of  the  town,  moving  down 
towards  it  in  skirmishing  order.  The  larger  number  occupied  the 
level  ridge  above  the  bush  known  as  St.  John's  Wood,  a  little 
over  a  mile  south  of  the  town  stockade  ;  at  the  southern  end  of 
this  ridge  was  a  gully  cutting  off  the  terminal  of  the  height  from 
th(  \  main  ridge  ;  on  each  side  of  this  pass  they  had  dug  trenches 
and  rifle-pits  and  thrown  up  breastworks.  In  these  entrench- 
ments and  in  the  cover  of  the  bush  on  the  hill-slopes  the  main 
bo  ly  awaited  the  issue  of  the  preliminary  skirmishing,  hoping 
th;it  the  soldiers  would  be  induced  to  come  out  and  meet  them 
on  the  ground  where  the  lightly  equipped  and  mobile  Maori  would 
hold  the  advantage.  Small  parties  of  warriors  were  scattered 
over  the  ground  between  the  ridge  and  the  town  and  on  the  hills 
to  the  north.  The  bush  and  height  of  St.  John's  Wood  were 
difficult  to  approach,  for  a  large  raupo  swamp  then  stretched 
along  the  eastern  foot  of  the  ridge  ;  this  marsh  contained  a  lagoon. 


138  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

The  only  convenient  approach  from  the  town  was  along  a  narrow 
strip  of  low  ground,  with  the  pools  and  bogs  of  the  swamp  on  either 
side.  Two  daring  fellows  of  the  enemy  ope,  skirmishing  close  up 
to  the  town  and  attempting  to  cut  off  a  settler  who  was  driving 
in  his  cattle,  provoked  Lieut. -Colonel  McCleverty  into  action. 
He  despatched  two  detachments  of  troops  from  the  stockades  in 
pursuit  ;  these  parties  were  under  Lieutenant  Pedder  (58th)  and 
Ensign  Thelwall  (65th)  ;  after  them  was  sent  a  reinforcement  from 
the  58th  under  Ensign  Middleton.  These  troops,  eager  to  meet 
the  enemy  at  last  with  the  bayonet,  chased  the  two  Maoris,  who 


From  a  sketch  by  Lieutenant  G.  H.  Page  (s8ih  Regl.) ,  1847.] 

THE  SKIRMISH  AT  ST.  JOHN'S  WOOD,  WANGANUI. 


retired    across    the    swamp   and    up    through   the   trench-flanked 
gully. 

The  first  parties  were  soon  in  action,  and  reinforcements  were 
despatched  from  the  stockades,  until  at  last  four  hundred  soldiers 
were  engaged  in  the  skirmishing.  In  the  meantime  Lieutenant 
Holmes  and  Midshipman  Carnegie,  of  the  "  Calliope,"  manned  the 
river  gunboat,  and  with  the  12-pounder  carronade  and  muskets 
checked  a  party  of  Maoris  advancing  along  the  right  bank  of 
the  Wanganui.  The  Royal  Artillery  detachment,  under  Captain 
Henderson,  advanced  towards  the  edge  of  the  swamp  with  two 
field-guns,  a  brass  3-pounder  and  a  4f-inch  howitzer,  and  opened 
fire.  The  Colonel  now  shifted  his  guns  with  a  view  to  drawing 


THE   WAR   AT   WANGANUI.  139 

the  enemy  down  into  the  open,  and  the  troops  in  the  advance 
began  to  retire  across  the  swamp.  The  Maoris  leaped  from  their 
cover  and  followed  closely  on  the  troops,  some  firing,  some  dashing 
in  with  their  long-handled  tomahawks.  The  line  of  withdrawal 
was  along  the  natural  causeway  through  the  swamp.  The  little 
i  earguard  faced  about  when  the  foremost  of  the  enemy  were  within 
c  bout  15  yards  and  charged.  Several  Maoris  were  bayoneted  in  the 
melee.  Other  detachments  coming  to  the  help  of  the  rearguard, 
the  further  advance  of  the  Maoris  was  stopped,  and  the  main 
body  of  the  enemy  reoccupied  the  trenches  and  breastworks  and 
the  slopes  of  the  hill  south  of  the  gully.  From  these  positions 
they  continued  to  fire  on  the  troops  so  long  as  the  latter  were 
within  range.  So  indecisively  ended  the  day's  engagement.  The 
Maoris  held  their  position  under  musketry  and  field-gun  fire,  but 
they  had  had  a  taste  of  the  British  bayonet.  Two  British  soldiers 
were  killed,  and  one  died  of  his  wounds.  Ten  soldiers  and  one 
Ngati-Toa  Maori  were  wounded.  Of  the  enemy  three  were  killed 
and  ten  or  a  dozen  wounded.  The  natives  carried  off  and  buried 
tlie  body  of  one  of  the  soldiers — Private  Weller,  of  the  58th — who 
was  killed  in  the  bayonet  charge. 

The  scene  of  this  action,  known  in  local  history  as  the  Battle 
of  St.  John's  Wood,  has  been  transformed  completely.  The  olden 
lagoons  and  rushy  swamps  have  long  been  drained,  ploughed, 
a  ad  planted  ;  part  of  the  battle-ground  is  now  occupied  by  the 
buildings  of  the  Wanganui  Collegiate  School  and  beautiful  homes 
a  ad  gardens.  But  the  contour  of  the  ridge  is  unaltered,  and  the 
gap  separating  the  southernmost  hill  from  the  once-wooded  land 
to  the  right,  as  one  views  it  from  the  College  grounds,  is  easily 
r<  ^cognized  to-day  as  the  pass  each  side  of  which  was  trenched 
and  rifle-pitted. 

The  23rd  July  saw  the  Maoris'  final  appearance  in  force  before 
the  town.  Some  occupied  the  heights  above  St.  John's  Bush  and 
the  fortified  hill  commanding  the  pass  from  the  swamp  ;  on  this 
knoll  they  planted  a  red  flag.  From  these  positions  small  parties 
skirmished  out  on  the  hills  towards  Puke-namu  stockade  and  were 
saluted  with  a  few  rounds  of  shot  and  shell.  Next  day  there  was 
a  general  retirement  up-river. 

Early  in  1848  the  Governor  concluded  an  amicable  arrange- 
ment with  the  lately  hostile  chiefs.  Their  rebellion  was  condoned 
on  condition  that  the  stock  driven  off  from  the  settlers'  farms 
was  restored.  A  few  cattle  were  returned  ;  the  rest  had  gone 
into  the  rebels'  stomachs.  The  settlers  whose  cattle  had  dis- 
appeared were  ordered  —  with  an  unconscious  humour  which 
did  not  appeal  to  the  unfortunate  farmers — to  pay  is.  6d.  per 
head  to  the  natives  who  drove  back  any  of  their  stock  and 
delivered  them  in  the  town.  The  peace  now  established  on  the 
Wanganui  River  remained  unbroken  until  the  first  Hauhau  War 
1864-65. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


TARANAKI  AND  THE  LAND  LEAGUE. 

Land  disputes  troubled  the  Settlement  of  New  Plymouth 
almost  from  the  day  of  its  foundation.  Commissioner  Spain, 
who  in  1844  investigated  the  New  Zealand  Company's  claims, 
awarded  60,000  acres  to  the  Company  on  payment  of  £200  ;  but 
Governor  Fitzroy  set  aside  this  award,  considering  that  it  would 
be  an  injustice  to  a  very  large  number  of  Te  Atiawa  (Ngati-Awa) 
who  were  absent  at  the  time  their  land  was  said  to  have  been 
sold.  Later,  various  blocks  of  land  were  purchased  to  satisfy 
the  demands  of  the  settlers.  The  principal  transactions  of  this 
nature  were  carried  out  by  Mr.  F.  Dillon  Bell  (afterwards  Sir 
Dillon),  who  was  sent  in  1847  from  Nelson  by  the  New  Zealand 
Company  to  supersede  Mr  Wicksteed  as  the  Company's  agent 
in  New  Plymouth.  Mr.  Dillon  Bell  had  joined  the  New  Zealand 
Company  in  England  in  1839,  an(^  was  sen^  to  Nelson  in  1843. 
His  excellent  work  in  Nelson  led  to  his  selection  for  the  delicate 
task  of  satisfying  the 'mutually  antagonistic  elements  in  Taranaki. 
His  chief  purchases  were  the  Omata  Block,  of  12,000  acres,  and 
the  Hua  territory,  of  1,500  acres  (from  the  Puketapu  Tribe),  which 
was  named  the  "  Bell  Block."  Both  these  settlement  areas 
were  to  become  famous  in  after-years,  when  the  settlers  built 
fortifications  thereon  and  prepared  by  force  of  arms  to  maintain 
their  rights  to  the  land  upon  which  they  had  made  their  homes. 
Katatore,  a  tragic  figure  in  Taranaki  history,  stoutly  opposed 
the  sale  of  the  Bell  Block  by  Rawiri  Waiaua  and  others  in  1848, 
and  he  had  a  singular  pole  carved  and  erected  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Wai-whakaiho  River,  alongside  the  track,  as  a  symbol  of 
protest  against  the  encroachment  of  the  pakeha.  This  post,  a 
puriri  spar  about  30  feet  high,  was  named  by  the  Maoris  "  Pou- 
tutaki,"  and  came  to  be  known  by  the  Europeans  as  the  "  Fitzroy 
pole"  from  its  proximity  to  the  Fitzroy  Village,  now  a  suburb 
of  New  Plymouth.  It  had  two  life-sized  figures  in  bold  relief, 
representing  the  pakeha  cowering  beneath  a  Maori  warrior  ;  the 
native  figure  was  intended  as  a  presentment  of  a  chief  of 
Puketapu,  one  Parata  te  Huia.  The  post  was  intended  to  mark 
the  limit  of  European  settlement ;  no  pakeha,  according  to  the 


TARANAKI  AND  THE  LAND  LEAGUE.  1^1 

Maoris,  was  to  own  any  land  between  that  spot  and  the  Auckland 
District.  It  was  1853  before  the  natives  would  permit  settle- 
ments on  the  Bell  Block.  The  return  to  Waitara  from  Waikanae 
in  1848  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Atiawa  (or  Ngati-Awa)  Tribe 
further  complicated  the  progress  of  the  white  settlement  in 
Taranaki.  These  people,  sections  of  whom  had  sold  much  of 
the  land  about  Wellington  to  the  New  Zealand  Company — they 
had  conquered  those  lands  from  the  original  holders — conceived 
a  desire  to  return  to  their  ancestral  homes  on  the  Waitara,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  opposition  and  even  threats  of  Governor  Grey, 
carried  out  their  undertaking  successfully.  Grey  eventually 
withdrew  his  opposition  in  consideration  of  the  help  afforded 
to  the  Government  by  the  Atiawa  at  Waikanae  and  Wellington 
in  crushing  Rangihaeata's  rising  in  1846.  Wiremu  Kingi  te 
Rangitaake,  the  head  chief  of  the  Waikanae  people,  had  given 
valuable  protection  to  the  Wellington  Settlement  at  a  very  critical 
period.  The  Governor  could  not  very  well  ignore  this.  Crying  their 
farewells  to  their  lands  and  the  few  people  whom  they  left  at 
Waikanae  and  Otaki,  the  Atiawa  emigrants  set  sail  up  the  coast 
in  April,  1848.  The  flotilla  consisted  of  forty-four  canoes  of  large 
size,  four  open  boats,  and  a  small  sailing-craft.  A  few  people 
also  travelled  overland  on  horseback.  The  total  number  of  the 
Atiawa  who  thus  returned  and  landed  joyfully  on  the  shore  of 
their  ancient  home-land  was  587,  consisting  of  273  men,  195 
women,  and  119  children.  These  were  the  people  who  in  1860 
came  into  conflict  with  the  Administration  over  the  purchase  of 
the  6oo-acre  block  on  which  the  Town  of  Waitara  now  stands. 

Wiremu  Kingi  and  his  tribe  set  to  work  industriously  to 
cultivate  their  lands  on  the  left  (or  west)  side  of  the  Waitara 
River  mouth,  and  in  a.  few  years  had  a  number  of  comfortable 
settlements  near  the  river,  with  large  crops  of  wheat,  maize, 
and  potatoes,  and  a  considerable  number  of  horses  and  cattle, 
besides  ploughs  and  other  agricultural  implements.  In  1856 
they  sent  to  market  about  £8,000  worth  of  produce,  and  spent 
the  proceeds  on  goods  in  New  Plymouth.  Their  desirable 
lands  inevitably  excited  the  envy  of  the  pakeha  settlers,  who 
presently  moved  the  authorities  to  extend  their  purchases  towards 
the  Waitara. 

In  the  meantime  the  growing  native  jealousy  of  the  pakeha 
took  formidable  form  in  a  combination  to  prevent  further  land- 
sales.  This  powerful  movement,  to  which  was  conjoined  an 
effort  to  found  a  Maori  kingdom,  was  initiated  shortly  after  New 
Zealand  received  its  Constitution  Act  bestowing  representative 
government  upon  the  colony.  The  connection  between  these  most 
important  political  developments  may  be  rather  difficult  to  trace 
exactly,  but  the  coincidence  is  certainly  remarkable.  The  Maori 
was  not  to  be  behind  the  white  in  his  struggle  for  national 


142  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

power,  and  while  the  settlers  had  been  successful  in  their 
agitation  for  self-determination,  he  was  determined  that  the 
newcomers  should  be  restrained  in  their  race  for  Maori  lands.* 

The  auti-pakeha  crusade  was  given  its  first  expression  in  a 
great  conference  of  the  west-coast  tribes  held  in  1854  a^  Manawa- 
pou,  a  large  settlement  of  the  Ngati-Ruanui,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Ingahape  River,  on  the  South  Taranaki  coast.  The  site  of  this 
celebrated  meeting  is  still  plainly  to  be  traced,  although  it  is  now 
part  of  the  farm  of  a  white  settler.  Manawa-pou  is  a  beautiful 
terrace  overlooking  the  sea,  on  the  south  side  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Ingahape  River,  where  the  stream  comes  curving  out  of  a 
deep  grassy  valley.  On  the  hill  300  feet  above  are  the  earth- 
works of  the  Imperial  redoubt  of  Manawa-pou,  dating  back  to 
General  Cameron's  campaign.  Here  in  the  "  fifties  "  was  the 
home  of  a  section  of  the  Ngati-Ruanui,  notable  for  the  large 
stature  of  its  men.  The  tribe  built  an  unusually  large  meeting- 
house for  the  gathering  ;  it  was  120  feet  long  and  35  feet  wide. 
"  Taiporohenui,"  the  name  given  to  the  assembly  -  house,  was 
originally  that  of  a  sacred  house  of  instruction  in  Hawaiki, 
according  to  Taranaki  tradition.  A  great  patriotic  song  was 
chanted  by  the  people  at  the  opening  of  "  Taiporohenui."  It 
began  : — 

E  kore  Taranaki  e  makere  atu ! 

E  hove  Taranaki  e  makere  atu  I 

Kei  marca  mai — kei  mavea  rtiai  I 

Tika  tonu  mai  hi  a  Piata-kai-manawa, 

I  Piata-kai-manawa. 

Ka  turn 

Ko  Le  whakamutunga, 

E  kapa-ii,  kapa-ti ! 

E—i—e ! 

In  this  chant  the  spirit  of  determination  to  hold  fast  to  the 
ancestral  lands  was  made  manifest—  "  Taranaki  shall  not  be 
lost,  shall  not  be  abandoned  to  the  stranger."  The  conference 
of  the  tribes  determined  that  no  more  land  should  be  sold  to 
the  Europeans  without  the  general  consent  of  the  federation,  and 
that  Maori  disputes  should  not  be  submitted  to  European  juris- 

*  "  If  Englishmen  could  occasionally  be  brought  to  face  the  fact  that 
since  the  institution  of  their  nationality  and  language  no  permanent  English 
community  has  ever  passed  under  a  foreign  yoke,  they  would  be  better 
able  to  understand  how  impossible  it  is  for  a  dominant  race  to  do  complete 
justice  to  a  subject  people,  and  how  hollow  is  the  pretence  that  impartial 
justice  is  rendered  to  such  people.  The  strong  natural  sense  of  justice 
which  animates  Englishmen,  and  their  intense  respect  for  the  rights  of 
property,  have  doubtless  helped  to  a  vast  degree  to  counteract  the  evils  of 
domination  and  disparity  ;  but  if  we  could  view  the  question  from  a  national 
Maori  point  of  view  we  should  find  much  to  approve  of  in  the  principle  of 
the  League." — Mr.  Justice  Chapman,  in  his  "  History  of  New  Zealand  " 
(Dunedin). 


TARANAKI  AND  THE  LAND  LEAGUE.  143 

diction  but  should  be  settled  by  tribal  runanga  (councils).  At 
this  meeting,  too,  the  idea  of  a  Maori  king  for  the  Maori  people 
was  discussed  and  fervently  approved. 

The  differences  between  the  adherents  of  the  Land  League 
and  those  who  wished  to  sell  developed  into  murderous  intertribal 
feuds.  On  the  3rd  August,  1854,  Rawiri  Waiaua,  who  offered  the 
Government  a  disputed  area  at  Taruru-tangi,  in  the  Puketapu 
Block,  was  fatally  shot,  with  several,  of  his  followers,  by  Kata- 
tore  and  a  party  of  twenty-eight  men  representing  the  non-sellers. 
The  Government  professed  itself  powerless  to  interfere.  The 
quarrelling  factions  fortified  themselves  in  their  pas,  and  an  in- 
termittent skirmishing  warfare  prevailed  for  many  months.  The 
rival  parties  often  selected  the  vicinity  of  the  white  settlements 
for  their  guerilla  warfare.  The  Administration  was  appealed  to 
for  troops  for  the  protection  of  New  Plymouth,  and  on  the  iQth 
August,  1855,  the  first  British  garrison  of  the  province  arrived. 
This  was  a  portion  of  the  58th  Regiment,  numbering  about  270 
men  and  officers,  under  Captain  Seymour,  with  some  Royal  Artil- 
lery men  and  several  field-guns,  and  some  sappers  and  miners. 
In  September  the  force  was  increased  by  the  arrival  from  Wel- 
lington of  some  two  hundred  of  the  65th  Regiment. 

The  native-land  vendetta  was  resumed  in  August,  1857,  when 
Ihaia  te  Kiri-Kumara,  who  was  very  friendly  to  the  Government 
and  had  sold  some  land,  laid  an  ambush  for  his  enemy  Katatore 
on  the  road  through  the  Bell  Block  Settlement.  The  settlers  heard 
the  firing  in  the  morning  early  as  Katatore  was  shot  down.  In 
the  intertribal  war  thus  renewed  Katatore 's  slayer  was  driven 
out  of  his  pa,  which  was  sacked  and  burned.  All  north  Taranaki, 
or  at  any  rate  the  native  portion  of  the  population,  was  almost 
continually  under  arms. 

The  period  1858-59  was  one  of  continual  internecine  strife  in 
the  district  between  the  Bell  Block  and  the  Waitara.  Ihaia's  pa, 
Ika-moana,  near  Puketapu,  was  evacuated  and  destroyed  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1858.  Ihaia  and  his  party,  the  land-sellers,  were  then 
besieged  at  the  Karaka,  on  the  Waitara.  On  the  loth  March, 
1858,  Mr.  S.  Percy  Smith  (afterwards  Surveyor-General)  rode 
down  to  the  Waitara  with  Mr.  Parris,  Civil  Commissioner,  who 
was  in  charge  of  native  affairs  in  Taranaki,  and  made  sketches 
under  fire  of  the"  pas  occupied  by  Ihaia  and  Wiremu  Kingi. 
"  Plenty  of  bullets  flying  over  my  head  while  sketching,"  wrote 
Mr.  Smith  in  his  diary. 

The  following  description  of  the  fighting  at  the  Bell  Block 
arising  out  of  the  Puketapu  feud  over  the  sale  of  lands  to  the 
Government  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Messenger,  son  of  the 
late  Colonel  W.  B.  Messenger,  of  New  Plymouth  :— 

"  Some  curious  incidents  occurred  in  the  native  war  waged 
over  the  newly  made  farms  of  the  settlers  from  Devon  and 


144  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Cornwall.  As  a  boy  living  in  one  of  the  Taranaki  frontier  posts, 
I  heard  the  story  of  those  stirring  times  recounted  by  my  father. 
The  opposing  tribes  fought  back  and  forth  with  varying  fortune 
over  the  undulating  country  of  the  Waiwhakaiho  River,  and  out 
on  to  what  was  later  known  as  the  Bell  Block.  The  settlers  in 
1857-58  were  witnesses  of  many  thrilling  incidents,  and  it  was 
a  frequent  occurrence  to  have  to  stop  work  in  the  middle  of  a 
fencing  or  ploughing  job  and  retire  to  the  security  of  the  farm- 
house while  a  fierce  skirmish  took  place  in  which  numerous 
casualties  occurred  on  both  sides.  Though  bullets  were  flying  in 
all  directions,  the  white  settlers  were  never  molested,  and  their 
stock  also  was  under  strict  tapu,  and  was  not  interfered  with. 
An  episode  typical  of  those  thrilling  days  was  described  by  a 
Devonshire  settler  who  in  the  midst  of  ploughing  operations 
suddenly  found  himself  in  a  Maori  battle.  The  opposing  war- 
parties  had  skirmished  up  towards  one  another  through  the  high 
fern  surrounding  the  little  farm,  and  finished  up  with  a  charge 
and  close  hand-to-hand  fighting  with  tomahawk  and  mere  over 
the  newly  ploughed  ground.  For  a  moment  the  settler  thought 
that  his  end  had  come,  but  the  brown  warriors  took  no  notice  of 
his  presence,  and  as  the  battle  passed  on  he  found  himself  still 
standing,  hand  on  plough,  gazing  in  bewilderment  at  several  stark 
figures  that  lay  sprawled  in  the  attitude  of  sudden  death  amid 
the  newly  turned  furrows.  As  night  fell  groups  of  warriors,  many 
of  whom  bore  fresh  wounds  from  musket-ball  or  blow  of  toma- 
hawk, gathered  round  the  nearest  farmhouse  and  deposited  their 
guns  with  the  white  settlers,  telling  them  that  they  would  call 
for  them  on  the  morrow,  when  fighting  was  resumed  in  the  same 
manner. 

"In  another  case  a  settler  received  a  message  from  each  of 
the  opposing  forces  to  the  effect  that  a  fight  would  take  place 
on  his  farm  in  the  morning,  and  that  it  would  be  well  for  him 
to  remain  in  his  house  until  the  tide  of  war  had  passed  by.  Taking 
due  heed  of  this  warning,  the  settler  was  witness  on  the  following 
morning  of  a  battle  in  his  pastures.  Many  bullets  struck  the 
house,  and  one  random  shot  killed  a  sheep ;  otherwise  no  damage 
was  done  to  his  property.  The  nervous  tension  brought  on  by 
these  conditions  of  life  proved  too  much  for  several  of  the 
settlers,  who  finally  left  the  district  in  search  of  more  peaceful 
surroundings." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 


THE     MAORI     KING. 

It  was  Tamehana  te  Rauparaha,  the  son  of  the  great  Ngati- 
Toa  conquistador,  who  first  suggested  the  establishment  of  a  king 
or  high  chief  for  the  union  of  Maori  tribes.  Tamehana  had  made 
a  voyage  to  England,  and,  being  an  exceedingly  shrewd  and 
observant  man,  he  returned  with  many  ideas  for  the  betterment 
of  his  countrymen.  The  principal  reform  he  felt  impelled  to 
propose  was  the  setting-up  of  a  king  under  whose  control  the 
people  should  live  in  harmony  with  each  other  and  with  their 
pakeha  neighbours.  His  kinsman  Matene  te  Whiwhi,  of  Otaki, 
seized  upon  the  notion  with  patriotic  enthusiasm,  and  travelled 
among  the  tribes  advocating  union  and  the  election  of  some  high 
rangaiira  as  head  of  the  Maori  nation. 

The  members  of  the  confederation  of  the  anti-land-selling 
chiefs  and  people  found  considerable  difficulty  in  the  selection  of 
a  head  for  the  union  of  the  tribes.  Many  men  of  high  pedigree 
were  approached,  but  one  after  another  declined  the  troublesome 
office  of  king.  One  of  the  chiefs  whom  Matene  te  Whiwhi  and 
his  fellow-leaguers  urged  to  accept  the  kingship  was  Whitikau,  of 
the  Nga-Rauru  Tribe,  Waitotara.  He  refused ;  so  did  Tamati 
Hone,  the  man  of  highest  standing  in  Ngati-Ruanui.  A  deputa- 
tion of  chiefs  went  to  Wanganui  and  placed  the  position  before 
Pehi  Turoa,  who  refused.  Te  Heuheu  Iwikau,  of  Taupo,  similarly 
declined  the  offer. 

The  Waikato  tribes  held  a  very  large  meeting  in  1857  at 
Paetai,  on  the  Waikato  River,  at  which  the  question  was  debated 
by  delegates  from  all  the  tribes  of  the  confederation,  as  well  as 
others  outside  the  league.  The  Arawa  people  of  Rotorua  and 
Maketu  were  represented  at  this  gathering  by  Temuera  te  Amo- 
hau.  Eloquent  efforts  were  made  to  induce  the  Arawa  to  join 
the  Kingites.  Temuera  refused,  saying,  "  One  of  our  chiefs, 
Timoti,  was  the  only  man  of  the  Arawa  people  who  signed  the 
Treaty  of  Waitangi,  but  we  shall  not  depart  from  the  pledge  he 
then  gave.  We  will  not  join  the  king  tribes.  My  king  is  Queen 
Victoria."  ("  Taku  kingi  ko  Kuini  Wikitoria.") 


From  a  photo  about  1865.] 

WIREMU  TAMEHANA  TARAPIPIPI  TE  WAHAROA. 


THE    MAORI    KING.  147 

Temuera  was  taunted  by  some  of  the  Waikato  chiefs  with  the 
defeat  Te  Waharoa  had  inflicted  on  the  Arawa  twenty  years 
previousty  at  Mataipuku,  near  Ohinemutu.  He  retorted  with  an 
allusion  to  Te  Waharoa  having  been  taken  prisoner  and  spared  by 
the  Arawa  in  his  infancy.  "  As  for  us  Arawa,"  he  said,  "  we  shall 
stand  as  firmly  as  a  rock  in  the  ocean.  Upon  that  rock  shall  be 
shattered  the  waves  of  your  kingdom."  ("  Ka  tu  a  te  Arawa  hai 
toka  tu  moana,  e  pakaru  ai  nga  ngaru  o  to  Kingitanga.")  Temuera 
concluded  by  telling  the  Waikato  that  if  they  wished  to  set  up  a 
Maori  king  they  should  apply  to  the  highest  chief  in  New  Zea- 
land, Te  Kani-a-Takirau,  of  the  East  Cape. 

This  suggestion  is  said  to  have  led  to  an  offer  to  the  chief 
named  to  become  king  of  the  federated  tribes,  but  here  again  the 
leaguers  met  with  a  refusal.  Te  Kani,  in  any  case,  was  not  a 
suitable  selection.  He  was  a  very  high-born  rangatira,  but  a  man 
of  no  force  of  character,  and  his  territory  was  remote  from  the 
chief  seats  of  agitation. 

A  conference  was  also  held  in  1857  at  Pukawa,  Lake  Taupo, 
and  was  attended  by  chiefs  from  all  over  the  Island.  The  chiefs 
finally  selected  Potatau  te  Wherowhero,  who  had  no  desire  for 
the  honour.  He  was  a  very  old  and  feeble  man,  but  his  warrior 
reputation,  his  exalted  lineage,  and  his  widespread  tribal  connec- 
tions qualified  him  as  the  necessary  figurehead  behind  whom 
Wiremu  Tamehana  and  his  fellow-reformers  might  carry  out  their 
schemes  of  self-government. 

The  late  Te  Heuheu  Tukino,  the  head  chief  of  the  Ngati- 
Tuwharetoa  Tribe,  described  to  the  writer  as  follows  the  highly 
ceremonious  manner  in  which  the  chiefs  of  the  various  tribes 
assembled  at  Pukawa  in  1857  centralized  their  mana  and  be- 
stowed it  upon  Potatau  te  Wherowhero,  who  was  then  chosen  as 
the  king  of  the  confederated  tribes  : — 

"  Te  Heuheu  Iwikau,  who  was  head  of  our  tribe  since  the 
death  of  my  grandfather,  Te  Heuheu  Mana-nui,  in  the  landslip 
at  Te  Rapa  (1846),  caused  a  high  flagstaff  to  be  erected  on  the 
marae,  the  meeting-ground,  at  Pukawa.  At  the  masthead  he 
hoisted  a  national  flag ;  the  pattern  was  that  of  the  flag  given 
by  King  William  IV  of  England  to  the  northern  Maori  tribes  at 
the  Bay  of  Islands  some  years  before  the  signing  of  the  Treaty 
of  Waitangi.  Beneath  this  flag  at  intervals  down  the  mast  he 
had  long  ropes  of  plaited  flax  attached.  The  flagstaff  symbolized 
Tongariro,  the  sacred  mountain  of  our  tribe.  The  Maoris  were 
assembled  in  divisions  grouped  around  the  foot.  Te  Heuheu 
arose  and  said,  indicating  a  rope,  '  This  is  Ngongotaha '  (the 
mountain  near  Rotorua  Lake).  '  Where  is  the  chief  of  Ngongo- 
taha who  shall  attach  this  mountain  to  Tongariro  ?  '  The  lead 
ing  chief  of  the  Arawa  Tribe,  of  Rotorua,  rose  from  his  place  in 
the  assemblage,  and  taking  the  end  of  the  rope  fastened  it  to 


148  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

a  manuka  peg,  which  he  drove  into  the  ground  in  front  of  his 
company.  The  next  rope  indicated  by  the  Taupo  head  chief 
symbolized  Pu-tauaki  (Mount  Edgecumbe),  the  sacred  mountain 
of  Ngati-Awa,  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty.  The  next  was  Tawhiuau, 
the  mountain  belonging  to  Ngati-Manawa,  on  the  western  border 
of  the  Urewera  country.  Each  tribe  giving  its  adherence  to  the 
king  movement  had  its  rope  allotted  to  it,  representative  of  a 
mountain  dear  to  the  people.  Hikurangi,  near  the  East  Cape, 
was  for  the  Ngati-Porou  Tribe,  Maunga-pohatu  for  the  Tuhoe 
(Urewera),  Titi-o-kura  for  the  Ngati-Kahungunu  Tribe,  Kapiti 
Island  for  the  Ngati-Toa,  and  Otairi  for  the  Ngati-Apa. 

"  The  great  mountains  of  the  South  Island  also  were  named. 
Each  had  its  symbolic  rope — Tapuae-nuku  and  Kaikoura,  and  the 
greatest  of  all,  Aorangi.  Those  were  for  the  Ngai-Tahu  Tribe, 
whose  representative  at  the  meeting  was  Taiaroa.  Returning 
to  the  North  Island  mountains,  our  ariki  took  in  turn  the  ropes 
emblematic  of  the  west  coast  and  the  Waikato,  and  called  upon 
the  chiefs  from  those  parts  to  secure  them  to  the  soil.  These 
mountains  were  Para-te-tai-tonga  (the  southern  peak  of  Ruapehu), 
for  the  Whanganui  tribes  ;  Taranaki  (Mount  Egmont),  for  Tara- 
naki,  Te  Atiawa,  and  Ngati-Ruanui  tribes  ;  Pirongia  and  Taupiri, 
for  the  Waikato  clans ;  Kakepuku,  for  the  Ngati-Maniapoto ; 
Rangitoto,  for  Ngati-Matakore  and  Ngati-Whakatere ;  Whare- 
puhunga,  for  Ngati-Raukawa  ;  Maunga-tautari,  for  Ngati-Haua 
and  Ngati-Koroki ;  Maunganui  (at  Tauranga),  for  Ngai-te-Rangi ; 
Te  Aroha,  for  Ngati-Tama-te-ra ;  and  finally  Moehau  (Cape  Col- 
ville  Range),  for  the  Ngati-Maru  Tribe. 

"  Each  of  the  ropes  representing  these  sacred  mountains  of 
the  tribes  was  hauled  taut  and  staked  down.  So  in  the  middle 
stood  Tongariro,  the  central  mountain,  supported  and  stayed  by 
all  these  tribal  cords,  which  joined  the  soil  of  New  Zealand  to 
the  central  authority.  Above  floated  the  flag,  emblem  of  Maori 
nationality.  Thus  was  the  union  of  the  tribes  demonstrated  so 
that  all  might  see,  and  then  did  Te  Heuheu  and  his  fellow-chiefs 
transfer  to  Potatau  all  the  mana-tapu  of  the  soil  and  acclaim  him 
as  the  king  of  the  native  tribes  of  New  Zealand." 

While  the  scheme  for  a  king  for  the  Maori  people  originated 
with  the  two  chiefs  of  the  Ngati-Toa  at  Otaki,  it  was  not  long 
before  the  leading  rangatira  of  the  Ngati-Haua,  in  the  Waikato- 
Waihou  country,  emerged  as  the  great,  advocate  of  the  doctrine 
of  Maori  self-government.  Wiremu  Tamehana  was  a  master  of 
logical  argument  expressed  in  plain  words,  and  his  deep  know- 
ledge of  the  Scripture  enabled  him  to  give  point  to  his  addresses 
and  his  letters  with  quotations  from  the  Testament.  Governors 
and  Ministers  were  indeed  hard  put  to  it  to  confute  his  reasoning 
or  demolish  his  pleas  for  Maori  rights.  Sir  John  Gorst,  his 
friendly  antagonist  in  Waikato  politics,  told  me  in  1906  that  he 


THE   MAORI 'KING.  149 

considered  Tamehana  one  of  the  most  able  debaters  and  keenest 
thinkers  he  had  ever  met.  The  kingmaker's  appeals  to  the 
pakeha  Administration  read  pathetically.  With  all  the  powers  of 
a  well-balanced  brain  he  contended  for  the  right  of  the  Maoris 
to  administer  their  own  affairs  within  their  own  boundaries.  He 
quoted  the  sales  of  native  land  for  very  small  prices,  only  to  be 
cut  up  and  sold  for  much  greater  sums.  "  Have  we  not  better 
right  to  this  advanced  price  than  the  pakeha  ?  "  The  land, 
always  the  land,  was  the  theme  of  his  earnest  argument.  "  Surely 
that  it  is  unoccupied  now  is  no  reason  why  it  should  always 
remain  so.  I  hope  the  day  will  come  when  our  descendants  will 
not  have  more  than  they  really  require.  As  to  a  king,  why 
should  not  every  race  have  a  king  of  its  own  ?  Is  not  the 
Queen  (English),  Nicholas  (Russian),  Bonaparte  (French),  Pomare 
(Tahitian),  each  for  his  own  people  ?  If  all  the  countries  were 
united  the  aloofness  of  the  Maori  might  be  reprehensible,  but  they 
are  not." 

"  My  friends,"  he  wrote,  "  do  you  grudge  us  a  king,  as  if  it 
were  a  name  greater  than  that  of  God  ?  If  it  were  so  that 
God  forbade  us,  then  we  would  give  it  up  ;  but  he  forbids  not, 
and  while  only  our  fellow-men  are  angry  we  will  not  relinquish 
it."  In  another  letter  to  the  Government  he  denned  the  reasons 
for  the  appointment  of  a  Maori  king  :  "to  put  an  end  to  land 
feuds,  to  put  down  troubles,  to  hold  the  land  of  the  slaves,  and  to 
judge  the  offences  of  the  chiefs/'  And  this  desire  for  a  high 
chief  for  the  Maori  was  not  inconsistent  with  loyalty  to  the 
accepted  principle  of  British  eminent  domain.  He  had  seen 
the  evils  of  disunion  among  the  tribes,  the  failure  of  the  white 
Government  to  stop  bloodshed  over  land  disputes.  His  ideal 
was  peaceful  union  and  civilization  for  the  Maori,  under  the 
benevolent  control  of  Christianized  chiefs.  "  Te  Whakapono, 
te  Aroha,  me  te  Ture "  ("  Religion,  Love,  and  the  Law ")  was 
the  watchword  of  his  political  faith.  But  the  altruistic  king- 
maker was  in  advance  of  his  contemporaries  in  the  colony, 
Maori  and  pakeha.  Had  Sir  George  Grey  been  Governor  in  1857 
both  the  Waitara  blunder  and  the  Waikato  War  would  probably 
have  been  avoided.  But  the  mischief  was  done  by  Governor  Gore 
Browne  and  his  advisers,  and  when  Grey  returned  to  New  Zea- 
land in  1 86 1  he  found  upon  his  hands  the  legacy  of  folly  of  the 
war  in  Taranaki  and  an  inevitable  outbreak  in  Waikato.  In  its 
beginning  the  king  movement  might  have  been  turned  to  a 
blessing  to  the  Maori  people.  Grey,  indeed,  did  endeavour  to 
meet  the  crisis  by  an  offer  of  a  semi-independent  provincial 
government  for  the  Maori  people  ;  but  the  antagonism  of  the 
more  violent  sections  of  Waikato  and  their  co-clans  had  by  then 
reached  a  stage  at  which  compromise  was  impossible. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


THE  WAITARA  PURCHASE. 

The  complicated  history  of  the  Waitara  purchase  may  be 
reduced  to  a  simple  summary.  Teira,  a  minor  chief  of  the 
Atiawa,  living  with  his  fellow-tribesmen  on  the  ancestral  lands 
on  the  Waitara,  was  persuaded  to  offer  600  acres  of  the  land  to 
the  Government,  at  a  price  of  £i  per  acre.  This  block  was  on 
the  left  side  of  the  Waitara,  near  the  mouth,  and  included  the 
ground  on  which  the  present  Town  of  Waitara  stands.  A 
number  of  Teira's  people  supported  him,  but  the  majority  of  the 
Atiawa,  headed  by  Wiremu  Kingi  te  Rangitaake,  opposed  the 
transaction,  and  made  vehement  and  repeated  protest.  It  was 
acknowledged  that  Teira  was  the  occupier  of  a  portion  of  the 
land,  and  the  Government  contention — on  the  advice  of  Mr.  Parris, 
its  local  native  agent — was  that  a  native  had  a  right  to  dispose 
of  his  individual  interests  in  land.  But  this  was  long  before 
the  establishment  of  the  Native  Land  Court.  Titles  in  native 
land  had  not  been  individualized  ;  it  was  practically  impossible 
to  determine  the  precise  extent  of  Teira's  interests.  The  case 
for  the  opponents  of  the  sale  was  that  while  individual  cultivation 
rights  existed  no  one  had  a  right  to  part  with  the  tribal  estate 
without  general  consent.  The  land  was  the  common  property 
of  the  people,  and  it  was  against  accepted  tribal  policy  to  permit 
a  wedge  to  be  driven  into  the  estate  by  deed  of  sale  without  the 
acquiescence  of  all  concerned.  While  the  whole  tribe  might  be 
called  upon  to  fight  to  maintain  any  or  every  member  of  the  tribe 
in  possession,  so  no  member  was  justified  in  parting  with  the 
joint  property  of  the  clan.  This  land  had  always  been  thickly 
populated,  and  was  the  property  of  a  great  many  families,  and 
WTiremu  Kingi,  as  the  paramount  chief,  undoubtedly  exercised 
his  right  in  vetoing  the  sale.  Moreover,  it  is  known  that  Wiremu 
Kingi  was  the  victim  of  a  private  feud.  He  and  Teira  had  quar- 
relled, and  Teira,  in  order  to  obtain  revenge,  deliberately  proposed 
the  sale  in  order  to  bring  trouble  upon  his  antagonist  and  the 
tribe.  This  was  a  common  mode  of  action  among  the  Maoris. 
The  determined  opposition  of  Wiremu  Kingi — who  was  no  fire- 


THE   WAITARA   PURCHASE. 


brand,  but  a  well-wisher  of  the  whites  and  a  man  of  high  intel- 
ligence and  cool  reasoning — should  have  been  sufficient  warning 
to  the  authorities,  at  any  rate,  to  treat  the  matter  delicately  and 


The         Sea. 


CPekapeka    Block.) 
980  Acnes. 


Pukekohe. 
British  Camp 
1860-61 


Te  Ngapara. 


PLAN  OF  THE  PEKAPEKA  BLOCK,  WAITARA. 
(Inset,  Te  Kohia  pa,  called  the  "  L  "  pa  from  its  shape.) 

It  was  the  dispute  over  the  defective  purchase  of  this  land  by  the 
Government  that  caused  the  Taranaki  War.  Waitara  Town  now  occupies 
part  of  the  block. 


to  submit  the  dispute  to  a  competent  tribunal.  Possibly!  a 
proposal  to  rent  the  land  would  have  been  more  favourably 
received  by  the  Atiawa.  But  in  the  existing  tension  of  feeling 


1^2  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

among  the  natives,  the  Waitara,  with  its  fairly  numerous 
population  and  its  highly  complicated  system  of  ownership,  was 
the  worst  possible  spot  that  Governor  Gore  Browne's  advisers 
could  have  selected  for  a  demonstration  of  their  announced 
intention  to  bargain  with  individual  owners. 

As  was  often  the  case  in  native  disputes,  a  quarrel  over  a 
woman  was  one  of  the  roots  of  dissension.  The  following  is  a 
statement  by  a  Kingite  survivor  of  the  wars  : — 

"  Our  troubles  which  led  to  war  began  when  our  people  lived 
in  their  pa  called  Karaponia  (California),  on  the  left  (west)  side 
of  the  Waitara  River,  at  the  mouth.  A  woman,  Hariata,  was  the 
cause.  She  was  the  wife  of  Ihaia  te  Kiri-kumara,  and  because 
of  her  unfaithfulness  Ihaia  had  her  seducer,  Rimene,  killed. 
The  man's  body  was  buried  in  the  pa.  Because  of  the  wrong 
done  to  him  Ihaia  sought  for  further  revenge  and  sought  compen- 
sation in  land.  The  tribe  would  not  agree  to  this,  inasmuch  as 
the  offence  had  already  been  paid  for  sufficiently  by  the  death 
of  the  man  Rimene.  Ihaia,  however,  would  not  listen  to  this 
agreement,  and  he  joined  with  Teira  and  sold  some  of  the  land 
of  Te  Rangitaake  to  the  Government  in  order  to  obtain  compen- 
sation for  the  adultery  of  his  wife.  Hence  this  haka  song  of  the 
Atiawa  :— 

"  The  land  was  seized  upon  because  of  the  woman, 
At  Karaponia  it  all  began. 
E  Mau  na  wa!" 

The  case  for  the  European  settlers  of  Taranaki  lay  in 
the  necessity  for  obtaining  more  land  for  the  extension  of 
the  settlements.  With  thousands  upon  thousands  of  acres  of 
beautiful  and  fertile  but  unused  territory  around  them,  it 
was  very  natural  that  they  should  urge  the  Administration  to 
purchase  new  blocks  for  farms.  Immigration  was  increasing,  and 
the  large  families  of  the  original  settlers  made  obvious  the  need 
for  more  land.  The  vigorous  men  of  Cornwall  and  Devon,  who 
formed  the  larger  proportion  of  the  settlement-founders,  were  not 
disposed  to  permit  a  few  hundreds  of  natives  to  bar  the  way  to 
the  good  acres  lying  waste  under  fern  and  tutu.  Hemmed  in  as 
they  were  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea  and  between  the 
domains  of  the  Maori  tribes,  they  were  impatient  for  expansion 
of  their  landed  possessions.  The  Maori,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
become  very  uneasy  at  the  steady  incoming  of  immigrant  ships, 
and  feared  that  the  pakeha,  with  whom  at  one  time  he  would 
have  been  content  to  live  in  friendship,  would  presently  outnumber 
and  overrun  the  native  people.  Wise  statesmanship  might  have 
averted  a  clash,  but,  unfortunately,  the  one  man  who  could  have 
devised  a  method  of  conciliating  the  antagonistic  factions  was 
absent  from  the  colony. 


THE  WAITARA  PURCHASE.  153 

Thoughtful  men  such  as  Sir  William  Martin  vigorously  con- 
demned the  Waitara  blunder.  Many  years  later  Dr.  Edward 
Shortland  made  the  following  comment  on  the  land  dispute 
and  its  causes  in  his  book  "  Maori  Religion  and  Mythology  "  : 
"It  is  a  recognized  mode  of  action  among  the  Maoris,  if  a  chief 
has  been  treated  with  indignity  by  others  of  the  tribe  and  no 
reasonable  means  of  redress  can  be  obtained,  for  the  former  to 
do  some  act  which  will  bring  trouble  on  the  whole  tribe.  This 
mode  of  obtaining  redress  is  termed  whakahe,  and  means  putting 
the  other  in  the  wrong.  There  appears  little  reason  to  doubt," 
Shortland  concluded  (p.  104),  "  that  Teira's  proposal  to  sell 
Waitara  was  prompted  by  a  vindictive  feeling  towards  Wi  Kingi, 
for  he  knew  well  that  by  such  mode  of  proceeding  he  would 
embroil  those  who  would  not  consent  with  their  European  neigh- 
bours. At  the  same  time  it  is  a  rather  mortifying  reflection 
that  the  astute  policy  of  a  Maori  chief  should  have  prevailed  to 
drag  the  colony  and  Her  Majesty's  Government  into  a  long  and 
expensive  war  to  avenge  his  own  private  quarrel/'* 

*  See  Appendices  for  Sir  George  Grey's  memoranda  on  the  Waitara  question. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 


THE  FIRST  TARANAKI  WAR. 

The  completion  of  the  Waitara  purchase,  in  spite  of  Wiremu 
Kingi's  repeated  protests,  was  resolved  upon  by  the  Governor  in 
Council  at  Auckland  early  in  1860.  It  was  decided  to  have  the 
block  surveyed,  and  to  protect  the  survey-party  with  an  adequate 
military  force  if  obstruction  were  offered,  and  if  necessary  to 
call  out  the  Taranaki  Militia  and  Volunteers  for  active  service 
and  proclaim  martial  law.  The  Auckland  Militia,  it  was  further 
decided  by  Governor  Gore  Browne  and  his  Executive  Council 
(the  Stafford  Ministry),  should  be  enrolled  and  armed  ;  all  males 
between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty-five  were  liable  for  service. 
The  fateful  decision  to  proceed  with  the  survey  was  communi- 
cated to  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray,  temporarily  commanding  in  New 
Plymouth,  who  immediately  had  the  country  between  the  town 
and  the  Waitara  reconnoitred  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  suitable 
places  for  camps  and  redoubts  on  the  disputed  block  and  along 
the  road.  On  the  2oth  February,  1860,  the  title  to  the  block 
was  put  to  the  test.  Mr.  Octavius  Carrington,  Chief  Surveyor, 
and  Mr.  Charles  Wilson  Hursthouse  (afterwards  District  Surveyor 
and  later  Chief  Engineer  of  Roads  and  Bridges)  and  a  party  of 
chainmen  went  to  the  Waitara  to  commence  the  survey  of  the 
land.  Mr.  Parris,  the  Government's  principal  instrument  in  the 
purchase,  accompanied  them.  The  Maoris  obstructed  the  sur- 
veyors and  prevented  them  beginning  their  work.  The  party 
returned  to  New  Plymouth.  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray  gave  Wiremu 
Kingi  twenty-four  hours  to  apologize  and  withdraw  his  opposi- 
tion. The  old  chief  replied  that  he  did  not  desire  war,  that  he 
loved  the  white  people  very  much,  but  that  he  intended  to  hold 
the  land.  Thereupon  (22nd  February)  Murray  proclaimed  martial 
law  in  the  Taranaki  District.  The  Militia  and  the  Taranaki  Rifle 
Volunteers  were  called  out  for  active  service,  and  a  small  mounted 
corps  was  organized  and  armed  with  carbines,  revolvers,  and 
swords.  The  country  settlers  began  their  migration  to  the  town, 
abandoning  their  homes,  which  presently  were  to  go  up  in  flames. 

New  Plymouth  in  1860  had  a  white  population  of  about  two 
thousand  five  hundred,  of  whom  between  five  and  six  hundred 


THE   FIRST  TARANAKI   WAR.  155 

were  men  and  youths  of  fighting-age.  They  could  have  claimed, 
as  Nelson  wrote  of  his  "  Agamemnons  "  in  1794,  "  We  are  few, 
but  the  right  sort."  Nearly  twenty  years  of  Taranaki  life  had 
developed  many  a  settler  into  an  expert  bushman,  familiar  with 
the  forest  tracks,  and  fairly  well  able  to  meet  the  Maori  on  level 
terms.  Such  families  as  the  Atkinsons,  the  Smiths  and  Hurst- 
houses,  the  Bayleys,  Messengers,  and  Northcrofts  produced  ideal 
frontiersmen,  schooled. in  the  rough  work  of  settlement,  trained 
to  act  upon  their  own  initiative,  and  quick  to  adapt  themselves 
to  the  special  conditions  of  Maori  warfare  in  a  country  admir- 
ably fitted  for  guerilla  fighting.  From  this  material  was  formed, 
besides  a  useful  body  of  Militia  and  a  small  cavalry  corps,  a 
Volunteer  rifle  force  which  will  live  in  history  as  the  first  British 
Volunteer  corps  to  engage  an  enemy  in  the  field.  This  body,  the 
Taranaki  Rifle  Volunteer  Company,  a  hundred  strong,  was  formed 
in  New  Plymouth  towards  the  end  of  1858.  The  first  commander 
was  Captain  I.  N.  Watt ;  but  when  the  war  began  the  corps  was 
divided  into  twro  companies — No.  i  Company  under  Captain  Watt, 
and  No.  2  Company  under  Captain  Harry  Atkinson  (afterwards 
Premier  of  New  Zealand).  Major  C.  Herbert  was  in  general 
command  of  the  Taranaki  Volunteers  and  Militia.  The  Rifles 
distinguished  themselves  at  the  outset  by  their  gallantry  and 
efficiency  in  the  Battle  of  Waireka,  and  a  little  later  at  Mahoetahi. 
Unfortunately,  during  the  first  war  they  did  not  always  receive 
due  credit  for  their  work  from  the  Imperial  officers,  who  underrated 
not  only  the  military  genius  of  the  Maori  but  the  soldiering  capa- 
city of  the  settler  Volunteers.  But  as  the  war  developed  it  was 
found  that  the  quickly  trained  civilian  element  was  better  fitted 
to  deal  with  certain  emergencies  in  the  field  than  the  slow-moving 
and  often  badly  led  Regulars  ;  and  Atkinson  and  his  picked  men 
became  increasingly  useful  as  scouts  and  forest  rangers. 

Shortly  after  the  war  began  the  effective  garrison  of  New  Ply- 
mouth and  its  outposts  numbered  about  twelve  hundred  men,  of 
whom  the  65th  Regiment  made  up  about  half.  Marsland  Hill, 
the  ancient  Maori  pa  Pukaka,  was  an  excellent  headquarters  site 
and  place  of  refuge  in  case  of  emergency.  It  overlooked  the  town 
and  the  country  for  many  miles,  and  its  position  just  in  the  rear 
of  the  central  settlement  made  it  a  suitable  citadel.  As  the  war 
went  on  and  the  out-settlers  were  driven  in,  and  New  Plymouth 
was  reduced  practically  to  a  state  of  siege,  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary to  constrict  the  occupied  area  and  to  entrench  the  town. 
The  accompanying  plan  shows  the  line  of  ditch  and  parapet, 
roughly  triangular  in  figure.  The  sea-beach  formed  the  base,  and 
Marsland  Hill  citadel  the  apex  ;  one  side  of  the  triangle  was  along 
the  line  of  Liardet  Street  and  the  other  along  Queen  Street.  There 
were  gates  on  the  Devon  Road  line  where  this  entrenchment  inter- 
sected it.  There  were  several  outposts,  some  of  which  were 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


earthwork  redoubts,  others  timber  blockhouses.  The  British  war- 
ships sent  to  the  aid  of  Taranaki,  besides  the  "  Niger,"  were  the 
"  Iris,"  a  26-gun  sailing-frigate,  the  "  Cordelia,"  and  the  "  Pelorus," 
both  steam-corvettes ;  and  later  in  the  year  the  Victorian  Govern- 
ment's fine  barque-rigged  war-steamer  "  Victoria  "  arrived  from 


PLAN  OF  NEW  PLYMOUTH,  1 860-61, 

Showing  the  line  of  entrenchment   surrounding  the   town,   with   Marsland 
Hill  as  the  citadel. 


Melbourne,  having  generously  been  lent  for  the  assistance  of  the 
colonists. 

New  Plymouth  Town,  crowded  to  excess,  was  now  lively  with 
all  the  business  of  preparation  for  war.  Governor  Gore  Browne 
came  down  from  Auckland.  With  him  in  the  "  Airedale  "  came 


THE   FIRST   TARANAKI   WAR. 


157 


Colonel  Gold,  who  took  over  the  Taranaki  command  until  Major- 
General  Pratt  arrived.  The  garrison  was  reinforced  at  the  same 
time  by  the  headquarters  and  three  companies  of  the  65th,  a 
splendid  regiment  of  stalwart  bearded  men,  mostly  Irishmen, 
young  in  years,  but  already  veterans  in  service.  H.M.S.  "  Niger/' 
a  barque-rigged  screw-corvette  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Cracroft,  arrived  on  the  same  day  (ist  March),  bringing  a  very 
able  young  Royal  Artillery  officer,  Lieutenant  MacNaghten,  and 
some  gunners.  The  "  Niger  "  had  a  few  Auckland  lads  in  her 
crew  ;  they  had  joined  her  in  January.  Her  armament  consisted 


From  a  drawing  by  W.  Strutt,  1858.] 

MARSLAND  HILL,  NEW  PLYMOUTH. 


of  twelve  32-pounder  broadside  guns,  ten  of  which  were  slide-guns 
with  elevating-screws;  the  two  after -guns  were  the  old  Nelson 
type.  Mounted  forward  was  a  68-pounder  gun  (95  cwt.)  working 
on  brass  slides  ;  it  could  fire  either  to  port  or  to  starboard,  and 
was  a  first-class  gun  for  those  times.  The  "Niger"  also  carried 
a  12-pounder  brass  field-piece  for  Naval  Brigade  work  ashore. 
This  gun  was  landed,  and  a  body  of  fifty  bluejackets  and  marines 
entrenched  themselves  on  a  hill  on  the  east  side  of  New  Plymouth, 
which  became  known  as  "  Fort  Niger." 


158 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


On  the  5th  March  Colonel  Gold  moved  upon  the  Waitara"  with 
a  force  of  four  hundred  officers  and  men  of  the  65th  Regiment, 
some  artillery,  and  the  newly  formed  Mounted  Rifles  (Captain  Des 
Veaux),  and  a  long  baggage-train  of  wagons  and  carts.  Camp  was 
pitched  on  the  disputed  land,  on  ground  overlooking  the  mouth  of 
the  Waitara.  Here  a  large  redoubt  was  built,  and  it  became  the 
main  camp  for  operations  which  lasted  just  twelve  months. 


PLAN  OF  MARSLAND  HILL,  NEW  PLYMOUTH, 

Showing  British  fortifications  and  barracks,  1860.     The  hill  was  formerly  a 
Maori  stronghold,   called  Pukaka. 

The  Maori  forces  opposed  to  the  troops  were  not  numerous 
until  the  war  had  been  some  time  in  progress,  when  many  fighting- 
men  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  Waikato,  Ngati-Haua,  and  the  south 
Taranaki  tribes  as  far  as  the  Waitotara,  with  some  of  the  Wha- 
nganui,  came  to  Wiremu  Kingi's  aid.  They  did  not  at  any  time 
outnumber  or  even  equal  the  whites  under  arms,  but  man  for  man 


THE    FIRST   TARANAKI    WAR.  159 

they  were  better  campaigners  so  long  as  they  were  able  to  choose 
the  ground  of  battle.  In  the  bush  they  were  only  outmatched, 
later  on,  by  the  picked  forest  rangers  of  Atkinson's  Volunteers. 
They  were  fairly  well  provided  with  ammunition  when  the  war 
began,  thanks  to  a  Government  Proclamation  of  1858  relaxing  the 
restriction  on  the  purchase  of  guns,  powder,  lead,  and  percussion 
caps,  but  they  had  no  regular  means  of  renewing  their  supplies. 

The  first  shot  was  fired  on  the  I7th  March,  1860.  Wiremu 
Kingi  and  his  Atiawa  followers,  with  the  fiery  chief  Hapurona  as 
the  war-leader,  determined  to  maintain  their  right  to  their  tribal 
lands.  They  quickly  constructed  a  strongly  entrenched  and 
stockaded  fort  just  within  the  boundary  of  the  disputed  block  at 
Te  Kohia,  close  to  the  Devon  Road  (seaward  side),  at  about  nine 
miles  from  New  Plymouth  and  a  little  under  two  miles  from  the 
Waitara  River.  (The  site  is  a  few  chains  from  the  present  road, 
just  before  the  road  crosses  the  railway-line  to  Waitara.)  This 
pa  Te  Kohia,  more  generally  known  as  the  L  pa  from  its  shape, 
was  no  feet  in  length  and  33  feet  in  width  on  each  of  its  two  arms, 
and  within  the  double  row  of  palisading  was  a  series  of  rifle 
trenches  and  pits,  most  of  which  were  roofed  over  with  timbers, 
fern,  and  earth.  The  place  was  well  provisioned  with  potatoes, 
maize,  fish,  and  fruit.  The  garrison  consisted  of  about  a  hundred 
men  of  Te  Atiawa.  Early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  I7th  Colonel 
Gold  attacked  the  pa  with  a  force  composed  of  three  companies 
of  the  65th  Regiment  and  a  few  sailors  from  H.M.S.  "  Niger  " 
(which  had  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  river)  with  a  rocket- 
tube,  twenty  of  the  Royal  Artillery  with  a  12-pounder  and  two 
24-pounder  field-guns,  ten  sappers  and  miners,  and  twenty  of  the 
Volunteer  cavalry. 

The  artillery  and  the  rocket -tube  first  opened  fire  at  a  range 
°f  75°  yards,  and  later  were  moved  to  within  400  yards  of  the  pa. 
The  guns  made  better  practice  at  the  reduced  range,  and  many 
shells  burst  in  the  fortification.  As  the  artillery  range  was 
shortened  the  hidden  Maori  musketeers  opened  a  sharp  fire,  which 
was  replied  to  by  the  infantry  skirmishers.  The  Maori  fire  pre- 
sently ceasing,  some  of  the  Volunteer  cavalry  rode  up  very  close 
to  the  pa  and  fired  their  revolvers  off,  and  two  of  them  seized 
and  carried  away  the  war-flag  (a  red  colour,  bearing  the  name 
"  Waitaha  ")  ;  the  staff  had  broken  and  was  hanging  down  out- 
side the  stockade.  A  sudden  volley  from  the  pa  mortally  wounded 
a  young  cavalryman  named  J.  Sarten,  and  he  dropped  from  his 
horse,  the  first  man  to  fall  in  the  Taranaki  War.  A  sailor  of  the 
"Niger"  and  a  private  of  the  65th  Regiment  gallantly  carried 
Sarten  off  under  fire. 

The  troops  spent  the  night  entrenched  behind  a  low  breast- 
work in  the  form  of  a  half-moon,  with  the  guns  and  wagons  in  the 
rear.  A  fire  was  kept  up  by  the  Maoris  for  some  time  after  dark 


l6o  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Their  palisading  had  been  battered  considerably  by  the  shells  and 
solid  shot,  and,  recognizing  that  they  could  not  hope  to  hold  the 
position  much  longer,  they  prudently  evacuated  it  before  daylight 
on  the  morning  of  the  i8th. 

At  dawn  the  guns  moved  up  close  and  again  opened  fire,  and 
a  breach  was  made  at  the  south  end  of  the  stockade,  through 
which  Lieutenant  MacNaghten,  R.A.,  and  some  of  his  gunners 
and  a  portion  of  the  65th  rushed,  only  to  find  the  place  empty. 
It  is  said  that  MacNaghten  had  informed  Gold  on  the  previous 
evening  that  a  practicable  breach  had  been  made,  but  although 
the  65th  soldiers  were  greatly  excited  and  eager  to  rush  the  pa 
the  cautious  commander  would  not  give  the  word  to  assault.  The 
British  casualties  were  slight  ;  besides  Sarten,  a  soldier  of  the 
65th  was  mortally  wounded,  and  a  cavalryman  and  an  infantry- 
man each  wounded,  but  not  severely.  The  Maori  losses  were 
about  the  same  as  those  of  the  attackers. 

The  next  encounter  was  a  much  sharper  affair — the  engage- 
ment at  Waireka,  in  which  for  the  first  time  in  New  Zealand 
Volunteers  bore  the  most  conspicuous  part.  By  this  time  the 
stout-hearted  settlers  of  Omata  and  the  Bell  Block  had  con- 
structed substantial  little  forts  on  commanding  hills  in  their 
districts,  and  these  two  outposts,  one  on  either  side  of  New 
Plymouth,  were  held  continuously  throughout  the  war,  even 
when  New  Plymouth  was  closely  hemmed  in  by  the  Maoris. 
They  were  not  of  a  uniform  type  :  each  owed  its  design  to  the 
sound  sense  and  native  military  instinct  of  the  local  farmers. 

The  Bell  Block  stockade  was  built  on  a  grassy  hill,  flat  on  top, 
with  a  rather  steep  face  towards  the  principal  part  of  the  settle- 
ment. Traces  of  the  olden  trenches  are  still  to  be  seen  on  this 
hill,  which  is  close  to  the  seaward  side  of  the  Devon  Line,  as 
the  main  road  to  Waitara  is  known,  four  miles  and  a  half  from 
New  Plymouth.  Below,  on  the  flat  near  where  the  dairy  factory 
now  stands,  is  the  spot  where  Katatore,  the  leader  of  the  anti- 
land-sellers,  was  ambushed  and  shot  in  1857.  The  settlers  of 
the  district,  numbering  about  seventy  men,  held  a  meeting,  when 
martial  law  was  proclaimed,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  design  a 
suitable  place  of  defence  to  enable  them  to  hold  fast  to  their  lands. 
Every  able-bodied  man  was  speedily  at  work  felling,  splitting,  and 
carting  timber,  and  soon  a  hundred  bullock-cart  loads  of  timber 
were  on  the  spot  selected  for  the  post.  The  Imperial  military 
authorities  in  New  Plymouth,  with  an  ineptitude  unfortunately 
characteristic  of  headquarters  in  the  first  Taranaki  War,  stopped 
the  work  for  a  time,  but  after  the  Militia  and  Volunteers  were 
called  out  it  was  resumed.  The  buildings  and  entrenchments  were 
completed  by  Ensign  (afterwards  Colonel)  W.  B.  Messenger,  a 
member  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families  of  Omata,  and  a  party  of 
Militia.  It  consisted  of  a  strong  blockhouse,  62  feet  long,  22  feet 


THE    FIRST   TARANAKI   WAR. 


161 


THE  BELL  BLOCK  STOCKADE,  TARANAKI. 


From  drawings  by  Frank  Arden,  i86i.~\ 

BLOCKHOUSE  AND  TOWERS,  BELL  BLOCK  STOCKADE. 
6— N.Z.  Wars. 


l62  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

wide,  and  n  feet  high,  with  two  flanking  towers  each  22  feet  high 
at  the  diagonally  opposite  angles,  all  loopholed,  with  a  surrounding 
ditch  enfiladed  by  the  towers.  Later,  the  position  was  enlarged 
by  the  construction  of  a  timber  stockade  and  a  trench  close  to 
the  blockhouse,  and  enclosing  a  considerable  space,  which  was  for 
some  time  occupied  by  a  hundred  and  fifty  Imperial  troops  with 
a  couple  of  field-guns.  In  the  fort  there  was  a  flagstaff  for  sema- 
phore communications  with  Marsland  Hill  in  New  Plymouth,  and 
when  Mata-rikoriko  and  other  stockades  were  erected  near  the 
Waitara  it  was  doubly  useful  as  a  half-way  post  for  signalling 
with  the  town.  In  those  days  a  column  of  two  hundred  or  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  with  a  howitzer  (drawn  by  bullocks),  was 
required  to  escort  the  provision-carts  from  New  Plymouth  to  the 
Bell  Block. 

The  Omata  stockade,  three  miles  and  a  half  south  of  New 
Plymouth,  was  built  early  in  1860  entirely  by  the  settlers  of 
the  district  without  any  assistance  from  the  Imperial  troops. 
Travelling  along  the  south  road  through  a  beautiful  and  closely 
settled  farming  district,  with  Taranaki's  snow  peak  soaring  aloft 
on  the  left  and  the  green  valleys  dipping  to  the  blue  ocean  on 
the  right,  we  pass  on  the  inland  side,  just  above  the  road,  a 
symmetrical  grassy  mound,  about  60  feet  high,  and  perfectly 
rounded  as  though  artificially  formed,  with  a  ring  of  trench 
indenting  its  summit.  This  is  the  Omata  fort  hill,  once  known 
among  the  Maoris  as  Ngaturi.  It  was  the  site  of  an  ancient  pa. 
The  entrenched  crown  of  the  mound  measures  25  paces  by 
13  paces  ;  the  ditch  which  encloses  it  is  about  10  feet  wide,  and 
12  feet  deep  from  the  top  of  the  parapet.  The  stockade  which  sur- 
mounted the  hill — all  traces  of  the  timber-work  have  long  since 
disappeared — owed  its  construction  in  the  first  place  to  two  settlers 
of  the  district,  Mr.  T.  Good  and  Mr.  G.  R.  Burton,  both  of  whom 
received  commissions  in  the  Militia.  Mr.  Good,  the  first  planner 
of  the  stockade,  was  often  seen  working  alone  upon  the  forti- 
fication before  others  took  up  the  task,  but  sixty  or  seventy 
settlers,  the  pioneers  of  Omata,  joined  in  and  toiled  vigorously 
to  provide  themselves  with  a  place  of  refuge  and  a  fort  to 
command  the  settlements. 

This  Omata  post  was  so  skilfully  designed,  so  serviceable,  and 
withal  so  picturesque  a  little  fort,  set  sentrywise  there  on  its 
round  hill,  that  it  is  worthy  of  a  detailed  description.  The 
figure  of  the  post  was  oblong.  The  stockade  was  constructed  of 
heavy  timbers,  some  of  which  were  as  large  as  could  be  hauled 
up  by  a  team  of  bullocks.  They  were  either  whole  trunks  of 
small  trees  or  split  parts  of  large  ones,  and  were  sunk  3  feet  to 
4  feet  in  the  ground  all  round.  The  height  of  the  solid  timber 
wall  so  formed  was  10  feet.  The  timbers  were  roughly  trimmed 
with  the  axe  to  bring  them  as  close  together  as  possible  and  to 


THE   FIRST  TARANAKI   WAR. 


i63 


.]  E  A    J-'romwSks&^by  T.GoocL,£ns  T  if 


Drawn  by  Major-General  Sir  James  E.  Alexander,  i86i.~\ 
Ground  Plan. 

THE  OMATA  STOCKADE,  TARANAKI. 


6* 


164  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

remove  any  knots  outside  which  might  assist  an  enemy  to  scale 
the  stockade.  The  small  spaces  left  between  the  logs  were  covered 
inside  with  an  upright  row  of  thick  slabs.  The  tops  of  the  timbers 
were  sawn  off  straight,  and  sawn  battens,  6  inches  broad  by  3  inches 
thick,  were  laid  along  the  top  and  fastened  to  the  stockade  with 
7-inch  spike  nails.  The  average  thickness  of  the  heavy  timbers 
was  about  12  inches,  and  the  whole  was  proof  against  musket- 
balls,  and  against  rifle-balls  except  at  very  close  range.  A  row  of 
loopholes  was  cut  all  round  about  5  feet  above  the  inside  floor, 
and  there  was  a  double  row  in  the  two  small  flanking  bastions. 
These  bastions  were  of  two  storeys  each,  loopholed  on  all  four  sides. 
The  lower  part  was  a  sleeping-apartment  ;  the  upper  was  a  post 
for  sentries  at  night  and  in  bad  weather.  The  roof  of  each  bastion 
was  clear  of  the  wall-plate,  and  was  made  to  project  about  a  foot 
beyond  the  wall  of  the  building.  This  arrangement  admitted  of 
the  sentries  keeping  a  good  lookout  all  round,  and  at  the  same 
time  protected  them  from  the  weather.  It  also  allowed  of  firing 
through  the  spaces  between  the  roof  and  the  wall-plate  when  more 
convenient  to  do  so  (as  was  often  the  case  at  long  range)  than 
through  the  loopholes.  The  roof  of  the  sides  and  end  of  the  main 
building  within  the  walls  projected  about  a  foot  beyond  the 
stockade  so  as  to  make  it  practically  impossible  to  scale.  The 
deep  and  wide  ditch  was  crossed  by  a  drawbridge  which  had  a 
span  of  10  feet  and  worked  on  strong  hinges  ;  by  ropes  fastened 
to  its  front  edge  and  running  through  blocks  on  top  of  the  inner 
posts  it  was  lifted  up  perpendicularly  at  night.  The  entrance-gate 
was  made  of  two  thicknesses  of  timber,  each  2j  inches  thick,  the 
outer  timbers  running  up  and  down,  the  inner  diagonally,  and 
strongly  fastened  with  spike  nails  riveted.  This  formed  a  solid 
door  5  inches  thick.  Around  the  inner  walls  were  built  the 
garrison's  quarters,  leaving  an  open  courtyard  in  the  middle  of 
the  stockade.  The  loopholes  were  cut  at  such  an  elevation  as 
enabled  the  men  to  use  their  rifles  clear  of  the  roof,  and  also  to 
cover  any  object  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  as  well  as 
from  the  outer  edge  of  the  ditch  down  the  glacis,  and  everywhere 
around  the  stockade.  There  was  no  "  dead  ground  "  around  the 
little  fort  ;  and,  whatever  the  weather,  the  men  were  firing  under 
cover.  Outside,  on  the  inner  edge  of  the  trench,  stood  the  signal- 
staff,  worked  from  within  the  building.  It  was  a  single  tree, 
60  feet  long,  sunk  6  feet  in  the  ground,  and  secured  by  stays 
and  guys. 

Mr/G.  R.  Burton,  who  designed  the  interior  arrangements, 
was  Captain  in  the  Militia,  and  he  received  high  praise  for  his 
amateur  military  engineering-work  from  so  competent  an  authority 
as  Colonel  (afterwards  Major-General)  Sir  James  E.  Alexander,  I4th 
Regiment,  who  wrote  in  1860  a  report  on  the  Omata  stockade  for 
the  technical  papers  of  the  Royal  Engineers'  Institute,  England. 


THE    FIRST  TARANAKI   WAR.  165 


PROCLAMATION. 


The  inhabitants  will  in  future  be  required  to 
have  a  candle  or  lamp  at  their  front  windows 
at  night  ready  to  light  in  case  of  alarm,  and 
art  desired  to  secure  their  doors  and  lower 
windows.  The  Police  to  see  to  this. 

C.  E.  GOLD, 
Colonel  Commanding  the  Forces 

New  Zealand. 
New  Plymouth,  20U.  April,  1860. 


PROCLAMATION. 


AH  families  numbering  five  children  tr  •». 
wards  drawing  rations  will  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  proceed  to  Port  Cooper  by  the  first 
opportunity.  Passages  will  be  provided,  aid 
every  attention  shajl  be  paid  to  their  comforts. 
Lads  over  16  may  be  eicepted. 

(Signed)  C.  E.  GOLD, 

Colonel  Commanding  the  Forces 

New  Zealand. 
Friday,  27th  July,  1860. 

PROCLAMATIONS  UNDER  MARTIAL  LAW,  NEW 
PLYMOUTH. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


THE    BATTLE    OF    WAIREKA. 

The  gully-riven  littoral  of  Waireka,  five  miles  south-west  of 
New  Plymouth,  was  the  theatre  of  an  engagement  (28th  March, 
1860)  which  proved  the  fighting  -  capacity  of  Taranaki's  newly 
trained  Volunteers  and  Militia,  and  saved  the  town  from  direct 
attack  by  the  united  strength  of  the  southern  tribes.  The 
encounter  was  doubly  memorable  because  it  was  the  first  occasion 
on  which  a  British  Volunteer  corps  engaged  an  enemy  on  the 
battlefield. 

The  British  move  upon  the  Waitara  was  quickly  followed  by 
the  decision  of  Taranaki,  Ngati-Ruanui,  and  Nga-Rauru,  the  three 
principal  tribes  of  the  coast  curving  round  from  Ngamotu  to  the 
Waitotara,  to  come  to  Wiremu's  Kingi's  aid.  Ten  days  after  the 
taking  of  the  L  pa  five  hundred  warriors  of  these  people,  the  best 
fighting-blood  on  the  whole  west  coast  south  of  New  Plymouth, 
had  arrived  within  six  miles  of  the  town.  After  ceremonious 
welcomes  at  Ratapihipihi  and  other  settlements  they  gathered  in 
a  strongly  entrenched  and  stockaded  pa  at  Kaipopo,  the  most 
commanding  part  of  the  hills  at  Waireka.  The  fortification  was 
alongside  the  road  from  Omata,  and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  south 
of  the  stockade  commanding  that  settlement  ;  the  surf-beaten 
shore  was  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  mile  away.  The  district 
was  already  partially  settled  by  Europeans,  and  farmhouses  were 
scattered  over  the  much-dissected  coastland  between  the  ranges 
and  the  sea.  Clear  streams,  rock-bedded,  coursed  down  through 
the  numerous  narrow  wooded  valleys.  One  of  these  was  the 
Waireka  ("  Sweet  Water  ")  ;  it  was  joined  just  at  the  beach  by 
a  smaller  hill-brook,  the  Waireka-iti.  This  broken  terrain,  with 
its  spurs,  knolls,  and  ravines  giving  abundance  of  cover,  was 
an  admirable  country  for  the  Maori's  skirmishing  tactics.  The 
natives  who  composed  the  fighting  force  on  this  side  of  New 
Plymouth  were  chiefly  Taranaki,  composed  of  Ngamahanga, 
Patukai,  Ngati-Haumia,  Ngarangi,  and  other  hapus,  under  Kingi 
Parengarenga  (afterwards  killed  at  Sentry  Hill),  Hori  Kingi,  the 
celebrated  Wiremu  Kingi  te  Matakaatea  (not  to  be  confused  with 
Wiremu  Kingi  te  Rangitaake,  of  Waitara),  and  Arama  Karaka. 


THE    BATTLE    OF   WAIREKA.  167 

A  war-party  of  Ngati-Ruanui,  chiefly  the  Ngaruahine  hapu  of  the 
Waimate  Plains,  arrived  just  in  time  for  the  battle;  their  principal 
rangatira  was  Te  Hanataua.  The  men  were  armed  with  double- 
barrel  shot-guns,  and  were  well  supplied  with  powder  and  lead  ; 
several  carried  rifles. 

On  the  27th  the  first  blood  was  shed  in  the  Omata  district. 
Two  farmers  (S.  Shaw  and  H.  Passmore)  and  a  New  Plymouth 
business  man  (Samuel  Ford)  were  shot  and  tomahawked  by  ambush- 
parties  on  the  roadside  near  the  Primitive  Methodist  Chapel ; 
next  day  the  bodies  of  two  boys  (Pote  and  Parker),  similarly  killed, 
were  found.  On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  when  New  Plymouth 
was  in  a  state  of  intense  excitement  over  the  news  of  these  murders, 
the  military  authorities  decided  to  despatch  an  expedition  to  Omata 
for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Brown  and  his  family, 
and  several  other  settlers  who  had  remained  on  their  farms.  The 
chiefs,  however,  had  made  proclamation  that  Mr.  Brown  would  be 
protected,  and  a  notice  in  Maori  was  posted  at  Omata  declaring 
that  the  road  to  his  place  and  to  his  neighbours'  must  not  be  trodden 
by  war-parties.  The  minister  was  tapu  because  of  his  sacred 
office  ;  as  for  the  others  enumerated,  one  settler  was  Portuguese 
and  one  French ;  the  war  was  only  with  the  British.  The  force 
detailed  for  the  expedition  consisted  of  three  officers  and  twenty- 
five  men  of  the  Royal  Navy  (H.M.S.  "  Niger  "  ),  four  officers  and 
eighty-four  rank  and  file  of  the  65th  Regiment,  with  103  officers 
and  men  of  the  Taranaki  Rifle  Volunteers  and  fifty-six  Taranaki 
Militia.  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray  was  in  command.  Lieutenant 
Blake  was  in  charge  of  the  bluejackets  (who  were  to  be  followed, 
if  necessary,  by  a  larger  force  from  the  "  Niger  "  ).  The  colonial 
force  was  under  the  command  of  Captain  Charles  Brown,  who  had 
with 'him  the  following  officers:  Militia — Captain  and  Adjutant 
Stapp,  Lieutenants  McKechney  and  McKellar,  Ensign  W.  B. 
Messenger  ;  Volunteers — Captain  Harry  A.  Atkinson,  Lieutenants 
Hirst,  Hamerton,  Webster,  and  Jonas. 

The  first  blunder  made  by  the  Imperial  officers  was  the  division 
of  this  small  force  despatched  into  hostile  territory.  Captain 
Brown,  in  command  of  the  settlers,  was  ordered  to  march  by  the 
sea-coast,  keeping  along  the  beach  until  he  reached  the  rear  of  the 
Maori  positions  at  Waireka.  The  Regulars,  under  Lieut. -Colonel 
Murray,  marched  by  the  main  road  for  the  announced  purpose  of 
dislodging  a  war-party  reported  to  be  at  the  spot  known  as  the 
"  Whalers'  Gate,"  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  on  the  town  side 
of  the  Omata  stockade.  The  Volunteers  and  Militia  were  expected 
to  recover  the  out-settlers  supposed  to  be  in  danger,  and  to  march 
back  by  the  road,  joining  Murray  at  the  "  Whalers'  Gate."  The 
force  was  not  sent  from  town  until  after  i  p.m.  (the  colonials 
starting  first),  yet  the  order  was  given  by  Colonel  Gold  that  it  must 
be  back  by  dark.  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray's  implicit  but  unintelligent 


1 68  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

obedience  to  this  order  involved,  as  it  developed,  the  desertion  of 
the  settlers'  column  at  a  critical  juncture  in  the  combat  of  the 
Waireka. 

Murray  did  not  meet  with  any  opposition  at  the  "  Whalers' 
Gate,"  where  there  was  no  trace  of  Maoris.  He  moved  leisurely 
along  the  south  road  until,  near  the  Omata  stockade,  the  sound 
of  rapid  firing  about  two  miles  off,  near  the  sea,  indicated  that 
the  civilian  force  was  hotly  engaged.  He  despatched  the  naval 
detachment  and  some  of  the  65th,  under  Lieutenant  Urquhart, 
to  Brown's  assistance,  while  he  took  the  main  body  along  the  road 


SIR  HARRY  ATKINSON,  MAJOR,  N.Z.M. 

Captain  Harry  Atkinson  commanded  No.  2  Company,  Taranaki  Rifle 
Volunteers,  in  the  Battle  of  Waireka.  He  fought  at  Mahoetahi  and  in  many 
other  engagements,  and  commanded  a  company  of  Bush  Rangers,  1863-64. 
He  was  promoted  to  be  Major  in  1864.  He  was  Premier  of  New  Zealand, 
1876-77,  1883-84,  and  1887-91  ;  was  knighted  in  1888,  and  was  Speaker 
of  the  Legislative  Council  when  he  died  in  Wellington  in  1892. 

and  down  a  lane  which  turned  off  on  the  right  to  the  sea.  Some 
distance  down  the  lane  he  turned  into  a  grass  paddock,  entrenched 
his  men,  and  opened  fire  on  the  Maori  skirmishers  at  long  range. 
He  had  a  rocket-tube,  and  fired  some  rockets  into  a  wooded  gully 
on  his  left  front,  up  which  some  of  the  Maoris  were  moving  to  cut 
him  off  from  the  main  road,  as  he  thought.  Accordingly  he  took 


THE    BATTLE    OF   WAlREKA.  169 

up  a  position  in  the  lane  so  as  to  secure  the  main  road,  and  confined 
himself  to  firing  rockets  at  the  distant  pa  and  any  groups  of  Maoris 
observed,  and  rifle-fire  on  the  native  skirmishers  over  the  spurs 
and  in  the  ravines,  until  he  considered  it  time  to  sound  the 
"  Retire." 

Meanwhile  the  Volunteers  and  the  Militia  were  fighting  a 
desperate  battle  on  the  slopes  above  the  beach.  Captain  Brown, 
who  had  not  had  any  previous  experience  of  soldiering,  had  wisely 
requested  his  adjutant,  Captain  Stapp,  to  take  command,  and  that 
veteran  of  the  "  Black  Cuffs  "  conducted  the  afternoon's  operations 
with  the  coolness  characteristic  of  the  well-skilled  regular  soldier. 
He  had  an  old  comrade  with  him  who  put  good  stiffening  into 
the  civilian  ranks,  Colour-Sergeant  (afterwards  Lieutenant)  W.  H. 
Free  ;  both  had  been  corporals  in  the  58th  in  Heke's  War.  The 
Volunteers  were  armed  with  medium  Enfield  rifles  (muzzle-loading)  ; 
the  Militia  had  the  old  smooth-bore  muskets  (percussion  cap),  such 
as  were  first  served  out  in  the  late  "  forties."  Of  ammunition 
there  were  only  thirty  rounds  per  man  ;  no  reserve  supply  was 
brought. 

When  the  Waireka  was  reached  where  it  runs  down  on  the 
ironsand  beach  the  advanced  guard  under  Colour-Sergeant  Free 
caught  sight  of  a  large  number  of  armed  Maoris  coming  down  at  a 
run  from  -their  pa  on  the  Kaipopo  ridge  nearly  a  mile  away.  Free 
fired  the  first  shot  in  the  engagement,  and  Volunteer  Charles 
Wilson  Hursthouse  (the  surveyor)  the  second,  at  400  yards  range. 
Free  and  his  party  doubled  forward  and  took  cover  behind  a 
furze  hedge  and  rail  fence  to  prevent  the  Maoris  seizing  it. 
Resting  his  Minie  rifle  on  the  lowest  rail  of  the  fence,  Free  sighted 
for  300  yards  and  drilled  a  conspicuous  warrior  through  his 
cap-band  as  was  afterwards  discovered.  "  Good  for  you,  Free/' 
shouted  one  of  the  veteran's  comrades.  Captain  Atkinson  rushed 
up  the  leading  company  (comprised  of  half  the  column,  Volunteers 
and  Militia  mixed)  in  support,  and  took  post  on  high  ground  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Waireka,  where  his  accurate  fire  kept  the 
Maoris  back  for  a  time.  However,  as  the  number  of  the  assailants 
was  increased  every  minute  by  reinforcements  from  the  pa,  and  as 
he  was  in  danger  of  being  outflanked,  Captain  Stapp  ordered  a 
retreat  on  Mr.  John  Jury's  farmhouse,  a  small  building  on  a  terrace 
above  the  beach.  Captain  Atkinson,  on  his  own  suggestion,  was 
sent  to  an  excellent  strategic  position  above  the  Waireka  Stream 
iind  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff  overlooking  the  sea  ;  from  here  he 
could  command  the  flanks  and  rear  of  Jury's  homestead  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Waireka.  Holding  this  position  until  the  battle 
( eased,  Atkinson  and  his  men  inflicted  numerous  casualties  on 
Ngati-Ruanui.  Captain  Brown,  with  the  second  company  of  the 
Volunteers  and  Militia,  occupied  some  rising  ground  immediately 
en  the  other  side  of  the  Waireka,  and  devoted  his  attention  to  a 


170  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

large  number  of  Maoris  who  were  firing  from  the  cover  of  the  bush 
and  flax  in  the  lower  part  of  the  river-gully.  Here  he  was  joined 
presently  by  Lieutenant  Urquhart  and  about  twenty-five  men  of 
the  65th,  several  of  Lieutenant  Blake's  bluejackets  (Blake  had  been 
rather  badly  wounded  on  the  plateau  above  while  endeavouring 
to  clear  the  natives  out  of  the  gully),  and  twenty-five  Militia  and 
Volunteers  under  Lieutenant  Armstrong  from  the  Omata  stockade, 
also  Lieutenant  MacNaghten,  R.A. 

The  Maoris  were  gradually  forced  back  into  an  upper  gully, 
but,  as  Captain  Brown  perceived  an  attempt  on  their  part,  under 
cover  of  the  high  flax-bushes,  to  cut  off  the  way  of  retreat  to  the 


CHARLES  WILSON  HURSTHOUSE. 

The  late  Mr.  Hursthouse,  who  was  Captain  in  the  New  Zealand  Militia, 
carried  out  pioneer  survey-work  in  Taranaki  and  the  King  Country  under 
adventurous  conditions.  In  1860,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  surveyed  the 
disputed  Pekapeka  Block,  Waitara.  He  served  in  the  Taranaki  Rifle 
Volunteers  at  Waireka  and  Mahoetahi  and  in  numerous  other  engagements 
and  skirmishes,  and  later  was  an  officer  in  the  Military  Settlers  Force  and 
Volunteer  Militia  Scouts.  He  became  Chief  Engineer  of  Roads  and  Bridges 
for  New  Zealand. 

Omata  stockade,  he  sent  Urquhart  to  hold  the  commanding  ground 
on  the  opposite  (north)  side  of  the  Waireka-iti  Stream,  and  so 
place  the  natives  between  two  fires.  The  65th  lieutenant  was 
doing  good  work  here  in  an  excellent  position  when  he  was  recalled 


THE   BATTLE   OF   WAIREKA. 


172  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

by  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray.  "  I  must  go,"  he  told  a  Volunteer 
regretfully;  "  the  '  Retire  '  has  sounded  three  times."  With  great 
reluctance  he  moved  off  at  last,  and  the  colonials  now  found 
themselves  without  support  from  the  Regulars,  save  for  three 
bluejackets  and  eight  65th  men  who  had  been  left  with  Brown 
and  Stapp. 

Murray,  oblivious  to  everything  but  the  duty  of  obeying  his 
superior  officer's  order  to  be  back  in  New  Plymouth  by  dark, 


CAPTAIN  (AFTERWARDS  COLONEL)  W.  B.  MESSENGER,  N.Z.M. 
(Died,  1922.) 

As  Ensign  of  Militia,  William  B.  Messenger  fought  at  Waireka  and 
Mahoetahi  and  in  other  engagements.  He  became  Captain  in  1863,  and 
served  in  the  Military  Settlers,  and  later  in  the  Armed  Constabulary  as 
Sub-Inspector.  For  some  years  he  was  in  command  of  the  frontier  redoubt 
at  Pukearuhe,  White  Cliffs.  In  1885  he  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  Permanent  Artillery  at  Wellington,  and  in  1902  he  went  to  South 
Africa  in  command  of  the  roth  New  Zealand  Contingent.  His  military 
service  extended  over  forty-three  years. 

marched  his  force  along  the  main  road  homeward,  and  left  the 
hard-pressed  settlers  to  extricate  themselves  in  the  best  way  they 


THE   BATTLE   OF   WAIREKA.  173 

could.  It  was  now  nearly  dark,  and  the  Maoris  were  swarming 
over  the  broken  ground  above  the  positions  of  the  Volunteers 
and  Militia,  although  many  were  picked  off  by  Atkinson's  company. 
The  little  force  had  suffered  several  casualties  :  a  sergeant  of 
Militia  (Fahey)  and  a  corporal  of  marines  from  the  "  Niger " 
had  been  killed  and  eight  men  wounded,  including  Lieutenant 
Hamerton  and  Private  W.  Messenger  (father  of  Ensign  Messenger). 
The  latter  had  his  right  elbow  shattered.  Atkinson  stood  fast  in 
his  position,  while  the  rest  of  the  force  concentrated  on  Stapp's 
post,  Jury's  farmhouse.  Hurriedly  they  put  the  place  in  a  state 
of  defence,  throwing  together  a  breastwork  of  all  sorts  of  material 
— firewood,  fence  posts  and  rails,  and  even  sheaves  of  oats  from 
stacks  near  the  house. 

The  settlers  were  in  a  serious  state,  for  their  ammunition  was 
almost  done,  and  they  believed  that  the  Maoris  would  rush  them 
when  night  fell.  The  utmost  care  was  exercised  in  firing,  and 
Ensign  Messenger,  at  Captain  Stapp's  request,  went  round  and 
saw  that  each  man  had  a  cartridge  for  the  expected  rush  ;  there 
would  then  be  only  the  bayonet. 

Suddenly,  just  at  dusk,  the  distant  sound  of  firing  and  then 
loud  cheering  was  heard  from  the  direction  of  Kaipopo  pa.  What 
did  it  mean  ?  Had  Murray  returned  and  attacked  the  pa  after 
all  ?  Some  of  the  Volunteers  went  up  the  spur  to  see  what  it  was, 
and  found  the  natives  falling  back  in  great  haste  upon  their  fort. 
It  was  not  considered  wise,  however,  to  march  the  force  up  towards 
the  pa,  ammunition  being  so  short,  and  the  wounded  needing 
removal  to  Omata.  The  moon  was  near  its  setting,  and  as  soon 
as  it  was  down  Captain  Stapp  gave  the  order  to  march,  and 
the  little  force  commenced  its  return  over  the  hills  and  gullies, 
Atkinson's  men  forming  the  rearguard  with  the  eight  soldiers  of 
the  65th  who  had  remained  with  the  settlers.  Bearing  their  dead 
and  wounded,  the  two  companies  retired  on  the  Omata  stockade, 
and  half  an  hour  after  midnight  reached  the  town,  escorted  in  the 
last  stage  of  the  tramp  by  a  body  of  soldiers  and  Volunteers  who 
had  gone  out  to  look  for  them. 

Turn  now  to  the  Kaipopo  pa.  The  shouting  and  firing  which 
had  puzzled  the  beleaguered  force  at  the  Waireka,  and  the  sudden 
withdrawal  of  the  Maoris,  were  explained  when  the  Omata  stockade 
was  reached.  The  diversion  that  saved  the  settlers  from  a  rush 
and  perhaps  annihilation  was  due  to  the  energy  and  courage  of 
Captain  Peter  Cracroft,  the  commander  of  H.M.S.  "  Niger."  At 
the  sound  of  alarm  guns  from  Marsland  Hill,  fired  early  in  the 
afternoon  to  warn  the  women  and  children  to  take  refuge  in  the 
fort,  Cracroft  landed  a  party  of  bluejackets  and  marines  with  their 
officers,  numbering  sixty  in  all.  Colonel  Gold  had  heard  that  the 
town  was  to  be  attacked  by  the  Atiawa  from  the  north,  aided 
by  some  Waikato  and  other  natives,  hence  his  signal  for  another 


174  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

landing-party.  With  the  reluctant  consent  of  Colonel  Gold,  who 
was  nervous  for  the  safety  of  the  town,  the  naval  column  set  out  for 
the  Waireka.  The  sound  of  heavy  firing  was  plainly  heard  in  New 
Plymouth.  Cracroft  was  guided  out  by  a  young  mounted  Volun- 
teer, Frank  Mace  (afterwards  Captain  and  a  New  Zealand  Cross 
hero),  who  had  ridden  from  the  battlefield  with  a  message  for 
assistance,  and  narrowly  escaped  being  shot  by  some  Maoris  whose 
intended  ambush  he  had  detected,  and  who  fired  on  him  as  he 
was  cutting  across  some  paddocks  to  avoid  them.  At  the 
Omata  stockade  two  more  young  Volunteers,  C.  and  E.  Messenger, 
joined  as  guides,  and  led  the  "  Nigers "  by  the  nearest  road 
to  the  Maori  pa.  Cracroft  communicated  with  Murray,  who 
was  on  his  right  and  just  about  to  fall  back,  and,  regardless 
of  messages  to  retire,  he  proceeded  in  his  direct  sailor  fashion 

to  attack.  It  was  now  about  half 
past  5,  and  nearly  dark.  After  sending 
some  rockets  into  the  Maori  position 
at  a  range  of  700  yards,  he  rapidly 
led  his  men  against  the  pa,  turning 
its  right  flank,  and  stormed  it  most 
gallantly.  The  bluejackets  did  their 
work  in  the  traditional  Navy  manner, 
mostly  with  the  cutlass.  Charging  up 
the  hill  and  making  little  account  of 
the  fire  from  the  rifle-pits,  they  dashed 
at  the  stockade  with  a  tremendous 
cheer.  Three  flags  bearing  Maori  war- 

n  from  a  photo.]  devices  were    seen  waving    above  the 

CAPTAIN  PETER  CRACROFT,       smoke-hazed  palisades.      "  Ten  pounds 
R-N.  to  the  man  who  pulls  down  those  flags !  " 

shouted    Cracroft.      Yelling,    shooting, 

and  slashing,  the  Navy  lads  were  over  the  stockade  in  a  few 
moments,  "  like  a  pack  of  schoolboys,"  in  the  phrase  of  a  sur- 
vivor of  Waireka.  The  first  man  in  was  William  Odgers,  the 
Captain's  coxswain.  He  charged  through  to  the  flagstaff  and 
hauled  down  the  Maori  ensigns.  One  was  a  flag  with  the 
patriotic  emblems  of  Mount  Egmont  rising  above  the  blue,  the 
Sugarloaf  Island  (Ngamotu),  and  a  bleeding  heart.  For  this 
exploit  Odgers  received  the  first  V.C.  awarded  in  the  New  Zealand 
Wars. 

"  We  made  good  quick  work  of  it,"  says  a  veteran  of  the 
"Niger"  party  (Mr.  R.  B.  Craven,  of  Parakai,  Helensville) . 
"Our  loss  was  light,  but  we  laid  out  about  a  hundred  of  the 
Maoris.  They  slashed  at  us  with  their  long-handled  tomahawks 
from  their  fire  -  trenches  inside,  and  a  few  of  our  boys  were 
cut  about  the  legs  in  this  way,  but  we  soon  disposed  of  all 
opposition." 


THE   BATTLE   OF  WAIREKA.  175 

Cracroft  attributed  his  small  casualties  (four  men  wounded) 
to  the  rapidity  of  the  attack  and  to  the  semi-darkness,  which 
favoured  the  small  party  and  spoiled  the  aim  of  the  pa  defenders. 
Sixteen  Maoris  were  killed  in  the  trenches  and  several  others 
outside.  The  majority  of  the  garrison  made  a  quick  retreat  into 
the  cover  of  the  bush  and  the  ravines  below.  Such  was  the 
dashing  Royal  Navy  way.  It  might  not  have  been  so  successful 
earlier  in  the  day,  and  it  could  not  have  been  carried  out 
effectively  in  the  darkness.  The  attack  came  just  at  the  right 
moment,  and  in  the  right  manner  to  divert  the  natives'  attention 
from  the  settlers'  force  and  upset  the  usual  Maori  tactics. 

New  Plymouth  was  frantic  with  mingled  excitement  and  alarm 
that  28th  March.  The  women  and  children,  hurrying  to  Mars- 
land  Hill  citadel  at  the  sound  of  the  guns,  awaited  in  intense 
anxiety  the  news  from  the  scene  of  battle,  where  the  settlers  and 
townspeople,  young  and  old,  were  righting  on  the  Waireka  banks. 
Like  the  Maoris,  fathers  and  sons  and  brothers  and  cousins  fought 
together  that  day.  Four  of  the  Messengers  were  on  the  field, 
and  several  Bayleys,  and  members  of  many  other  pioneer  Taranaki 
families.  When  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray  returned  after  nightfall, 
and  it  became  known  that  he  had  left  the  civilian  force  fighting 
against  heavy  odds,  indignation  ran  high  ;  and  on  the  arrival 
later  of  Cracroft 's  force,  with  the  bluejackets  displaying  the 
captured  flags  but  unaccompanied  by  the  Volunteers  and  Militia, 
the  tension  and  fears  increased.  At  lasc,  at  n  o'clock  at  night, 
a  relief  force  of  soldiers  and  citizens  marched  out  to  the  rescue 
under  Major  Herbert,  but  they  had  not  gone  far  down  the  south 
road  before  they  met  Brown's  weary  force  tramping  in.  The 
scenes  of  rejoicing  in  the  town  must  have  gladdened  the  hearts 
of  Cracroft  and  his  sailor  lads,  but  for  whom  it  would  indeed  have 
been  a  disastrous  night  for  the  settler  families  of  Taranaki. 

The  European  casualties  totalled  only  fourteen  killed  and 
wounded.  The  Maoris  lost  heavily  through  the  accurate  fire  of 
Stapp's  and  Atkinson's  men  and  the  quick  attack  of  Cracroft. 
Their  killed  amounted  probably  to  fifty,  with  as  many  wounded. 

The  tribes  concerned  dispersed  southward,  removing  their 
casualties  in  bullock-carts,  and  the  combined  movement  on  New 
Plymouth  was  abandoned.  The  Rev.  H.  H.  Brown  and  his  family 
and  several  other  settlers  came  into  town  safely  the  day  after  the 
fight  under  Volunteer  escort. 

The  popular  opinion  of  Colonel  Gold's  methods  of  command 
and  the  failure  of  Lieut. -Colonel  Murray  to  temper  his  rigid 
obedience  to  orders  with  some  intelligence  or  initiative  was 
expressed  in  strongly  condemnatory  terms.  A  Court  of  inquiry 
sat  to  consider  Murray's  conduct  ;  the  president  was  Colonel 
Chute  (afterwards  General),  of  the  7oth  Regiment  ;  the  evidence 
was  sent  to  England.  Captain  Charles  Brown  and  Captain  Stapp 


176  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

were  promoted  Majors  for  their  efficient  work  at  Waireka.  Captain 
Harry  Atkinson  received  his  majority  in  1864.* 

On  the  day  after  Waireka  the  "  Niger "  flew  the  three 
captured  Maori  flags  at  her  mainmast-head.  Next  day  she 
steamed  down  the  coast  and  anchored  off  the  reef-fringed  shore 
at  Warea,  where  there  was  a  large  Maori  pa  occupied  by  several 
hundred  Maoris.  The  ship  opened  fire  with  shells  and  rockets, 
but  owing  to  the  long  range  not  much  damage  was  done. 

In  April  considerable  British  reinforcements  and  large  supplies 
of  warlike  stores  arrived  at  New  Plymouth  from  Australia.  H.M. 
steam-corvettes  "  Cordelia "  and  "  Pelorus,"  and  the  steamers 
"  City  of  Sydney,"  "  City  of  Hobart,"  and  "  Wongawonga/' 
brought  several  hundred  men  of  the  I3th  and  4oth  Regiments 
and  some  Royal  Artillery.  The  warships  landed  some  parties  of 
sailors  and  marines,  and  there  was  now  a  Naval  Brigade  of 
about  three  hundred  men  on  shore,  under  command  of  Commodore 
Beauchamp-Seymour  (afterwards  Lord  Alcester),  of  the  "  Pelorus." 
The  first  Australian  warship,  the  "  Victoria,"  a  beautiful  auxiliary- 
screw  barque,  lent  by  the  Government  of  Victoria,  arrived  soon 
afterwards  and  landed  sixty  men,  who  helped  to  garrison  Fort 
Niger,  the  sailors'  redoubt,  on  a  hill  which  is  now  a  recreation 
reserve,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  town.  Others  garrisoned  a 
redoubt  erected  on  the  small  hill  called  Mount  Eliot,  close  to 
the  beach  and  adjoining  the  signal-staff  and  surf-boats. 

A  four-days  expedition  along  the  coast  southward  as  far  as 
Warea  was  the  principal  military  operation  during  April,  1860. 
The  movement  was  directed  against  the  Taranaki  and  Ngati- 
Ruanui  Tribes  who  had  fought  at  Waireka.  The  column  con- 
sisted of  180  Royal  Navy  seamen  and  marines,  280  of  the  65th, 
eighty  Volunteers  and  Militia,  forty  Royal  Artillery  with  two 
24-pounder  and  four  6-pounder  field-pieces,  and  twenty  Royal 
Engineers.  Colonel  Gold  was  in  command,  and  Commodore 
Beauchamp-Seymour  accompanied  him.  It  was  a  rough  march 
across  numerous  ravines  and  unbridged  rivers,  and  through  bush 
and  scrub.  Wareatea,  Mokotura,  Warea,  and  other  settlements 


*  Colonel   W.    B.    Messenger,    who   was   Ensign   of   Militia   at   Waireka, 
related  the  following  incident  of  this  inquiry  : — 

"  When  Colonel  Chute  came  to  hold  an  inquiry  into  L<ieut.- Colonel 
Murray's  action  he  visited  Waireka  and  stood  on  the  hill  studying  the  lay  of 
the  battlefield.  I  was  sent  for  to  give  information  about  the  engagement. 
Chute  asked  me,  '  Do  I  understand  that  that  gully  down  there  on  your 
right  and  that  one  on  your  left  were  filled  with  Maoris,  and  that  the  troops 
under  Colonel  Murray  were  up  there  on  the  north  side  above  the  Maoris  ? 
'  Yes,  sir,'  I  said,  '  that  is  so/ 

"  '  Then,'  said  the  Colonel,  '  you  '  [meaning  the  troops]  '  ought  to  have 
killed  every  damned  one  of  them  !' 

"  '  That  is  what  I  thought,  sir,'  I  replied. 

"  The  Colonel  waved  me  away,  saying,  '  That  will  do,  sir.'  " 


THE   BATTLE    OF   WAIREKA. 


I77 


were  entered  ;  several  pas  were  demolished,  wheat-stacks  were 
burned,  a  flour-mill  rendered  useless,  and  cattle  and  horses  looted. 
On  the  return  journey  a  force  of  two  hundred  men  was  left  in  an 
entrenched  position  on  the  Tataraimaka  Block  as  an  advanced 
outpost  for  the  settlements.  This  force  was  withdrawn  later. 
It  was  in  retaliation  for  the  destruction  of  villages  and  other 
property  on  this  expedition  that  the  Taranaki  Maoris  presently 
devastated  the  whole  of  the  abandoned  pakeha  settlements,  and 
systematically  pillaged  and  burned  nearly  every  house  outside 
New  Plvmouth. 


THE  WAR-STEAMER  "  VICTORIA." 

The  steam-corvette  "  Victoria,"  which  was  lent  to  the  New  Zealand 
Government  by  the  authorities  of  Victoria  for  use  in  the  Maori  War  in 
1860,  was  the  first  ship-of-war  built  for  an  Australasian  colony.  She  was 
launched  at  Limehouse  Dockyard,  London,  in  1855,  from  the  yards  of 
Messrs.  Young,  Son,  and  Magnay.  She  was  a  beautifully  modelled  screw- 
steamer  of  580  tons,  built  of  mahogany,  and  was  barque-rigged  to  royals. 
Her  armament,  supplied  from  the  Royal  Arsenal  at  Woolwich,  consisted 
of  one  long  32-pounder  swivel  gun  (56  cwt.)  and  six  medium  32-pounder 
(25  cwt.)  broadside  guns.  Her  engines  gave  her  a  speed  of  twelve  knots. 


CHAPTER    XX. 


PUKE-TA-KAUERE  AND  OTHER  OPERATIONS. 

The  winter  of  1860  drew  on  with  its  heavy  rains,  which 
converted  the  roads  and  tracks,  cut  up  by  the  continuous  mili- 
tary traffic,  into  mud-channels,  and  the  difficulties  of  campaigning 
were .  correspondingly  increased.  The  rivers  were  often  in  a  state 
of  high  flood,  and  the  swamps  became  almost  impassable.  Under 
these  conditions  the  Imperial  forces  fought  an  action  which 
developed  into  the  most  disastrous  affair  for  the  British  in  the 
first  Taranaki  War. 

Half  a  mile  south-east  of  Te  Kohia  (the  L  pa)  the  native 
belligerents  constructed  two  forts  close  together  and  supporting 
each  other,  on  small  mounds  called  Puke-ta-kauere  and  Onuku- 
kaitara.  Outside  these  strongholds  were  numerous  rifle-pits  and 
trenches,  well  masked  by  the  high  fern  and  tutu  bushes.  The 
double  fortification  was  on  considerably  higher  ground  than  the 
British  main  camp  at  Pukekohe,  on  the  Waitara,  and  its  situa- 
tion was  admirably  chosen  for  defence.  The  spur  on  which  the 
twin  knolls  were  embossed  lay  between  two  small  swampy  water- 
courses which  joined  a  short  distance  to  the  north-east  and  ran 
through  a  deep  morass  of  flax  and  toetoe  to  the  Waitara  River, 
half  a  mile  distant  from  Puke-ta-kauere,  the  northernmost  pa. 
The  forts  thus  were  situated  in  a  kind  of  V,  with  the  apex  towards 
the  river.  The  ferny  plateau  south  of  the  swamps  and  extending 
to  the  cliffs  of  the  Waitara  offered  suitable  ground  from  which  a 
flanking  fire  could  be  poured  on  any  attacking-party.  The  Onuku- 
kaitara  pa  was  the  larger  of  the  two.  The  other  was  notable 
for  its  strong  earthwork  defences  ;  it  was  surrounded  with  two 
trenches ;  the  scarp  of  one  of  these  ditches  presented  a  face 
nearly  20  feet  high.  To  all  intent  the  places  were  impregnable 
to  assault.  Unfortunately  for  the  British,  the  commander  at  the 
Waitara  neglected  to  have  the  approach  to  the  pas  properly 
scouted,  and  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  ground,  conjoined  to  an 
ignorance  of  Maori  field-engineering  genius  and  skill  in  skir- 
mishing tactics,  was  responsible  for  a  defeat  which  enormously 
heartened  up  the  pakehas  antagonists,  and  deepened  the  dissatis- 
faction of  the  Taranaki  settlers  with  the  Imperial  command.  The 


PUKE-TA-KAUERE   AND    OTHER   OPERATIONS.  179 

British  main  camp  was  only  a  mile  away,  and  the  building  of  the 
pas  was  carried  on  in  plain  view  of  the  soldiers.  From  the 
Onuku-kaitara  pa  flagstaff  flew  a  Maori  ensign,  white  with  a 
tlack  cross.  A  reconnaissance-party  from  the  camp  was  fired  on. 
The  senior  officer,  Major  T.  Nelson  (4oth  Regiment),  a  veteran 
of  the  Indian  and  Afghan  wars,  then  determined  to  attack. 

The  garrison  of  the  double  fort'  was  much  better  fighting- 
riaterial  than  the  purely  Atiawa  force  which  had  built  and 
evacuated  Te  Kohia  at  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Reinforcements 
of  warriors  had  arrived  from  the  Upper  Waikato  and  the  district 
afterwards  known  as  the  King  Country,  and  from  the  southern 
parts  of  the  west  coast.  The  tribes  which  confronted  Nelson 
c,nd  his  4oth,  besides  Te  Atiawa  and  Taranaki,  were  Ngati-Mania- 
[)oto  and  Ngati-Raukawa,  Nga-Rauru  (Patea  and  Waitotara),  and 
Whanganui.  Waikato  as  a  tribe  did  not  come,  but  some  of  their 
eager  young  men  (such  as  Mahutu  te  Toko,  a  near  relative  of 
the  Maori  King)  had  joined  Ngati-Maniapoto. 

Te  Huia  Raureti,  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  one  of  the  few  survivors 
of  the  Orakau  defence,  gave  me  an  account  of  his  tribe's  first 
participation  in  the  Waitara  war.  He  said  that  when  the  news 
of  the  quarrel  over  the  Waitara  reached  the  Upper  Waikato  the 
runanga  (council  of  chiefs)  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  discussed  the  ques- 
tion of  assisting  Wiremu  Kingi.  This  runanga  consisted  of  Rewi 
Maniapoto  (the  tumuaki,  or  head  of  the  council),  his  cousins  Te 
Winitana  Tupotahi  and  Raureti  te  Huia  Paiaka,  Epiha  Tokohihi, 
Hopa  te  Rangianini,  Pahata  te  Kiore,  Matena  te  Reoreo  (the 
clerk),  and  several  other  chiefs.  Kihikihi  Village  was  at  that  time 
the  headquarters  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  and  the  runanga  met  in  a 
large  house  which  bore  the  famous  old  Hawaikian  name  "  Hui-te- 
rangiora."  This  house  of  assembly  was  destroyed  by  the  troops 
when  Kihikihi  was  invaded  in  February,  1864.  The  conclave  of 
chiefs  did  not  act  hastily.  Two  delegates,  Raureti  te  Huia  Paiaka 
(father  of  the  narrator)  and  Pahata  te  Kiore,  were  despatched  to 
Taranaki  by  the  runanga  to  investigate  the  dispute  and  its  causes. 
Their  inquiries  satisfied  them  that  Wiremu  Kingi 's  cause  was 
just.  "  My  father  and  Pahata,"  said  Te  Huia  Raureti,  "  came 
to  a  decision  adverse  to  Ihaia  te  Kiri-kumara,  the  Government 
adherent,  because  he  had  taken  sufficient  utu  for  his  personal 
wrongs  (the  seduction  of  his  wife)  by  killing  the  offender,  and 
there  was  no  just  cause  (take)  for  parting  with  tribal  lands  in 
order  further  to  involve  Wiremu  Kingi's  people.  On  the  return 
of  this  deputation  to  Kihikihi  the  runanga  considered  their  report, 
and  Rewi  Maniapoto  then  went  down  to  Ngaruawahia  to  lay  the 
matter  before  King  Potatau  and  his  council.  He  requested  the 
King  to  consent  to  a  war-party  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  marching  to 
Taranaki  in  order  to  assist  the  Atiawa.  The  proposal  was  assented 
to.  The  old  King  delivered  his  command  to  the  assembly  of 


l8o  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

chiefs  in  these  words  :  '  Ngati-Maniapoto,  haere  hei  kai  ma  nga 
manu  o  te  rangi.  Ko  koe,  e  Waikato,  ko  Pekehawani  taku  rohe, 
kaua  e  takahia.'  (  Ngati-Maniapoto,  go  you  as  food  for  the 
birds  of  the  air.  As  for  you,  Waikato,  Pekehawani  is  my 
boundary,  do  not  trespass  upon  it  !  ')  " 

Pekehawani,  an  ancient  Hawaikian  name,  was  here  used  by 
Potatau  as  an  honorific  terrn  for  the  Puniu  River,  the  boundary 
between  the  Waikato  and  the  territory  of  Ngati-Maniapoto. 
Rewi  Maniapoto's  tribe  only  he  released  for  the  war,  but  in  all 
probability  the  fiery  Rewi  would  have  gone  in  spite  of  a  royal 
prohibition.  Waikato  and  Ngati-Haua  were  restrained  for  the 
present,  but  after  the  news  of  the  Maori  victory  at  Puke-ta-kauere 
arrived  they  could  no  longer  be  held  back  from  the  war.  The 
usual  route  taken  by  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  and  the  Waikato  on 
their  journeys  to  Taranaki  was  down  the  Mokau  River  by  canoe 
from  Totoro  to  Mokau  Heads,  thence  along  the  beach  by  Tonga- 
porutu  and  the  White  Cliffs  to  Waitara.  War-canoe  expeditions 
down  the  rapid-whitened  Mokau  frequently  covered  the  distance 
from  Totoro  to  the  Heads  (forty-five  miles)  in  one  day,  and  by  a 
forced  march  the  warriors  often  reached  Urenui  or  the  Waitara  at 
the  close  of  the  second  day. 

It  was  scarcely  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  June  when 
Major  Nelson  moved  out  from  Waitara  camp  to  the  attack.  He 
was  accompanied  by  Captain  Beauchamp-Seymour,  commanding 
the  Naval  Brigade  of  H.M.S.  "  Pelorus."  The  force,  totalling 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty,  was  divided  into  three.  The 
main  body,  under  Nelson,  crossed  the  Devon  Road  and  marched 
across  the  fern  plain.  A  detachment  of  sixty  men  of  he  40th 
Regiment,  under  Captain  Bowdler,  marched  to  the  left,  with 
orders  to  occupy  a  mound  south-east  of  the  camp,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  natives  escaping  along  the  left  flank  of  the  main 
body  and  attacking  the  camp.  If  this  was  not  attempted, 
Bowdler  was  to  double  up  to  the  support  of  his  Major.  The 
other  division,  125  strong,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  Grenadier 
Company  of  the  4oth,  under  Captain  Messenger  (a  cousin  of 
Ensign  W.  B.  Messenger,  of  the  Taranaki  Militia),  was  detailed 
to  get  possession  of  Puke-ta-kauere  mound,  to  cut  off  the  retreat 
from  the  other  pa,  and  to  bar  the  way  to  Maori  reinforce- 
ments. The  main  body  (Naval  Brigade  numbering  sixty-five, 
Royal  Artillery  with  two  24-pounder  howitzers,  Royal  Engineers, 
and  the  Light  Company  of  the  4oth)  moved  in  extended  order 
towards  the  south-west  side  of  the  fortifications,  and  was  soon 
engaged  by  the  Maoris  in  large  force. 

The  artillery  opened  fire  at  7  a.m.  from  level  ground  north- 
west of  Onuku-kaitara,  but  failed  to  make  a  large-enough  breach 
in  the  stockade — in  the  Major's  view — to  justify  an  order  for  the 
assault.  The  Maoris,  however,  did  not  wait  to  be  attacked  in 


PUKE-TA-KAUERE    AND    OTHER   OPERATIONS. 


181 


1 82  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

their  forts,  but  came  out  into  the  fern  and  manned  their  outlying 
trenches.  Their  first  fire  was  directed  upon  Captain  Messenger, 
who  was  struggling  around  to  the  rear  of  the  position  on  the 
Waitara  side  ;  but  Nelson  and  Beauchamp-Seymour  were  soon  in 
the  thick  of  it.  Large  Maori  reinforcements  hurried  down  from 
the  Kairau  and  other  settlements  in  the  rear,  and  quickly  worked 
round  the  British  right  flank.  Captain  Bowdler  now  brought  his 
division  up  at  the  double,  but  the  combined  strength  was  not 
sufficient  to  deal  with  the  foe,  who  were  fighting  with  the  utmost 
fearlessness  and  determination.  The  bluejackets  and  marines,  led 
on  by  their  captain  and  supported  by  the  Light  Company  of  the 
4oth,  carried  a  long  trench  on  the  right  front,  but  were  held  up  by 
a  deep  gully  and  two  more  entrenchments  dug  on  the  slopes  in 
the  fern,  and  found  themselves  under  a  destructive  fire  from  the 
Maori  double-barrel  guns,  loaded  and  discharged  with  lightning- 
like  rapidity.  Some  survivors  declared  the  fire  encountered  was 
hotter  than  anything  in  the  great  Indian  battles  or  in  the  attack 
on  the  Redan  in  the  Crimea.  The  British  right  flank  came  under 
what  was  described  as  a  terrible  fire  from  a  series  of  trenches  on 
the  sides  of  the  gullies. 

In  this  tight  corner  Major  Nelson  looked  anxiously,  but  in 
vain,  for  expected  reinforcements  from  New  Plymouth.  He  had 
arranged  with  Colonel  Gold,  Officer  Commanding,  who  had  left 
the  time  of  attack  to  him,  that  he  would  signal  with  ship's  rockets 
on  the  night  before  the  movement  against  the  pas,  Gold  under- 
taking to  march  at  daylight  with  four  hundred  men  and  two  guns 
and  take  the  Maoris  on  their  left  flank.  Through  an  artillery  non- 
commissioned officer's  default  this  signal — which  would  have  been 
seen  at  the  Bell  Block  stockade,  and  repeated  to  Marsland  Hill — 
was  not  sent  up.  The  sergeant  forgot  to  use  the  rockets,  and  Gold 
was  unaware  of  Nelson's  attack  until  the  heavy  firing  was  heard 
in  New  Plymouth.  The  force  which  was  then  hastily  marched  to 
the  relief  only  got  as  far  as  the  Waiongana.  The  river  was  in 
flood,  and,  as  the  firing  had  ceased,  Gold  considered  there  was  no 
need  for  assistance,  and  marched  his  men  back  to  town. 

Meanwhile  Major  Nelson's  force  and  the  division  under  Cap- 
tain Messenger  had  desperate  work,  and  the  4oth  suffered  a  heavy 
defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Maori  musketeers.  Nelson's  regiment 
and  the  "  Pelorus  "  men  fought  well,  but  they  were  no  match  for 
their  active  opponents,  who  came  at  them  with  the  long-handled 
tomahawk  when  the  commander  began  the  heavy  task  of  with- 
drawing his  force  from  the  field.  It  was  with  great  reluctance 
that  he  gave  the  order  to  sound  the  "  Retire,"  but  there  were 
many  casualties,  the  obstacles  in  his  front  were  great,  there  was 
no  sign  of  reinforcements,  and  ammunition  was  running  short. 
With  the  utmost  difficulty  the  force  was  extricated ;  the  Light 
Company  was  the  rearguard.  There  was  ferocious  fighting  in 


PUKE-TA-KAUERE   AND    OTHER   OPERATIONS.  183 

the  fern  at  close  quarters.  The  killed  and  many  of  the  wounded 
were  left  behind.  Captain  Beauchamp-Seymour  was  shot  in  the 
leg,  and  had  to  be  carried  oft  the  field.  The  howitzers,  under 
Lieutenant  MacNaghten,  R.A.,  covered  the  retreat  with  a  steady 
fire  of  case  shot. 

Captain  Messenger's  division  of  the  4oth,  which  was  given  a 
difficult  task,  suffered  most  of  all.  Messenger,  whose  subalterns 
were  Lieutenants  C.  F.  Brooke  and  Jackson,  took  his  men  along 
a  flat  near  the  Waitara,  and  up  towards  the  right  rear  of 
the  Maori  entrenchments.  The  route  was  full  of  obstructions — 
swamps,  gullies,  and  high  fern  and  scrub  —  and  the  Regulars 
were  soon  in  trouble.  It  was  unfortunate  for  them  that  none 
oi  Stapp's  or  Atkinson's  settler  riflemen  were  on  the  field  that  day. 
Approaching  the  double-ditched  Puke-ta-kauere  pa  from  the  rear, 
Messenger  was  assailed  in  great  force  by  Ngati-Maniapoto  and  Te 
Atiawa.  The  high  fern  and  heavy  fire  caused  confusion,  and  the 
4<)th  were  soon  scattered  in  groups,  fighting  a  hopeless  fight 
against  a  skilfully  directed  enemy.  Messenger  got  some  thirty 
men  together  and  worked  his  way  on  in  rear  of  the  pas  until  he 
passed  over  the  ground  from  which  the  main  body  had  retreated, 
and  caught  up  to  Major  Nelson,  who  sent  him  back  to  bring  in 
the  rest  of  his  men.  He  found  Jackson  and  many  of  his  party 
fighting  their  way  out.  Lieutenant  Brooke  had  been  killed  in  the 
deep  swamp  on  the  Waitara  side  of  the  Maori  position.  Some 
accounts  say  that  Brooke  surrendered,  offering  his  sword,  hilt  first, 
to  his  captor,  but  in  the  heat  of  the  battle  it  was  impossible  to 
spare  him.  He,  like  some  of  his  men,  was  waist-deep  in  the 
swamp,  which  few  but  the  half -stripped  Maoris  could  cross.  "  We 
killed  them  in  the  swamp,"  says  a  Maori  who  fought  there.  "  We 
used  chiefly  the  tomahawk.  Such  was  the  slaughter  of  the  soldiers 
in  that  swamp  that  it  came  to  be  called  by  us  Te  Wai-Kotero 
[meaning  a  pool  in  which  maize  and  potatoes  are  steeped  until 
they  become  putrid]  ;  this  was  because  of  the  many  corpses  which 
lay  there  after  the  battle." 

In  small  groups  or  one  by  one  the  survivors  floundered  through 
the  morass  and  broke  their  way  through  the  fern,  and  were  picked 
up  by  Messenger  and  Jackson.  Others  hid  in  the  fern  and  crawled 
out  cautiously  to  the  camp.  There  were  many  desperate  hand- 
to-hand  encounters.  A  curious  report,  given  currency  by  Major 
Nelson  in  his  official  report,  was  that  a  European,  supposed  to  be 
a  military  deserter,  was  shot  dead  while  leading  on  a  party  of 
Maori  skirmishers.  Four  members  of  the  Taranaki  Rifles  were 
on  the  field  that  day  and  under  a  heavy  fire.  George  Hoby 
was  mounted  orderly  to  Captain  Beauchamp-Seymour  ;  George  F. 
Robinson,  Oliver  Hoby,  and  Isaiah  Freeman  drove  transport 
teams  hauling  ammunition  and  the  howitzers,  and  taking  the 
wounded  off  the  battle-ground. 


184  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

The  British  casualties  were  thirty  killed  and  thirty-four 
wounded,  or  about  18  per  cent,  of  the  force  engaged.  The 
heaviest  losses  fell  upon  the  Grenadier  Company  of  the  4oth. 
The  Maori  casualties  were  relatively  much  lighter.  Among  the 
killed  were  two  chiefs  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  Pahata  te  Kiore  (one 
of  Rewi's  first  delegates  to  Wiremu  Kingi)  and  Wereta.  One  of 
the  leaders  of  this  tribe's  war-party  was  Epiha  Tokohihi,  a 
member'  of  the  Kingite  runanga  at  Kihikihi.  Hapurona  directed 
the  skirmishers  of  his  tribe,  Te  Atiawa. 

The  defeat  at  Puke-ta-kauere  and  the  increasing  confidence  of 
the  Maoris  made  it  dangerous  for  the  hemmed-in  citizens  of  New 


P  R  0  C  L  A  M  A  T  1  0  N. 


Much  irregularity,  delay  and  innum-iiiem-i- 
iw  Ihe  public  service  beinf  caused  by  families, 
ordered  to  embark  on  board  Ihe  .steamers  pro- 
vided for  Iheir  conveyance,  disobeying  the  or- 
ders they  receive.  The  Major-General  directs 
H  to  be  ootifled  that  he  will  be  compelled  to 
employ  the  power  with  which  he  is  invested 
to  enforce  the  embarkation  of  such  persons 
But  he  trusts  that  the  good  sense  of  the  in- 
habitants will  render  unnecessary  his  having 
recourse  to  a  measure  so  repugnant  to  his 
feelings. 

B)  Command, 

R.  CAREY, 

Lieul.-lolonel,    . 
Depulv  Adjiilanl-Ceneral. 
Head-Quarters, 

*ew  Plymouth,  3id  September,  IS60. 

PROCLAMATION  UNDER  MARTIAL  LAW,  NEW 
PLYMOUTH. 

Plymouth  to  venture  out  beyond  the  precincts  of  the  town.  It 
was  now  that  the  central  portion  of  the  settlement  was  entrenched, 
and  it  was  considered  necessary  to  remove  the  women  and  children. 
A  proclamation  calling  upon  the  families  to  prepare  for  departure 
by  sea  was  issued  by  Colonel  Gold.  Steamers  were  sent  to  take 
the  women  and  children  to  more  peaceful  homes  until  the  war 
was  over,  and  most  of  them  went  to  Nelson,  where  they  were 
treated  with  great  hospitality;  but  there  were  some  stout- 
hearted wives  and  mothers  who  steadfastly  refused  to  leave  their 
husbands  and  sons,  defied  the  authorities  to  shift  them,  and 
remained  to  share  the  alarms  and  privations  of  a  state  of  siege. 


PUKE-TA-KAUERE   AND   OTHER  OPERATIONS.  185 

Reinforcements  of  men  and  artillery  came  in  from  Auckland ;  the 
principal  addition  to  the  garrison  was  the  headquarters  of  the  4oth 
Regiment  (Colonel  Leslie),  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  strong. 
Major-General  Pratt  arrived  from  Melbourne  (3rd  August)  in  the 
Victorian  Government's  warship  "Victoria,"  with  his  Deputy 
Adjutant-General,  Lieut. -Colonel  Carey. 

During  August,  1860,  the  Taranaki  and  their  southern  allies 
became  particularly  daring,  and  numerous  skirmishes  occurred  close 
to  the  town.  Fort  Carrington  blockhouse  and  Fort  Niger  were 
fired  on,  and  a  lively  skirmish  occurred  on  the  2Oth  August 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  barracks  on  Marsland  Hill.  Lieut. - 
Colonel  Murray  led  out  three  companies  of  the  65th  and  a 
detachment  of  "Iris  "  bluejackets  against  a  body  of  Maoris  esti- 
mated at  over  two  hundred.  The  natives,  who  left  several  dead 
on  the  field,  were  driven  back  into  the  bush.  In  a  previous 
skirmish  Captain  Harry  Atkinson,  with  his  Volunteers  and  Militia, 
when  out  on  an  expedition  to  bring  in  settlers'  property,  fell  in 
with  a  Maori  marauding-party,  whom,  after  a  sharp  engagement  in 
the  open,  he  followed  into  the  bush,  inflicting  loss  on  them.  In 
August  two  naval  32-pounders  were  emplaced  on  the  end  of  the 
spur  in  the  rear  of  Marsland  Hill  fort,  in  order  to  sweep  the  ground 
to  the  south  of  the  town. 

By  night  the  blaze  of  fires,  and  by  day  columns  of  dark  smoke, 
announced  the  destruction  of  many  a  settler's  deserted  home.  The 
Village  of  Henui,  only  a  mile  from  the  town,  was  burned.  The 
Maoris,  however,  invariably  respected  the  churches  in  the  aban- 
doned settlements,  and  those  at  Henui,  Bell  Block,  and  Omata 
were  found  untouched  at  the  end  of  the  war.  The  town  defences 
were  reorganized  by  Major-General  Pratt,  and  every  Volunteer  and 
Militiaman  knew  his  place  in  the  trenches  in  case  of  an  attack. 

The  Taranaki  Maoris,  with  some  Ngati-Ruanui,  laboured  with 
enormous  energy  at  the  construction  of  a  system  of  field-works 
on  the  south  side  of  the  town.  They  dug  trenches  and  rifle-pits 
en  the  Waireka  hills  to  menace  Major  Hutchins,  who  was  in 
charge  of  a  redoubt  erected  on  the  site  of  the  Kaipopo  pa. 
Tataraimaka  was  thick  with  well-designed  entrenchments,  repre- 
senting a  great  amount  of  spade-work.  There  were  frequent 
skirmishes  about  the  Omata  and  the  Waireka ;  at  the  latter  place 
tie  Taranakis  were  shelled  from  the  redoubt. 

On  the  Waitara  Major  Nelson  was  busy.  He  took  a  column 
of  the  4Oth  and  a  Naval  Brigade  across  the  river  and  destroyed 
the  large  Atiawa  villages  Manu-korihi  ("  The  Singing  Bird")  and 
Tikorangi.  He  also  cleared  the  country  near  the  road  between 
the  Waitara  and  the  Bell  Block,  and  demolished  the  fortified 
villages  at  Ninia  and  Tima. 

On  the  4th  September  a  large  composite  force  in  three  divisions, 
under  Major-General  Pratt,  marched  out  to  Burton's  Hill,  four 


l86  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

miles  south  of  the  town,  near  Waireka.  This  place  had  been 
entrenched  by  the  southern  tribes,  but  was  found  deserted,  the 
Maoris  having  gone  home  to  plant  their  crops.  The  roughest 
work  was  performed  by  the  division  of  Rifle  Volunteers  and 
Militia  under  Major  Herbert  ;  it  penetrated  into  the  bush  on 
the  march  round  to  the  rear  of  Burton's  Hill,  and  burned  the 
pa  at  Ratapihipihi  on  the  return  journey.  The  night  and  day 
march  covered  twenty  miles  under  very  wintry  conditions. 

On  the  Qth  September  Major-General  Pratt,  with  the  largest 
force  yet  taken  into  the  field  in  New  Zealand  —  it  numbered 
fourteen  hundred  men,  including  a  Naval  Brigade,  detachments 
of  the  I2th,  40th,  and  65th  Regiments,  Rifle  Volunteers,  and 
artillery — marched  out  to  Kairau  and  Huirangi,  on  the  plateau 
above  the  left  bank  of  the  Waitara.  The  force  burned  four 


BRITISH  POSITIONS  AT  THE  MOUTH  OF  THE  WAITARA. 

entrenched  villages  and  looted  many  horses  and  cattle — some  of 
which  had,  no  doubt,  previously  been  looted  from  the  settlers. 
There  was  a  sharp  engagement  near  a  large  grove  of  peach-trees 
at  Huirangi  with  some  of  the  Atiawa  under  Hapurona,  and  the 
bush  and  trenches  which  sheltered  the  Maori  tupara  men  were 
raked  with  grape  and  canister  shot  from  the  field-guns.  A  stock- 
aded blockhouse  was  erected  at  Onuku-kaitara,  on  the  site  of  the 
palisaded  pa  which  had  been  evacuated  by  the  Maoris  soon  after 
their  victory  in  June. 

On  the  igth  September  a  force  of  six  hundred  men  under  Major 
Hutchins  (i3th  Regiment)  marched  for  the  southern  settlements, 
and  went  as  far  as  the  Kaihihi  River,  where  three  occupied  pas 
close  together  were  discovered.  It  was  found  that  twenty-six 
settlers'  homes  had  been  burned  on  the  Tataraimaka  Block,  and 


PUKE-TA-KAUERE   AND   OTHER  OPERATIONS.  187 

about  a  hundred  in  the  Omata  and  Waireka  districts.  The  loss 
in  stock  driven  off  from  the  Tataraimaka  was  a  hundred  head  of 
cattle,  between  two  and  three  thousand  sheep,  and  many  horses. 

On  the  gth  October  a  composite  column  numbering  over  a 
thousand — bluejackets,  Royal  Artillery  and  Royal  Engineers,  I2th, 
4oth,  and  65th  detachments,  Volunteers,  and  Militia  —  marched 
from  New  Plymouth  along  the  south  road  with  the  object  of 
reducing  the  fortifications  on  the  Kaihihi  River.  Major-General 
Pratt  was  in  command.  The  Taranaki  Rifles,  Mounted  Rifles, 
and  Militia  numbered  105,  and  there  were  150  friendly  natives 
oj  Te  Atiawa  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  Parris,  of  the  Native 
Department.  After  a  march  of  twenty  miles  across  difficult 
country  for  the  large  cart -train  which  accompanied  the  column, 
the  force  entrenched  itself  on  the  north  side  of  the  Kaihihi 
River  and  within  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  principal  pa, 
Orongomaihangi.  On  the  nth  October  a  sap  was  commenced 
towards  the  fortification  by  Colonel  Mould,  R.E.  (Pratt  believed 
in  approaching  such  positions  by  means  of  a  sap  in  order  to  avoid 
loss  of  life,  and  his  extraordinarily  long  advance  upon  Te  Arei 
later  in  the  campaign  remains  a  classic  example  of  slowness  and 
caution  in  warfare.)  The  outer  palisade  of  the  pa  was  covered 
with  green  flax  (as  at  Ohaeawai  in  1845),  and  the'artillery — a  naval 
68-pounder,  two  24-pounder  howitzers,  and  a  Coehorn  mortar — 
failed  to  breach  it  until  next  morning  (i2th  October),  when  a  small 
opening  was  made.  Preparations  were  being  made  to  blow  up  part 
of  the  stockade  with  a  bag  of  powder,  and  an  assaulting-party  was 
ready,  when  the  garrison  of  the  fort  rushed  out  at  the  rear,  and 
the  place  was  taken.  The  Kaihihi  River  was  crossed,  and  the 
Mataiaio  pa,  a  square  fort,  was  rushed  by  the  65th  and  found 
empty.  The  remaining  pa  was  Puke-kakariki,  a  fort  on  the  edge 
of  the  river-cliff,  about  300  yards  from  the  first  pa  taken  ;  after 
a  short  bombardment  it  was  captured  without  opposition  by 
Captain  Stapp's  Rifle  Volunteers  and  the  friendly  natives.  All 
three  pas  were  double-palisaded  and  well  rifle-pitted,  with  shell- 
proof  dugouts.  Ropes  of  plaited  flax  hanging  from  the  cliff -top  at 
the  first  pa  taken  showed  the  way  by  which  the  Maoris  escaped 
into  the  bed  of  the  Kaihihi.  All  three  pas  were  destroyed. 
Orongomaihangi  was  a  particularly  interesting  example  of  Maori 
n  ilitary  engineering.  Its  front,  with  a  prominent  sharp  salient, 
resembled  the  figure  of  a  Vauban  trace,  familiar  to  students  of  the 
s<  ience  of  fortification. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE    ENGAGEMENT    AT    MAHOETAHI. 

The  Upper  Waikato  contingent  had  gone  home  after  Puke- 
ta-kauere  to  tell  of  their  victory  over  the  pakeha,  exhibit  their 
trophies  of  battle,  and  plant  their  crops.  The  news  of  their 
prowess  in  the  field,  and  the  sight  of  the  soldiers'  caps  and  red 
coats  in  which  some  of  them  paraded,  their  newly  gotten  rifles, 
bayonets,  and  cartridge-pouches,  aroused  at  once  the  admiration 
and  the  jealousy  of  their  neighbours.  Ngati-Maniapoto's  exploits 
fired  all  the  Waikato  tribes  with  ardour  for  the  field.  Ngati-Haua's 
war-fever  could  no  longer  be  allayed  even  by  the  peace-loving 
Wiremu  Tameharia.  The  stalwart  men  of  Matamata,  Tamahere, 
and  Maunga-tautari  had  reluctantly  remained  in  their  kaingas 
when  Potatau  forbade  Waikato  and  Ngati-Haua  to  cross  the 
Puniu  River  and  released  only  Ngati-Maniapoto  for  the  war  on 
the  Waitara.  But  now  the  old  King  was  dead,  and  his  runanga 
at  Ngaruawahia  had  little  control  over  Ngati-Haua  of  the  plains. 
Why  should  Ngati-Maniapoto  have  all  the  joy  and  glory  of  killing 
the  pakeha  ?  Were  not  Ngati-Haua  the  kin  of  the  great  Waharoa, 
the  most  renowned  warrior  of  the  Island  ?  So  spake  Te  Wetini 
Taiporutu  and  other  fiery  blades.  In  vain  Wiremu  Tamehana 
urged  prudence  and  foretold  disaster.  Wetini  and  his  war-party 
must  off  to  Waitara  to  kill  soldiers  themselves.  The  new  season's 
potatoes  planted,  the  Waikato  -  Waipa  basin  and  the  plains  of 
Matamata  were  alive  with  parties  of  young  musketeers  marching  off 
for  the  summer's  shooting  in  Taranaki.  Nearly  every  village  from 
Ngaruawahia  southward  sent  its  squad  to  join  the  war-parties 
in  reinforcement  of  Wiremu  Kingi.  Ngati-Maniapoto  provided 
the  larger  part  of  the  force  ;  but  Ngati-Haua  sent  a  company 
about  eighty  strong  of  the  finest  fighting-men  that  ever  carried 
tupara  and  tomahawk.  They  were  the  flower  of  the  tribe — tall 
athletes,  fit  successors  of  the  invincible  warriors  whom  Waharoa 
had  led  against  many  a  stockade.  Wetini  Taiporutu  ("  The 
Surging  Sea  ")  was  at  their  head.  The  other  tribes  which 
swelled  the  strength  of  the  columns  marching  southward  were 
Ngati  -  Raukawa  and  Ngati  -  Koroki,  and  these  subtribes  of 
Waikato  :  Ngati-Apakura  (from  Rangiaowhia) ,  Ngati-Ruru  (Te 


THE  ENGAGEMENT  AT  MAHOETAHI.  189 

Awamutu),  Ngati-Koura  (Orakau),  Ngati-Kahukura,  and  Ngati- 
Mahuta.  Rewi  Maniapoto  (or  Manga,  as  he  was  more  usually 
known  by  his  own  people)  was  the  leader  of  the  numerous  hapus 
\Uiich  mustered  at  Kihikihi ;  with  him  were  Epiha  Tokohihi, 
Te  Paetai  te  Mahia,  Mokau  (of  Ngati-Raukawa,  at  Orakau),  and 
several  other  chiefs.  Rewi  was  a  veteran  of  the  Waitara  trail  ; 
as  a  boy  of  twelve  he  had  marched  on  his  first  war  expedition  in 
1832,  when  a  Waikato  army  made  one  of  its  periodical  raids  on 
Puke-rangiora.  Wetini's  war-party  marched  apart  from  the  others, 
eager  to  reach  the  scene  of  war  and  uphold  the  name  of  Ngati- 
Baua.  From  Mokau  Heads  they  made  a  forced  march  along  the 
beach,  and,  crossing  the  Waitara,  met  their  allies  on  the  strongly 
fortified  plain  at  Kairau.  Anxious  to  distinguish  themselves 
ir  a  battle  of  their  own,  they  stayed  not  long  at  the  Kairau, 
where  they  were  joined  by  other  Waikato  tribes,  but  pushed  on 
to  Mahoetahi,  an  old  practically  unfortified  pa  on  a  gentle  mound 
oi  a  hill  alongside  the  Devon  Road,  two  miles  and  a  half  from 
Waitaia  and  seven  miles  and  a  half  from  New  Plymouth.  Wetini 
took  up  this  position  as  a  deliberate  challenge  to  the  British 
General.  He  had  sent  an  invitation  to  combat  quite  in  the 
manner  of  the  knights  of  old.  The  gage  was  thrown  down  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Parris,  the  Assistant  Native  Secretary  in  Taranaki  : 
"  Come  inland  and  let  us  meet  each  other.  Fish  fight  at  sea  ! 
Come  inland  and  tread  on  our  feet.  Make  haste !  make  haste !  " 
This  metaphorical  trailing  of  Ngati-Haua's  blanket  was  taken 
up  by  the  pakeha  with  spirited  alacrity.  It  was  on  the  evening 
oi  the  5th  November  that  Major-General  Pratt  was  informed 
that  Wetini's  contingent  had  crossed  the  Waitara,  and  that  pos- 
sibly next  morning  they  would  be  in  the  vicinity  of  Mahoetahi. 
It  was  thought  that  they  were  marching  on  New  Plymouth.  Their 
numbers  were  greatly  exaggerated.  Pratt  immediately  issued 
orders  for  a  British  column  to  march  from  New  Plymouth,  and 
another  from  Waitara,  to  meet  at  Mahoetahi  next  forenoon,  and 
so  take  the  Maoris  between  two  fires.  At  dawn  of  day  a  young 
Militia  officer,  Lieutenant  F.  Standish,  with  a  friendly  Maori 
chief  named  Mahau,  reconnoitred  in  the  direction  of  Mahoetahi, 
and  saw  the  Ngati-Haua  and  Waikato  enter  an  old  village  on  the 
hilltop.  At  5  o'clock  on  a  beautiful  clear  morning  the  General's 
column  left  the  town.  It  was  composed  chiefly  of  the  65th,  4oth, 
and  1 2th  Regiments,  with  some  Royal  Artillery  manning  two 
24  -pounder  howitzers,  a  few  sappers  and  miners,  and  two 
companies  of  the  Taranaki  Rifle  Volunteers  and  Militia,  with 
twenty  of  the  Volunteer  cavalry.  The  total  strength  of  the  force 
w;  LS  670 ;  of  this  force  the  Volunteers  made  up  about  130.  Some 
friendly  Maoris  also  went  out,  but  took  no  part  in  the  assault. 
On  the  march  out  the  advance-guard,  in  extended  order,  consisted 
of  a  company  of  the  65th  Regiment,  under  Captain  Turner,  with 


190 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


a  company  of  Volunteers  and  Militia  as  a  flank  guard  on  the  left, 
and  another  company  of  the  65th  flanking  the  advance  on  the 
right.  The  colonial  officers  who  took  part  in  the  expedition  were 
Major  Herbert  (late  58th  Regiment),  Captains  C.  Brown,  Harry 
A.  Atkinson,  and  W.  S.  Atkinson  (the  last-named  in  charge  of  the 


Mahoe.t-ahi  hill 
LooKmy  towards  W<3itara 

Sho*i»j  yrjve   oF  Fallen  Warnors 


?^rf£ 

^' 

~l^ 

K                              [HE  HH»*IH»HAII«Tf 

It  iff  T  INI  raiptmun 

HGX  1  MH  HIWSATitU  TOHHMMlM 

<f   m*  I.;   \W*ITA*M 

\m^  \«  \P*»TY 
/*i&&f«&£ 


THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  MAHOETAHI. 

Showing  site  of  Maori  position  stormed  by  the  Imperial  and  Colonial  troops, 
6th  November,  1860. 


Maori  contingent),  Lieutenants  Hamerton,  Morrison,  Webster,  and 
Standish,  and  Ensign  W.  B.  Messenger.  Mr.  R.  Parris,  who 
accompanied  the  force,  also  had  a  captain's  commission,  and  later 
was  promoted  to  major. 


THE    ENGAGEMENT   AT   MAHOETAHI.  IQI 

Soon  after  crossing  the  Mangaoraka  the  firing  commenced,  the 
Maori  skirmishers  falling  back  upon  the  Mahoetahi  Hill  as  the 
troops  advanced.  The  advance-guard  formed  a  line  of  skirmishers 
and  moved  quickly  towards  the  Maori  position,  which  was  visible 
on  the  high  ground  across  a  narrow  swamp  directly  in  front,  and 
just  to  the  left  of  the  main  road  where  it  curved  inland  to  avoid 
the  Mahoetahi  ridge.  Several  casualties  occurred  among  the  65th 
before  the  swamp  was  crossed. 

The  advance-guard  halted  and  lay  down  on  the  low  ground 
close  to  the  swamp.  "  Fix  bayonets  and  prepare  to  charge  "  was 
the  next  order.  Meanwhile  the  two  howitzers,  under  Captain 
Si  rover,  R.A.,  opened  fire  on  the  position.  The  mounted  scouts 
he-xl  just  reported  to  the  General  that  the  British  column  from  the 
Waitara  was  near  at  hand,  moving  towards  the  Maori  left  rear. 
The  order  to  cross  the  swamp  was  given,  and  the  troops  dashed 
through  the  muddy  water  or  jumped  from  tussock  to  tussock. 
Re-forming  on  the  other  side,  they  saw  before  them  two  low  mounds, 
beyond  which  was  the  level  top  of  the  Mahoetahi  Hill,  with  no 
stockade  or  regular  entrenchment  showing.  The  Taranaki  Rifles 
arid  Militia  were  to  the  north-west  of  the  pa  (the  sea  side),  with 
two  companies  of  the  65th,  facing  the  west  flank  of  the  hill,  and 
another  company  continuing  the  line  inland,  covering  the  Maori 
left  front.  In  the  rear  of  the  65th  were  the  reserves,  consisting 
of  the  I2th  and  4oth,  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Carey,  Deputy  Adjutant- 
General . 

"  Charge  !  "  was  the  next  order,  and  then  there  was  a  desperate 
race  for  the  top  of  the  mound.  Volunteers  and  Militia  were 
determined  that  no  Regulars  should  deprive  them  of  the  honour  of 
being  first  in  the  pa.  The  front  line  of  the  65th  received  a  heavy 
volley  from  the  hill  and  was  stayed  for  a  moment  or  two,  but 
the  supporting  company  came  up,  and  the  hilltop  was  gained. 
The  Taranaki  men,  led  on  by  Major  Herbert,  sword  in  hand,  were 
just  breasting  the  upper  slope  when  the  Maoris  gave  them  the 
next  volley.  But  a  moment  before  it  was  delivered  Major  Herbert 
shouted  "  Down  !  "  and  dropped  flat  on  the  ground,  and  every 
man  followed  his  example  on  the  instant.  The  bullets  went  over 
their  heads.  Leaping  up,  the  men  were  into  the  Maori  position, 
bayonet  and  bayonet  with  the  big  Irishmen  of  the  65th  on  their 
right.  No  Maori,  however  brave,  could  stand  in  the  open  before 
that  line  of  steel.  Most  of  Wetini's  men,  after  the  first  volley, 
took  cover  behind  an  old  parapet,  the  remains  of  the  ancient 
fortification  which  had  enclosed  the  centre  of  the  hilltop,  and  in 
a  number  of  excavations,  whare  sites,  besides  some  dilapidated 
huts  and  fern,  and  masked  potato-pits,  which  made  good  rifle- 
pits.  Having  only  taken  post  in  the  old  pa  that  morning,  they 
had  not  had  time  to  entrench  themselves  properly.  From  such 
cover  as  there  was  Ngati-Haua  fired  heavily,  inflicting  several 


IQ2  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

casualties  on  the  65th  and  the  Volunteers.  Charging  across  the 
pa,  Herbert's  settler  soldiers  received  a  heavy  volley  delivered 
by  the  Maoris  just  under  the  crest  on  the  reverse  slope  of  the  hill ; 
but  the  fire  was  too  high,  and  there  were  no  casualties.  Meanwhile 
the  65th  had  cleared  the  centre  of  the  hill  with  the  bayonet. 

The  Maoris  retreated  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp  on  the  Waitara 
side,  and  Regulars  and  Volunteers  and  Militia  charged  down  the 
slope  after  them.  Now  came  the  most  desperate  work  of  the  day. 
Ngati-Haua  and  their  kin  of  Waikato  and  Maniapoto  turned  on 
the  troops  like  lions.  When  there  was  no  time  to  reload  their 
tuparas  or  their  rifles  they  threw  down  the  now-useless  weapons 
and  countered  bayonet  with  tomahawk.  There  were  not  more 
than  a  hundred  and  fifty  Maoris,  but,  outnumbered  as  they  were, 
they  fought  with  a  splendid  heroism.  If  they  were  rebels  they 
were  glorious  rebels.  Their  one  thought  now  was  to  hapai-ingoa 
—to  uplift  the  tribal,  name  and  fame. 

By  this  time  the  column  from  the  Waitara  side,  commanded 
by  Colonel  Mould,  R.E.,  had  crossed  the  Waiongana  River,  and 
had  deployed  into  line  on  the  inland  side  of  the  pa,  and  when 
the  Maoris  were  driven  into  the  swamp  they  found  their  right 
flank  assailed  by  this  force.  Mould's  column  consisted  of  several 
companies  of  the  4oth  under  Major  Nelson,  a  company  of  the 
65th,  and  a  party  with  a  24-pounder  howitzer.  A  few  shells  were 
thrown  into  the  Maoris  (narrowly  missing  the  troops),  and  then 
the  Regulars  joined  in  the  attack  pursuit. 

On  the  fern  flat  below  the  swamp  many  of  the  Maoris  took 
cover  in  old  potato-pits  and  fired  upon  their  foes  on  the  other 
side.  But  the  weight  of  the  combined  advance  was  irresistible. 
Fighting  yard  by  yard  the  gallant  Ngati-Haua  were  forced  back. 
At  last  they  turned  and  fled,  leaving  more  than  a  score  lying  dead 
among  the  tufts  of  tussocks  and  flax  and  in  the  reddened  pools  of 
water.  Rifles,  double-barrel  guns,  and  cartridge-belts  strewed  the 
ground  of  the  retreat.  With  the  bursting  shells  of  the  howitzers 
and  six  hundred  Enfields  and  bayonets  compelling  their  flight, 
they  retreated  across  the  Waiongana  towards  Huirangi.  Wetini 
Taiporutu  himself  was  killed  early  in  the  retreat.  His  chivalrous 
challenge  won  him  undying  fame,  but  cost  Ngati-Haua  two  score 
men.  The  chase  across  the  Waiongana  was  carried  as  far  as  Nga- 
tai-pari-rua  and  Puke-ta-kauere  ;  thence  the  pursuers  returned  to 
the  captured  hill  and  marched  back  to  quarters.  Colonel  Mould 
was  left  at  Mahoetahi  with  a  force  to  hold  the  hill.  The  friendly 
Maoris  searched  the  swamp  and  the  hillside  for  the  slain,  and 
collected  thirty-seven  slain  Maoris,  most  of  whom  were  buried  in 
a  large  grave  dug  on  the  western  slope  of  Mahoetahi.  The  bodies 
of  Wetini  Taiporutu  and  two  other  chiefs,  identified  by  the  cap- 
tured Maoris,  were  taken  into  New  Plymouth  and  buried  in  St. 
Mary's  Churchyard.  More  bodies  were  discovered  on  the  line  of 


THE   ENGAGEMENT   AT   MAHOETAHI.  IQ3 

retreat,  and  the  total  loss  of  the  Maoris  was  estimated  at  about 
fifty  killed  and  as  many  more  wounded,  out  of  not  more  than  a 
hundred  and  fifty  engaged.  In  spite  of  shell  and  bullet,  they 
carried  away  many  of  their  wounded  to  Huirangi. 

The  British  casualties  were  four  killed  and  seventeen  wounded. 
The  Rifle  Volunteers,  who  shared  the  honours  of  the  day  with  the 
Regulars,  divided  with  them  the  losses  ;  two  of  their  number 
were  killed  (Privates  F.  Brown  and  H.  Edgecombe),  and  four  were 
wounded. 

New  Plymouth  rang  with  stories  of  the  combat  in  the  swamp. 
An  Irish  private  of  the  65th,  the  moment  after  shooting  a  Maori, 
brained  another  with  the  butt  of  his  rifle.  "  There  was  some  good 
bayonet-work  at  Mahoetahi,"  said  a  veteran  of  the  Taranaki 
Rifles,  Sergeant  W.  H.  Free  (ex  58th),  to  the  writer.  "  One  of 
our  men,  W.  Marshall,  had  an  encounter  in  the  swamp  with  a 
powerful  Maori,  who  tried  to  wrest  his  rifle  from  him.  Marshall 
at  last  got  his  arms  free,  and  sent  his  bayonet  clean  through 
his  opponent's  body  up  to  the  locking -ring."  A  Maori  got 
a  soldier  of  the  65th  face  downwards  in  the  muddy  swamp- 
water,  and .  would  have  drowned  him  but  for  a  bullet  from  a 
fellow-soldier  which  stretched  the  Ngati-Haua  dead.  A  soldier 
of  the  same  regiment  bayoneted  a  Maori  through  the  chest,  but 
the  amazing  warrior  gripped  the  barrel  of  the  rifle  with  his  left 
hand  and  tomahawked  his  opponent  on  the  arm  before  he  fell. 

Wiremu  Kingi  and  his  Atiawa  held  aloof  from  their  brave 
allies  on  the .  battle-day,  although  they  could  have  altered  the 
fortunes  of  the  day  in  some  degree  by  coming  up  in  the  rear  and 
checking  the  British  attack.  But  Wetini  and  his  men  were  afire 
with  a  desire  to  fight  for  their  own  hands  that  day,  and  the 
Atiawa  contented  themselves  with  the  part  of  distant  spectators. 

Many  a  village  of  the  Waipa  and  the  Matamata  plains  re- 
sounded with  the  tangi  of  grief  for  the  men  when  the  wounded 
remnant  of  Wetini's  contingent  made  their  painful  way  home. 
There  were  some  ghastly  wounds  among  the  warriors.  The 
venerable  half-caste  chief  Pou-patate  Huihi,  of  Te  Kopua,  who 
fought  at  Mahoetahi  and  saw  Wetini  Taiporutu  shot,  says,  "  One 
of  our  men,  Te  Whitu,  had  his  lower  jaw  carried  away  by  a 
ballet.  We  bound  it  up  with  a  cloth  round  his  head,  and  he  came 
home  with  us,  recovered,  and  lived  for  many  years  afterwards." 
Besides  Wetini,  a  number  of  chiefs  of  importance  fell  at  Mahoe- 
tahi. The  principal  man  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  killed  was  Te  Paetai 
tc  Mahia,  from  Kihikihi.  Ngati-Ruru  (Te  Awamutu)  lost  Hakopa, 
and  Ngati-Raukawa  the  chief  Mokau  te  Matapuna,  of  Orakau. 
"  When  the  survivors  returned  to  the  Waikato,"  says  Te  Huia 
Raureti,  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  "  the  grief  of  our  people  at  this 
disaster  was  intense,  and  it  was  felt  that  the  defeat  could  never 
b(  avenged  in  full."  The  survivors  did  not  return,  however,  with- 
7— N.Z.  Wars. 


IQ4  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

out  an  effort  to  obtain  utu  for  the  loss  of  so  many  comrades.  It 
was  not  many  weeks  after  Mahoetahi  before  Ngati-Maniapoto  and 
Waikato  made  a  most  determined  attack  upon  No.  3  Redoubt  at 
Huirangi,  and  only  drew  off  after  losing  more  than  fifty  men. 
The  cumulative  effect  of  these  disasters  was  to  heighten  the  war 
feeling  throughout  the  Waikato  and  hasten  the  outbreak  in  the 
Auckland  Province. 

To  this  day  a  song  of  lamentation,  composed  by  a  woman 
named  Hokepera  for  those  killed  at  Mahoetahi,  is  heard  among 
the  people  of  Ngati-Maniapoto.  This  waiata  (chanted  to  the 
writer  by  the  two  old  comrades  Te  Huia  Raureti  and  Pou-patate) 
is  as  follows  : — 

Kaore  taku  huhi,  taku  raru,  ki  a  koutou, 
E  pa  ma,  e  haupu  mai  ra  ! 

Ka  hua  hoki  au  ki  a  Epiha  ma  e  hui  nei  ki  te  runanga, 
He  kawe  pai  4  te  tika. 
Kaore  he  mahi  nui  i  nga  maunga  a  Whiro  kua  wareware. 

Hare  ra,  e  Tima,  i  te  riri  kaihoro  a  Ngati-Haua  ; 
Kaore  i  whakaaro  ko  te  kupu  pai  a  Haapurona. 
Ko  te  aha,  e  Rau   (Raureti) ,  e  Rewi,  ma  korua  nei  ? 
Heoi  ano  ra  ma  koutou  he  kawe  tangata  ki  te  Po, 
Aue  i  te  mamae  ra — i  ! 

Anea  kau  ana  te  whenua,  iangi  kotokoto  ai  te  tai  o  Puniu. 
E  whakahakiri  ana  nga  tohu  o  te  rangi,  e — e. 

Kanapa  kau  ana  te  uira  i  runga  o  'Tautari,  te  hiwi  ki  Rangitoto  ; 
Ko  te  tohu  o  te  mate  ra — i  ! 

Ka  riro  Paetai,  Mokau,  Tainui,  Te  Arawa,  Raukawa,  Motai — i  ! 
E  koa  ra  e  rau  tangata  ka  takoto  kau  to  moni  ! 
Tenei  taku  poho  e  tuwhera  kau  nei,  he  wai  kokiringa  mo 
Kiri-kumara,  te  tangata  whakanoho  i  te  riri. 
Te  kino,  e — s — i  ! 

[TRANSLATION.] 

Alas  !  my  grief,  my  woe  !  Alas,  for  you,  my  chieftains,  lying  in 
heaps  on  yonder  mound  of  death  !  Ah !  once  I  listened  to  Epiha  and 
his  chiefs  in  council ;  then  I  thought  their  words  were  laden  with  goodness 
and  with  truth.  On  the  dark  hills  of  Death  their  plans  were  brought  to 
naught. 

Farewell  O  Tima,  overwhelmed  in  the  flood  of  battle.  'Twas  the  fatal 
deed  of  Ngati-Haua,  they  who  heeded  not  the  wise  counsel  of  Hapurona. 
What  of  your  words,  O  Raureti,  O  Rewi  ?  'Tis  enough  that  you  have 
borne  warriors  down  to  the  black  night  of  Death.  Ah  me  !  the  sorrow  of  it  ! 

The  land  is  swept  by  war's  red  tide.  Mournfully  roll  the  waters  of 
Puniu  ;  the  waters  sob  as  they  flow.  I  heard  the  thunder's  distant  mutter, 
the  rumbling  omen  of  the  sky.  I  saw  the  lightning's  downward  flash,  the 
fire  of  portent,  on  Tautari 's  peak,  on  Rangitoto 's  mountain  height — the 
finger  of  Death  to  the  tribes  ! 

Thou'rt  gone,  O  Paetai  !  Thou'rt  gone,  O  Mokau  !  Swept  away  are 
the  heroes  of  Tainui,  Te  Arawa,  Raukawa,  Motai.  Our  foes  in  multitudes 
rejoice  ;  the  treasure  is  laid  bare  and  desolate.  See  now  my  unprotected 
breast,  naked  to  the  spear  of  Kiri-kumara.  'Twas  he  who  raised  this  storm 
of  war.  Alas  !  the  evil  of  it  ! 


THE   ENGAGEMENT   AT  MAHOETAHI.  IQ5 

NOTES. 

The  composer  of  this  song  of  lamentation  over  the  dead  refers  to  the 
Maori  belief  that  the  passing  of  the  spirits  of  chieftains  was  accompanied 
by  thunder  and  lightning,  and  that  the  rumble  of  thunder  along  certain 
mountain-peaks  was  a  portent  of  disaster  or  death  to  the  people.  The 
downward  play  of  lightning  upon  sacred  mountains  was  regarded  as  a  sign 
that  death  would  strike  or  had  stricken  members  of  the  tribe.  Thus  Maunga- 
tautari  was  a  maunga-hikonga-uira  (lightning  peak)  of  the  Ngati-Raukawa 
Tribe;  Rangitoto  was  the  lightning  mountain  of  the  Ngati-Miniapoto. 

Major-General  Sir  James  Alexander  narrates  this  story  of  Mokau  te 
Matapuna's  end  :  "  Mokau,  retreating,  saw  at  the  edge  of  it  [the  swamp] 
a  friend  lying  mortally  wounded.  He  stopped,  and,  though  the  avengers 
were  close  behind,  he  seized  the  hand  of  the  dying  man  and  stooped  to  say 
farewell  and  to  press  noses  in  the  native  fashion.  Raising  himself  up,  he 
himself  was  shot  through  the  heart,  and  fell  across  the  body  of  his  friend. 
His  noble  act  of  friendship  had  thus  a  fatal  result." 

The  site  of  the  Battle  of  Mahoetahi  is  easily  identified  to-day.  The 
main  road  (Devon  Road)  from  New  Plymouth  to  Waitara  cuts  through 
the  inland  (south-east)  end  of  the  pa  hill  at  seven  miles  and  a  half  from 
New  Plymouth.  On  the  seaward  end  of  the  hill,  which  is  about  60  feet 
high,  trending  at  right  angles  to  the  road,  there  is  a  wire-fenced  enclosure, 
with  numerous  large  boulders  scattered  about,  and  the  turf  is  uneven  with 
the  remains  of  olden  trenches,  rifle-pits,  and  sites  of  dug-in  whares.  This 
was  the  position  stormed  by  the  troops.  On  the  slope  of  the  hill  facing 
New  Plymouth  is  a  smaller  enclosure,  with  a  large  timber  cross,  lichen- 
crusted.  This  is  the  sacred  spot  where  nearly  forty  of  the  Maori  defenders 
were  buried.  The  inscription  on  the  cross  reads  : — 

"  He  whakamaharatanga  i  nga  Rangatira  toa  o  Waikato  a  Wetini 
Taiporutu  ma,  i  hinga  ki  konei  tata  i  te  Parekura  i  turia  i  te  6th  Nowema, 
1860." 

The  meaning  of  this  legend  is  : — 

"  In  remembrance  of  the  brave  chiefs  of  Waikato,  of  Wetini  Taiporutu 
and  his  comrades,  who  fell  close  to  this  spot  in  the  battle  fought  on  the 
6th  November,  1860." 

On  the  reverse  side  of  the  hill,  which  presents  a  steeper  slope  than  the 
western  side,  the  ground  falls  to  a  narrow  swamp,  the  place  where  so  many 
of  the  Ngati-Haua  made  their  last  stand.  The  Devon  Road  intersects  this 
part  of  the  battlefield,  and  passes  on  the  right  the  ancient  settlement  Nga- 
puke-tu-rua,  with  its  two  tree-grown  mounds,  on  one  of  which  a  British 
stockade  was  built  shortly  after  the  engagement  at  Mahoetahi. 


7* 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


OPERATIONS  AT  KAIRAU  AND  HUIRANGI. 

The  defeat  at  Mahoetahi,  so  far  from  crushing  the  Maori 
spirit,  hardened  up  the  fighting-fibre  of  Wiremu  Kingi's  northern 
allies.  Reinforcements  from  Ngati-Maniapoto  and  Waikato  came 
marching  down  the  coast,  and  the  story  of  the  losses  in  the 
Mahoetahi  marsh  set  the  warrior  soul  athirst  for  revenge.  Those 
who  had  lost  relatives  sallied  out  on  scouting  expeditions,  laying 
ambuscades  and  cutting  off  European  stragglers.  Several  pakeha 
settlers  out  seeking  cattle  or  horses  were  shot  and  tomahawked 
within  a  short  distance  of  New  Plymouth  during  the  summer 
of  1 860-61.  At  this  time  the  garrison  of  Taranaki  had  been 
reduced  by  several  hundreds  of  Imperial  troops,  who  were  con- 
sidered necessary  for  the  protection  of  Auckland,  owing  to  an 
alarm  of  coming  hostilities  with  Waikato.  By  December,  1860, 
the  Maori  belligerents  had  constructed  a  series  of  field  fortifications 
on  the  plateau  bounding  the  Waitara  River  on  the  south  (left 
bank),  and  garrisoned  these  works  with  considerably  over  a  thousand 
men.  Kairau  and  Huirangi  were  the  principal  defences — skilfully 
engineered  lines  of  rifle-pits,  trenches,  and  covered  ways,  their 
flanks  resting  on  the  thickly  wooded  gullies  that  dissected  the 
edges  of  the  tableland.  These  works  barred  the  way  inland  to 
the  historic  hill  pa,  Puke-rangiora,  high  above  the  Waitara.  A 
new  system  of  fortifications  on  the  front  of  this  ancient  strong- 
hold was  named  Te  Arei  ("  The  Barrier  "),  and  was  designed  as 
the  citadel  of  the  Atiawa. 

Major-General  Pratt  took  the  field  once  more  towards  the  end 
of  December,  when  he  concentrated  a  force  of  a  thousand  strong 
on  the  Waitara.  Heavy  artillery  suitable  for  siege  operations 
had  been  obtained  from  Auckland  and  from  several  of  the  ships 
of  war,  and  with  this  battering-train  Pratt  moved  from  Waitara 
towards  the  Kairau  forts  on  the  2Qth  December.  The  first 
operation  was  the  reduction  of  the  stockaded  trenched  pa  at 
Mata  -  rikoriko  ("Winking  Eyes"),  a  short  distance  inland  of 
Puke-ta-kauere  and  somewhat  nearer  the  Waitara  River.  The 
column  numbered  nine  hundred  men  of  all  arms,  with  four 
guns.  When  the  force  reached  the  site  of  the  old  Kairau 
pa  (destroyed  on  the  nth  September),  about  1,100  yards  from 
Mata-rikoriko,  a  large  redoubt  was  commenced  for  the  accom- 


OPERATIONS    AT    KAIRAU    AND    HUIRANGI.  197 

modation  of  five  hundred  men.  This  redoubt  was  intended  as  a 
depot  for  the  attack  on  the  pa,  and  also  for  a  movement  against 
Huirangi.  Working-parties  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  were 
employed,  under  a  brisk  fire  nearly  all  day  from  well-masked 
rifle-pits  on  the  edge  of  a  deep  wooded  gully  about  150  yards 
from  the  redoubt.  The  garrison  had  a  sleepless  night,  for  the 
natives  kept  up  a  fire,  with  little  intermission,  until  daylight 
next  morning.  On  the  3oth  December  the  Royal  Engineers  and 
the  rest  of  the  working-parties  raised  and  improved  the  parapets, 
formed  firing-steps,  and  made  barbettes  and  platforms  for  the 
guns.  Two  8-inch  guns  were  mounted  on  the  left  face  of  the 
redoubt,  pointing  towards  Mata-rikoriko.  The  firing  on  both 
sides  was  exceedingly  heavy.  It  was  estimated  that  the  British 
troops  expended  70,000  rounds  of  rifle  ammunition  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours,  besides  about  120  rounds  of  shot  and  shell. 
On  the  morning  of  the  3ist  the  pa  was  found  to  have  been 
evacuated  during  the  night,  and  it  was  quickly  occupied  by  two 
companies  of  the  65th  under  Colonel  Wyatt.  The  British  lost 
three  killed  and  twenty  wounded.  The  Maoris,  so  far  as  is 
known,  had  six  killed.  A  number  of  the  56th  Regiment  remained 
in  occupation  of  Mata-rikoriko. 

This  episode  was  soon  followed  by  a  general  advance  upon 
the  Huirangi  works  and  Te  Arei.  The  operations  now  developed 
into  the  most  extensive  field-engineering  works  ever  undertaken 
by  British  troops  in  New  Zealand.  Major-General  Pratt  was  a 
disciple  of  the  slow,  sure,  and  safe  method  of  warfare  ;  he  did 
not  believe  in  wasting  lives  in  dashing  assaults  when  the  objective 
could  be  obtained  less  swiftly,  but  with  less  expenditure  of  man- 
power, by  means  of  pick  and  shovel  and  artillery.  Pratt  exposed 
himself  to  much  criticism,  and  his  leisurely  approach  even  excited 
the  ridicule  of  his  antagonists  in  Te  Arei,  who,  however,  came 
at  last  to  realize  the  certainty  of  defeat  by  the  inexorable  sap, 
the  covering  redoubts,  and  the  pounding  artillery.  The  advance 
upon  Huirangi  and  then  upon  Te  Arei  was  enlivened  by  many 
skirmishes,  which  at  times  became  sharp  engagements  involving 
hundreds  of  rifles.  The  work  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  with  the 
troops  of  the  line  pressed  into  the  role  of  sappers  and  miners, 
was,  however,  the  great  feature  of  the  move  across  the  plains  of 
Kairau  and  Huirangi.  These  operations  were  directed  by  Colonel 
T.  R.  Mould,  R.E.,  the  designer  of  numerous  redoubts  and  block- 
houses in  Taranaki  and  Waikato. 

Colonel  Mould's  fort -building  in  the  Waitara  campaign  had 
begun  with  the  construction  of  a  strong  stockade  on  the  ridge 
on  which  the  Puke-ta-kauere  and  Onuku-kaitara  pas  had  stood. 
The  work  was  erected  on  the  centre  of  the  site  of  Onuku-kaitara, 
and  was  arranged  to  accommodate  fifty  men.  The  rough  split 
timbers  of  the  stockade,  hauled  in  carts  from  the  Waitara  camp, 


198 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


averaged  8  inches  in  diameter  and  were  14  feet  in  length  ;  they 
were  sunk  4  feet  in  the  ground,  touching  each  other.  A  working- 
party  of  sixty  men  was  employed,  with  fifty  men  thrown  out  as 
a  covering-party.  A  ditch  was  dug  around  the  palisades.  The 
banks  of  the  Puke-ta-kauere  pa  were  levelled,  and  the  ditches 
were  filled  in.  After  Mahoetahi  a  stockade  was  built  on  one  of 
the  two  knolls  at  the  ancient  settlement  of  Nga-puke-tu-rua  ("  The 
Two  Hillocks  "),  800  yards  on  the  Waitara  side  of  Mahoetahi. 
Forty  men  were  left  here  as  a  garrison.  The  next  post  built  was 
a  stockade  with  blockhouses  on  the  site  of  the  captured  pa 
at  Mata-rikoriko.  This  compact  little  fort  (see  illustration)  was 


From  a  drawing  by  Lieutenant  H.  S.  Bates  (651)1  Regt.),  1861.] 

THE  MATA-RIKORIKO  STOCKADE. 


similar  in  construction  and  arrangement  to  that  at  Onuku-kaitara. 
It  was  garrisoned  by  sixty  men,  with  a  howitzer.  When  the 
Maori  flanking  entrenchments  outside  the  pa  at  Mata-rikoriko 
were  examined  by  the  Engineers  it  was  found  that  one  fire- 
trench  was  178  paces  in  length,  and  another  104  paces  ;  others 
measured  74,  73,  and  32  paces. 

On  the  I4th  January  Major-General  Pratt  with  a  force  of 
between  six  hundred  and  seven  hundred  men — I2th,  I4th,  4oth, 
and  65th  detachments,  and  a  Naval  Brigade  —  marched  from 
Waitara  towards  Huirangi,  and  came  under  a  heavy  fire  from  the 
Maoris,  who  had  manned  their  rifle-pits  and  trenches  between 


OPERATIONS   AT   KAIRAU   AND   HUIRANGI. 

Kairau  and  Huirangi.  The  guns  from  the  Kairau  (No.  I  Redoubt) 
and  the  rifles  of  the  troops  replied  briskly,  and  under  fire  the 
Royal  Engineers,  with  working-details,  commenced  the  construc- 
tion of  a  redoubt  (No.  2)  about  500  yards  on  the  right  front 
of  the  Kairau  Redoubt.  This  work  was  26  yards  square  inside 
the  parapet,  wh^ch  was  7  feet  high  and  averaged  6  feet  in  thickness. 
Banquettes  were  formed  and  a  barbette  raised  for  the  howitzer 
on  the  right-front  salient  angle.  The  redoubt,  finished  in  eleven 
hours,  was  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  with 
artillery. 

On  the  1 8th  January  the  General  moved  out  again  to  the  front 
with  a  force  a  thousand  strong,  and  under  an  all-day  fire  from 
the  Maori  rifle-pits  a  third  redoubt  was  begun  to  cover  the  British 
advance  towards  Huirangi.  This  field-work,  soon  to  become 
celebrated  for  a  daiing  attack  made  by  the  Kingites,  was  built 
about  400  yards  to  the  left  front  of  No.  2.  It  consisted  when 
complete  of  three  squares  closely  placed  en  echelon  ;  the  middle 
redoubt  was  30  yards  each  way  inside  the  parapet.  The  parapets 
of  all  these  works  were  made  with  earth  and  fern  in  alternate 
layers,  after  the  Maori  manner.  Two  howitzers  were  mounted 
in  the  main  redoubt,  and  an  8-inch  gun  on  the  front  face  of  the 
light  wing.  A  garrison  of  about  three  hundred  men,  including 
the  headquarters  of  the  4Oth  Regiment  under  Colonel  Leslie,  was 
placed  in  No.  3. 

While  the  General  was  steadily  making  his  way  across  the 
Kairau  plateau,  the  Taranaki  and  Ngati-Ruanui  Tribes  on  the 
southern  section  of  the  coast  dug  themselves  in  very  strongly 
on  the  hills  at  Waireka,  and  completely  barred  the  roads  by 
a  remarkably  skilful  system  of  trenches,  rifle-pits,  and  stockaded 
pas.  Several  expeditions  from  New  Plymouth  during  the  summer 
of  1861  engaged  the  natives  at  Waireka  Hill,  Burton's  Hill,  and 
the  vicinity  of  Omata,  but  without  serious  casualties  on  either 
side.  The  Rifle  Volunteers  and  Militia,  under  Herbert,  Stapp,  and 
\tkinson,  were  conspicuously  useful  in  the  trying  work  of  patrols 
ind  reconnaissances  until  the  end  of  the  war.  One  affair,  though 
not  an  official  expedition,  demonstrated  the  pluck  and  coolness 
of  the  Volunteers.  Fourteen  young  men,  under  Sergeant  E.  Hollis, 
were  gathering  peaches  one  Sunday  morning  (3rd  March,  1861)  at 
Srooklands  (now  Mr.  Newton  King's  property),  near  the  town, 
when  they  were  ambuscaded  by  about  double  their  number  of 
Maoris,  who  gave  them  a  volley  from  the  cover  of  a  ditch  and 
hedge  at  very  close  range.  Volunteer  Edward  Messenger,  brother 
of  Ensign  W.  B.  Messenger,  was  shot  dead,  and  a  comrade,  W. 
Smart,  severely  wounded.  The  lads  returned  the  fire,  recovered 
their  comrade's  body  and  arms,  and  kept  off  the  Maoris  until 
assistance  arrived  from  the  town. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 


THE   FIGHT   AT   No.   3   REDOUBT. 

It  was  the  practice  of  the  troops  to  stand  to  their  arms  an  hour 
before  daybreak  as  a  precaution  against  surprise.  In  the  raw  and 
chilly  early  morning  of  the  23rd  January,  1861,  the  Regulars  in  the 
Kairau  and  Huirangi  redoubts  turned  out  as  usual  and  stood  in 
silence  awaiting  the  sunrise.  Suddenly  a  single  gunshot  came 
from  the  fern  100  yards  to  the  right  of  No.  i  Redoubt.  This 
was  a  Maori  signal-gun.  The  next  instant  the  fringes  of  the 
murky  plain  were  a  blaze  of  fire,  and  the  roar  of  musketry  ran 
along  the  fern  on  the  right  and  left  flanks  of  the  British  posts. 
The  soldiers  replied  with  their  Enfields — though  there  was  nothing 
but  the  flashes  at  which  to  fire — and  the  gloomy  morning,  so 
quiet  a  few  moments  before,  was  thunderous  with  the  bellow  and 
crackle  of  musketry.  Presently  the  firing  near  No.  I  Redoubt  and 
No.  2  Redoubt  ceased  :  it  was  a  Maori  feint  to  divert  attention 
from  the  real  attack.  No.  3  (400  yards  in  advance  of  No.  2)  was 
the  objective,  and  as  the  excited  soldiers  in  the  rear  field-works 
peered  through  the  darkness  they  saw  the  advanced  redoubt, 
which  had  only  been  completed  by  the  4oth  Regiment  the  previous 
evening,  all  at  once  encircled  by  a  darting  ring  of  flame  that  lit 
up  the  darkness  like  a  blaze  of  tropical  lightning,  followed  by  an 
incessant  roll  of  small-arms  fire  and  presently  the  explosion  of 
hand-grenades. 

The  garrison  of  No.  3  Redoubt  (the  headquarters  of  the  ^oth, 
under  Colonel  Leslie)  had  a  crowded  half-hour  of  fighting  before 
dawn  that  morning.  While  the  natives  in  the  rifle-pits  and  the 
British  trenches  that  flanked  the  line  of  advance  were  making 
ready  to  open  their  feint  attack,  a  picked  party  of  a  hundred  and 
forty  warriors — Ngati-Haua,  Ngati-Maniapoto,  Waikato,  and  Te 
Atiawa — crept  up  to  the  redoubt,  and  about  half  of  them  silently 
entered  the  ditches  on  the  left  and  right  faces  of  the  redoubt — the 
two  unflanked  sides.  Their  leaders  were  Manga  (Rewi  Maniapoto) 
a.nd  Epiha  Tokohihi,  from  Kihikihi,  and  Hapurona.  Some  were 
armed  with  double-barrel  guns  or  with  rifles ;  others  carried  only 
long-handled  tomahawks  for  close-quarters  combat.  They  were 


THE    FIGHT   AT    NO.    3    REDOUBT. 


201 


supported  by  some  hundreds  of  tribesmen  in  firing-trenches  within 
close  range  of  the  redoubt. 

The  storming-party  stealthily  began  to  cut  steps  with  their 
tomahawks  in  the  earth  of  the  newly  scarped  parapet.  When 
they  were  about  to  attempt  the  assault  a  sentry  of  the  4oth  fired 
c,t  a  Maori  just  outside  the  trench.  A  return  shot  killed  the  soldier, 
c.nd  the  next  moment  the  40 th  were  at  grips  with  their  determined 
foes.  The  ditch  was  crowded  with  Maoris,  some  firing  at  the 
line  of  heads  above  them,  some  furiously  springing  up  the  scarp 
and  slashing  at  the  soldiers  with  their  tomahawks.  The  men 
f  red  into  the  trench  as  fast  as  they  could  load  their  Enfields,  and 
ethers  threw  short-fuse  shells  into  the  ditch.  Lieutenant  Jackson, 
of  the  4oth,  was  leaning  over  the  parapet  firing  his  revolver  into 
the  mass  of  Maoris  when  he  was  shot  through  the  forehead.  The 


No.  3  REDOUBT,  HUIRANGI. 
The  flank  A  —  B  was  the  one  first  attacked  by  the  Maoris. 


attackers  (including  the  supports  in  the  fern)  and  the  garrison 
were  nearly  equal  in  numbers. 

Although  the  British  musketry  and  the  exploding  shells  and 
h;  ind-grenades  spread  death  and  wounds  among  the  warriors  in 
tl  e  trench,  the  Maori  forlorn  hope  stuck  to  their  work  tenaciously. 
A^ain  and  again  those  daring  spirits  essayed  to  scale  the  straight- 
cut  scarp,  only  to  be  shot  down  or  bayoneted  by  the  soldiers.  So 
the  struggle  went  on  until  reinforcements  came  doubling  up  and 
cleared  the  ditch  of  all  but  the  dead  and  dying. 

A  vivid  account  of  the  morning's  fight  is  contained  in  an  un- 

published manuscript  written  by  Colonel  H.  Stretton  Bates,  then 

a  young  ensign,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  the  combat.     Colonel 

Bates  was  in  No.   I   Redoubt  with  his  regiment,  the  65th  —  the 

'  Royal  Tigers  "  —  nearly  all  stalwart  Irishmen  with  experience  of 


202  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

more  than  one  combat.  His  story,  after  narrating  the  beginning 
of  the  attack,  describes  the  despatch  of  reinforcements  and  the 
final  scenes  : — * 

"  It  was  evident  to  us  in  No.  i  that  the  surprise  had  failed, 
but  the  defenders  of  No.  3  were  hard  pressed.  The  heavy  firing 
continued,  and  the  cheers  of  the  gallant  4oth  mingled  with  the 
wailing  cries  of  the  attackers  as  they  adjured  each  other  to  be 
brave  (  '  Kia  toa  ' )  and  to  slay  the  soldiers.  But  hark  to  the 
clear  notes  of  a  bugle  ringing  out  in  the  morning  air  from  the 
advanced  post  !  We  recognize  the  regimental  call  of  the  '  Royal 
Tigers/  followed  by  the  advance.  '  Whew  !  '  muttered  our  Colonel 
Wyatt,  '  the  4oth  are  calling  for  trumps  '  ;  and  he  ordered  two 
companies  of  the  '  Tigers  '  and  one  of  the  I2th,  a  detachment  of 
which  corps  was  with  us  in  No.  I,  to  proceed  at  once  to  the  help 
of  the  defenders  of  No.  3  Redoubt.  The  great  bearded  fellows, 
looking  more  like  bushrangers  than  soldiers,  fell  in  without  a 
moment's  delay,  and  ere  the  bugle  had  sounded  a  third  appeal 
for  help  the  column  of  fours  was  out  of  the  redoubt  and,  under 
command  of  the  senior  captain,  who  was  destined  to  receive  a 
brevet  majority  for  his  morning's  work,  was  making  its  way  over 
the  plain  at  a  steady  double.  The  remainder  of  the  '  Tigers,' 
leaning  over  the  parapet,  watched  the  drama  which  was  being 
enacted  in  front.  As  the  three  companies  passed  No.  2  Redoubt 
the  occupants  gave  them  a  loud  cheer,  and  in  a  few  minutes  more 
the  advanced  redoubt  was  reached. 

"  Day  was  now  breaking ;  the  fire  was  not  so  continuous  as 
before,  and  what  there  was  came  mostly  from  the  front  face. 
Loud  cheers  rose  from  the  4oth,  and  they  called  out  to  the 
reinforcers  that  the  ditch  in  front  of  the  redoubt  was  crammed 
with  natives,  but  that  the  thickness  of  the  parapet  and  want  of 
flanking  defence  prevented  their  rifles  being  sufficiently  depressed 
so  as  to  reach  the  Maoris.  There  was  a  hasty  consultation,  and 
then  the  '  Tigers  '  descended  into  the  wide  ditch  on  the  right  of 
the  work,  and  the  company  of  the  I2th  Regiment  into  the  ditch 
on  the  left,  and  both  parties  made  their  way  towards  the  front  of 
the  redoubt. 

"  The  ditch  in  front  was  crowded  with  the  attackers.  Poor 
fellows  !  they  had  felt  confident  of  surprising  the  soldiers,  and 
had  evidently  come  to  stay,  for  they  had  brought  provision  of 
Indian  corn  with  them.  Better  that  they  had  brought  ladders 
or  bundles  of  faggots  to  enable  them  to  scale  the  parapet.  One 
of  their  number  was  a  native  catechist,  who  repeated  prayers 


*  Manuscript  narrative  by  the  late  Colonel  H.  S.  Bates,  of  England, 
lent  by  his  son,  Mr.  H.  D.  Bates,  of  Wanganui.  Colonel  Bates  served  with 
the  65th  Regiment  in  New  Zealand  for  several  years,  and  was  a  staff 
interpreter  under  General  Cameron  in  the  Waikato  in  1863. 


THE   FIGHT   AT   NO.    3    REDOUBT.  203 

incessantly  from  the  Church  of  England  prayer-book  all  through 
the  struggle.  His  blood-stained  prayer-book  was  found  on  his 
body.  Though  the  warriors  were  comparatively  sheltered  from 
musketry  fire  as  they  huddled  together  in  the  ditch,  still  ghastly 
wounds  were  being  inflicted,  as  the  soldiers  lighted  and  flung 
over  hand-grenades  amongst  the  crowded  mass,  while  some  of  the 
artillerymen,  finding  it  impossible  to  depress  the  muzzles  of  the 
guns  sufficiently,  got  shells  and,  having  cut  short  the  fuses,  ignited 
them  and  rolled  them  over  the  parapet,  so  that  falling  they 
exploded,  spreading  havoc  around  them.  In  vain  the  doomed 
wretches  tried  to  pick  up  the  spluttering  hand-grenades  and  fling 
them  back  ;  the  natives  were  packed  too  closely  together,  and  the 
horrid  things  exploded  amongst  them  with  grim  result.  The  Maoris 
feared  to  quit  the  ditch  and  endeavour  to  retire,  as  to  do  this 
would  have  exposed  them  to  the  fire  of  the  rifles  which  lined  the 
parapet  ;  besides,  amongst  the  warriors  were  many  of  the  warlike 
Ngati-Maniapoto  and  other  Waikato  tribes,  whose  motto  was 
'  Death  before  dishonour.'  On  came  the  '  Tigers  '  along  the  side 
ditch.  It  was  evident  that  a  volley  would  greet  the  head  of  the 
little  column  as  it  turned  the  corner  to  make  its  way  into  the 
front  ditch  which  the  attackers  occupied. 

"  Half  a  dozen  guns  ring  out  and  down  goes  our  leading  man 
with  a  bullet  through  his  forehead.  A  comrade  staggers  against 
the  counterscarp,  for  a  ball  has  struck  him  in  the  face  and  carried 
away  part  of  his  upper  lip  and  some  of  his  teeth.  But  on  go 
the  '  Tigers  '  with  a  wild  shout.  For  a  moment  the  leading  files 
cross  bayonet  with  tomahawk.  Ugly  wounds  are  inflicted  by  the 
whirling  tomahawks  and  thrusting  bayonets,  and  then  the  dusky 
warriors  turn  and  scramble  as  best  they  can  out  of  the  ditch, 
endeavouring  to  gain  the  shelter  of  the  fern  and  the  forest.  The 
occupants  of  the  redoubt  fire  one  round  at  the  fugitives,  and  then 
hold  their  hand  to  avoid  hitting  the  '  Tigers  '  and  the  I2th  men, 
who  have  scrambled  up  the  counterscarp  of  the  ditch  and  are 
now  scattered  in  pursuit  of  the  flying  foes.  There  is  no  time  to 
reload,  and  the  bayonet  does  its  deadly  work.  The  swifter-footed 
of  the  fugitives  gain  the  shelter  of  the  bush,  and  then  the 
bugles  sounding  the  '  Recall '  check  the  pursuit.  The  repulse  is 
complete. 

"  The  dead  and  wounded  are  collected.  There  are  between 
forty  and  fifty  natives  left  on  the  field,  and  most  of  the  wounds 
are  mortal. 

"  Amongst  the  wounded  was  one  youth  of  striking  aspect. 
His  long  black  hair  and  regular  features  would  have  made  him 
appear  effeminate  but  for  the  length  of  limb  and  splendid 
muscular  development  which  caught  the  eye  even  as  he  lay  on 
the  ground,  looking  like  a  dusky  Antinous.  A  good-natured 
soldier,  one  of  the  '  Tigers/  hearing  him  moaning  something 


204  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

which  sounded  like  '  wai  '  (water),  was  trying  to  make  him  drink 
from  his  canteen,  saying,  '  Here,  Jack,  here's  wai  for  you/  The 
soldiers  always  addressed  the  Maoris  as  '  Jack/  and  the  Maoris 
the  soldiers  as  '  Tiaki '  also.  My  knowledge  of  the  language 
enabled  me  to  recognize  that  the  wounded  man  was  moaning 
'  Kia  maranga,'  meaning  that  he  desired  to  be  raised  up.  I 
noticed  the  small  red  mark  in  his  chest  which  showed  that  a 
bullet  had  probably  penetrated  a  lung,  the  bleeding  from  which 
was  choking  him.  So  kneeling  down  and  putting  my  arms  round 
him  I  raised  him  gently  and  supported  him  in  a  sitting  position. 
He  smiled  and  whispered,  '  It  is  well '  ;  but  the  blood  gushed 
from  his  mouth,  and  he  fell  heavily  back  in  my  arms  as  I  knelt 
behind  him.  After  a  little  he  rallied,  and  I  heard  him  panting 
as  in  whispers  he  endeavoured  to  repeat  the  Maori  rendering  of 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  '  Murua  o  matou  hara '  ('  Forgive  us  our  tres- 
passes ').  So  far  he  got  in  an  agonized  and  almost  inaudible 
whisper,  and  then  the  blood  poured  from  his  mouth  again ;  there 
was  a  short  struggle,  and  the  weight  I  was  supporting  became 
very  heavy.  Slowly  I  laid  him  down,  and  I  am  not  ashamed  to 
say  that  my  eyes  grew  dim  as  I  thought  how  desolate  some 
heart  in  the  far  Waikato  land  would  be  when  the  morning's 
work  was  known. 

"  As  I  turned  away  I  saw  sitting  near  me,  propped  up  with 
a  bundle  of  rugs  and  mats,  an  elderly  grey-haired  Maori,  whose 
name  I 'afterwards  heard  was  Marakai,  or  Malachi.  (This  was  a 
man  of  Ngati-Mahuta.)  He  was  gravely  smoking,  and  had  been 
watching  the  poor  youth's  end.  From  him  I  learned  the  lad's 
name,  and  that  he  was  one  of  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  Tribe.  The 
name  I  treasured  in  my  memory,  and  some  two  years  later,  when 
I 'had  been  sent  on  a  political  mission  to  the  warlike  and  resentful 
Ngati-Maniapoto,  I  found  myself  one  night  at  the  village  from 
which  the  dead  warrior  came,  and  was  able  to  relate  to  his 
mother  the  particulars  of  her  son's  death.  Several  of  my  then 
hearers  confessed  that  they  had  been  of  the  attacking-party  on 
that  23rd  January,  and  proudly  exhibited  the  scars  of  bullet- 
wounds  on  their  bodies.  They  told  me  that  their  original  design 
had  been  to  make  a  simultaneous  attack  on  all  three  redoubts.. 

"  Knowing  that  Marakai  was  wounded,  I  inquired  if  he  was 
in  much  pain.  With  a  courtly,  half-sarcastic  smile  he  inclined 
his  head  so  as  to  direct  my  attention  to  his  knee,  which  had 
been  frightfully  damaged  by  the  explosion  of  a  shell  or  hand- 
grenade,  quietly  remarking,  '  With  a  wound  such  as  that  one 
must  suffer  somewhat/  Poor  old  fellow  !  What  a  noble  man 
he  was  !  A  nobleman  in  fallen  circumstances  if  you  like,  but 
always  a  nobleman.  I  heard  that  he  afterwards  bore  the 
amputation  of  his  leg  in  the  most  plucky  manner,  but  sank  a 
day  or  two  after  the  operation. 


THE    FIGHT   AT    NO.    3    REDOUBT.  205 

"  Leaving  the  ghastly  line  of  dead  or  dying  Maoris  I  passed 
nto  the  redoubt,  where  in  a  tent  were  lying  our  dead  and 
vvounded  men.  In  his  own  tent  was  lying  poor  old  Lieutenant 
Jackson,  of  the  4oth,  who  had  received  a  bullet  through  his 
forehead  while  leaning  over  the  parapet  at  the  beginning  of  the 
ittack  and  firing  his  revolver  at  the  natives." 

The  British  losses  in  the  No.  3  Redoubt  fight  were  five  killed 
and  eleven  wounded.  The  Maoris  lost  quite  fifty  killed  outright 
or  mortally  wounded.  Among  the  dead  were  the  chiefs  Te 
Retimana  and  Paora  te  Uata  (Ngati-Raukawa) ,  and  Ratima  te 
Paewaka,  of  Waikato.  Thirty-seven  double-barrel  and  single- 
barrel  guns  and  flint-lock  muskets  were  found  on  the  field,  besides 
some  stone  meres  and  many  tomahawks. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 


PRATT'S    LONG    SAP. 

in  the  beautiful  midsummer  weather  the  advance  upon  Te 
Arei  was  carried  on  under  conditions  which  made  soldiering  life 
a  pleasure  in  spite  of  the  harassing  tactics  of  the  Maori  snipers 
and  the  toil  of  redoubt-building.  The  tardy  progress  towards 
Hapurona's  fortress  was  enlivened  by  numerous  skirmishes,  and 
there  were  casualties  nearly  every  day.  The  flanks  of  the 
British  advance  were  as  animated  as  beehives  with  the  native 
musketeers,  whose  guerilla  activities  kept  the  Regulars'  covering- 
parties  busy.  No  Volunteers  or  Militia  were  employed  on  these 
operations — their  attention  was  concentrated  on  the  patrolling  of 
New  Plymouth  and  its  outskirts  ;  but  they  could  have  been  of 
assistance  to  the  General  in  scouring  the  bush  and  working  round 
to  the  rear  of  Te  Arei.  Pratt,  however,  made  no  attempt  to 
engage  his  antagonists  otherwise  than  by  a  frontal  advance. 
Like  his  successor,  General  Cameron,  he  had  a  horror  of  bush 
warfare,  in  which  the  mobile  Maori  had  so  great  an  advantage 
over  the  soldier  of  the  line.  Yet  there  were  not  only  settler- 
soldiers  but  many  of  the  veterans  of  the  65th  who  could  have 
been  formed  into  an  excellent  forest-ranging  corps,  competent  to 
follow  the  Maori  into  the  roughest  country  if  given  a  free  hand 
and  unhampered  by  the  rigid  Imperial  methods.  But  it  was  not 
until  1863  that  the  value  of  such  bush-fighting  companies  was 
recognized. 

The  advance  was  along  a  plateau  of  inconsiderable  width 
with  a  very  gentle  upward  slant  inland  to  Te  Arei,  bordered  on 
either  flank  by  deep  lateral  valleys  and  ravines  filled  with  karaka 
and  rata  trees  arid  other  timber.  On  the  left  these  gullies  fell 
steeply  to  the  Waitara  River  ;  on  the  right  they  were  enclosed 
by  rolling  hills,  all  densely  wooded.  In  the  rear  was  a  forest 
country  practically  untrodden  by  Europeans  ;  it  was  known,  how- 
ever, that  in  there  were  large  plantations  at  Mataitawa  and 
other  well-sheltered  retreats  of  the  Atiawa.  Day  after  day  the 
Maoris  in  their  fern-masked  firing-pits  on  the  edges  of  the  plateau 
made  practice  with  their  tupara  at  the  working-parties  and  the 
covering-details.  Nightly  the  soldiers,  withdrawn  into  their  field 


PRATT  S   LONG   SAP. 


2O7 


ortifications,  heard  the  distant  doleful  sound  of  the  putatara  and 
:he  tetere,  the  warriors'  war-horns,  and  the  high,  long-drawn  chants 
of  the  whaka-araara-pa,  or  sentinel  songs.  As  the  summer  weeks 
went  on,  the  troops  became  impatient  for  the  order  to  advance 
it  a  pace  somewhat  quicker  than  Pratt 's  mile  a  month.  "When 
are  we  going  to  rush  the  pa?"  many  a  Regular  asked,  with  his 
eyes  lifted  to  the  entrenched  positions  of  his  foe.  "  Look  ye 
here,  towney,"  a  big  65th  man  was  heard  to  say  to  his  comrade, 
"  two  glasses  of  rum  and  a  shout,  and  we'd  be  into  them  rifle-pits 
and  picking  the  Maoris  out  with  our  bay 'nits." 

The  work  on  the  long  series  of  saps  carried  towards  Huirangi 
and  Te  Arei  was  begun  on  the  afternoon  of  the  22nd  January, 
the  day  before  the  attack  on  No.  3  Redoubt.  A  double  sap, 
termed  also  a  "  gabionnade "  in  the  Royal  Engineers'  technical 


From  a  drawing  by  Lieutenant  H.  S.  Bates  (65th  Regi.).] 

THE  BRITISH  POSITIONS  AT  HUIRANGI,  1861, 
Showing  Maoris  sniping  from  the  edge  of  the  bush. 

phraseology,  directed  towards  the  centre  of  the  Maori  position, 
was  commenced  from  the  front  of  No.  3  Redoubt,  and  nearly 
200  feet  were  excavated  by  dark.  The  working-party  consisted 
of  fifty  men  with  five  Royal  Engineers.  During  the  following 
eleven  days  the  sap  was  steadily  pushed  forward,  often  under  fire. 
The  total  length  of  this  double  sap  dug  was  768  yards,  crossing 
the  Maori  rifle-pits  when  they  abandoned  the  Huirangi  position. 
The  manuka  gabions  used  were  generally  made  at  the  Waitara 
camp  by  men  of  the  Naval  Brigade,  assisted  by  soldiers,  under 
the  direction  of  Royal  Engineers  non-commissioned  officers. 

Another  redoubt,  called  No.  4,  was  constructed  on  the  27th 
and   28th   January,    310   yards   ahead   of    the    place   where   the 


208  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

sap  was  commenced.  This  was  a  small  square  work,  measuring 
13!  yards  each  side  inside  the  parapet ;  it  was  garrisoned  by 
fifty  men. 

A  fifth  redoubt,  24  yards  square,  was.  built  200  yards  farther 
on,  and  260  yards  from  the  nearest  of  the  Maori  rifle-pits.  It  was 
garrisoned  by  a  hundred  men,  with  a  2/j.-pounder  howitzer. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  ist  February  the  Maoris  were  dis- 
covered to  have  abandoned  their  position  at  Huirangi,  falling  back 
on  the  main  fortress  on  the  height  at  Te  Arei,  the  north-west 
front  of  the  famous  old  pa  of  Puke-rangiora,  several  hundreds 
of  feet  above  the  Waitara  River.  No.  6  Redoubt  was  built  at 
Huirangi,  its  front  slightly  in  advance  of  the  abandoned  Maori 
rifle-pits,  in  the  middle  of  a  field  of  high  Scotch  thistles  ;  its 
left-front  angle  was  close  to  a  patch  of  dense  bush  extending 
to  the  left  and  front.  A  portion  of  this  bush  was  cleared  by 
axemen. 

From  the  end  of  the  double  sap  at  Huirangi  a  short  single  sap, 
90  yards,  was  carried  on  in  the  direction  of  Te  Arei.  Fifty  men 
were  employed  in  filling  in  the  native  rifle-pits  to  the  right  of 
No.  6  Redoubt  ;  they  extended  for  half  a  mile.  No.  6  was 
garrisoned  by  the  headquarters  of  the  65th  Regiment,  and  a 
platform  was  laid  for  an  8-inch  gun. 

No.  7  Redoubt  was  now  constructed  (loth  to  I2th  February), 
about  1,300  yards  ahead  of  No.  6,  and  about  800  yards  from  the 
front  of  Te  Arei  pa.  Its  building  was  carried  on  on  the  first  day 
under  a  sharp  fire  from  a  line  of  Maori  rifle-pits  in  commanding 
positions,  and  from  the  pa  itself.  This  fire  was  replied  to  by  a 
line  of  British  skirmishers,  supported  by  four  guns  and  howitzers. 
Captain  Strange  (65th  Regiment)  was  mortally  wounded.  The 
redoubt  was  garrisoned  by  four  hundred  men,  including  the  head- 
quaiters  of  the  4oth  Regiment.  The  front  face  and  part  of  the 
left  face  were  surmounted  with  gabions  filled  with  earth,  with 
sandbag  loopholes  at  intervals  to  protect  the  interior  from  the 
natives'  plunging  fire.  A  man  had  been  killed  and  an  officer  and 
a  man  wounded  within  the  redoubt.  A  screen  for  an  8-inch  gun 
was  erected  on  the  left  flank  of  the  redoubt ;  it  was  12  yards  in 
length,  and  was  formed  of  two  rows  of  gabions  surmounted  by  a 
third  row,  all  filled  and  backed  up  with  earth  from  a  ditch  in  the 
front.  A  parapet  was  also  thrown  up  on  the  right  of  the  redoubt 
outside  as  a  cover  for  field-guns. 

On  the  i6th  February  the  sappers  were  again  set  to  work.  A 
single  sap  was  commenced  from  the  right-front  angle  of  No.  7 
Redoubt,  being  directed  to  clear  the  Maoris'  rifle-pits  close  to  the 
precipitous  banks  of  the  Waitara.  This  sap  was  continued,  often 
under  heavy  fiie,  until  the  25th  ;  452  yards  had  been  excavated 
5  feet  6  inches  wide.  The  first  62  yards  of  the  sap  were  without 
traverses  ;  thenceforward  the  work  was  protected  with  traverses 


PRATT  S   LONG   SAP.  20Q 

at  intervals  at  from  10  to  12  yards.  Meanwhile  No.  7  Redoubt 
was  considerably  strengthened.  The  parapets  were  raised,  and 
th2  ditch  was  widened  to  9  feet,  the  earth  being  laid  to  form  a 
glacis  outside.  The  sap  was  now  abreast  of  a  hill  called  by  the 
troops  "  Burnt  Hill,"  about  500  yards  distant.  The  Maoris  dug 
rifle-pits  on  the  slope  of  this  hill,  and  their  fire  considerably 
annoyed  the  working-parties. 

On  the  morning  of  the  25th  February  the  direction  of  the  sap 
Wc.s  changed  towards  the  left  of  Te  Arei  pa,  and  it  was  carried 
on  as  a  double  sap.  A  demi-parallel  was  commenced  on  the  left, 
about  40  yards  from  where  the  double  sap  commenced. 

The  slow  but  sure  approach  of  the  sappers  was  now  seriously 
disturbing  the  Maoris,  who  decided  that  it  was  time  to  interfere 
more  actively  than  by  sniping  from  distant  cover.  Accordingly, 
on  the  night  of  the  27th  February,  when  the  troops  had  with- 
drawn to  the  redoubts,  a  large  body  of  natives  crept  silently  out 
of  the  pa  and  vigorously  set  to  work  to  fill  in  the  trenches.  They 
destroyed  the  whole  of  the  double  sap,  the  portion  of  demi- 
parallel,  and  more  or  less  filled  in  nearly  150  yards  of  the  single 
sap.  They  carried  some  of  the  gabions  into  the  pa,  and  burned 
others,  and  removed  also  the  sap-rollers. 

Next  day,  to  guard  the  progress  of  the  sap,  another  redoubt 
(No.  8)  was  constructed  ;  its  front  face  was  34  yards  from  the 
end  of  the  single  sap.  This  field-work,  the  last  of  the  elaborate 
series,  was  square,  with  a  side  of  16  yards  within  the  parapet. 
It  was  occupied  nightly  by  a  guard  of  fifty  men. 

On  the  morning  of  the  ist  March  the  whole  of  the  old  double 
sap  was  filled  in,  and  the  single  sap  was  connected  with  the  ditch 
of  the  rear  face  of  No.  8  Redoubt.  A  new  double  sap  was  then 
co^nmenced  from  the  centre  of  the  front  ditch  of  the  redoubt.  It 
was  directed  to  the  right  (the  British  left)  of  the  entrance  to  Te 
Arei  fortress.  The  traverses  were  at  intervals  of  10  yards.  This 
day  it  was  seen  that  the  Maoris  had  put  the  stolen  gabions  to 
uso  by  setting  them  up  as  a  screen  in  front  of  the  entrance 
to  the  pa. 

By  the  3rd  March  the  workers  in  the  sap  came  under  a  heavy 
plunging  fire  from  the  front  of  the  pa.  A  demi-parallel  was  now 
thrown  out  to  the  left,  about  50  yards  in  front  of  No.  8  Redoubt, 
and  was  continued  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff  above  the  Waitara 
Ri  /er.  This  work  was  43  yards  in  length  ;  the  last  20  yards  were 
converted  from  a  line  of  Maori  rifle-pits. 

Under  many  interruptions  the  sap  was  pushed  forward.  The 
ground  being  commanded  from  the  pa  and  the  rifle-pits,  the  sap 
was  deepened  to  4  feet  6  inches  ;  the  traverses  were  placed  from 
8  :ieet  to  10  feet  apart,  and  made  two  gabions  in  height.  The 
demi-parallel  to  the  river-cliff  was  connected  by  an  approach  with 
the  left-front  angle  of  the  redoubt,  and  about  10  yards  of  the 


2IO 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


demi-parallel  was  made  into  a  battery  for  howitzers  and  a  mortar. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  5th  March  a  party  of  warriors  from  the 
pa  crept  through  the  bushes  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice  to  the 
left  and  fired  a  volley  into  the  sap,  killing  one  man  and  wounding 
four  others.  To  draw  attention  from  this  point  of  attack  the 
native  garrison  had  commenced  a  brisk  fire  from  the  bush  on  the 
right  rear  of  No.  7  Redoubt,  and  continued  it  along  the  whole  line 
of  their  entrenchments. 

As  the  ground  rose  towards  the  pa  the  traverses  were  placed 
14  yards  apart  and  made  one  gabion  in  height,  and  the  trench 
was  excavated  to  the  depth  of  3  feet  only.  Heavy  rain  for  two 
days  interrupted  progress,  then  the  work  was  pushed  on  again 
steadily.  Slight  changes  in  the  contour  of  the  ground  involved 
alterations  from  time  to  time  in  the  intervals  between  the 


From  a  drawing  by  Lieutenant  H.  S.  Bales  (65th  Regt.).~\ 

THE  ATTACK  ON  TE  AREI, 
Showing  the  advanced  British  positions,   1861. 


traverses.  On  the  nth  March  the  sappers  were  making  the 
traverses  12  yards  apart  and  one  gabion  in  height. 

For  three  days  (i2th,  I3th,  and  I4th  March)  hostilities  and 
engineering-work  were  suspended  at  the  request  of  Wiremu  Tame- 
hana,  who  had  just  arrived  from  the  Waikato  to  negotiate  for 
peace.  His  efforts  were  not  successful  at  the  time,  but  peace  was 
near. 

On  the  I5th  March,  the  truce  having  expired,  the  works  were 
recommenced,  and  a  demi-parallel  was  begun  at  the  left  of  the 
sap  at  236  yards  from  No.  8  Redoubt.  The  object  was  to  drive 
the  natives  from  their  rifle-pits  along  the  precipice  to  the  British 
left  front.  This  trench  was  dug  about  50  yards  in  two  days,  and 


PRATT'S  LONG  SAP.  211 

carried  to  the  verge  of  the  cliff  into  the  rifle-pits,  which  were 
evacuated. 

Two  days  were  spent  by  strong  working-parties  enlarging  No.  7 
Redoubt  and  constructing  platforms  and  cover  for  heavy  artillery, 
which  presently  opened  on  the  pa.  The  Maoris  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  I5th  March  carried  on  a  very  heavy  musketry  fire  all  along 
their  front.  That  night  they  made  an  attempt  to  carry  off  the 
sap-roller  at  the  end  of  the  demi-parallel,  but  their  scheme  was 
violently  frustrated  by  the  explosion  of  an  8-inch  shell  which  had 
been  placed  behind  it,  and  connected  with  it  and  a  friction-tube 
by  a  lanyard.  (The  sap-roller  was  a  large  cylindrical  bundle  of 
manuka-branches  and  fern,  bound  round  gabions  filled  with  earth, 
and  6  or  7  feet  thick.  It  was  rolled  along  in  front  of  the  advanced 
sappers  for  head-cover.) 

Two  important  additions  to  the  Imperial  field  force  arrived  in 
January,  1861 — the  i/jth  and  57th  Regiments.  The  I4th  came  to 
Auckland  from  Cork  in  the  auxiliary-screw  ship  "  Robert  Lowe  " 
and  the  ships  "  Boanerges  "  and  "  Savilla."  Their  Commander  was 
Colonel  (afterwards  Major-General)  Sir  James  E.  Alexander,  an 
officer  of  great  experience  in  many  climes.  The  57th  (First  Middle- 
sex), the  famous  "Die-Hards"  of  Albuera  glory,  under  Major 
Loi^an— who  was  followed  by  Colonel  (afterwards  General)  Sir 
H.  J.  Warre — arrived  from  Bombay  in  the  ships  "Star  Queen" 
and  "Castilian."  The  "  Die-Hards"  proved  highly  competent  in 
frontier  warfare,  and  in  after-years  they  were  called  upon  for  a 
great  deal  of  hard  fighting  under  General  Chute.  They  shared, 
in  fact,  with  the  veteran  65th  the  toil  and  the  honours  of  the 
most  arduous  service  in  the  campaign  undertaken  by  the  Imperial 
regiments. 

Between  the  Maoris  and  some  of  the  troops  fighting  at  Te 
Arci  the  war  was  conducted  quite  in  the  spirit  of  a  chivalrous 
tournament.  The  65th,  who  had  had  very  friendly  relations  with 
the  Taranaki  natives  in  the  intervals  of  peace,  were  singled  out 
for  good-humoured  banter  and  frequent  injunctions  from  the  rifle- 
pits  to  "Lie  down,  Hiketi  Pi  whet  e,  we're  going  to  shoot."  Some- 
times, as  the  sap  drew  near  the  pa,  there  would  come  a  loud  request, 
"Homai  te  tupeka,"  and  when  in  response  a  packet  of  tobacco  was 
thrown  over  into  the  Maori  trenches,  back  would  come  a  basket 
of  peaches  or  a  kit  of  potatoes.  These  amenities  did  not  extend 
to  the  other  regiments  ;  the  57th  were  bidden  "  go  back  to  India." 
Foi  all  the  amusing  interchange  of  courtesies  between  the  opposing 
line  s  there  was  a  great  deal  of  hot  firing,  though  with  little  result. 
Sergeant-Major  E.  Bezar  (ex  57th),  of  Wellington,  recalls  that  one 
morning  before  breakfast  every  man  in  his  part  of  the  advanced 
trenches  had  expended  all  the  ammunition  he  had  brought — 120 
rounds.  Bezar  himself  one  morning  fired  160  rounds.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Enfields  which  the  troops  used  were  muzzle- 


212 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


loaders,  with  necessarily  a  rather  long  interval  between  each  shot, 
so  that  the  barrel  did  not  heat  so  greatly  as  that  of  a  modern 
magazine  rifle. 

There  was  now  a  heavy  siege-train  battering  away  at  the  Maori 
defences.  The  storm  of  shot  and  shell  compelled  the  garrison  to 
take  to  their  underground  quarters,  but  even  there  they  were  not 
always  safe  when  the  Armstrongs  began  to  play  on  them.  There 
were  in  front  of  Te  Arei  two  8-inch  naval  guns,  two  8-inch  and 


n 


u 


n_ 


C3) 

THE  BRITISH  SAP  AT  TE  AREI. 

(i.)    Cross-section  of  sap,  with  traverse  and  gabions. 
(2.)  Head  of  the  sap,  close  to  Maori  works,  Te  Arei..  in  March,  1861. 
(3.)   Remains  of  sap  near  north  face  of  Te  Arei  pa,  as  existing  at  the 
present  time. 

two  10 -inch  mortars,  four  Coehorn  mortars,  two  24 -pounder 
howitzers,  three  12-pounder  and  one  g-pounder  field-guns.  The 
large-calibre  mortars  and  the  Armstrong  field-pieces  had  been 
brought  in  the  ship  "  Norwood  "  to  Auckland  (arriving  4th  March, 


PRATT'S  LONG  SAP.  213 

1861)  by  the  Royal  Artillery,  under  Captain  Mercer  (killed 
at  Rangiriri,  1863).  The  mortars  and  half  the  field-guns"  were 
landed  at  the  Waitara  River  in  surf -boats  on  the  I3th  March, 
and  commenced  firing  on  the  pa  from  No.  7  Redoubt  on  the 
I5th  March.  The  precision  of  the  gunnery  and  the  destruction 
caused  by  the  bursting  shells,  added  to  the  harassing  effect  of 
the  night  firing  of  the  artillery,  convinced  Hapurona  and  his  allies 
that  their  stronghold  was  no  longer  tenable. 

On  the  I7th  March  the  demi-parallel  reached  a  point  at  a  bend 
in  the  rifle-pits  where  a  palisade  on  the  cliff-edge  barred  further 
passage.  Near  here  Lieutenant  MacNaghten,  R.A.,  was  shot  dead. 
It  was  he  who  had  fired  the  first  shot  in  the  Waitara  war,  exactly 
a  year  before  his  death.  Next  day  the  sap,  which  had  been 
suspended  since  the  nth,  was  recommenced,  and  27  yards  were 
formed  during  the  day.  The  last  two  shells  thrown  into  Te  Arei 
were  fired  from  the  big  mortars  mounted  at  No.  7  Redoubt  at 
4  am.  on  the  igth  March,  1861.  The  Maori  white  flag  went  up 
about  6  o'clock.  The  working  and  covering  parties  were  then 
withdrawn  and  hostilities  ceased. 

The  total  length  of  the  sap  executed  in  this  advance  on  Te 
Am  was  1,626  yards,  exclusive  of  the  45  yards  double  sap  filled  in 
after  having  been  destroyed  by  the  Maoris,  and  of  the  final 
demi-parallel,  67  yards.  This  length  is  made  up  as  follows :  Double 
sap  from  No.  3  Redoubt  to  Huirangi,  768  yards ;  single  sap 
(stopped),  90  yards  ;  sap  from  No.  7  Redoubt  towards  Te  Arei 
(single  sap),  452  yards  ;  from  No.  8  Redoubt  (new  double  sap) 
316  yards  :  total,  1,626  yards. 

The  war  was  terminated  by  an  agreement  between  Hapurona 
and  the  Government,  Wiremu  Kingi  having  gone  to  Kihikihi, 
Upper  Waikato,  to  live  with  his  friends  the  Ngati-Maniapoto. 
Mr.  Donald  McLean  (afterwards  Sir  Donald),  Native  Secretary, 
and  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Wilson,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  were 
the  chief  agents  of  the  Government,  and  after  some  days'  dis- 
cussion they  persuaded  Hapurona  to  accept  the  conditions  laid 
do\vn  by  the  Governor  in  Council,  the  Waikato  tribes  agreeing  at 
the  same  time  to  return  to  their  homes.  The  terms  agreed  upon 
included  the  investigation  of  the  title  to  the  Waitara  Block  and 
the  completion  of  the  survey,  restoration  of  plunder  taken  from 
the  settlers,  and  the  submission  of  the  Atiawa  to  the  Queen's 
authority.  Hapurona  and  Wiremu  Ngawaka  Patu  -  Kakariki 
signed  the  peace  treaty  on  behalf  of  the  Maoris.  Ngati-Ruanui 
declined  to  sign,  pending  a  meeting  of  the  Waikato  tribes  to 
discuss  the  war. 

The  net  result  of  the  war  was  the  enormous  destruction  of 
settlers'  property  at  comparatively  small  cost  to  the  Taranaki 
Maoris.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  farmhouses  at  Omata, 
Bell  Block,  Tataraimaka,  and  settlements  nearer  the  town  had 


214  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

been  burned  or  sacked.  The  premises  of  187  farming  families  were 
destroyed,  many  of  them  in  daylight,  and  some  within  rifle-range 
of  the  stockades.  The  total  value  of  homes  and  stock  lost  was 
estimated  at  £200,000.  The  blunder  of  the  Waitara  purchase  had 
set  the  province  back  well-nigh  twenty  years.  The  Government 
made  some  compensation,  but  the  parliamentary  vote  for  the  pur- 
pose (£25,000)  went  only  a  very  small  way  to  satisfy  the  ruined 
settlers'  claims.  Further  financial  assistance,  however,  was  granted 
later  on. 


NOTES. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  sap  towards  Te  Arei  pa,  Puke-rangiora, 
is  still  to  be  seen.  The  traveller  turning  up  from  the  New  Plymouth  - 
Waitara  Road  from  near  Kairau  drives  along  a  plain  studded  with  the  ruins 
of  British  redoubts  and  Maori  entrenchments,  and  when  within  about  half 
a  mile  of  Te  Arei  may  observe  on  the  left-hand  side,  in  the  paddocks  between 
the  road  and  the  Waitara  River,  the  depression  in  the  turf  which  marks  the 
line  of  the  sap.  At  the  end  of  the  plain  before  the  ascent  to  Te  Arei 
begins  the  earthworks  of  No.  7  Redoubt  are  seen  in  the  middle  of  a  field 
on  the  left  of  the  road  as  one  goes  from  Kairau.  Tall  pine-trees  grow  on 
the  grassy  parapets  and  cast  their  shade  over  the  many-angled  redoubt, 
a  camping-ground  sixty  years  ago  for  four  hundred  Imperial  troops.  A 
little  beyond  this,  parallel  with  the  road,  the  shallow  dip  in  the  grass 
indicates  the  olden  sap,  and  when  the  Government  fenced  scenic  reserve 
is  reached  on  the  slant  upwards  to  Te  Arei  the  long  trench  is  more  clearly 
defined.  About  200  yards  of  the  sap,  ending  within  100  yards  of  the  Maori 
position,  are  in  almost  perfect  order.  The  trench  here  is  10  to  12  feet  wide 
and  6  feet  deep,  with  a  low  parapet  on  either  side  formed  by  the  earth 
thrown  up.  The  traverses  (mounds  of  earth  left  alternately  right  and 
left  in  the  trenches  to  guard  against  a  raking  fire)  are  still  intact,  as  shown 
in  sketch-plan ;  they  are  about  12  paces  apart.  A  little  above  the  end  of 
the  sap  there  are  partly  filled-in  Maori  rifle-pits  and  a  small  redoubt  on 
the  brink  of  the  Waitara  River  cliff,  with  thick  bush  below,  affording 
perfect  cover  for  the  defenders,  pickets  of  the  pa  garrison.  Above  are  the 
high  fern-grown  parapets  of  Te  Arei. 

Sergeant-Major  E.  Bezar  (late  5yth  Regiment)  supplied  the  following 
note,  under  date  I3th  January,  1921,  regarding  the  death  of  Lieutenant 
MacNaghten,  R.A.,  at  Te  Arei  on  the  iyth  March,  1861  :  "  I  have  seen 
different  accounts  of  the  way  this  gallant  and  popular  officer  met  his  death, 
but  they  all  differ.  Possibly  I  am  the  only  man  now  living  who  witnessed 
the  event,  and  I  can  positively  say  I  was  the  last  man  to  speak  to  him 
before  he  went  to  his  death.  We  were  at  the  head  of  the  sap.  It  was 
afternoon,  and  the  enemy  were  very  busy  and  excited,  and  we  deemed  it 
necessary  to  be  prepared  for  a  sudden  rush  over  our  way,  and  we  fixed 
bayonets.  Lieutenant  MacNaghten  expressed  a  desire  to  go  to  the  top 
of  the  rise  we  were  cutting  through,  and  I  remarked  that  it  was  very 
risky,  seeing  how  the  bullets  were  coming  over.  He  climbed  out  of  the 
trench  and  crawled  through  the  fern  to  the  top  of  the  rise.  I  fancy  they 
must  have  noticed  the  moving  fern.  He  was  lying  flat  and  looking  through 
his  glasses  when  he  received  the  fatal  shot.  A  year  ago  that  day  he  fired 
the  first  howitzer  shot  at  the  enemy.  He  was  not  laying  a  gun  on  this 
occasion,  as  I  have  seen  stated,  for  there  was  not  a  gun  nearer  than  No.  7 
Redoubt,  several  hundred  yards  to  the  rear.  I  have  a  very  vivid  recollec- 
tion of  this  sad  event,  and  I  never  took  my  eyes  from  the  officer,  for  the 
bullets  were  pinging  over  that  rise  by  the  dozen." 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


THE  SECOND  TARANAKI  CAMPAIGN. 

Before  the  winter  of  1861  most  of  the  troops  in  Taranaki 
were  withdrawn  to  Auckland,  Colonel  Warre  remaining  in  New 
Plymouth  with  his  regiment,  the  57th.  Major-General  Pratt  left 
for  Melbourne  after  the  arrival  of  a  new  Commander-in-Chief, 
Lieut. -General  Sir  Duncan  Cameron,  who  had  led  the  4oth  Regi- 
ment at  the  Battle  of  the  Alma,  and  the  Highland  Brigade  at 
Balaclava  and  the  siege  of  Sebastopol.  Many  of  the  troops  sent  to 
Auckland  were  employed  on  the  Great  South  Road,  which  was 
being  cut  through  the  forest  from  Drury  to  the  Waikato  River. 
In  Taranaki  the  Atiawa  were  amicable,  but  the  Ngati-Ruanui  and 
their  kin  remained  unfriendly. 

An  incident  of  1862  (ist  September)  was  the  wreck  at  Te 
Namu,  near  Cape  Egmont,  of  the  steamer  "  Lord  Worsley," 
600  tons,  carrying  passengers,  mails,  and  gold  from  Nelson  to 
New  Plymouth  and  Auckland.  Wiremu  Kingi  te  Matakaatea  and 
Eruera  te  Whiti  (afterwards  the  celebrated  prophet  of  Parihaka) 
befriended  the  shipwrecked  people,  numbering  sixty,  who  were 
permitted  to  go  overland  to  New  Plymouth  with  their  baggage, 
alter  this  had  been  examined  by  the  Kingite  customs  officers  ; 
each  person  had  to  pay  55.  on  passing  the  Maori  toll-gate  esta- 
blished as  the  result  of  a  large  Maori  conference  at  Kapoaiaia. 
Mr.  Robert  Graham,  Auckland,  who  was  a  passenger,  pluckily 
suved  the  gold  that  was  on  board,  and  twice  traversed  the 
hostile  territory,  carrying  his  loads  safely  into  New  Plymouth.  A 
young  half-caste  named  Hori  Teira  (George  Taylor),  who  was 
one  of  the  keepers  of  the  toll-gate,  obtained  a  horse  for  Mr. 
Graham  and  otherwise  assisted  him,  and  this  act  of  friendship 
brought  its  unexpected  reward  in  the  following  year,  when  Hori 
lay  in  prison  in  Auckland. 

Soon  after  Sir  George  Grey  had  succeeded  Colonel  Gore 
Browne  as  Governor  of  New  Zealand,  arriving  at  Auckland  on 
the  26th  September,  1862,  in  H.M.S.  "  Cossack,"  from  Cape 
Town,  a  new  native  policy  was  promulgated.  A  Commission  had 
investigated  the  proprietary  interests  in  the  Waitara  lands,  and 
as  the  outcome  of  its  inquiries  the  Governor  issued,  on  the  nth 


2l6  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

May,  1863,  a  Proclamation  announcing  the  abandonment  of  the 
purchase  of  Teira's  block  and  the  renunciation  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  all  claims  to  that  area  of  land.  This  tardy  vindica- 
tion of  Wiremu  Kingi's  cause  had  unfortunately  been  preceded 
by  the  armed  occupation  of  the  Tataraimaka  Block,  which  had 
temporarily  been  abandoned  in  1860,  and  which  the  Maoris  now 
claimed  by  right  of  conquest.  Three  hundred  officers  and  men 
of  the  57th,  under  Colonel  Warre,  marched  out  along  the  south 
road,  and  on  the  4th  April  encamped  on  Tataraimaka,  and  built 
a  redoubt  on  Bayley's  Farm,  near  the  Katikara  River.  The 
Taranaki  Tribe  had  previously  informed  the  Governor  and  General 
Cameron  that  Tataraimaka  would  not  be  given  up  unless  the 
British  first  gave  up  the  Waitara.  The  march  upon  Tataraimaka 
was  naturally  accepted  as  an  act  of  war,  and  Taranaki  promptly 
sent  out  appeals  for  assistance  to  Ngati-Ruanui  and  Nga-Rauru, 
and  to  Ngati  -  Maniapoto  and  Waikato ;  a  letter  was  sent 
to  Wiremu  Kingi  at  Kihikihi.  Five  weeks  elapsed  before  the 
Government  made  amends  for  the  error  of  Gore  Browne  and  his 
advisers,  and  in  the  meantime  hostilities  had  commenced. 

THE  AMBUSH  AT  WAIRAU. 

The  first  shot  in  the  second  Taranaki  campaign  was  fired  on 
the  4th  May,  1863.  The  Taranaki  and  Ngati-Ruanui  planned 
ambuscades  to  cut  off  communications  between  Tataraimaka  and 
New  Plymouth,  and  warnings  of  these  intended  ambush  tactics 
had  been  sent  to  the  authorities  in  New  Plymouth  by  friendly 
natives,  but  were  lightly  regarded.  Sir  George  Grey  was  in  the 
habit  of  riding  out  to  the  military  post  at  Tataraimaka  (fifteen 
miles  from  New  Plymouth),  and  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  May  a 
party  of  thirty  or  forty  young  warriors  lay  in  ambush  waiting 
for  the  Governor  and  his  party,  who  were  expected  to  pass  along 
the  beach  road  that  day.  Among  the  ambush -party  was  the 
young  half-caste  Hori  Teira,  already  mentioned  as  one  of  the 
keepers  of  the  Maori  toll-gate.  His  father  was  a  ship's  carpenter, 
and  his  birthplace  Kororareka,  Bay  of  Islands.  Hori  was  a  lad 
of  eighteen.  He  had  been  educated  at  the  mission  school,  and 
had  been  brought  down  to  Taranaki  by  his  mother's  people  just 
before  the  war  began. 

The  ambuscade  was  laid  on  the  coast  just  beyond  the  Oakura, 
at  a  place  where  two  small  streams,  the  Waimouku  and  the 
Wairau,  flow  down  to  the  shingly  beach.  (The  spot  is  on  the  farm 
of  Captain  Frank  Mace.)  Low  but  thick  bush  and  brushwood 
grew  close  to  the  beach  here,  and  in  its  cover  between  the  mouths 
of  the  two  streams,  which  are  not  more  than  100  yards  apart,  the 
Maoris  awaited  their  unsuspecting  enemy.  The  Governor  did  not 
pass  that  day,  but  a  small  military  party  did.  This  was  an  escort 


THE    SECOND    TARANAKI    CAMPAIGN.  217 

of  the  57th  taking  a  prisoner  of  the  regiment  into  New  Plymouth 
from  Tataraimaka.  There  were  six  soldiers,  under  Colour-Sergeant 
Ellers  and  Sergeant  S.  Hill.  With  them  also  were  travelling  two 
officers,  Lieutenant  Tragett  and  Assistant  -  Surgeon  Hope,  who 
were  mounted.  The  officers  were  riding  along  the  beach  a  little 
ahead  of  the  soldiers.  Young  Hori  and  his  companions  lying  in 
ambush  let  the  mounted  men  pass  by,  and  then  fired  a  volley 
into  the  detachment  of  soldiers  at  a  range  of  a  few  yards. 
Hori,  relating  the  story,  said  that  to  his  astonishment  the  British 
officers,  instead  of  making  their  escape  as  they  could  easily  have 
done,  turned  their  horses  and  joined  the  soldiers,  and  so  they, 
too,  were  shot  down.  Nine  were  killed,  and  the  only  man  who 
escaped  was  Private  Florence  Kelly.  A  Maori  named  Tukino 
fired  at  one  of  the  officers,  Dr.  Hope,  and  shot  him  in  the  face. 
Tukino  immediately  raised  a  yell  of  "Mate  rawa!""  ("He  is 
killed ! ")  but  the  officer  rose  and  confronted  his  enemies  again. 
Thereupon  Hori  Teira  and  some  of  his  comrades  fired  and  shot 
him  dead.  The  young  half-caste  rushed  out  to  plunder  the  dead 
officer — his  first  blood,  or  mataika.  It  was  the  first  man  he  had 
helped  to  slay.  He  took  a  watch  and  chain  and  a  ring  from 
Dr.  Hope's  body,  and  two  rifles  from  the  dead  soldiers. 

It  was  a  war  custom  among  the  Taranaki  Maoris  that  any 
plunder  or  trophies  taken  from  a  foe  whom  a  warrior  had  killed 
in  his  first  battle — the  "  first  fish  " — should  not  be  retained  by 
the  slayer,  but  should  be  given  away  to  some  other  person  in 
order  to  avert  ill  luck.  It  was  inviting  an  aitua  (a  serious 
misfortune,  even  death)  to  keep  the  first  spoils  of  war.  So,  on 
returning  to  the  Maori  headquarters,  Hori  was  advised  by  the 
chiefs  and  elders  to  give  away  his  war-trophies,  and  so  placate 
the  war-god.  Hori  insisted  on  wearing  the  watch  and  ring, 
declaring  that  they  were  too  valuable  and  fine  to  be  given  away 
because  of  an  old-fashioned  superstition. 

The  ill-gotten  ring  brought  its  aitua.  Three  weeks  after  the 
ambuscade  at  the  Wairau  a  small  party  of  young  warriors,  of 
whom  Hori  Teira  was  one,  laid  another  ambuscade  near  the 
Poutoko  Redoubt,  about  eight  miles  trom  New  Plymouth.  They 
attacked  a  mounted  officer,  Lieutenant  Waller,  of  the  57th.  His 
horse  was  hit,  and  both  fell.  Hori,  imagining  that  the  officer 
was  mortally  wounded,  and  yelling  "  Ki  au  te  tupapaku  !  "  ("  Mine 
is  the  dead  man  !  ")  rushed  out,  dropping  his  rifle,  and  snatched 
out  his  short-handled  tomahawk  to  deliver  the  finishing  blow. 
But  the  officer  was  by  no  means  a  dead  man.  Jumping  to  his 
feet,  he  drew  his  revolver  and  fired  several  shots  at  Hori.  One 
struck  the  young  half-caste  in  the  side.  He  was  not  seriously 
wounded,  but  he  could  not  retreat,  as  his  comrades  did  when 
a  force  sallied  out  from  the  redoubt.  Hori  was  captured  and 
identified  as  one  of  the  Maoris  who  had  ambushed  Dr.  Hope  and 


2l8  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

his  party.  The  fatal  ring  was  on  his  finger,  the  watch  was  in  his 
pocket,  and  one  of  the  rifles  was  identified  as  Dr.  Hope's.  He 
was  charged  with  murder — although  in  Maori  eyes  this  ambush 
was  thoroughly  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  war — was  tried 
and  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  He  was  taken 
to  Auckland  for  execution,  but  his  sentence  was  commuted  to 
imprisonment  for  life.  In  prison  a  white  man  came  to  see  him. 
This  was  Mr.  Robert  Graham,  Superintendent  of  the  Province 
of  Auckland,  the  "  Lord  Worsley  "  passenger  whom  Hori  had 
befriended  on  the  Taranaki  coast  the  previous  year.  Hori  had 
cast  his  bread  upon  the  waters.  Mr.  Graham  rejoiced  in  the 
opportunity  of  repaying  the  kindness.  He  persuaded  the  Governor 
to  reduce  the  sentence.  Hori  was  released  after  serving  four 
years,  and  he  went  no  more  upon  the  war-path.* 

The  war  renewed,  troops  were  again  moved  to  Taranaki.  The 
Militia  and  the  Volunteers  were  once  more  required  for  guard  and 
patrol  duty  around  New  Plymouth. 

At  the  beginning  of  June  more  effective  methods  of  frontier 
warfare  were  introduced  by  the  formation  of  settler  and  Volunteer 
corps  for  the  special  purpose  of  following  the  Maoris  into  the  bush 
and  clearing  the  country  surrounding  the  town  of  hostile  bands. 
The  soul  of  these  free-roving  tactics  was  Captain  Harry  Atkinson. 
His  party  of  fifty  men  of  No.  2  Company,  Taranaki  Rifles,  was 
the  first  corps  of  forest  rangers  to  take  the  field  in  New  Zealand. 
The  force,  as  the  war  went  on,  was  increased  to  two  companies,  and 
was  styled  the  Taranaki  Bush  Rangers.  Day  after  day  Atkinson 


*  Hori  Teira,  who  is  now  a  farmer  near  Parihaka,  Taranaki,  narrated 
this  adventure  of  his  youth  to  the  writer. 

Sergeant-Major  Bezar,  who,  with  a  party  of  men,  captured  Hori  Teira, 
says, — 

"  Hori  Teira  was  the  first  prisoner  taken  in  the  war  of  1863.  We 
were  in  St.  Patrick's  Redoubt  at  Poutoko,  and  I  was  looking  out  over  the 
parapet  when  I  saw  a  man  hurrying  up  the  hill  towards  us  on  foot,  and  as 
he  came  closer  I  saw  he  was  an  officer.  Seeing  an  officer  dismounted,  I 
immediately  concluded  something  was  wrong,  and  I  called  to  some  of  the 
men,  '  Get  your  rifles,  men,  quick,  quick ! '  so  that  by  the  time  the  officer, 
Lieutenant  Waller,  came  up  we  were  ready.  He  told  me  what  had  happened, 
and  I  took  my  party  over  a  short-cut  to  the  place  where  he  had  been  fired 
at.  It  was  only  500  yards  below  our  redoubt,  and  about  four  miles  from 
where  the  ambush  had  occurred  three  weeks  previously.  We  skirmished 
up  quickly  to  the  belt  of  bush  where  Waller  had  .been  fired  at,  and  did  it  so 
quickly  that  I  think  we  were  there  scarcely  more  than  five  minutes  after 
he  reached  the  redoubt  and  told  me  what  had  happened.  All  the  Maoris 
but  one  had  bolted  into  the  bush.  This  one  was  Hori  Teira.  I  found  him 
crouching  in  the  scrub.  A  soldier  made  for  him  with  his  bayonet,  but  I 
stopped  him  from  killing  him,  saying  that  I  wanted  to  get  the  young  fellow 
to  tell  us  where  they  had  buried  Ryan,  one  of  the  nine  men  killed  in  the 
previous  ambuscade,  whose  body  was  still  missing.  This  Teira  did,  and 
we  found  the  body.  I  marched  him  to  the  redoubt  and  handed  him  over. 
Teira  told  me  also  that  the  Maoris  had  intended  the  ambush  for  Sir  George 
Grey  and  General  Cameron,  whom  they  had  planned  to  kill." 


THE   SECOND  TARANAKI   CAMPAIGN. 


led  out  his  war-party  of  practised  bushmen-settlers  and  scoured 
the  forest  and  the  native  tracks,  and  soon  had  the  country  free 
frorr  hostiles  for  a  radius  of  many  a  mile  from  New  Plymouth. 
The  Bush  Rangers  were  armed  with  Terry  breech-loading  carbines 
and  revolvers.  Atkinson's  principal  fellow-officers  in  this  highly 
useful  commission  were  Captain  F.  Webster  and  Lieutenants 
Bro\m,  Jones,  McKellar,  and  Messenger. 

THE  STORMING  OF  KATIKARA. 

Early  in  June  General  Cameron  moved  out  against  the  southern 
tribes  who  were  resisting  the  Government's  title  to  the  Tatarai- 


THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  KATIKARA  (1863). 


maki  Block.  At  St.  George's  Redoubt,  the  post  which  he", had 
established  at  Tataraimaka,  he  concentrated  a  considerable  fo'rce, 
having  previously  arranged  that  H.M.S.  "  Eclipse  "  should  co-operate 
by  siielling  the  Maoris.  The  Taranaki,  Ngati-Ruanui,  Nga-Rauru, 
and  Whanganui  men  had  entrenched  themselves  in  a  position 
above  a  mile  beyond  St.  George's  Redoubt  and  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Katikara  River.  Falling  in  at  daybreak  on  the  4th  June  the 
57th  (under  Colonel  Warre)  and  the  7oth  crossed  the  Katikara 
River  and  advanced  upon  the  native  entrenchments,  while  a 
preparatory  bombardment  was  carried  out  by  the  "  Eclipse  " — 
which  had  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  river  more  than  a  mile 
from  the  pa — and  by  an  Armstrong  battery  posted  on  the  edge 


220  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

of  the  cliff  above  the  river  near  the  redoubt.  After  the  shelling 
the  57th  carried  the  position  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  cleared 
the  rifle-pits  and  trenches,  and  pursued  the  beaten  foe  inland. 
Sergeant-Major  E.  Bezar,  one  of  the  few  surviving  veterans  of  the 
57th,  took  part  in  the  charge  ;  he  thus  described  to  the  writer  the 
storming  of  the  trenches  : — 

"  The  Taranaki  natives'  position  had  not  been  completed  when 
we  attacked  it.  The  place  was  about  fifteen  miles  from  New 
Plymouth,  on  the  southern  side  of  Tataraimaka  and  more  inland. 
St.  George's  Redoubt  at  Tataraimaka  was  about  a  mile  away. 
After  leaving  the  redoubt  our  force  had  to  cross  a  river  and  then 
advance  in  single  file  up  a  rough  ferny  ridge  ;  at  the  top  we  halted 
so  as  to  give  the  men  time  to  come  up,  and  it  was  a  considerable 
time  before  we  had  enough  men  there  to  enable  us  to  rush  the  pa. 
The  distance  we  had  to  charge  across  the  open  was  about  150  yards. 
In  the  meantime  Ensign  Duncan  with  fifty  men  of  our  regiment 
had  been  sent  on  to  cut  off  the  Maoris'  retreat  in  the  rear.  Duncan 
marched  up  from  the  redoubt  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  pa, 
but  instead  of  taking  post  in  the  rear,  as  he  should  have  done, 
he  simply  came  up  along  the  right  flank  of  the  Maoris  and  rushed 
in  at  the  front  of  it  as  we  did.  Had  he  done  his  duty  properly 
the  Maoris  would  have  been  surrounded,  and  probably  the  war 
would  have  ended  there. 

"  The  place,  properly  speaking,  was  not  a  pa,  as  there  was  no 
parapet  or  palisade.  It  consisted  simply  of  trench-work  and  rifle- 
pits.  The  main  trenches,  about  4  feet  wide  or  so,  roughly  formed 
three  sides  of  a  parallelogram,  with  the  longer  side  on  the  front 
which  we  rushed.  Inside  the  trenches  was  a  series  of  rifle-pits — 
three  or  four  of  them — and  within  again  were  two  or  three  large 
wharepunis,  sunk  in  the  ground  after  the  usual  native  fashion,  with 
low  roofs  ;  they  were  thatched  with  raupo. 

"We  charged  in  across  the  trench  with  the  bayonet,  and  the 
Maoris  were  soon  bolting  out  at  the  rear.  The  glacis  across  which 
we  rushed  was  a  potato  cultivation  ;  on  the  south  there  was  a 
maize-field.  I  saw  one  man  running  down  across  this  field,  and 
I  took  a  shot  at  him  and  dropped  him.  By  the  time  I  had 
loaded  again  and  caught  up  to  my  men  we  were  in  the  pa.  The 
whores  were  set  fire  to,  or  caught  fire  from  the  shooting  close 
to  the  thatch,  and  as  they  burned  the  raupo  fell  in.  There 
were  several  men's  bodies  under  the  burning  debris  when  the 
fight  was  over. 

"  When  the  action  was  over  we  collected  the  dead  and  wounded. 
Three  of  our  men  were  killed.  The  Maoris  lost  about  forty  killed. 
We  carried  twenty-eight  bodies  out  across  the  trenches  and  laid 
them  in  a  long  row  in  front  of  the  works  they  had  defended.  Then 
General  Cameron  came  up  with  Sir  George  Grey,  and  complimented 
our  captain,  Russell,  on  the  day's  work.  The  dead  Maoris  were 


THE  SECOND  TARANAKI  CAMPAIGN.  221 

loaded  into  carts  and  taken  down  to  the  Tataraimaka,  and  all 
were  buried  in  one  large  square  pit  close  to  our  redoubt. 

"  A  picture  in  the  Illustrated  London  News,  1864,  is  a  very 
inaccurate  drawing  of  the  fight.  There  was  no  large  earthwork 
as  shown  in  the  sketch — only  trenches  and  rifle-pits. 

"  Ensign  Duncan,  so  far  as  I  know,  was  never  taken  to  task 
for  his  blunder  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  his  fifty  men  could  have 
disposed  of  the  Maoris  had  they  been  in  their  proper  position  in 
the  rear. 

"  The  surviving  Maoris,  we  heard  afterwards,  held  a  meeting 
at  night  in  the  bush,  and  they  all  decided  to  wage  war  to  the 
uttermost  in  revenge  for  their  losses  that  day." 

A  number  of  Upper  Wanganui  natives  were  killed  in  this 
attack,  and  these  losses  accounted  in  part  for  the  readiness  with 
which  the  river  tribes  embraced  the  Hauhau  fanaticism  in  1864. 

The  principal  trophy  captured  on  this  successful  expedition 
was  the  large  board  on  which  the  list  of  Maori  tolls  was  painted, 
set  up  originally  by  the  Kingites  near  Te  Ika-roa-a-Maui,  the 
large  assembly-house  at  Kapoaiaia,  near  Warea,  and  afterwards 
brought  to  Puke-tehe,  in  the  vicinity  of  Tataraimaka.  The  tolls 
demanded  ranged  from  £500  for  a  pakeha  policeman  to  6d.  for  a 
Maori  pig  carried  in  a  cart.  The  board  was  put  on  board  H.M.S. 
"  Eclipse  "  for  Auckland. 

As  the  Waikato  War  had  now  begun,  the  Ngati-Maniapoto 
and  other  northern  fighters  who  had  gone  to  Taranaki  in  response 
to  the  appeal  from  the  runanga  at  Mataitawa,  when  the  troops 
occupied  Tataraimaka,  returned  to  defend  their  own  territory, 
and  left  the  west-coast  tribes  to  continue  the  hostilities.  There 
was  intermittent  skirmishing  for  some  months  ;  in  these  events 
the  Taranaki  Rifles  Volunteers  and  the  Militia  played  a  conspicuous 
part.  The  principal  engagement  during  the  latter  part  of  1863 
was  an  encounter  on  the  2nd  October  at  Allen's  Hill,  or  Hurford 
Road,  five  miles  and  a  half  from  New  Plymouth  along  the  south 
road.  Colonel  Warre  took  out  a  strong  force  of  the  57th  and 
the  settler-soldiers,  and  there  was  some  brisk  fighting  on  the  hill 
and  in  the  fields  around  the  homestead  to  the  west  of  it.  Captains 
Atkinson,  Webster,  and  Wr.  B.  Messenger  were  in  charge  of  the 
Volunteers  and  Militia,  numbering  between  ninety  and  a  hundred. 
Captain  Frank  Mace  and  some  of  his  mounted  men  were  also 
engaged.  Two  V.C.s  were  won  at  Allan's  Hill,  by  Ensign  J.  T. 
•Down  and  Drummer  D.  Stagpoole,  of  the  57th,  who  went  to  the 
rescue  of  a  mortally  wounded  comrade  under  fire  near  the  bush. 

Now  and  again  the  Regular  troops,  in  emulation  of  Atkinson's 
active  Bush  Rangers,  essayed  to  lay  ambuscades  for  the  Maoris. 
An  incident  of  this  kind  was  the  ambushing  of  a  small  party  of 
natives  at  the  foot  of  the  Patua  Range,  on  which  the  Kaitake  pa 
was  built,  by  a  detachment  of  the  57th,  under  Captain  H.  R. 


222  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Russell,  from  the  Poutoko  Redoubt.  Seven  natives  were  killed 
in  this  morning  surprise. 

The  Tataraimaka  Block  was  once  more  temporarily  abandoned 
to  the  Maoris,  and  the  available  forces  were  concentrated  on  the 
defences  of  New  Plymouth  and  its  outposts  as  far  as  Omata  and 
Poutoko  on  one  hand  and  the  Bell  Block  on  the  other.  The  bush- 
scouring  parties  of  the  Volunteers  were  now  most  useful  in  patrol- 
ling the  broken  forest  country  in  rear  of  the  town,  and  in  blocking 
communication  between  the  southern  tribes  and  the  Atiawa. 

An  example  of  the  numerous  bush  skirmishes  in  which  the 
settlers'  corps  were  engaged  in  1863-64  is  described  by  Captain 
J.  R.  Rushton,  now  living  at  Kutarere,  Ohiwa  Harbour.  Captain 
Rushton  says, — 

"  Upon  my  arrival  in  New  Plymouth,  a  few  days  after  the 
ambuscade  of  Lieutenant  Tragett  and  Dr.  Hope  at  the  Wairau, 
I  joined  the  Bush  Rangers,  a  scouting  corps,  under  Captains 
Atkinson  and  Webster.  Our  duties  were  to  patrol  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  town,  which  was  now  isolated  from  other  parts  of  the  colony, 
the  Maoris  having  burned  down  many  houses  and  murdered  some 
settlers.  This  is  how  we  foiled  a  Maori  ambuscade,  through  the 
smoke  from  the  pipes  :  We  had  been  out  all  night  some  distance 
past  the  Bell  Block,  and,  not  meeting  with  the  enemy,  started  to 
return  by  the  edge  of  the  bush,  through  Street's  Clearing,  swinging 
along  at  ease  in  single  file  on  the  bullock-cart  road.  I  was  near 
the  front  with  Bill  Smart  and  others.  The  fern  was  high,  but 
looking  over  we  saw  distinctly,  at  about  250  yards,  at  the  edge  of 
the  bush,  a  small  curl  of  smoke  ahead,  and  upon  looking  again 
saw  a  group  of  Maoris  in  their  mats  leaning  upon  their  guns. 
Captain  Atkinson  now  got  up  to  us  and  saw  the  Maoris,  and  about 
fifteen  or  eighteen  of  us  actually  formed  up  in  line,  and  at  the  word 
'  Fire/  gave  them  a  volley.  We  expected  to  get  their  killed  and 
wounded,  but  before  we  got  across  the  swamp  they  had  dragged 
those  hit  or  killed  into  the  bush.  So  we  did  not  venture  in  after 
them,  being  not  far  from  Mataitawa  pa.  We  got  many  mats  with 
holes  through  them,  and,  I  think,  some  guns.  We  now  continued 
our  way  in  the  direction  of  Bell  Block,  and  at  a  small  rise  we  got 
a  volley  from  behind  logs.  Following  up  the  Maori  party,  we 
killed  two.  We  now  started  again  for  home,  in  the  direction  of 
the  Bell  Block,  and  had  not  gone  far  when  we  saw  coming 
towards  us  two  bullock-carts.  There  was  a  strong  wind  blowing 
from  them,  and  they  told  us  that  they  never  heard  the  firing. 
It  was  a  most  wonderful  escape.  The  two  ambuscades  were  ready 
for  the  firewood-carts  from  Bell  Block,  and  it  was  evident  that  the 
second  ambuscade  never  heard  our  first  volley.  We  now  started 
for  town,  having  done  a  good  morning's  work. 

"  Just  a  word  for  my  old  comrades,  the  Taranaki  boys.  The 
Maoris  had  no  chance  with  them,  man  for  man,  in  the  bush. 


THE    SECOND    TARANAKI    CAMPAIGN. 


223 


Skirmishing  with  them  under  Captain  (afterwards  Major)  Sir  Harry 
Atkinson  taught  me  much  about  taking  cover  in  bush  fighting 
that  served  me  well  in  other  campaigns  during  nearly  eight  years 
active  service  in  the  Maori  wars.  It  is  always  pleasing  to  an 
old  soldier  to  be  able  to  remember  with  affection  his  old  officer. 
When  spoken  to  by  Sir  Harry  Atkinson  one  knew  that  he  was  a 
kind  friend  as  well  as  a  commanding  officer." 

KAITAKE  PA. 

South  of  New  Plymouth  towards  the  end  of  1863  the  chief 
activity  of  the  Taranaki  was  the  construction  of  a  strongly 
entrenched  position  at  Kaitake,  on  a  north-western  spur  of  the 


PLAN  OF  THE  ATTACK  ON  KAITAKE  (1864). 


Patua  Range ;  the  pa  was  on  the  bold  skyline  of  this  ridge  as  seen 
from  the  main  road  at  Oakura.  The  distance  from  the  Oakura 
River  mouth  to  the  pa  was  about  three  miles.  The  local  chief 
and  engineer  of  this  fortification  was  Patara  Raukatauri,  of  the 
Taranaki  Tribe  ;  he  afterwards  gained  celebrity  as  one  of  the 
emissaries  or  prophets  sent  out  by  Te  Ua  to  preach  the  fanatic 
gospel  of  the  Pai-marire  among  the  East  Coast  tribes.  (Patara, 
however,  was  a  man  of  far  milder  character  than  his  fellow-prophets, 
and  did  not  enter  into  the  deeds  of  savagery  of  which  Kereopa 
was  guilty.)  Kaitake  was  a  well-planned  stronghold,  situated  in 
an  excellent  position  for  defence,  on  a  steep,  high  ridge,  with  a 
frontal  stockade  covering  the  terminal  of  the  spur,  and  two 
parapeted  redoubts,  one  in  rear  of  the  other,  on  the  heights. 


224  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

There  were  also  skilfully  arranged  rifle-pits  flanking  the  direct 
approach  to  the  pas.  In  December,  1863,  Colonel  Warre  shelled 
the  place  with  the  Armstrong  field-guns,  but  the  final  operations 
were  deferred  until  the  following  year.  The  Government  was  now 
bringing  in  military  settlers,  many  of  them  from  Victoria,  and  the 
force  in  the  province  amounted  to  about  two  thousand  men, 
including  a  thousand  Regular  troops. 

Kaitake  was  stormed  and  captured  by  the  troops  on  the  25th 
March,  1864.  A  force  of  420  of  the  57th,  yoth,  and  Volunteers 
and  Militia,  with  four  guns,  under  Colonel  Warre,  moved  out  from 
New  Plymouth  to  the  base  of  the  range.  The  guns  were  placed 
in  position  about  1,500  yards  from  the  right  of  the  Maori  rifle-pits, 
and  made  such  accurate  practice  that  most  of  the  defenders  were 
driven  out  of  those  portions  of  the  works.  In  the  meantime  a 
party  of  eighty  Military  Settlers,  under  Captain  Corbett,  who  had 
left  their  redoubt  at  Oakura  about .1  a.m.,  with  great  labour  worked 
their  way  to  the  base  of  the  spur  on  which  the  rifle-pits  had  been 
made,  and  took  the  positions  in  reverse.  They  were  nine  hours 
advancing  two  miles  and  a  half  through  the  bush.  At  10.30  a.m. 
the  guns  ceased  firing.  The  main  body  of  the  troops  advanced 
to  within  800  yards  of  the  works,  while  the  Volunteers  and 
Military  Settlers  ascended  the  spur  and  carried  in  succession  the 
rifle-pits  and  the  pas,  pouring  a  reverse  fire  into  the  trenches 
behind  the  line  of  palisading.  The  Maoris  held  these  trenches 
until  a  portion  of  the  main  body  had  ascended  a  ridge  on  their 
extreme  left.  Both  flanks  having  been  turned,  the  Maoris  retired 
through  the  bush  in  their  rear.  A  redoubt  for  a  hundred  men 
was  immediately  constructed  on  the  site  of  the  uppermost  pa. 
The  enemy's  works  were  gradually  destroyed,  the  bush  in  the 
vicinity  was  cut  down,  and  a  practicable  road  was  made  to  the 
position.  A  party  of  rejoicing  settlers,  including  a  lady,  drank 
champagne  in  the  captured  stronghold  the  day  after  its  capture. 
However,  four  days  after  the  storming  of  the  position  the  Maoris 
laid  an  ambuscade  within  150  yards  of  the  redoubt,  and  killed  one 
soldier  and  wounded  another. 

It  is  now  necessary  to  break  the  narrative  of  events  in  Taranaki, 
where  the  fighting  assumed  a  new  phase  with  the  rise  of  the 
Pai-marire  religion,  and  turn  to  the  outbreak  and  progress  of  the 
Waikato  War,  1863-64. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


THE   WAIKATO   WAR   AND   ITS   CAUSES. 

Ka  ngapu  te  whenua  ; 

Ka  haere  nga  tangata  ki  whea  ? 

E  Ruaimoko 

Purutia ! 

Tawhia ! 

Kia  ita  ! 

A — a — a  ita  ! 

Kia  mau,  kia  mau  I 

The  earthquake  shakes  the  land  ; 

Where  shall  man  find  an  abiding-place  ? 

O  Ruaimoko 

(God  of  the  lower  depths), 

Hold  fast  our  land  ! 

Bind,  tightly  bind  ! 

Be  firm,  be  firm  ! 

Nor  let  it  from  our  grasp  be  torn  ! 

— Kingite  War-song. 

This  chant,  often  heard  even  at  the  present  day,  embodied  the 
passionate  sentiment  of  nationalism  and  home  rule  for  the  Maoris 
which  developed  into  a  war-fever  in  Waikato.  From  first  to  last 
the  wise  and  patriotic  Wiremu  Tamehana  was  a  restraining  force, 
and  with  him  a  few  of  the  more  temperate-minded  of  the  Waikato 
chiefs,  such  as  Patara  te  Tuhi,  nephew  of  the  old  King  Potatau 
te  Wherowhero.  Potatau  was  a  firm  friend  of  the  pakeha,  and, 
had  he  been  a  younger  man,  his  undoubtedly  great  influence,  born 
of  his  warrior  reputation  and  his  aristocratic  position,  probably 
would  have  prevented  the  Waikato  throwing  themselves  into  a 
test  of  arms  with  the  Government.  In  the  beginning  of  the  King 
movement,  as  has  already  been  explained,  there  was  no  desire  to 
force  a  war.  The  great  meetings  at  which  the  selection  of  Potatau 
as  King  was  confirmed  were  attended  by  numerous  Europeans. 
Government  officials,  missionaries,  and  traders  were  alike  welcome 
guests  at  Ngaruawahia,  Rangiaowhia,  and  the  other  centres  of  the 
home-rulers.  The  more  intelligent  of  the  Maoris  saw  clearly  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  by  a  rupture  of  relations  with  the 
pifkeha.  But  the  irritation  caused  by  the  inevitable  friction  over 
8— N.Z.  Wars. 


226  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

European  encroachment,  the  treatment  of  the  natives  by  the  lower 
class  of  whites,  the  reluctance  of  the  authorities  to  grant  the 
tribes  a  reasonable  measure  of  self-government,  and,  lastly,  the 
sympathy  with  Taranaki  and  the  bitterness  engendered  by  the 
loss  of  so  many  men  in  the  Waitara  campaign,  all  went  to  mould 
the  Waikato  and  their  kinsmen  into  a  powerful  foe  of  the  Colonial 
Government. 

In  the  beginning  the  natural  desire  of  the  natives  for  a  better 
system  of  government  could  have  been  turned  to  beneficial  account 
by  a  prescient  Administration.  At  a  large  meeting  at  Paetai,  near 
Rangiriri,  on  the  23rd  April,  1857,  Potatau,  Te  Wharepu,  and 
other  chiefs  asked  the  Governor,  Colonel  Gore  Browne,  for  a 
Magistrate  and  laws,  and  runanga  or  tribal  councils.  To  this 
request  the  Government  responded  by  the  experimental  esta- 
blishment of  civil  institutions  in  the  Waikato,  under  Mr.  F.  D. 
Fenton,  afterwards  Judge  of  the  Native  Land  Court.  The  new 
machinery,  however,  was  not  given  time  to  develop  into  a  useful 
and  workable  system  before  Mr.  Fenton  was  recalled,  and  the 
field  was  left  free  for  the  exponents  of  Maori  independence  to 
develop  their  own  schemes  of  government. 

An  account  has  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter  of  the 
first  meetings  in  connection  with  the  establishment  of  the  Maori 
kingdom.  The  Paetai  meeting  of  1857  was  a  highly  picturesque 
gathering.  The  Lower  Waikato  people  were  assembled  to  meet 
their  guests  from  up-river,  the  Ngati-Haua  and  Ngati-Maniapoto 
and  some  of  the  Waikato  hapus,  who  came  sweeping  down  the 
river  in  a  grand  flotilla  of  nearly  fifty  canoes.  Wiremu  Tame- 
hana  and  his  Ngati-Haua  set  up  on  the  marae  or  village  campus 
the  flag  of  the  newly  selected  King ;  this  ensign  was  white,  with 
a  red  border  and  two  red  crosses,  symbolic  of  Christianity  ;  it 
bore  the  words  "Potatau  Kingi  o  Niu  Tireni."  The  speeches 
breathed  intense  patriotism.  "  I  love  New  Zealand,"  cried  one  old 
blanketed  chief.  "  Let  us  have  order,  so  that  we  may  increase  like 
the  white  man.  Why  should  we  disappear  from  the  land  ?  Let  us 
have  a  king,  for  with  a  king  there  will  be  peace  among  us.  New 
Zealand  is  ours  —  I  love  it."  Another,  Hoani  Papita,  of  the 
Rangiaowhia  people,  Ngati-Hinetu  and  Ngati-Apakura,  made  an 
eloquent  plea  for  independence  and  nationalism.  "  Fresh  water 
is  lost  when  it  mingles  with  the  salt,"  he  said.  "  Let  us  retain 
our  lands  and  be  independent  of  the  pakeha."  And  he  began  the 
chant  which  heads  this  chapter,  "  Ka  ngapu  te  whenua."  The 
whole  two  thousand  natives  gathered  around  took  up  the  song 
and  chanted  it  in  a  tremendous  chorus.  That  old  heart-cry  of 
nationalism  still  holds  power  to  electrify  the  Maori. 

The  formal  investiture  of  Potatau  with  the  dignity  of  King  of 
the  Maori  Kotahitanga,  or  confederation  of  tribes,  took  place  in 
1858  at  Ngaruawahia,  and  was  followed  by  a  large  gathering  at 


THE    WAIKATO   WAR   AND    ITS    CAUSES.  227 

Rangiaowhia,  the  great  granary  and  orchard  of  the  Upper  Waikato, 
not  far  from  Te  Awamutu,  where  presently  Mr.  Gorst  (afterwards 
Sir  John  Gorst)  was  placed  by  Sir  George  Grey  as  one  of  the 
"  spades  "  wherewith  to  accomplish  the  downfall  of  the  Maori 
national  flag.  The  aged  King  Potatau  died  in  the  winter  of  1860, 
a  ad  his  son  Tawhiao,  grotesquely  baptised  Matutaera  (Methusaleh) , 
became  the  figurehead  of  the  kingdom  in  his  place. 

Governor  Browne  and  his  Ministers  consistently  declined  to 
recognize  the  Maori  King  or  Maori  nationality,  but  when  Sir  George 
Grey  became  Governor,  and  a  peace  Ministry  was  formed  under 
Mr.  Fox  (afterwards  Sir  William  Fox),  efforts  were  made  to  con- 
ciliate Waikato.  In  1861  the  Governor  sent  John  Gorst  into  the 
Waikato  as  Magistrate  and  Commissioner  to  watch  the  native 
political  feeling  and  to  establish  European  institutions  in  the  heart 
of  the  Maori  country.  Grey  and  his  Ministers  introduced  also  a 
system  of  local  government ;  under  this  plan  the  Maori  country  was 
to  be  divided  into  districts  and  "  hundreds/'  over  each  of  which  a 
Civil  Commissioner  was  to  be  placed  to  grapple  with  the  task  of 
governing  the  natives  in  his  zone  of  influence,  with  the  assistance 
of  salaried  Maori  Magistrates,  assessors,  and  policemen.  The  new 
institutions  were  first  introduced  in  the  Ngapuhi  country  and  on 
the  Lower  Waikato,  where  the  salaries  and  privileges  were  received 
with  enthusiasm,  but  it  was  too  late  to  entice  the  Kingites  into  the 
Government  fold  with  such  devices.  The  King's  runanga  of  chiefs 
at  Ngaruawahia  told  Mr.  Gorst  that  if  some  plan  of  the  kind  had 
been  carried  out  five  or  six  years  previously  there  would  never 
have  been  a  Maori  King.  Still  they  were  willing,  if  the  Governor 
was  willing  to  let  their  King  and  flag  stand,  to  adopt  his  plans  and 
work  with  him  for  the  good  of  all.  But  the  Kingitanga  was  the 
st  umbling-block.  Grey,  for  all  his  kindly  feeling  towards  his  native 
friends,  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  an  alien  flag,  and  he 
declared  at  last,  at  a  Waikato  meeting,  that  although  he  would 
not  fight  against  the  Maori  kingdom  with  the  sword,  he  would 
"  dig  around  it  "  until  it  fell.  This  ominous  figure  of  speech, 
combined  with  the  always  suspicious  presence  of  a  Government 
a^;ent  in  the  heart  of  the  King's  country,  and,  finally,  the  com- 
mencement of  the  military  road  from  Drury  through  the  forest  to 
trie  Waikato  River,  fostered  the  Maori  disbelief  in  the  friendly 
intentions  of  the  pakeha. 

The  Kingites'  suspicions  of  the  Governor  and  his  Ministers  were 
aggravated  by  the  attempt  to  establish  a  Government  constabulary 
station  at  Te  Kohekohe.  Grey's  plan  was  to  police  the  Lower 
Waikato  district  by  this  post,  which  was  close  to  Te  Wheoro's 
settlement  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Waikato  River,  a  few  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Manga-tawhiri,  but  on  the  opposite  side. 
The  station  or  barracks  was  planned  so  as  to  be  converted  readily 
into  a  defensible  place  in  the  event  of  war.  Te  Wheoro,  who 


228 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


SIR  GEORGE  GREY. 
(Period  about  1860.) 


THE   WAIKATO   WAR   AND   ITS   CAUSES.  22Q 

afterwards  became  a  major  of  Militia  in  charge  of  the  contingent 
01  Ngati-Naho  friendly  natives,  espoused  the  Government's  side. 
The  Lower  Waikato  people  were  sharply  divided  in  politics.  Most 
o.  the  Ngati-Tipa  also  favoured  the  Government,  and  their  chief, 
Waata  Kukutai,  became  an  assessor  like  Te  Wheoro.  Ngati- 
Tamaoho  and  Ngati-Pou,  on  the  other  hand,  were  staunch  Kingites  ; 
these  were  the  people  who  inhabited  Tuakau,  Pokeno,  and  other 
pirts  close  to  the  great  westward  bend  of  the  Waikato.  Two  songs, 
current  to  this  day  among  the  Waikato,  voice  the  opinions  of  the 
two  factions.  In  one  "  Te  Kohi,"  as  the  natives  called  Mr.  Gorst, 
was  urged  to  make  the  Manga-tawhiri  River  a  close  frontier  against 
the  Kingites  :— 

Koia  e  Te  Kohi, 
Purua  i  Manga-tawhiri, 
Kia  puta  ai  ona  pokohiwi, 
Kia  whato  tou 
E  hi  na  wa ! 

Iii  other  words,  the  Civil  Commissioner  of  Waikato  was  requested 
to  "  plug  up  "  the  boundary  river  between  pakeha  and  Maori  lands, 
and  prevent  the  King's  followers  passing  below  its  mouth  to  trade 
in  Auckland,  so  that  presently  they  would  be  reduced  to  a  ragged 
condition  for  want  of  European  clothing.  To  this  piece  of  political 
persiflage  the  Kingites  retorted  with  a  waiata  prompted  by  the 
Government  proposal  to  establish  a  police-station  at  Te  Wheoro's 
village  : — 

Kuini  i  Te  Kohekohe, 
Whakaronga  mai  ra  nge, 
Ka  pohutu  atu  nga  papa, 
Kei  Te  la. 
Mau  na  wa  ! 

O  Queen  at  Te  Kohekohe, 

Listen  to  me  ! 

Presently  we'll  send  your  timbers  splashing, 

To  float  down  to  Te  la. 

This  threat  was  soon  fulfilled,  for  a  party  of  King  supporters 
a  me  down  the  river,  took  possession  of  the  sawn  timber  that  had 
b<  en  stacked  at  Kohekohe  for  the  construction  of  the  Government 
stition,  threw  it  into  the  river,  and  rafted  it  down  to  Te  la-roa 
("  The  Long  Current "),  called  by  the  Europeans  "  Havelock." 
Tiere  they  landed  it  in  front  of  a  trading-store  kept  by  a  young 
Scotsman,  Mr.  Andrew  Kay. 

The  eviction  of  Mr.  Gorst  from  the  W'aikato  was  the  next  step 
in  the  Kingites'  clearance  of  all  forms  of  European  authority  from 
tleir  land.  Mr.  Gorst  (who  had  at  first  thought  of  entering  the 
Melanesian  mission  work  under  Bishop  Selwyn)  came  under  the 
magic  spell  of  Sir  George  Grey's  personality  soon  after  his  arrival 
ir  New  Zealand  and  he  became  an  enthusiastic  instalment  of  the 


230  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Government  in  the  task  of  civilizing  and  educating  the  Maori 
youth.  The  Church  Missionary  Society  lent  its  200  acres  of  land 
at  Te  Awamutu,  with  school-buildings,  to  Sir  George  Grey  as  a 
technical-education  establishment,  and  there  Mr.  Gorst  for  some 
time  carried  on  a  useful  work,  schooling  Maori  boys  in  the  arts 
of  civilized  life  and  at  the  same  time  occasionally  exercising  his 
magisterial  office. 


From  a  portrait  by  G.  Lindauer,  in  the  Auckland  Municipal  Gallery.'] 
TAWHIAO,  THE  WAIKATO  KING. 
(Died  1894.) 

The  story  of  Gorst 's  little  newspaper,  Te  Pihoihoi  Mokemoke 
i  te  Tuanui,  or  "  The  Lonely  Lark  on  the  House-top  "  (there  being 
no  sparrows  in  Maoriland),  established  by  way  of  a  counterblast 
to  the  Kingite  print  Te  Hokioi  ("The  War-bird"),  is  a  pivotal 
incident  in  the  history  of  the  Waikato.  The  pungent  tone  of  the 


THE    WAIKATO   WAR   AND    ITS    CAUSES.  23! 

Pihoihoi  particularly  incensed  Rewi  and  his  fellow-chiefs,  and  the 
mnanga  at  Kihikihi  determined  to  suppress  Gorst  and  his  paper. 
On  the  25th  March,  1863,  when  Mr.  Gorst  was  absent  at  Te 
Kopua,  on  the  Waipa,  Rewi  and  a  war-party  of  Ngati-Maniapoto, 
n umbering  eighty,  invaded  Te  Awamutu.  Wiremu  Kingi  te  Rangi- 
taake,  of  Waitara  fame,  accompanied  Rewi.  A  minor  chief,  Aporo 
Taratutu,  was  the  active  agent  in  the  raiding  of  the  station.  The 
Government  printing-press,  type,  and  paper,  and  printed  copies  of 
the  fifth  number  of  the  Pihoihoi,  were  seized.  Mr.  Gorst  was  now 
ordered  to  leave  Te  Awamutu.  When  he  refused,  Rewi  wrote  to 
Governor  Grey  (then  in  Taranaki)  requesting  him  to  withdraw  his 


THE  RIGHT  HON.  SIR  JOHN  E.  GORST. 
(Died  1916.) 

Sir  John  Gorst  came  to  New  Zealand  in  1860,  in  the  ship  "  Red  Jacket," 
fr  >m  Liverpool.  He  was  Civil  Commissioner  in  the  Upper  Waikato,  1861  -63. 
His  life  in  the  Maori  country  and  his  association  with  the  Waikato  chiefs 
ar-  described  in  his  books  "  The  Maori  King  "  and  "  New  Zealand  Revisited." 

official.  Wiremu  Tamehana  sadly  begged  Gorst  to  leave.  "  If 
you  stay,"  he  said,  "some  of  the  young  men  may  grow  desperate, 
and  I  shall  not  be  able  to  save  you."  Grey  recalled  Gorst,  who 
lett  Te  Awamutu  on  the  i8th  April,  1863.  He  took  a  last  look  at 
it  from  the  heights  above  the  Mangapiko  as  he  rode  away  ;  and  it 
wis  more  than  forty-three  years  before  he  saw  it  again,  when  he 


232  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

revisited  Waikato  (December,  1906),  and  was  warmly  greeted  by 
some  of  the  very  people  who  had  turned  him  away.* 

So  abruptly  ended  the  Governor's  effort  to  wean  Waikato  from 
the  charms  of  kingism.  Rewi  was  condemned  by  Wiremu  Tame- 
hana,  Patara  te  Tuhi,  and  others  of  the  moderate  party,  but  the 
great  majority  were  delighted  with  Ngati-Maniapoto's  coup,  and 

*  Curious  histories  attach  to  the  printing  plants  of  the  Pihoihoi  Moke- 
moke  i  te  Tuanui  and  the  Hokioi.  The  Pihoihoi  press  and  the  type, 
after  being  seized  by  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  at  Gorst's  station,  Te  Awamutu, 
in  1863,  were  carted  up  to  Kihikihi,  the  headquarters  of  the  tribe.  Several 
of  the  young  men  helped  themselves  to  a  little  of  the  type  from  the 
cases  as  curiosities  ;  otherwise  there  was  no  interference  with  the  plant. 
A  few  days  later  the  press  and  type  were  carted  to  the  head  of  navigation 
and  taken  in  a  canoe  down  the  Waipa  and  Waikato  Rivers  to  Te  la-roa 
(Havelock),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Manga-tawhiri,  where  they  were  handed 
over  to  Mr.  Andrew  Kay  (later  of  Orakau),  who  was  then  a  trader  on 
the  river.  The  property  was  stored  in  the  trading-house,  and  Mr.  Kay 
reported  to  the  Government,  whereupon  it  was  sent  for  and  carted  off  to 
Auckland.  It  was  afterwards  used  in  printing  the  Gazette  and  other 
Government  work.  A  legend  gained  currency  that  the  type  of  the 
Pihoihoi  was  melted  down  by  the  Kingites  and  moulded  into  bullets  to 
fire  at  the  British  soldiers.  Mr.  Kay's  statement  and  the  testimony  of 
the  Maons  make  it  clear  that  the  press  was  returned  almost  intact  to  the 
Government.  The  small  quantity  of  type  taken  by  Rewi's  young  men 
at  Kihikihi  would  not  have  made  many  bullets. 

The  story  of  the  Hokioi  press  is  even  more  interesting.  It  goes  back 
to  the  year  1859,  when  the  Austrian  frigate  "  Novara  "  was  in  Auckland 
Harbour  on  a  cruise  round  the  world.  Dr.  Hochstetter,  the  geologist  of 
the  expedition,  was  treated  with  much  kindness  by  the  people  of  Waikato 
when  he  made  his  tour  through  the  interior  ;  and  when  the  "  Novara  " 
sailed  two  chiefs  of  the  King's  party,  Hemara  te  Rerehau  (Ngati-Mania- 
poto) and  Wiremu  Toetoe  (Waikato,  of  Rangiaowhia),  were  taken  round 
the  world  in  her  as  guests  of  the  Austrian  Government.  In  Vienna  they 
were  introduced  to  the  Emperor  Franz  Josef,  and  the  Archduke  Maximilian 
entertained  them,  and  on  parting  asked  the  Maoris  what  they  would 
like  him  to  give  them  as  a  present.  They  answered,  "  A  printing-press 
and  type."  These  were  given  them  and  brought  out  to  New  Zealand. 
The  printing-apparatus  was  taken  to  Mangere,  where  King  Potatau  some- 
times lived.  One  of  Mr.  C.  O.  Da  vis's  nephews,  who  had  learned  the  art 
of  composing  type  at  the  New-Zealander  printing-office,  instructed  some 
of  the  young  Maoris.  The  plant  was  taken  to  Ngaruawahia,  and  was 
used  there  for  the  printing  of  the  Kingite  proclamations  and  the  Hokioi 
e  Rere  Atu  na,  a  name  which  bore  reference  to  a  mythological  bird  of  omen, 
a  kind  of  war-eagle.  Patara  te  Tuhi  (Tawhiao's  cousin)  was  in  charge 
of  the  Hokioi  and  wrote  the  Kingite  articles,  and  his  brother,  Honana 
Maioha — who,  like  Patara,  had  taken  a  prominent  part  in  the  setting-up 
of  the  Maori  King — was  one  of  the  compositors.  When  the  troops 
advanced  up  the  Waikato  at  the  end  of  1863  the  Hokioi  press  and  type 
were  taken  for  safe  keeping  to  Te  Kopua,  on  the  Waipa,  and  there  they  have 
remained  to  the  present  day.  The  rusted  remains  of  the  press  lie  on  the 
river-bank  ;  and  a  settler  ploughing  his  land  at  Te  Kopua  has  turned  up 
some  of  the  scattered  type.  The  local  Maoris  turned  the  old  hand-press  to 
account  in  another  way — to  press  their  cakes  of  torori  or  home-grown  tobacco. 

The  Hokioi  is  the  rarest  of  all  New  Zealand  prints  ;  there  are  very- 
few  copies  in  existence.  One  in  the  writer's  possession  bears  the  date 
Hanueri  (January)  13,  1863.  It  is  a  four-page  paper,  single-column, 
i  r  inches  by  9  inches. 


THE   WAIKATO   WAR   AND   ITS   CAUSES. 


233 


V/aikato  was  soon  afire  with  the  war-passion.     The  first  shots  were 
fired  in  less  than  four  months  after  the  raid  on  Te  Awamutu. 

The  Kingite  plan  of  operations  was  detailed  by  Mr.  James 
Fulloon,  native  interpreter,  in  reports  to  the  Government  .in  June, 
1863.  (Mr.  Fulloon,  who  was  a  half-caste,  a  surveyor  by  pro- 
fession, was  killed  by  the  Hauhaus  at  Whakatane  in  1865.)  The 
oiginal  scheme  of  war  against  the  pakeha,  according  to  accounts 
given  by  the  Maoris,  was  arranged  in  1861,  after  Governor  Gore 
Browne's  threatening  Proclamation.  The  Waikato  were  to  come 
down  in  a  body  to  take  up  a  position  at  Paparata,  in  the  Tirikohua 
district,  making  that  their  headquarters.  Thence  parties  were  to 


From  a  photo  by  Mr.  Hugh  Boscawen,  at  Mangere,  1901.] 

PATARA  TE  Turn. 

This  chief  of  Ngati-Mahuta,  Waikato,  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
M  lori  King  movement,  and  was  the  editor  of  the  Kingite  paper  Te  Hokioi 
printed  at  Ngaruawahia.  He  visited  England  in  1884  with  Tawhiao  an< 
other  chiefs.  His  attitude  before  the  war  was  moderate  and  conciliatory, 
ard,  like  Wiremu  Tamehana,  he  endeavoured  to  avert  hostilities. 

occupy  Maketu,  an  old  pa  east  of  Drury— there  was  an  ancient 
track  to  that  spot  from  Paparata— and  Tuhimata,  the  Pukewhau 
Hill  (now  Bombay),  overlooking  Baird's  Farm;  also  the  Razor- 
back  Range  (Kakaramea).  The  Maketu  position  would  menace 
Drury  and  Papakura,  and  from  the  Pukewhau  and  Kakaramea 
Hills  the  military  traffic  along  the  Great  South  Road  could  be 


234  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

attacked  and  the  bridges  destroyed.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
road  (the  west)  the  Ngati-Pou  and  other  tribes  were  to  attack 
Mauku  and  other  settlements. 

There  was  an  alternative  plan,  which  was  favoured  by  most 
of  the  Kingites,  and  in  the  end  was  adopted  ;  it  was  far  more 
ambitious  and  daring  than  the  first.  The  proposal  was  to  execute 
a  grand  coup  by  attacking  Auckland  by  night-time  or  early  in  the 
morning.  The  Hunua  bush  was  to  be  the  rendezvous  of  the  main 
body,  and  a  portion  of  the  Kingite  army  was  to  cross  the  Manukau 
in  canoes  and  approach  Auckland  by  way  of  the  Whau,  on  the  west, 
while  the  Ngati-Paoa  and  other  Hauraki  coast  tribes  were  to  gather 
at  Taupo,  on  the  shore  east  of  the  Wairoa.  The  date  fixed  for  the 
attack  was  the  ist  September,  1861,  when  the  Town  of  Auckland 
was  to  be  set  on  fire  in  various  places  by  natives  living  there  for 
that  purpose ;  in  the  confusion  the  war-parties  lying  in  wait  were 
to  rush  into  the  capital  by  land  and  sea.  Certain  houses  and 
persons  were  to  be  saved  ;  the  dwellings  would  be  recognized  by 
a  white  cross  marked  on  the  doors  on  the  night  for  which  the 
attack  was  fixed.  With  the  exception  of  those  selected  in  this 
latter-day  passover,  the  citizens  of  Auckland  were  to  be  slaughtered. 

This  was  only  a  part  of  a  general  sudden  blow  against  the 
pakeha  race  ;  similar  attacks  were  urged  upon  the  natives  in  the 
Wellington  District.  It  was  an  exceedingly  bold  and  hazardous 
scheme  ;  nevertheless  it  would  have  been  attempted  had  Governor 
Gore  Browne  remained  in  New  Zealand.  It  was  only  the  news 
that  Sir  George  Grey  was  returning  to  the  colony  as  its  Governor 
that  averted  the  general  rising.  The  Maoris  looked  forward  to  his 
coming  as  the  beginning  of  a  different  policy  and  a  more  friendly 
attitude  towards  their  political  aspirations.  Then,  when  after  all 
it  was  seen  that  war  was  inevitable,  and  when  Governor  Grey 
and  his  Ministers  began  an  aggressive  movement  towards  Waikato, 
the  original  plan  of  campaign  discussed  in  1861  was  taken  up — 
the  raiding  of  the  frontier  settlements,  with  Paparata  as  a  base  of 
operations  and  camps  in  the  Hunua  forest. 

In  1860  Mr.  C.  O.  Davis  informed  the  Government  that  gun- 
powder was  being  made  at  Tautoro  (near  Kaikohe,  in  the  Ngapuhi 
country),  and  in  the  Waikato  territory.  It  was  believed  that  a 
Maori  who  had  been  in  Sydney  had  learned  the  manufacture  of 
powder  there,  and  that  Europeans  assisted  in  the  work.  It  is 
known  that  later  on  in  the  wars  a  European  (Moffat)  made  a 
coarse  gunpowder  at  a  settlement  near  Taumarunui,  on  the  Upper 
Wanganui.  But  it  is  improbable  that  the  Maoris  relied  on  locally 
made  gunpowder  to  any  great  extent  ;  they  had  sources  of  supply 
from  traders,  and  for  several  years  before  the  Waikato  War  had 
been  laying  in  stocks  of  powder,  lead,  and  percussion  caps.  Large 
quantities  of  ammunition  were  traded  to  the  natives  at  Tauranga 
up  to  the  beginning  of  the  war.  Tauranga  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the 
avenues  of  supply  for  Ngati-Haua  as  well  as  the  Ngai-te-Rangi 


THE   WAIKATO   WAR   AND    ITS   CAUSES.  235 

and  other  coast  tribes.  A  common  trick  to  evade  the  authorities 
when  the  restrictions  on  the  sale  of  munitions  were  in  force  was 
for  a  coasting-vessel  to  clear  outward  at  the  Auckland  Customs 
for  Tauranga  or  other  ports  with  a  cargo  ostensibly  of  empty  casks 
(for  pork)  and  bags  of  salt  ;  each  cask  as  often  as  not  contained 
several  kegs  of  gunpowder,  and  the  bags  were  filled  with  lead  and 
boxes  of  percussion  caps.  American  whalers  calling  in  at  East 
('oast  ports  were  believed  to  have  bartered  ammunition  to  the 
natives  in  return  for  provisions,  and  Sydney  trading-vessels  sur- 
reptitiously supplied  munitions,  but  most  of  the  guns  and  powder 
reached  the  Maoris  from  Auckland  trading-houses. 

The  war  now  waged  was  very  different  from  Hone  Heke's 
chivalrous  tournament  of  1845.  It  was  a  racial  war;  the  Maori 
cim  was  to  sweep  the  pakeha  to  the  sea,  as  the  pakeha  Govern- 
ment's object  was  to  teach  the  Maori  his  subjection  to  British 
£  uthority.  The  Europeans  were  not  without  warning  that  the  sharp 
and  barbarous  old  Maori  methods  of  warfare  were  to  be  revived. 
Wiremu  Tamehana  himself,  deeply  as  he  sorrowed  over  the 
inevitable  conflict,  was  compelled  to  place  himself  in  line  with  his 
countrymen.  He  warned  Archdeacon  Brown,  at  Tauranga,  that  he 
-—meaning  his  race — would  spare  neither  unarmed  persons  (tangata 
ringa-kore)  nor  property.  In  August,  1863,  he  wrote  to  the  Governor 
cautioning  him  to  bring  "  to  the  towns  the  defenceless,  lest  they 
be  killed  in  their  farms  in  the  bush."  "  But/'  he  concluded, 
'"  you  are  well  acquainted  with  the  customs  of  the  Maori  race." 
The  frontier  settlers  who  remained  on  their  sections  did  so  at  their 
own  risk.  No  chief,  not  even  the  King  or  the  kingmaker,  could 
restrain  a  party  of  young  bloods  on  the  war-path  seeking  to  flesh 
their  tomahawks.  They  would  quote  the  ancient  war-proverb, 
'  He  mar  or  o  kokoti  ihu  waka  "  ("A  flying-fish  crossing  the  bow  of 
the  canoe  ")  in  allusion  to  any  luckless  persons  whom  a  fighting 
tiua  might  find  in  its  path,  and  in  the  stern  logic  of  the 
Maori  there  could  be  no  reasonable  protest  against  the  practical 
application  of  the  aphorism  by  cutting  short  the  career  of 
the  "  flying-fish." 

NOTE. 

During  the  Taranaki  and  Waikato  Kingite  wars  some  of  the  leading 
r  atives  conducted  correspondence  on  war  subjects  by  means  of  a  cipher 
code.  The  following  is  the  key  to  the  cipher,  which  came  into  possession 
of  the  Governor,  Sir  George  Grey,  about  1863  : — 

Letters.  Ciphers.         Letters.  Ciphers.     ;     Letters.  Ciphers. 

A  .  .  i  K  .  .  7  P  .  .  9 

E  ..  2  M  ..  6  R  ..  7 

H  ..  8  N  ..  o  T 

I  3         i         O  4  U  5 

W  .  .       A  mark  resembling  the  symbol  for  "  per." 

NG          .  .       O  followed  by  an  S  crossed  like  the  American  dollar  symbol, 
but  with  one  line  only. 

The  figure  7  stood  for  both  K  and  R,  but  no  doubt  there  was  some 
<listinguishing  mark  or  variation  for  one  of  the  letters. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


MILITARY  FORCES  AND  FRONTIER  DEFENCES. 

In  three  months  after  the  firing  of  the  first  shot  in  the 
Waikato  War  the  whole  of  the  able-bodied  male  population 
of  Auckland  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty-five  was  on 
active  service,  bearing  arms  and  doing  duty  as  regular  soldiers. 
The  same  conditions  prevailed  in  Taranaki.  The  military  ex- 
penditure of  the  Government  was  about  £12,000  per  month,  and 
was  on  an  increasing  scale  as  the  campaign  developed.  In 
addition  to  the  equipment  and  pay  of  the  Volunteers  and  Militia, 
a  flotilla  of  armoured  river-steamers  and  small  gunboats  was 
provided,  and  a  field  battery  of  six  12-pounder  Armstrong  guns. 
All  this  expense  devolved  upon  the  Colonial  Government,  besides 
a  liability  of  £40  per  head  per  annum  to  the  Imperial  Government 
on  account  of  the  Regular  troops  employed  in  the  war.  These 
British  troops  ultimately  numbered  about  ten  thousand.  In  a 
memorandum  by  the  Defence  Minister,  Mr.  Thomas  Russell,  the 
Volunteers  and  Militia  on  duty  in  the  Auckland  District  were 
stated  to  total  3,176.  The  Cavalry  Volunteers  numbered  188, 
and  the  Rifle  Volunteers  150.  The  local  corps  organized  and 
armed  were  :  Waiuku,  70  ;  Mauku,  70  ;  Pukekohe,  40  ;  Wairoa, 
60  ;  Papakura  Valley,  20  ;  Henderson's  Mill,  40  ;  North  Shore, 
125  ;  other  places,  422  :  making  a  total  of  847. 

In  addition  to  these  Volunteers  and  Militia  there  were  colonial 
permanent  forces  enrolled  for  the  war,  consisting  chiefly  of  regi- 
ments of  military  settlers  recruited  in  Australia  in  1863  by  Mr. 
Dillon  Bell  (Native  Minister),  Mr.  Gorst,  and  Colonel  Pitt.  The 
ist,  2nd,  3rd,  and  4th  Regiments  of  Waikato  Militia  raised  in  this 
way  gradually  relieved  the  Auckland  Volunteers  and  Militia  of 
the  duties  at  the  various  posts  on  the  Great  South  Road.  Each 
regiment  consisted  of  ten  companies  of  100  men.  Out  of  the 
land  confiscated  from  the  Maoris  each  officer  and  man  was  entitled 
to  a  farm  section,  ranging  from  400  acres  for  a  field  officer  to 
50  acres  for  a  private.  By  October,  1863,  there  were  about 
two  thousand  five  hundred  of  these  military  settlers  from  Victoria, 
New  South  Wales,  and  Otago  on  permanent  service  in  the  field. 


MILITARY    FORCES    AND    FRONTIER    DEFENCES.  237 

A  highly  useful  arm  of  the  colonial  service  was  the 
Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  armed  with  sword,  carbine,  and 
revolver.  There  were  two  troops  of  Nixon's  Cavalry,  as  this 
corps  was  locally  called,  in  the  Auckland  District.  There  were 
also  troops  in  Hawke's  Bay,  at  Wellington,  and  at  Wanganui ; 
:he  total  strength  of  the  regiment  was  375.  In  the  Imperial 
Transport  Service,  receiving  colonial  pay,  there  were,  when  the 
war  was  at  its  height,  1,526  officers  and  men,  with  2,244  draught 
animals.  Captain  Jackson's  corps  of  Forest  Rangers,  numbering 
sixty,  was  soon  augmented  by  a  second  company.  Major-General 
Galloway  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  colonial  forces,  and 
^ave  his  services  to  the  colony  gratuitously. 

The  Auckland  Militia  of  the  first  class,  unmarried  men  of  between 
che  ages  of  sixteen  and  forty,  were  first  called  out  for  active 
service  on  the  23rd  June,  1863.  There  were  no  conscientious 
objectors  in  those  days  (or  if  there  were  they  did  not  raise  their 
voices),  and  any  shirkers  were  dealt  with  severely.  The  first 
draft  was  400  men,  some  of  whom  were  despatched  to  the  main 
:amp  at  Otahuhu,  and  thence  in  companies  to  the  various  out- 
posts as  far  as  Drury.  Others  were  retained  for  city  patrol  duty  ; 
as  the  war  went  on  the  older  and  married  men  relieved  them  of 
the  town  guard  work  and  left  the  first  class  available  for  field 
service.  The  citizen  recruits,  drawn  from  all  classes  and  occupa- 
tions, were  drilled  in  the  Albert  Barracks  ground  by  the  Regular 
Army  instructors  ;  morning  after  morning  the  drill  was  continued 
until  the  raw  material  was  considered  sufficiently  advanced  ir 
the  elements  of  infantry  work  to  be  despatched  to  Otahuhu.  The 
duties  of  soldiering  fell  very  severely  upon  many  of  the  towns- 
people called  upon  to  make  heavy  marches  and  live  under  rough 
camp  conditions  in  the  depth  of  winter,  and  to  toil  at  redoubt- 
building  and  trench-digging.  The  large  camp  at  Otahuhu  was 
rather  badly  organized  in  the  first  hurry  of  war  preparations, 
and  the  inferior  hutting  and  feeding  of  the  troops  caused  much 
sickness.  The  pay  was  half  a  crown  a  day  with  rations  ;  this 
was  increased  by  a  shilling  a  day  at  the  front. 

The  citadel  of  Auckland,  Fort  Britomart,  stood  on  a  com- 
manding promontory,  faced  with  pohutukawa-fringed  cliffs  40  feet 
high.  Major  Bunbury  and  other  commanders  in  Auckland  had 
partly  fortified  the  position,  which  was  considerably  strengthened 
by  Major-General  G.  Dean-Pitt,  a  Peninsular  War  veteran,  who 
commanded  the  forces  in  the  colony  from  1848  to  1851.  The 
parapet  was  revetted  with  sods  reinforced  with  layers  of  fern — 
an  idea  borrowed  from  the  Maori  pa-builder — -and  pierced  with 
embrasures  on  the  sea  faces.  On  the  land  face  there  was  a  deep 
ditch  in  front  of  the  parapet,  with  a  stockade  close  to  the 
counterscarp  —  another  fashion  in  native  fortification.  Twelve 
fortress  guns  were  mounted — long  24-pounders  and  32-pounders, 


238 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


on  iron  garrison  carriages  ;  and  there  were  also  six  24-pounder 
howitzers  and  six  6-pounder  field-guns.  Within  the  fort  were 
barracks  for  a  hundred  Royal  Artillery  and  Royal  Engineers  men, 
officers'  mess-room  and  brigade  offices,  military  storehouses  and 
magazines,  and  a  main-guard  house  inside  the  gate  at  the  trench 
bridge.  Inland  of  the  fort,  and  crowning  the  beautiful  hill  which 
the  Maoris  called  Rangipuke  (a  large  part  of  which  is  now  the  Albert 
Park),  the  Albert  Barracks  were  constructed  under  Governor  Grey's 
orders  shortly  after  the  conclusion  of  Heke's  War.  The  barracks 
(accommodating  a  thousand  men)  were  surrounded  by  a  massive 
stone  wall  12  feet  high,  broken  into  flanking  bastions  and  loop- 
holed  for  rifle-fire,  with  a  firing-step  or  banquette  running  along 
the  inside  of  the  parapet.  The  wall  was  of  hard  blue  volcanic 


Front  a  drawing  in  the  Old  Colonists'  Museum,  Auckland. ~\ 

FORT  BRITOMART,  AUCKLAND,   1869. 


stone  ;  the  construction  was  carried  out  by  Maori  labour  under 
the  Royal  Engineers.  The  two  gates,  opening  into  Princes  Street 
and  Symonds  Street,  were  protected  by  two  flanking  bastions. 
The  area  covered  was  sufficient  to  accommodate  a  strong  garrison, 
and  also  give  shelter  to  all  the  women  and  children  in  the  town 
in  case  of  a  raid.  A  small  section  of  the  stone  wall,  ivy-grown 
and  venerable,  is  still  standing  as  portion  of  a  boundary-wall 
near  Government  House  grounds  in  Princes  Street. 

These  defences  were  not  alone  intended  for  defence  against 
Maori  attack.  There  were  even  in  that  day  fears  of  a  foreign 
war  which  would  involve  the  British  colonies  ;  the  aggressive 
actions  of  the  French  in  the  Pacific,  especially  the  annexation  of 


MILITARY    FORCES    AND    FRONTIER   DEFENCES. 


239 


New  Caledonia,  had   given   rise   to  the  fear  that  an  invasion   of 
Auckland  was  not  unlikely. 

The  protection  of  the  South  Auckland  outlying  settlements 
a  ad  of  the  military  road  through  the  forest  to  the  nearest  point 
of  the  Waikato  River  necessitated  the  construction  of  many 
fortified  posts,  most  of  which  were  earthwork  redoubts,  others 
timber  stockades.  At  Otahuhu,  the  principal  field  headquarters, 
there  was  a  large  fortified  camp.  At  Howick,  which  was  con- 
sidered a  vulnerable  position  owing  to  its  proximity  to  the  Wairoa 
Ranges,  and  open  as  it  was  to  attack  by  war-canoe  crews  from 
tie  shores  of  the  Thames  Gulf,  a  field-work  was  erected.  A  large 
earthwork  redoubt,  called  "  St.  John's  Redoubt,"  after  an  officer 
placed  in  charge  of  it,  was  built  between  Papatoetoe  and  Papa- 
kura. The  Village  of  Papakura  was  protected  by  the  erection  on 
the  Auckland  side  of  the  settlement  of  a  small  redoubt,  which 


From  a  drawing  by  Lieut. -Colonel  A.  Morrow,  Auckland.] 

ST.  JOHN'S  REDOUBT,  PAPATOETOE,  1863. 

stood  near  the  junction  of  the  Great  South  Road  and  the  Wairoa 
Road,  and  by  the  fortification  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  the 
other  side  of  the  village.  The  redoubt  was  the  camp  of  the  local 
Volunteers  and  the  Militia  and  a  party  of  the  65th  Regiment. 
The  church  was  made  bullet-proof  by  packing  sand  between  the 
outer  wall  and  the  lining,  a  method  used  in  most  of  the  block- 
! louses  built  in  the  Maori  campaigns.  The  walls  were  loopholed 
lor  rifle-fire.  A  correspondent,  describing  the  remarkable  sight  of 
the  country  churches  being  stockaded  and  pierced  for  rifle-fire, 
remarked  of  the  Papakura  church,  loopholed  and  bastioned,  that 
it  was  a  "  visible  transubstantiation  of  a  bulwark  of  faith  into 
a  bulwark  of  earthly  strength." 

At  Kirikiri,  on  the  Papakura-Wairoa  Road,  a  redoubt  was 
thrown  up  on  a  commanding  site  two  miles  from  Papakura ; 
this  came  to  be  known  as  "  Ring's  Redoubt,"  after  the  captain 
of  the  i8th  Royal  Irish  Regiment,  who  garrisoned  it  with  .his 


240  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

company  in  the  early  part  of  the  war.  A  short  distance  farther 
along  the  Wairoa  Road  the  "  Travellers'  Rest/'  an  inn,  store,  and 
farmhouse  combined,  kept  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Smith — a  sturdy  veteran 
of  the  Californian  diggings  and  an  old  sailor — -was  put  into  a 
state  of  defence,  and  the  owner  and  his  family  occupied  it  all 
through  the  war.  The  building  was  reinforced  with  heavy  timbers, 
and  rifle-slits  were  cut  in  the  walls.  The  inn  was  the  head- 
quarters of  Jackson's  Forest  Rangers  during  the  early  part  of 
the  war,  and  some  of  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry  were 
stationed  there. 

The  Wairoa  South  Settlement  (now  Clevedon),  eight  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Wairoa  River,  was  defended  by  the  building  of 
a  redoubt  on  the  left  bank  (west  side)  of  the  river  and  a  stockade 
on  the  opposite  side.  The  redoubt,  a  square  work  with  flanking 
bastions,  was  built  on  Mr.  Thorpe's  farm.  It  was  held  by  Major 
(afterwards  Colonel)  William  C.  Lyon  and  two  hundred  men, 
mostly  Militia  from  Auckland.  The  stockade  on  the  east  bank 
was  a  formidable-looking  post,  a  structure  of  heavy  palisade 
timbers.  It  was  60  feet  square,  with  very  thick  walls,  bullet- 
proof and  loopholed.  Inside  the  stockade  a  corrugated-iron  house, 
40  feet  by  16  feet,  was  built.  This  place,  designed  for  from  fifty 
to  sixty  men,  was  built  by  Mr.  Snodgrass  for  the  Auckland  Pro- 
vincial Government,  and  was  occupied  by  the  armed  settlers  of 
the  district,  the  Wairoa  Rifle  Volunteers.  Later,  a  redoubt  was 
built  lower  down  the  river,  on  Mr.  Salmon's  property  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Wairoa. 

At  Drury  (the  Tauranga  of  the  Maoris),  the  head  of  naviga- 
tion for  cutters  from  Onehunga,  there  was  a  large  military 
establishment,  and  a  redoubt  was  built  on  the  highest  part  of 
the  settlement.  At  Pukekohe  East  (the  present  site  of  Pukekohe 
Town  was  then  dense  bush)  the  little  Presbyterian  church  was 
enclosed  by  a  trench  and  a  stockade  of  logs  laid  horizontally. 
At  Mauku  the  English  church  was  stockaded  and  loopholed. 
Major  Speedy 's  house,  "  The  Grange,"  at  Mauku,  was  loopholed 
and  garrisoned  by  the  settlers  for  defence  ;  later,  a  stockade 
was  built  at  the  landing-place.  A  similar  place  of  defence  was 
provided  at  the  Waiuku  Settlement. 

In  many  instances  the  settlers  in  the  bush  districts  refused 
to  leave  their  homes,  and  remained  to  brave  the  dangers  of  life 
on  a  troubled  frontier. 

From  Drury  the  Great  South  Road  through  the  forest  to  Pokeno 
was  safeguarded  by  redoubts  at  short  intervals.  The  principal 
posts  were  at  Sheppard's  Bush  (Ramarama)  ;  Martin's  Farm,  on 
the  plain  a  short  distance  north  of  Pukewhau  Hill  (now  Bombay)  ; 
Baird's  Hill  stockade,  at  the  north  end  of  Williamson's  Clearing 
(the  present  site  of  Bombay  Township)  ;  the  Razorback  Redoubt, 
on  Kakaramea  Hill,  Pokeno  Ranges  ;  and  then  the  field  head- 


MILITARY   FORCES   AND   FRONTIER    DEFENCES.  J.JI 

•  pi  iitt-rs  at  Queen's  Redoubt,  on  Pokeno  Flat.     At  "The  Bluff," 
«m  the  right  bank  of  the  Waikato  River  just  below  Te  I  . 
th«-  mouth  of  the  Manga-tawhiri  Stream,  a  strong  timber  sto< 
50  feet  by  46  feet,  enclosing  a  blockhouse,  was  erected  ;  tw« 
wtre  mounted  here.     At  Tuakau  the  65th  Regiment,  soon 
tho   beginning   of  the   war,    constructed   a   large   redoubt   in   an 
ex -client  strategic  position  on  the  level  top  of  a  high  bluff  above 
tli  •  river  :    this  post  was  named  the  Alexandra  Redoubt. 

At  the  few  settlements  on  the  Coromandel  Peninsula  there  was 
sone  danger  of  attack  from  the  Ngati-Paoa  and  other  Kingite 
natives.  A  veteran  Forest  Ranger,  Mr.  William  Johns,  of  Auck- 


v 

Ft  -m  a  drawing  by  Lieutenant  H.  S.  Bates  (65th  Reg.).} 

THE  QUEEN'S  REDOUBT,  AND  ENCAMPMENT,  POKENO. 

land,  recalls  the  fact  that  temporary  defences  were  provided 
al  Cabbage  Bay,  under  the  western  side  of  the  Moehau  Range, 
w  icre  there  was  a  large  sawmill  owned  by  an  Auckland  firm. 
Johns,  who  had  been  a  sailor  and  served  in  the  Royal  Navy,  was 
e;  rly  in  1863  in  charge  of  a  cutter,  the  "  Miranda,"  trading  between 
Auckland  and  the  Cabbage  Bay  mill.  The  natives  in  the  district 
cj  me  under  suspicion,  as  it  was  believed  they  would  join  the 
Kingites,  and  so  one  day  the  master  of  the  cutter  found  twenty 
stand  of  arms  ("  Brown  Besses"  and  a  few  rifles)  delivered  on  the 
cutter  by  order  of  Colonel  Balnea  vis,  then  Adjutant-General,  for 
tl  ie  defence  of  the  mill  workers  and  the  other  residents  of  Cabbage 


242 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


fery  I 

enK      vTl      *- 


Bay.  The  guns  were  landed  at  the  bay,  but  it  was  not  many 
days  before  they  were  all  stolen  by  the  Maoris,  who  went  on  the 
war-path  rejoicing.  The  mill  hands  built  a  stockade  for  the 
defence  of  the  place,  encircling  the  sawmill  with  a  palisade  of 
3-inch  planks  12  or  14  feet  high.  However,  the  men  were  soon 
withdrawn. 

At  Raglan,  on  the  Whaingaroa  Harbour,  west  coast,  there 
was  fear  that  the  small  European  settlement  would  be  attacked 
by  the  Kingites  from  Kawhia  or  inland.  Many  of  the  settlers 
sent  their  families  to  Onehunga  by  the  trading-vessels,  but  some  of 
the  women  and  children  remained.  A  place 
of  defence  was  considered  necessary,  and  Mr. 
Richard  Todd,  a  Government  surveyor  (who 
was  shot  on  Pirongia  Mountain  by  the 
Kingites  in  1870),  took  charge  of  the  work 
of  fortification,  and  employed  a  number  of 
friendly  natives  in  digging  a  trench  around 
the  Courthouse  and  gaol,  and  in  making  rifle- 
pits  to  protect  the  principal  houses.  The 
entrenchment  defending  the  Government 
buildings  took  in  about  an  acre  of  ground. 
The  main  building  was  strengthened  with 
thick  timbers,  and  was  loopholed.  Early  in 
1864  a  redoubt  was  built  at  the  head  of 
Raglan  Harbour  by  Colonel  Waddy's  expe- 
ditionary force  (5oth  Regiment  and  three 
hundred  Waikato  Militia). 

The  military  road  through  the  forest  and 
over  the  range  from  Drury  to  the  Manga- 
tawhiri  River  was  constructed  in  1862  by  a 
body  of  Imperial  troops,  the  I2th  and  the 
I4th  Regiments  at  the  Pokeno  end,  and  the 
65th  and  joih  at  the  Drury  end,  with  some 
Royal  Engineers  to  direct  the  details  of  the 
work.  Lieut. -General  Cameron,  in  execution 
of  Grey's  plan  for  the  employment  of  the 
troops  in  this  work,  fixed  his  headquarters  at 
Drury  Camp.  Colonel  Sir  James  Alexander  (i4th)  was  in  com- 
mand at  Pokeno,  where  the  Queen's  Redoubt  was  built.  The 
troops  in  December,  1861,  marched  along  the  Maori  track  over 
the  range  called  the  Razorback,  and  camps  were  established  at 
points  along  the  route,  at  which  redoubts  were  afterwards  built. 
Colonel  Wyatt  commanded  the  65th  at  Drury,  Colonel  (after- 
wards General)  Chute  the  yoth  at  Kerr's-Farm.  Brigadier-General 


TeKGi 


QUEEN'S  REDOUBT, 
POKENO,  AS  IT  is 
TO-DAY.* 


*  The  middle  of  the  entrenchment  is  occupied  by  a  farmhouse.      The 
work  is  100  yards  square;  there  were  originally  four  small  angle  bastions. 


MILITARY    FORCES   AND    FRONTIER   DEFENCES. 


243 


Galloway  and  Lieut. -Colonel  Leslie  (4oth)  established  a  camp  at 
Baird's  Farm,  and  Lieut. -Colonel  Nelson,  with  a  detachment  of 
the  4oth,  was  at  Rhodes's  Clearing,  on  the  southern  end  of  the 
range,  overlooking  the  Pokeno  plateau.  Of  the  twelve  miles  of 
gcod  road  cleared  a  chain  wide,  formed,  and  metalled  (18  feet 
9  inches  wide)  by  the  troops,  seven  miles  penetrated  the  heavy 
forest. 


From  a  drawing  by  Lieutenant  H.  S.  Bates  (6$th  Regt.) ,  1863.] 

THE  BLUFF  STOCKADE,  HAVELOCK,  LOWER  WAIKATO. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 


THE  FIRST  ENGAGEMENTS. 

On  the  Qth  July,  1863,  the  Government  issued  an  order 
requiring  all  natives  living  in  the  Manukau  district  and  on  the 
Waikato  frontier  north  of  the  Manga-tawhiri  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Queen  and  to  give  up  their  arms,  and  warning 
the  Maoris  that  those  refusing  to  range  themselves  on  the  side  of 
the  British  must  retire  to  the  Waikato.  Those  not  complying 
with  this  instruction  were  to  be  ejected  from  their  settlements. 
This  ultimatum  was  followed  by  the  following  Proclamation  sent 
to  the  Kingites  summarizing  the  reasons  which  prompted  the 
military  measures  adopted  by  the  Government  : — 

CHIEFS  OF  WAIKATO, — 

Europeans  living  quietly  on  their  own  lands  in  Waikato  have 
been  driven  away  ;  their  property  has  been  plundered  ;  their  wives  and 
children  have  been  taken  from  them.  By  the  instigation  of  some  of  you, 
officers  and  soldiers  were  murdered  at  Taranaki.  Others  of  you  have  since 
expressed  approval  of  these  murders.  Crimes  have  been  committed  in 
other  parts  of  the  Island,  and  the  criminals  have. been  rescued  or  sheltered 
under  the  colour  of  your  authority. 

You  are  now  assembling  in  armed  bands  ;  you  are  constantly 
threatening  to  come  down  the  river  to  ravage  the  Settlement  of  Auckland 
and  to  murder  peaceable  settlers.  Some  of  you  offered  a  safe  passage 
through  your  territories  to  armed  parties  contemplating  such  outrages. 
The  well-disposed  among  you  are  either  unable  or  unwilling  to  prevent 
these  evil  acts.  I  am  therefore  compelled,  for  the  protection  of  all,  to 
establish  posts  at  several  points  on  the  Waikato  River,  and  to  take 
necessary  measures  for  the  future  security  of  persons  inhabiting  that 
district.  The  lives  and  property  of  all  well-disposed  people  living  on  the 
river  will  be  protected,  and  armed  and  evil-disposed  people  will  be  stopped 
from  passing  down  the  river  to  rob  and  murder  Europeans. 

I  now  call  on  all  well-disposed  natives  to  aid  the  Lieutenant-Genera] 
to  establish  and  maintain  these  posts,  and  to  preserve  peace  and  order. 

Those  who  remain  peaceably  at  their  own  villages  in  Waikato,  or 
move  into  such  districts  as  may  be  pointed  out  by  the  Government,  will 
be  protected  in  their  persons,  property,  and  land. 

Those  who  wage  war  against  Her  Majesty,  or  remain  in  arms, 
threatening  the  lives  of  Her  peaceable  subjects,  must  take  the  consequences 
of  their  acts,  and  they  must  understand  that  they  will  forfeit  the  right  to 
the  possession  of  their  lands  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  Treaty  of  Waitangi, 
which  lands  will  be  occupied  by  a  population  capable  of  protecting  for  the 
future  the  quiet  and  unoffending  from  the  violence  with  which  they  are 
now  so  constantly  threatened. 

G.  GREY, 

Auckland,   nth  July,   1863.  Governor. 


THE    FIRST   ENGAGEMENTS.  245 

On  the  I2th  July  General  Cameron  detailed  a  force  from  his 
army  encamped  at  the  Queen's  Redoubt  at  Pokeno  to  make  the 
first  advance  into  the  Waikato.  The  second  battalion  of  the  I4th 
Regiment,  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Austen,  crossed  the  swamp-fringed 
Me  nga-tawhiri  Stream  at  the  termination  of  the  military  road, 
and  took  up  a  position  to  the  left,  on  the  site  of  an  old  pa 
on  a  hill  above  the  river,  a  spur  of  the  Koheroa  Range.  A  few 
days  later  this  body  was  reinforced  by  detachments  of  the  I2th 
and  70th  Regiments,  and  was  now  five  hundred  strong.  Three 
field-works  were  thrown  up  on  the  hill. 

The  process  of  ejection  of  those  natives  who  could  not  bring 
themselves  to  abandon  their  fellow-countrymen  was  now  carried 
out  at  the  Manukau,  Papakura,  Patumahoe,  Tuakau,  and  other 
districts  between  Auckland  and  the  frontier  waters.  The  principal 
tribe  evicted  was  Ngati-Pou,  who  had  a  settlement  on  the  right 
(north)  bank  of  the  Waikato  at  Tuakau,  with  large  cultivations 
of  food  crops  and  fruit-groves.  In  the  middle  of  July  Mr.  Dillon 
Bdl,  Native  Minister,  and  Mr.  Gorst  carried  out  a  rather  perilous 
mission  in  the  forested  ranges  above  Papakura,  at  a  small  settle- 
ment called  Te  Aparangi,  on  the  Kirikiri  Stream,  about  two  miles 
east  of  Papakura.  Here  a  considerable  number  of  Maoris  had 
congregated,  and,  as  most  of  these  were  known  to  be  Kingites 
in  politics,  it  was  considered  necessary  to  remove  them  south  of 
the  border-line.  Te  Aparangi  was  the  village  of  the  old  chief 
Ihaka  Takaanini  and  his  people  of  Te  Akitai  and  Te  Uri-a-Tapa, 
hct.pus  of  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  ;  another  rangatira  of  Te  Akitai 
was  Mohi  te  Ahi-a-te-ngu.  The  permanent  population  of  the 
settlement  was  small,  but  some  scores  of  young  men  from  the 
Auckland  side  who  had  decided  to  join  the  Kingites  had  made  it 
their  rendezvous,  and  were  believed  to  be  fortifying  themselves 
in  the  bush.  Just  above  Te  Aparangi  on  the  foothills  of  the  ranges 
is  a  level-topped  hill  known  as  Puke-kiwi -riki,  formerly  a  strongly 
trenched  fort  belonging  to  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  Tribe.  The  ancient 
pa  presented  a  tempting  site  for  a  freebooting  stronghold.  Mr.  Bell 
gave  the  Akitai  and  their  kin  the  choice  of  making  a  declaration 
of  allegiance  to  the  Queen  or  of  going  unmolested  to  the  Waikato. 
He  urged  the  former  course,  saying  that  the  Government  had  no 
wish  to  drive  them  from  their  land.  Mohi  spoke  in  appreciation 
of  Mr.  Bell's  generosity  in  going  unarmed  among  the  Maoris  at 
si  ich  a  time  to  carry  a  message  of  peace  and  good  will,  and  declared 
that  if  the  Minister  had  arrived  a  few  days  earlier  with  such  an 
otfer  he  and  most  of  his  people  would  have  remained  peacefully 
in  their  homes.  But  the  Governor  had  crossed  the  Manga-tawhiri 
and  invaded  Waikato,  and  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  hapus,  who  pre- 
viously had  opposed  Rewi  and  his  war-party,  now  felt  it  their 
duty  to  join  Waikato. 

When  the  Minister  and  Mr.  Gorst  rode  back  to  Drury  that 
afternoon  they  heard  the  news  of  the  first  blow  of  the  war.  A 


246  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

settler  named  Michael  Meredith  and  his  young  son  had  been  found 
tomahawked  on  their  bush  farm  near  Ramarama,  about  four 
miles  from  Drury  ;  they  were  out  fencing  when  the  marauders 
caught  them.  Some  blamed  Ihaka's  people,  but  wrongly  ;  the 
killing  was  the  deed  of  a  party  of  young  men  who  sought  to 
distinguish  themselves  by  drawing  first  blood.  A  force  of  Nixon's 
Cavalry  (Otahuhu  troop,  numbering  thirty)  and  the  65th  Regiment 
(three  hundred)  invaded  Te  Aparangi  and  took  prisoner  Ihaka 
and  a  number  of  others,  chiefly  old  men  and  women  and  children, 
but  the  young  armed  men  escaped  and  joined  their  relatives  at 
Waikato. 

Canoe-paddles  dipped  and  flashed  all  along  the  broad  Waikato 
as  the  Upper  Waikato  tribes  and  Ngati-Maniapoto,  Ngati-Haua, 
and  Ngati-Raukawa  came  hurrying  down  the  river,  eager  to 
measure  their  strength  with  the  pakeha.  There  were  men  even 
from  Taranaki  and  the  Upper  Whanganui  among  the  war-parties. 
Before  the  main  body  of  the  Kingites  had  had  time  to  concentrate 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Manga-tawhiri  the  first  encounter  of  the 
war  was  precipitated  by  an  advance  force  of  Waikato,  numbering 
between  two  and  three  hundred,  under  Te  Huirama,  a  near  relative 
of  King  Tawhiao.  Te  Huirama  had  a  fortified  position  at  Te 
Teoteo,  an  old  Maori  pa  on  a  bluff  immediately  overlooking  the 
Whanga-marino  Stream,  which  joins  the  Waikato  a  short  distance 
above  the  present  Township  of  Mercer.  From  this  point  the  range 
of  the  hills  on  which  Te  Teoteo  stands  trends  in  a  crescent,  the 
northern  horn  curving  in  again  towards  the  Waikato  at  the  point 
where  the  Manga-tawhiri  comes  down  into  the  swamps  near  the 
main  river.  Near  the  tip  of  the  northern  horn  of  the  hills  was  the 
British  advanced  camp,  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Austen.  Te  Huirama 
and  his  men  hastened  to  provoke  an  attack  from  the  British  troops, 
and  dug  a  succession  of  trenches  across  the  narrow  ridge. 

The  movements  of  Waikato  were  observed  from  the  I4th 
Regiment's  camp  on  the  south  side  of  the  Manga-tawhiri  on  the 
forenoon  of  the  lyth  July.  Lieut. -Colonel  Austen  immediately 
ordered  his  battalion  under  arms,  and  moved  out  to  meet  the 
Maoris,  followed  by  a  detachment  of  the  I2th  and  yoth  Regiments. 
General  Cameron,  from  the  Queen's  Redoubt,  overtook  the 
column  on  its  march  to  the  ranges,  over  low  hills  covered  with 
fern  and  manuka. 

The  force  had  advanced  in  skirmishing  order  for  about  two 
miles  when  the  Maori  outposts  opened  fire.  They  fell  back, 
taking  advantage  of  the  broken  ground  to  continue  their  firing. 
From  their  rifle-pits  they  opened  a  heavy  fire  when  the  leading 
troops  were  well  within  gunshot,  and  the  young  soldiers  of  the 
I4th  hesitated  momentarily  after  some  men  had  fallen.  The 
gallant  General  Cameron  rushed  forward  waving  his  cap,  and 
shouted  to  the  I4th  to  come  on.  Cheering,  the  young  battalion 


1HE   FIRST   ENGAGEMENTS. 


247 


248  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

now  swept  forward  at  the  charge,  their  officers — Captains  Strange 
and  Phelps,  and  Lieutenants  Glancy  and  Armstrong  —  leading 
them  sword  in  hand ;  and  the  lines  of  entrenchments  were 
taken  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  Maoris,  leaving  many 
dead  in  and  around  the  trenches,  retreated  south  along  the  fern- 
hills,  fighting  as  they  fell  back  from  one  line  of  defence  to  the 
next,  until  they  were  driven  to  the  heights  above  the  Maramarua 
and  Whanga-marino.  Some  escaped  down  a  gully  on  the  east, 
but  lost  a  number  of  men  to  the  heavy  converging  fire  from  the 
high  ground  on  either  flank.  The  majority  of  the  survivors  made 
for  the  south  side  of  the  Whanga-marino  and  thence  to  Meremere  ; 
others  took  to  their  canoes  in  the  creek  and  paddled  out  into  the 
Waikato  River.  The  creek  and  the  great  swamp  beyond  stayed 
the  further  progress  of  the  troops.  The  British  loss  was  one  killed ; 
twelve  were  wounded,  including  Colonel  Austen.  (This  officer 
afterwards  was  fatally  wounded  at  Rangiriri.)  Of  the  Maoris,  the 
leader,  Te  Huirama  (Ngati-Mahuta),  and  about  thirty  others  were 
killed,  many  of  them  with  the  bayonet  ;  a  number  of  wounded 
were  taken  away  in  canoes.  Many  spades  and  some  double- 
barrel  guns,  antiquated  flint-lock  pieces,  and  tomahawks  were 
found  on  the  battlefield. 

After  this  sharp  bayonet-work  a  British  detachment  was  sent 
to  hold  a  position  on  the  south  side  of  the  heights  commanding 
the  Whanga-marino  Stream.  The  spot  selected  was  the  summit 
of  a  bluff  close  to  the  old  Maori  pa  Te  Teoteo,  and  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  junction  of  the  Whanga-marino  with  the  Waikato. 
(The  redoubt-site  is  almost  immediately  above  the  spot  where  the 
Great  South  Road  crosses  the  Whanga-marino  about  half  a  mile 
south  of  Mercer.)  This  post  was  armed  with  two  field-guns,  under 
Lieutenant  Pickard,  R.A. 

The  Waikato  Maoris,  in  referring  to  the  engagement  on  the 
Koheroa  Hills,  speak  of  it  as  the  fight  at  Te  Teoteo. 

The  second  skirmish  of  the  campaign  was  the  first  of  a  series 
of  surprise  attacks  upon  British  convoys  and  pickets  along  the 
Great  South  Road.  The  fight  occurred  on  the  i7th  July,  the  same 
day"  as  the  engagement  at  Koheroa.  A  war-party  of  Ngati-Paoa, 
under  Hori  Ngakapa  and  some  other  chiefs,  laid  an  ambuscade  on 
the.  forest  road  at  the  northern  base  of  the  Pukewhau  Hill  (now 
Bombay).  Here  a  settler  named  Martin  had  his  farm,  a  small 
clearing  cut  out  of  the  dense  puriri  forest.  Much  of  the  beautiful 
woodland  still  exists  close  to  the  road.  A  mile  and  a  half  to  the 
north  was  the  Sheppard's  Bush  Redoubt  (Ramarama) ;  the  nearest 
redoubt  on  the  south  side  was  the  post  at  Baird's  Hill,  on  the 
northern  slope  of  Williamson's  Clearing  (the  site  is  that  of  the  pre- 
sent Bombay  Presbyterian  Church  and  burying-ground).  A  convoy 
of  six  carts,  escorted  by  fifty  men  of  the  i8th  Royal  Irish  Regiment, 
under  command  of  Major  Turner  and  Captain  Ring,  was  passing 


THE    FIRST   ENGAGEMENTS. 


249 


along  the  road  over  the  Pokeno  Ranges  from  the  Queen's  Redoubt 
to  Drury.  On  the  left  (west)  side  of  the  road  there  was  a  small 
stream  ;  on  its  banks,  thickly  clothed  with  a  jungly  undergrowth, 
part  of  the  Kingite  ambush-party  crouched  ;  others  occupied  the 
cover  near-by  on  the  opposite  side,  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
metalled  road.  The  escort  was  marching  at  ease,  unsuspicious 
of  danger,  when  heavy  fire  was  opened  from  both  sides  of  the 
road.  The  first  volley  killed  and  wounded  several  soldiers,  and 


Photo  by  lies,  at  the  Thames.} 

HORI  NGAKAPA  TE  WHANAUNGA. 

This  warrior  chief  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  attack  on  the  British 
escort  at  Martin's  Farm,  Great  South  Road,  lyth  July,  1863.  He  was  the 
head  of  the  Ngati-Whanaunga,  a  subtribe  of  Ngati-Paoa,  of  the  Hauraki 
Gulf  coast.  In  1851  he  was  a  leader  of  the  war-canoe  expedition  of  Ngati- 
Paoa  to  the  Town  of  Auckland  (see  note  in  Appendices).  Hori  fought 
at  Rangiriri,  and  escaped  by  swimming  across  a  lagoon.  His  brave  wife, 
H<ra  Puna,  accompanied  him  on  the  war-path  in  1863. 


250  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

some  of  the  cart-horses  were  hit.  The  natives  attempted  to  cut 
off  the  rearguard  of  about  a  dozen  men  from  the  main  body,  but 
the  party,  some  of  whom  had  been  wounded,  charged  with  the 
bayonet  and  fought  their  way  through.  The  convoy  was  set  under 
way  again,  and  the  soldiers  resumed  their  march  for  Ramarama, 
doing  their  best  to  keep  the  Maoris  off  until  reinforcements  arrived. 
The  Ngati-Paoa  skirmished  from  tree  to  tree  along  both  sides  of 
the  road,  keeping  up  a  hot  fire.  A  detachment  of  the  i8th  came 
doubling  up  in  the  rear  from  Baird's  Hill ;  other  reinforcements 
presently  arrived  from  the  direction  of  Drury,  and  the  attackers 
retreated.  The  British  casualties  were  five  killed  and  eleven 
wounded.  The  Maori  loss  was  slight  ;  they  carried  off  their 
disabled  men.* 

The  next  engagement — Kirikiri  (22nd  July) — was  fought  still 
nearer  Auckland.  A  number  of  settlers  whose  farmhouses  stood 
on  the  fringes  of  the  Hunua  forest,  from  Papakura  to  Drury,  had 
remained  on  their  holdings,  believing  that  they  were  unlikely  to  be 
attacked  by  the  Kingites.  In  several  instances  here,  as  elsewhere, 
two  or  three  families  from  the  out-districts  had  taken  up  their 
quarters  with  friends  in  the  larger  houses  for  mutual  protection. 
One  of  the  pioneer  settlers  was  Mr.  Hay,  whose  home  stood  close 
to  the  Great  South  Road  between  Papakura  and  Drury  ;  the  site 
is  very  nearly  that  of  the  present  Opaheke  Railway-station. 
Captain  Clare,  an  Indian  Army  veteran,  had  come  into  Mr.  Hay's 
with  his  family  from  the  Hunua  bush  ;  a  member  of  the  family 
was  Mr.  J.  M.  Roberts  (now  Colonel  Roberts,  N.Z.C.)  On  the 
morning  of  the  22nd  July  the  alarm  was  given  at  Hay's  that  the 
Maoris  had  shot  a  man  named  James  Hunt,  cutting  timber  with 
his  employer,  Mr.  Greenacre,  and  two  others.  A  band  of  forty  or 
fifty  natives  had  surprised  them  in  the  bush,  and,  after  giving  them 
a  volley,  pursued  them.  Hunt  fell  with  a  fatal  wound  ;  the  others 
escaped  to  Hay's.  Mr.  Roberts  rushed  to  load  all  the  rifles  in 
the  house.  His  responsibilities  were  heavy  in  the  event  of  an 
attack,  for  there  were  four  women  dependent  on  his  protection  ; 
one  was  his  mother.  He  got  up  on  the  roof  of  the  kitchen  and 
kept  a  lookout  for  the  Maoris.  The  raiders,  however,  were  diverted 


*  The  Martin's  Farm  ambush  was  the  i8th  (Royal  Irish)  Regiment's 
first  taste  of  Maori  warfare.  This  fine  corps  served  in  most  of  the  actions 
of  the  Waikato  War,  and  later  was  transferred  to  the  west  coast.  The 
Royal  Irish  (and  Battalion)  came  out  from  Portsmouth  in  the  ships 
"  Elizabeth  Ann  Bright "  and  "  Norwood  "  ;  it  was  a  new  battalion 
recruited  at  Inneskillen  in  the  late  "  fifties."  The  "  Elizabeth  Ann 
Bright  "  arrived  at  Auckland  on  the  and  July,  1863,  and  the  "  Norwood  " 
on  the  and  August ;  the  strength  landed  was  seven  hundred  officers  and 
men.  The  Royal  Irish  Regiment  was  the  last  Imperial  corps  to  leave 
New  Zealand  ;  the  main  body  sailed  from  Auckland  on  the  a8th  February, 
1870,  leaving  between  three  hundred  and  four  hundred  men  who  had  taken 
their  discharges  to  settle  in  the  country. 


THE    FIRST   ENGAGEMENTS. 


251 


by  the  arrival  at  the  double  of  a  small  detachment  of  Militia  from 
Papakura,  under  Captain  Clare  ;  these  men  were  soon  joined  by  a 
hundred  of  the  i8th  Regiment,  under  Captain  Ring,  from  the 
newly  built  redoubt  at  Kirikiri. 

The  Imperial  soldiers  found  the  Militia  already  in  action  on  the 
edge  of  the  bush.  The  united  force  skirmished  with  the  Kingites 
in  the  bush  in  the  direction  of  the  hill  Puke-kiwi-riki,  above  the 
deserted  settlement  of  Ihaka  Takaanini  at  Te  Aparangi.  The 
natives  were  gradually  driven  up  into  the  hills,  and  occupied 
Captain  Ring's  first  entrenchment  on  a  knoll  in  a  small  clearing. 
From  this  place  they  were  forced  back  by  the  Militia  and  the  i8th, 


To  PapaKura 
EMiles 


To  Clevedon 

REMAINS  OF  RING'S  REDOUBT,  KIRIKIRI,   1921 


The  redoubt  at  Kirikiri  (now  locally  misspelled  Kerikeri)  came  to  be 
known  as  Ring's  Redoubt,  after  the  captain  in  command.  Like  the  Queen's 
Re  loubt  at  Pokeno,  its  walls  and  trench,  partly  demolished,  now  enclose 
a  farmhouse.  The  old  fort  stands  alongside  the  main  road  two  miles  from 
Papakura  on  the  way  to  Clevedon,  Wairoa  South.  It  is  on  part  Section  29, 
Hutiua  Parish,  and  is  the  homestead  of  Mr.  C.  J.  Hibbard. 


but  they  presently  threatened  the  flanks  of  the  British  force,  which 
was  almost  surrounded.  One  of  Ring's  men  had  been  killed  at 
close  quarters,  and  his  rifle  and  bayonet  seized  by  the  Maoris. 
Under  cover  of  the  earthworks  and  logs  the  troops  kept  the  Maoris 
back  by  heavy  and  accurate  firing,  and  awaited  reinforcements. 
Their  position  was  now  one  of  some  anxiety.  It  was  near  sunset 
when  Colonel  Wyatt,  with  a  force  of  the  65th  and  some  of  Lieu- 
tenant Rait's  Mounted  Artillery  troopers,  armed  with  swords  and 


252  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

revolvers,  came  to  the  rescue  and  vigorously  engaged  the  Maoris, 
whose  numbers  seemed  also  to  have  been  reinforced.  The  troopers 
dismounted  to  enter  the  bush  with  the  65th,  and  this  diversion 
compelled  the  Maoris  to  draw  off  from  Ring's  force.  The  united 
column,  after  recovering  the  body  of  the  soldier  killed,  withdrew 
from  the  forest,  and  Ring  returned  to  his  redoubt  above  Kirikiri. 
This  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  the  Militia  had  been  engaged 
with  the  Maoris,  and  Clare's  few  men  behaved  with  skill  and  courage 
in  the  forest  skirmish. 

On  the  loth  August  a  scou ting-party  of  thirty-five  men  of  the 
Wairoa  Rifle  Volunteers  and  No.  4  Company,  Auckland  Militia,  under 
Lieutenant  Steele,  discovered  the  great  secret  encampment  of  the 
Kingites  in  the  Hunua  Ranges,  which  it  was  believed  had  been 
prepared  for  a  war-party  essaying  an  attack  upon  Auckland  from 
the  east.  This  party,  marching  from  the  Wairoa  stockade,  ex- 
plored the  bush  through  to  Drury.  Passing  Buckland's  Clearing, 
a  tract  of  open  fern  land  in  the  bush,  the  scouts  came  to  another 
fern  opening,  and  advanced  in  skirmishing  order  upon  a  large 
encampment  intended  as  the  headquarters  of  a  Maori  army.  This 
nikau-ihatched  township  consisted  of  thirty-one  whares  from  20  feet 
to  over  100  feet  long,  and  capable,  in  Steele's  opinion,  of  contain- 
ing about  fifteen  hundred  people.  This  camp  was  in  the  open, 
where  the  bush  road  from  Drury  emerged  from  the  forest.  On  the 
road,  and  about  a  mile  nearer  Drury,  they  found  a  few  small  whares, 
and  again  some  huts  three-quarters  of  a  mile  farther  on,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  used  as  advance  posts. 

The  Kingite  Maoris  who  'gathered  in  the  Hunua  and  Wairoa 
Ranges  and  thence  made  their  forays  were  chiefly  members  of  the 
Ngati-Paoa  Tribe,  from  the  Hauraki  coast  villages,  under  Hori 
Ngakapa  and  other  chiefs  ;  the  Koheriki,  a  hapu  of  that  tribe, 
headed  by  Wi  Koka,  from  the  country  around  the  mouth  of  the 
Wairoa  River  ;  some  of  the  Ngati-Haua,  from  the  Upper  Waikato 
and  the  Upper  Thames  Valley  ;  and  a  number  of  the  Ngai-te-Rangi 
and  Piri-Rakau  Tribes,  from  Tauranga,  led  by  Hori  Ngatai  and 
Titipa.  The  Koheriki  party  did  not  number  more  than  thirty  to 
thirty-five  fighting-men,  but  they  were  all  active  and  ruthless 
fellows  :  they  fought  right  through  the  war,  and  the  survivors 
shared  in  the  defence  of  the  Gate  Pa  at  Tauranga  in  1864.  With 
them  were  some  women  ;  one  of  these  was  a  remarkably  gifted 
and  courageous  young  half-caste  woman,  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu — 
later  otherwise  known  as  Heni  Pore  (Foley) — who  followed  her 
brother  Neri  into  the  war  ;  she  was  armed  with  a  gun  and  used  it. 
She  took  her  young  children  with  her,  and  her  mother  and  sister 
accompanied  her  on  the  bush  trail. 

Most  of  the  outlying  farmers  had  abandoned  their  homes  and 
were  serving  in  the  district  Militia  or  Volunteers,  but  the  smoke 
rising  from  the  chimneys  in  some  of  the  forest-clearings  showed 
that  a  few  stout-hearted  settlers  had  determined  to  remain  on  their 


THE   FIRST   ENGAGEMENTS.  253 

sections.  One  was  Captain  Calvert,  whose  home  was  on  the  Papa- 
Ion  a- Wairoa  Road,  three  miles  from  Papakura  and  a  mile  beyond 
Captain  Ring's  redoubt  at  Kirikiri.  Early  on  the  24th  July  the 
alarm  was  raised  at  Cal vert's  that  a  party  of  armed  Maoris  was 
surrounding  the  house.  The  captain  jumped  out  of  bed,  and  just 
as  lie  had  snatched  up  his  revolver  some  of  the  natives  rushed  into 
the  kitchen,  and  one  of  them  fired  at  the  inmates.  Calvert  and 
his  son  Sylvester,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  fired  in  return.  The  lad  was 
mortally  wounded.  The  captain,  having  emptied  his  revolver, 
rushed  furiously  at  the  enemy  with  his  sword.  They  retreated 
before  the  brave  old  soldier,  and  fired  heavily  on  the  house  from  a 
hillock.  The  firing  was  heard  at  the  Kirikiri  Redoubt,  and  a  party 
of  soldiers  drove  the  Maoris  into  the  forest.  Young  Calvert  was 
carried  to  the  redoubt,  where  he  died.  On  the  same  day  Mr.  George 
Cooper,  a  settler  in  the  Wairoa  Ranges,  was  shot  down  and  killed 
when  he  went  out  to  drive  his  cows  up  for  milking.  These  attacks 
on  bush-country  settlers  gave  impetus  to  the  formation  by  the 
Government  of  a  special  corps  of  guides  or  bush  fighters,  and  the 
first  company  of  the  Forest  Rangers,  under  Lieutenant  Jackson,  was 
soon  enlisted. 

After  the  attack  on  the  Imperial  convoy  at  Martin's  Farm  on 
the  lyth  July  measures  were  taken  to  destroy  the  cover  for  the 
Maori  parties  in  the  most  dangerous  parts  of  the  Great  South  Road, 
and  the  felling  of  the  forest,  making  clearings  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
wide,  was  begun  on  both  sides  of  the  road  in  Sheppard's  Bush,  at 
Martin's  Farm,  and  along  the  west  slope  of  Pukewhau  Hill  and 
part  of  the  Razorback  Range.  This  work  was  done  chiefly  by  con- 
tract, under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Martin.  General  Cameron 
ordered  that  the  bushfellers  should  in  every  case  be  protected  by 
a  covering-party.  The  neglect  of  this  precaution  in  one  instance 
involved  a  party  in  a  one-sided  skirmish  which  provided  the  Maori 
raiders  with  a  welcome  supply  of  arms.  This  attack  occurred  on 
the  west  face  of  the  Pukewhau  Hill ;  the  site,  then  known  as 
Williamson's  Clearing,  is  the  present  settlement  of  Bombay.  On 
the  25th  August  twenty-five  men  of  the  4oth,  under  a  non-com- 
missioned officer,  besides  some  bushmen,  were  engaged  felling 
timber,  leaving  their  rifles  piled  on  the  edge  of  the  road  in  charge 
of  ;i  sentry.  Suddenly  a  volley  was  fired  from  the  bush,  and  two 
of  the  4Oth  fell.  A  party  of  Maoris  rushed  out  from  their  ambush 
anc  easily  captured  the  stacked  rifles,  twenty-three  in  number,  and 
the  pouches  of  ammunition.  The  bushfellers  were  rescued  by  the 
advance-guard  of  a  convoy  escort  from  Drury,  under  Captain 
A.  Cook,  of  the  4oth,  and  retired  after  fighting  a  skirmish  with 
fun  her  reinforcements.  Three  of  the  natives  were  shot  in  the 
skirmish,  and  one  of  the  i8th  was  wounded,  besides  the  two  shot 
dead  in  the  first  attack. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2nd  September,  1863,  Ensign  C.  Dawson 
(2nd  Battalion,  i8th  Royal  Irish),  subaltern  in  charge  of  the 


254  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Pokeno  picket,  had  a  lively  skirmish  with  a  large  body  of  Maoris 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  Queen's  Redoubt.  The  picket, 
consisting  of  two  sergeants  and  sixty  men  of  the  i8th,  left  the 
redoubt  at  7  a.m.,  and  marched  towards  the  Pokeno  native 
village  (which  had  been  deserted  by  its  owners,  the  Ngati- 
Tamaoho,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war).  Near  the  village  the 
force  was  fired  upon  from  the  rear  by  a  large  body  of  Maoris. 
Dawson  faced  his  men  about  and  charged  with  the  bayonet. 
He  drove  them  down  a  gully  towards  the  swamp  and  into  the 
bush  on  the  east  side  of  Pokeno.  After  following  the  Kingites 
for  about  half  a  mile  on  the  track  inland  towards  Paparoa,  he 
heard  yells  in  the  direction  of  the  village  in  his  rear,  and  returned 
with  hi?  force.  He  was  saluted  with  a  volley  from  Maori  mus- 
keteers extended  across  the  clearing,  encumbered  with  logs  and 
felled  trees,  between  him  and  the  settlement,  and  also  was  fired 
upon  by  some  men  in  the  bush  on  his  right,  near  the  hills.  The 
soldiers,  taking  cover,  in  skirmishing  order,  kept  up  a  steady  fire 
and  inflicted  some  casualties ;  the  Maoris  were  seen  carrying 
off  their  wounded.  At  this  stage  Captain  Trench,  of  the  4oth, 
came  up  with  supports  from  the  redoubt,-  and  the  reinforced 
skirmishers  advanced  and  drove  the  Maoris  out  of  the  'kainga 
and  the  log  clearing  into  the  bush. 

A  few  days  later  (8th  September)  some  of  the  Maoris  attacked 
the  British  redoubt  which  had  been  erected  on  the  top  of 
Kakaramea,  the  northern  spur  of  the  Pokeno  Ranges,  over  which 
the  Great  South  Road  was  cut,  between  Williamson's  Clearing 
and  Rhodes's  Clearing,  overlooking  Pokeno.  This  field-work  was 
perched  on  the  narrowest  and  most  commanding  part  of  the 
ridge  which  carried  the  road,  but  there  was  a  higher  hill  a  short 
distance  to  the  east.  The  present  road  cuts  through  the  western 
angle  of  the  old  fortification.  A  sentry  outside,  about  60  yards 
from  the  redoubt,  at  10  a.m.  saw  a  Maori  stealing  up  on  him 
through  the  bush.  He  fired  at  him,  and  the  fire  was  returned  by 
a  war-party  from  the  partly  cleared  hill  about  100  yards  on  the 
east  side  of  the  road.  The  garrison  (one  hundred  of  the  65th 
Regiment,  under  Lieutenant  Talbot)  turned  out  and  kept  up  a 
steady  fire  on  the  natives,  who  had  the  cover  of  felled  timber  and 
stumps.  Ensign  Ducrow,  of  the  4oth,  came  up  with  forty  men 
from  Rhodes's  Clearing,  the  next  post  on  the  south,  and  Talbot 
took  half  the  detachment  at  the  post  and  skirmished  out,  driving 
the  attackers  into  the  bush.  Further  reinforcements  arrived  from 
Williamson's  Clearing,  but  they  were  not  needed.  The  dead  body 
of  a  Maori  was  afterwards  found  ;  there  were  no  British  casualties. 

On  the  north  bank  of  the  Lower  Waikato,  between  the 
Tuakau  Redoubt  and  the  Heads,  an  army  depot  had  been  esta- 
blished as  a  half-way  station  for  stores  shipped  up  the  river  to 
the  British  field  headquarters.  This  station,  named  Camerontown, 
after  the  General,  was  in  charge  of  two  Europeans,  and  was 


THE    FIRST   ENGAGEMENTS.  255 

guarded  also  by  friendly  natives,  chiefly  Ngati-Whauroa,  who 
had  a  small  pa  on  a  hill,  weakly  stockaded.  Mr.  James  Armitage, 
the  Resident  Magistrate  on  the  Lower  Waikato,  was  engaged  in 
superintending  the  work  of  taking  the  stores  up  the  river  ;  this 
was  done  by  Maoris,  under  Wiremu  te  Wheoro,  of  Kohekohe,  and 
Waata  Kukutai,  of  Kohanga.  The  tribes  engaged  in  this  canoe 
transport  were  chiefly  Ngati-Naho  and  Ngati-Tipa.  The  barque 
"  City  of  Melbourne/'  laden  with  stores,  was  lying  at  anchor  inside 
the  Waikato  Heads  early  in  September,  and  Mr.  Armitage  was 
busily  loading  his  flotilla  of  large  canoes  and  despatching  them 
up  to  the  Manga-tawhiri.  On  the  yth  September  he  had  returned 
to  the  depot  from  the  Bluff  stockade  at  Te  la-roa,  when  he 
was  shot  down  in  his  canoe  by  a  party  of  Maoris  and  killed, 
together  with  the  two  men  of  the  Camerontown  station  (William 
Strand,  a  carpenter,  and  Heughan,  a  blacksmith),  a  half-caste 
named  Wade,  and  a  friendly  Maori,  one  of  the  canoe -crew. 
Ngati-Whauroa  did  not  attempt  to  defend  the,  Europeans  from 
their  assailants,  mostly  Ngati-Maniapoto  ;  but  Te  Wheoro  and 
his  tribe,  who  arrived  from  Te  la-roa  in  several  canoes  shortly 
alter  the  ambuscades,  engaged  the  enemy  at  Camerontown,  and 
fought  a  skirmish  in  which  a  great  deal  of  ammunition  was  fired 
away  for  little  result.  The  hostile  force  was  estimated  at  about 
a  hundred.  The  Kingites  sacked  the  stockade  of  the  friendly 
Maoris  above  the  depot,  and  destroyed  a  large  quantity  of  com- 
missariat stores.  The  Kingites'  antipathy  to  Mr.  Armitage  ("  Te 
Amatiti  "  of  the  Maoris)  arose  not  so  much  from  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  Magistrate — -in  that  capacity  he  had  been  greatly  esteemed 
along  the  Lower  Waikato — as  from  his  participation  in  the  work 
oi  military  transport.  His  companion,  Mr.  Strand,  formerly  of 
Kohanga,  had  assisted  in  the  piloting  of  the  war-steamer  "  Avon  " 
up  the  river. 

The  heavy  firing  in  the  skirmish  between  the  friendly  natives 
and  the  Kingites  at  Camerontown  was  heard  at  the  Alexandra 
Rsdoubt,  Tuakau,  and  a  party  of  Maoris  came  paddling  up  in 
great  haste  to  report  the  death  of  Mr.  Armitage  and  the  burning 
oi  the  stores.  Captain  Swift,  of  the  65th,  who  was  in  charge  of 
tlie  detachment  at  the  redoubt,  marched  at  once  for  Cameron- 
town,  with  Lieutenant  Butler  and  fifty  men,  in  an  attempt 
to  intercept  the  attacking-party.  The  senior  non-commissioned 
oi freer  of  the  detachment  was  Colour-Sergeant  E.  McKenna.  An 
engagement  which  took  place  that  afternoon  in  the  bush  near 
O  tmerontown  resulted  in  the  death  of  Captain  Swift  and  three  men, 
and  the  disabling  of  Lieutenant  Butler.  Swift,  as  he  lay  dying, 
oidered  McKenna  to  lead  on  the  men,  and  the  non-commissioned 
oi freer  conducted  the  bush  skirmishing  with  great  skill  and  judg- 
ment. His  little  party  sustained  a  heavy  fire  from  the  natives, 
ar  d  had  to  spend  the  night  in  the  forest,  struggling  out  to  Tuakau 
in  the  morning.  The  colour-sergeant  estimated  the  Maori  loss 


256 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


at  between  twenty  and  thirty  killed  and  wounded.  He  saw  seven 
shot  dead  ;  their  bodies  were  dragged  into  the  bush  by  their 
comrades.  Lieutenant  Butler  recovered  from  his  severe  wound. 
McKenna  was  awarded  the  Victoria  Cross  for  his  valour,  and  was 
also  given  a  commission  as  ensign  in  his  regiment.  He  settled  in 
New  Zealand,  and  was  for  many  years  a  stationmaster  in  the 
Government  railway  service.  Lance-Corporal  Ryan  was  also 
awarded  the  V.C.,  but  before  he  received  it  he  was  drowned  in 
the  Waikato  in  an  attempt  to  save  a  comrade.  Four  of  the 
privates  engaged — Bulford,  Talbot,  Cole,  and  Thomas — were  each 
decorated  with  the  medal  for  distinguished  conduct  in  the  field. 

After  the  tragedy  at  Camerontown  the  Ngati-Whauroa,  with 
their  chief  Hona,  who  up  to  this  time  had  nominally  been  friendly 
to  the  Government,  turned  to  the  Kingite  side  and  joined  their 
kinsmen  in  the  war. 


From  a  sketch  (1863)  in  the  "  Illustrated  London  News."] 

THE  ALEXANDRA  EEDOUBT,  TUAKAU. 

This  large  redoubt,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Lower  Waikato,  was  built 
in  July,  1863,  by  a  detachment  of  the  65th  Regiment.  The  position,  on 
a  bold  bluff  about  300  feet  above  the  river,  was  commanding  and  of  great 
strategic  importance.  The  redoubt  is  the  best  preserved  of  all  the  military 
posts  built  in  1863-64.  The  present  entrance  is  from  the  roadway  in  the 
rear  into  the  north-west  flanking  angle,  where  a  monument  erected  by  the 
Government  bears  the  names  of  British  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  district. 
The  redoubt  covers  an  area  of  about  three-quarters  of  an  acre,  and  is  a 
parallelogram,  with  the  usual  two  flanking  angles  at  diagonally  opposite 
corners  of  the  work.  The  surrounding  trench  is  still  in  most  places  4  feet 
or  5  feet  in  depth,  and  from  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  to  the  top  of  the 
fern-grown  parapets  the  height  varies  from  10  feet  to  nearly  20  feet. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 


THE   FOREST   RANGERS. 

The  cautious  camp,  the  smother'd  light, 
The  silent  sentinel  at  night. 

— JOAQUIN  MILLER  ("  The  Ship  in  the  Desert  "). 

The  crossing  of  the  Manga-tawhiri  River  by  Cameron's  troops 
was  immediately  followed  by  Maori  attacks  upon  some  of  the 
venturesome  settlers  who  remained  upon  their  farms  on  the 
frontier,  and  even  after  the  army  had  advanced  up  the  Waikato 
its  rear  was  threatened  by  roving  bands  of  Kingites.  The  broken 
forest  country  of  the  Hunua  and  Wairoa  Ranges,  bordering  the 
left  flank  of  the  British  advance,  was  the  camping-place  and  war- 
ground  of  these  natives,  who  from  the  cover  of  the  bush  could 
raid  farmhouses  and  ambush  military  convoys  with  little  loss  to 
themselves.  Neither  the  Regular  soldiers  nor  the  newly  enrolled 
city  Militia  were  competent  at  the  time  to  pursue  the  Maoris 
in  their  forests,  and  it  soon  became  clear  to  the  military  heads 
tli at  a  special  force  was  necessary  to  meet  the  natives  on  their 
own  ground  and  levy  guerilla  war  with  the  object  of  clearing  the 
bush  on  the  flanks  and  safeguarding  the  army's  communications 
and  the  out-settlements.  Taranaki  had  set  an  example  in  the 
formation  of  a  corps  of  Bush  Rangers,  composed  largely  of 
country  settlers  and  their  sons.  There  was  equally  good  material 
in  the  Auckland  settlements,  and  there  was  also  at  hand  a  body  of 
g(  Id-diggers  at  Coromandel  ready  to  turn  to  new  adventures  now 
that  the  excitement  and  the  profits  in  the  primitive  mining  of  that 
p(  riod  were  dwindling.  The  Government,  urged  by  the  Press  and 
the  public,  resolved  to  form  a  small  corps  of  picked  men,  used 
to  the  bush  and  to  rough  travelling  and  camp  life,  to  scout  the 
forests  and  hunt  out  the  parties  of  marauders. 
9— N.Z.  Wars. 


258  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

In  the  first  week  of  August,  1863,  the  following  attractive 
invitation  to  arms  appeared  for  several  days  in  the  Southern  Cross 
newspaper,  Auckland  : — 


NOTICE. 


TO  MILITIAMEN  AND  OTHERS. 

ACTIVE  YOUNG  MEN,  having  some  experience  of  New  Zealand  Forests, 
may  now  confer  a  benefit  upon  the  Colony,  and  also  ensure  a  comparatively 
free  and  exciting  life  for  themselves,  by  JOINING  a  CORPS  of  FOREST 
VOLUNTEERS,  now  being  enrolled  in  this  province  to  act  as  the  Taranaki 
Volunteers  have  acted  in  striking  terror  into  the  marauding  natives,  by 
operations  not  in  the  power  of  ordinary  troops. 

By  joining  the  Corps  the  routine  of  Militia  life  may  be  got  rid  of  and 
a  body  of  active  and  pleasant  comrades  ensured. 

Only  men  of  good  character  wanted. 

For  further  information  apply  to  the  office  of  the  Daily  Southern  Cross, 
O'Connell  Street,  Auckland. 

3ist  July,  1863. 

This  appeal  soon  filled  the  ranks  of  a  company  of  Forest 
Rangers,  sixty  strong,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  William 
Jackson,  a  young  settler  of  the  Papakura  district  (afterwards 
Major  Jackson  and  M.H.R.  for  Waipa).  Towards  the  end  of 
the  year  a  second  company  was  formed  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Von  Tempsky.  The  pay  at  first  was  los.  a  day,  but  it 
was  later  reduced  to  45.  6d.  a  day  and  rations,  and  a  double 
ration  of  rum  on  account  of  the  rough  character  of  the  work. 

The  Rangers'  arms  were  a  breech-loading  Calisher  and  Terry 
carbine,  a  five-shot  revolver,  and,  in  Von  Tempsky's  company, 
a  bowie-knife  with  a  blade  10  inches  or  12  inches  long.  Von 
Tempsky  took  intense  interest  in  teaching  the  men  the  use  of 
the  bowie-knife,  gripped  in  the  left  hand  (the  right  was  for  the 
revolver),  with  the  blade  along  the  arm.  There  was  a  drill  for 
it — a  perfect  method  of  guard  and  attack  in  hand-to-hand  action. 
As  King  Agis  answered  the  Athenians  who  laughed  at  the  short 
swords  of  the  Spartans,  "  We  find  them  long  enough  to  reach  our 
enemies  with,"  so  the  Rangers  could  have  said  of  their  bush- 
knives  that  they  were  quite  long  enough  for  close  quarters.  They 
were  more  useful  than  bayonets  or  cutlasses  in  the  tangled  forest. 
Von  Tempsky  was  a  master  of  the  weapon,  the  use  of  which  he  had 
learned  in  Spanish  America  in  guerilla  warfare.  In  instructing  his 
men  he  challenged  them  to  stab  him,  and  demonstrated  his  perfect 
ability  to  defend  himself.  The  knife  could  also  be  thrown  with 
deadly  effect,  being  so  heavy.  When  slashing  a  way  through  the 
supplejacks  and  other  undergrowth  in  the  trackless  bush  it  was  a 


THE    FOREST   RANGERS. 


259 


first-class  tool.     Captain  Jackson  affected  to  despise  the  knife  as 
a  war- weapon,  but  one  or  two  of  his  men  adopted  it. 

Colonel  J.  M.  Roberts,  N.Z.C.,  who  began  his  military  career 
in  the  Forest  Rangers,  and  was  a  subaltern  in  No.  2  Company, 
1863-64,  was  one  of  the  young  bushmen-soldiers  who  appreciated 
the  bowie-knife.  "  It  was  rather  awkward  in  the  bush  some- 
times," he  says,  "  for  it  was  nearly  as  long  as  a  bayonet,  but  it 
certainly  was  very  handy  for  cutting  tracks.  We  were  taught  to 
hold  the  knife  with  the  blade  pointing  inward  and  upward,  laid 
along  the  inner  arm.  With  the  arm  held  out,  knife-defended 


MAJOR  WILLIAM  JACKSON. 

In  1863-64  Major  Jackson  commanded  No.  i  Company  of  Forest  Rangers. 
In  the  "  seventies  "he  was  in  command  of  Te  Awamutu  troop,  Waikato 
Cav.ilry  Volunteers,  formed  for  the  protection  of  the  Upper  Waikato  frontier. 


thus,  a  blow  could  be  warded  off,  and  then  out  would  flash  the 
blade  in  a  stab.  When  we  were  in  camp  at  Paterangi  in  1864 
my  fellow-subaltern  Westrupp  and  I  frequently  went  out  in  the 
manuka  together  and  practised  the  fighting  drill.  At  Orakau  we 
fourd  the  knife  very  useful— not  for  fighting,  but  for  digging  in. 
Our  position  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  pa,  a  cultivation-ground 
bordered  with  low  fern — a  place  very  much  exposed  to  the  Maoris' 
fire.  We  lay  down  on  the  edge  of  this  cultivation  and  went  to 


26o  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

work  as  hard  as  we  could  with  our  long  knives,  each  man  digging 
a  shallow  shelter  for  himself  and  throwing  up  the  earth  in  front  ; 
the  bullets  were  coming  over  thick  that  day." 

The  men  who  were  provided  with  these  arms  were  as  efficient 
as  the  weapons  they  carried.  They  were  a  varied  set  of  adven- 
turers. The  bush-trained  settlers  of  Papakura,  Hunua,  and  the 
Wairoa  were  the  dependable  nucleus  of  the  corps,  and  to  their 
ranks  were  added  sailors,  gold-diggers,  and  others  who  had  seen 
much  of  the  rough  end  of  life.  Von  Tempsky,  describing  (in  an 
unpublished  manuscript  journal)  his  company  of  fifty  men  at  the 
end  of  1863,  wrote  :  "  Like  Jackson,  I  had  two  black  men,  former 
men-o'-war's-men  ;  one  had  also  been  a  prize-fighter.  I  had  men 
of  splendid  education,  and  men  as  ignorant  as  the  soil  on  which 
they  trod."  All  nationalities  were  in  the  ranks — English,  Welsh, 
Scotch,  Irish,  Germans,  and  Italians.  Some  of  Von  Tempsky's 
best  volunteers  had  been  members  of  the  1st  Waikato  Regiment 
of  Militia. 

The  Rangers'  field  equipment  was  simple.  On  the  war-path  in 
the  Wairoa  and  Hunua  bush  their  bed  was  a  bundle  of  fern,  and 
the  forest  was  their  tent.  "  In  our  campaigning  in  the  Waikato," 
says  a  survivor  of  the  corps,  "  we  used  blue-blanket  tents.  These 
were  army  blankets,  with  fastenings  for  use  as  bivouac  shelters  ; 
there  were  two  blankets  to  every  four  men.  Two  of  the  four 
would  carry  the  blankets  when  on  the  march,  and  the  other  two 
would  pick  up  and  carry  along  sticks  for  tent-poles  (unless,  of 
course,  they  were  in  the  bush).  The  two  blankets  joined  over  a 
ridge-pole  sheltered  the  four  men  ;  at  any  rate,  they  kept  off  the 
dew." 

An  important  item  of  Ranger  equipment  was  the  rum-bottle, 
cased  in  leather  'to  prevent  breakage.  Two  good  tots  a  day  was 
the  allowance.  "It  was  the  rum  that  kept  us  alive,"  says  one 
of  Jackson's  veterans,  ex-Corporal  William  Johns  ;  "we  had  so 
much  wet,  hard  work,  swimming  and  fording  rivers  and  creeks, 
and  camping  out  without  fires.  When  we  camped  in  the  bush  on 
the  enemy's  trail  it  was  often  unsafe  to  light  a  fire  for  cooking 
and  warmth,  because  we  never  knew  when  we  might  have  a  volley 
poured  into  us.  So  we  just  lay  down  as  we  were,  wet  and  cold, 
and  we'd  have  been  dead  but  for  the  rum." 

In  the  early  expeditions  the  work  of  the  Rangers  was  carried 
out  in  the  forest  hills  of  Wairoa,  above  Papakura  and  Hunua,  and 
the  ranges  trending  to  the  Thames  Gulf  and  the  Manga-tawhiri 
headwaters.  The  Wairoa  frequently  had  to  be  crossed,  and  when 
in  flood  it  was  a  dangerous  river.  Most  of  the  Rangers  could 
swim,  but  there  were  always  several  men  who  had  to  be  helped 
over  by  their  comrades,  in  this  fashion  :  Large  bundles  of  dry 
fern  were  cut  and  placed  under  the  non-swimmer's  chin  and  breast 
as  he  took  the  water,  and  he  was  hauled  across  with  hastily 


THE    FOREST   RANGERS. 


26l 


riade  flax  ropes  by  his  mates,  the  fern  making  a  temporary  float. 
Always  in  crossing  a  river  in  the  enemy  country  the  best  swimmers 
vent  over  first,  holding  their  carbines  over  their  heads.  These 
men  would  be  ready  at  once  to  act  as  advance  guard  on  the 
farther  bank  and  cover  their  comrades'  crossings.  The  marching 
was  very  severe — far  more  so  than  that  of  any  other  corps — as 
the  men  were  at  work  continuously  covering  large  areas  of  rugged 
Gauntry,  and  it  was  necessary  to  take  special  care  of  the  feet. 
Many  a  man  knocked  up,  and  comparatively  few  went  through 
the  campaign  from  beginning  to  end  in  the  Rangers. 


MAJOR  VON  TEMPSKY. 

In  1863-64  Von  Tempsky  was  Captain  of  No.  2  Company  of  Forest 
R&ngers.  He  afterwards  served  in  the  West  Coast  campaigns,  and  was 
kil  ed  at  Te  Ngutu-o-te-manu  in  1868. 

Of  the  Rangers'  two  commanders,  Gustavus  Von  Tempsky, 
Captain  of  No.  2  Company,  was  by  far  the  more  experienced 
bush  fighter.  Of  aristocratic  Polish  blood,  he  began  his  military 
lifo  in  the  Prussian  Army  in  the  early  "  forties,"  but  quickly 
sought  a  career  more  to  his  taste.  In  Central  America  he  com- 
manded at  one  time  an  irregular  force  of  Mosquito  Coast  Indians 
ag;iinst  the  Spanish,  and  he  guided  British  naval  parties  against 


262  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Spanish  stockades  in  one  of  the  little  wars  in  those  parts.  Later, 
we  find  him  trying  his  fortune  in  California  in  "  the  days  of  Foity- 
nine,"  and  travelling  adventurously  through  Mexico.  The  news 
of  the  gold  find  at  Coromandel  brought  him  to  New  Zealand  from 
Australia,  and  when  the  Waikato  War  began  he  was  working 
No.  8  claim  on  the  diggings.  The  first  shots  of  the  Waikato  War 
excited  the  old  war-fever,  and  after  trying  unsuccessfully  to  form 
a  diggers'  corps  at  Coromandel  captained  by  himself— there  was 
some  prejudice  against  him  on  the  score  of  his  nationality — he 
joined  the  Southern  Cross  newspaper  in  Auckland  as  a  temporary 
war  correspondent,  hoping  presently  to  have  an  opportunity  of 
getting  into  action.  Lieutenant  Jackson  he  frequently  met  at  the 
first  Forest  Rangers'  headquarters,  the  "Travellers'  Rest"  inn, 
on  the  Papakura-Wairoa  Road.  He  accompanied  Jackson  as 
correspondent  on  one  of  the  early  expeditions  into  the  Wairoa 
Ranges  ;  and  it  was  on  this  excursion,  lasting  three  days,  that 
the  young  Rangers'  officer  discovered  that  the  lean,  swarthy  ex- 
digger  with  the  very  pronounced  foreign  accent  was  far  better 
fitted  than  himself  to  command  a  fighting  corps.  So  Von  Tempsky 
soon  found  himself  invited  to  join  the  Rangers  as  subaltern  and 
military  adviser,  and  the  Government  gave  him  a  commission  as 
ensign.  The  early  prejudice  against  the  roving  soldier  soon  dis- 
appeared when  his  comrades  realized  his  soldierly  talent,  and 
when  he  was  commissioned  to  enlist  a  company  of  his  own  he 
was  able  to  pick  a  little  body  of  first-class  men  from  the  many 
recruits  offering.  The  first  body  of  Rangers  was  disbanded  after 
three  months'  service,  and  toward  the  end  of  the  year  1863  two 
companies  were  formed,  each  of  fifty  men. 

PAPARATA  AND  A  SCOUTING  ADVENTURE. 

From  the  hills  near  the  Queen's  Redoubt  the  fortified  position 
of  Paparata,  on  the  open  country  to  the  east,  was  plainly  visible, 
a  long  line  of  freshly  turned  yellow  clay  showing  against  a  pro- 
minent fern  ridge.  This  was  a  Kingite  half-way  post  between  the 
Waikato  River  and  the  shores  of  the  Hauraki  ;  from  its  shelter 
war-parties  could  raid  in  either  direction,  or  could  enter  the  Wairoa 
Ranges  at  will.  Below  was  a  valley  covered  with  fields  of  wheat, 
potatoes,  and  maize,  and  with  many  groves  of  peach-trees  ;  the 
Manga-tawhiri,  here  a  clear  gravelly  stream,  flowed  through  the 
cultivations.  Here  and  there  along  the  rim  of  the  valley  were 
patches  of  native  forest.  The  distance  from  the  Queen's  Redoubt 
was  about  ten  miles,  but  the  most  convenient  approach  was  from 
the  Koheroa  ridge,  on  the  south  of  the  Manga-tawhiri. 

General  Cameron  was  anxious,  after  a  futile  reconnaissance 
towards  Paparata,  ist-2nd  August,  to  obtain  accurate  informa- 
tion regarding  the  route  and  the  character  of  the  fortifications, 


THE    FOREST   RANGERS.  263 

and  Von  Tempsky  and  Thomas  McDonnell  volunteered  to  scout 
the  position.  McDonnell  (afterwards  colonel  in  command  of  the 
Armed  Constabulary  Field  Force)  was,  like  Von  Tempsky,  well 
qualified  for  the  enterprise.  He  was  a  young  officer  in  Nixon's 
Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  was  eager  for  any  dashing  and 
perilous  mission,  and  had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Maori  tongue. 
The  two  scouts  set  out  from  the  Whanga-marino  Redoubt  at  night, 
alter  reconnoitring  their  route  with  field-glasses  from  the  Koheroa 
hills.  The  track  lay  in  a  general  north-east  direction  from  the 
ridge,  along  an  open  belt  of  fern  land  with  swamps  on  each  side. 
Each  scout  was  armed  with  two  revolvers,  and  McDonnell  carried 
a  tomahawk  and  Von  Tempsky  his  bowie-knife. 

The  two  scouts  crossed  the  open  ground  in  the  darkness,  and  just 
before  daylight  found  themselves  almost  within  the  first  line  of 
the  Maori  entrenchments.  They  had  intended  to  take  cover  in  a 
neighbouring  belt  of  bush,  but  it  was  fortunate  for  them  that  they 
were  unable  to  do  so,  for  soon  after  daylight  the  bush  was  swarm 
ing  with  Maoris  pigeon-shooting.  Hidden  in  high  flax-bushes  on 
the  edge  of  the  swamp  and  alongside  the  track  from  Paparata  to 
Meremere,  they  watched  their  enemies  all  day  through  the  loop- 
holes of  leaves.  Once  they  were  all  but  discovered  by  a  pig- 
hunting  dog.  When  it  began  to  rain  in  the  afternoon  and  the 
Maoris  retired  to  their  whares  the  scouts  felt  themselves  secure  ; 
they  knew  also  that  the  rain  would  obliterate  their  footmarks 
near  the  hiding-place.  It  was  dark  before  they  ventured  to  leave 
their  flax-clump,  after  light-heartedly  laying  a  train  of  broken 
biscuits  from  their  nest  in  the  flax  to  the  track,  by  way  of 
puzzling  the  Maoris  next  morning.  They  returned  safely  from 
their  perilous  mission,  and  for  the  information  they  were  able 
to  give  the  General  they  were  highly  complimented.  Both  soon 
afterwards  received  commissions  as  captain.  Von  Tempsky  fell  at 
Te  Ngutu-o-te-manu  t  in  1868.  McDonnell  lived  to  receive  the 
decoration  of  the  New  Zealand  Cross  for  his  scouting-work  at 
Pa  parata. 

The  remains  of  biscuit  and  some  empty  meat-tins  which  the 
off  cers  left  at  their  hiding-place  had  a  curiously  important  effect 
upon  the  Maoris  and  the  campaign.  It  came  to  be  known  some 
tin  le  afterwards  that  the  natives  were  so  disturbed  by  this  evidence 
of  bakeha  scouts  in  their  midst  that  they  concluded  their  stronghold 
wo  aid  soon  be  untenable,  and  it  was  not  long  before  they  evacuated 
it.  In  December,  after  the  troops  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Carey  had 
built  a  chain  of  redoubts  across  the  ridges  from  the  Miranda,  Von 
Tempsky,  with  his  subaltern,  Mr.  Roberts,  and  a  dozen  men, 
made  a  reconnaissance  of  the  scene  of  his  scouting  exploit.  The 
Surrey  Redoubt  had  been  built  on  the  south-eastern  rim  of  the  < 
Paparata  Valley,  and  the  Ranger  officers,  accompanied  from  the 
redoubt  by  McDonnell,  explored  the  works  before  which  they  had 


264  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

crouched  in  the  flax-clump.  "  From  what  we  saw,"  wrote  Von 
Tempsky  in  his  journal,  "  it  appears  that  we  had  been  encircled 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  a  zigzagging  line  of  rifle-pits  travers- 
ing nearly  the  whole  valley.  A  sharp  elbow  of  the  river  (the 
Manga-tawhiri) ,  with  its  convex  angle  towards  Koheroa,  had  been 
taken  advantage  of  in  the  following  way  :  The  inner  side  of  the 
bank  had  been  dug  out  in  proper  traversed  shape  in  their  usual 
fashion  of  rifle-pits,  but  the  earth  had  been  thrown  into  the  river, 
so  that  an  enemy  could  never  have  expected  the  existence  of 
these  rifle-pits  till  within  a  dangerous  distance  of  a  volley  from 
pieces  resting  on  the  very  ground  on  which  you  trod.  Moreover, 
a  few  withered  bushes  had  been  allowed  to  remain  immediately 
in  front  to  mask  still  more  the  formidable  line.  W hares  with 
bullet-proof  flax  mats  for  roofs  were  built  all  along  inside  the 
rifle-pits."  On  the  ridge  above  was  the  stockaded  and  rifle-pitted 
pa.  The  whares  in  the  various  entrenchments  were  capable  of 
accommodating  nearly  a  thousand  men. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 


THE  DEFENCE  OF  PUKEKOHE  EAST  CHURCH 
STOCKADE. 

Looking  due  east  from  the  higher  part  of  Pukekohe  Town  one 
see  on  the  skyline,  a  mile  and  a  half  air-line  distant,  an  isolated 
dot  of  white.  In  the  late  afternoon  the  speck  of  a  building  becomes 
a  heliograph  when  the  westering  sun  strikes  flashes  from  its 
windows  across  the  valley.  This  is  the  little  Presbyterian  church 
of  Pukekohe  East,  a  monument  to-day  to  the  pluckiest  defence 
in  the  South  Auckland  War  of  1863.  Stockaded  and  occupied  as  a 
garrison-house  by  the  settlers  of  the  place,  it  was  the  scene  of  an 
attack  by  a  strong  war-party  of  Kingite  Maoris,  against  whom  it 
was  held  successfully  by  only  seventeen  men  until  reinforcements 
arrived. 

The  Pukekohe  East  church,  two  miles  from  Pukekohe  Rail- 
way-station by  the  road,  stands  in  a  commanding  position  on  the 
eastern  and  highest  rim  of  a  saucer-shaped  valley,  the  crater  basin 
oJ  an  ancient  volcano,  about  half  a  mile  across  at  its  greatest  axis, 
.east  and  west.  The  lower  lip,  facing  Pukekohe  Town,  has  been 
eroded  through  to  the  level  of  the  old  crater-floor,  and  a  small 
stream,  rising  in  the  bushy  slopes  below  the  church  and  flowing 
tri rough  a  swampy  valley,  issues  from  this  break.  The  trench, 
6  feet  wide  and  3  or  4  feet  deep,  which  surrounded  the  church 
is  still  plainly  to  be  traced  ;  a  regular  grassy  depression  about 
i  foot  deep  remains,  and  the  small  flanking  bastions  are  well 
marked.  Splintered  bullet-holes  can  be  seen  in  the  building  and 
in  a  gravestone  on  the  edge  of  the  hill.  The  church  is  a  plain 
little  building  with  tiny  porch  and  belfry  ;  it  was  built  in  1862 
of  Mara  and  rimu.  In  dimensions  it  is  only  30  feet  by  15  feet. 
Unlike  the  Mauku  Church  of  St.  Bride's,  the  building  itself  was 
net  loopholed,  but  was  defended  by  a  surrounding  stockade  in 
which  openings  were  cut  for  rifle-fire. 

Pukekohe  East  was  first  settled  in  1859  bv  people  from 
Scotland  and  Cornwall — the  families  of  McDonald,  Comrie.  Scott, 


266 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


Roose,  Robinson,  Hawke,  Easton,  and  others.  The  Comries  came 
from  Perthshire.  The  Roose  family,  from  Cornwall,  arrived  at 
Auckland  by  the  ship  "  Excelsior  "  in  1859.  Adjoining  their 
holding  and  between  the  church  and  the  site  of  the  present  Town 
of  Pukekohe  was  the  section  of  the  Scotts.  When  the  war  began  the 
able-bodied  men — in  fact,  every  man  and  youth  who  could  handle  a 
rifle — were  formed  into  a  company  of  the  Forest  Rifle  Volunteers 
to  defend  their  district,  and  their  families  were  sent  to  Drury  or 
Auckland.  Sergeant  Perry,  the  only  drilled  man  in  the  district, 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  stockade  now  commenced.  Lieutenant 
D.  H.  Lusk,  in  command  of  the  defences  from  Waiuku  to 


Si-ocKactc 

I 

S  | 

L 

Church.  \ 
'//////&  /4?//^, 

•^Mi^ 

Jfffch 


GROUND-PLAN  OF  PUKEKOHE  EAST  CHURCH  STOCKADE,   1863. 

The  south-east  angle  (front),  facing  the  road  and  covering  the  right  flank 
and  the  entrance,  was  defended  by  Joseph  Scott  and  James  Easton. 

Pukekohe  East,  hurried  the  settlers  in  their  entrenchment- 
work,  but  in  spite  of  his  warnings  they  had  not  completed  it  in 
time. 

The  stockade  was  built  at  a  distance  of  10  feet  from  the  church 
all  round  ;  outside  it  was  the  trench,  the  earth  from  which  was 
thrown  up  against  the  timbers.  The  stockade  consisted  of  tree- 
trunks,  small  logs  from  the  bush,  averaging  about  6  inches  in 
diameter,  and  not  set  upright,  as  was  the  usual  way,  but  laid 
horizontally  on  one  another  and  spiked  to  posts.  This  wall  was 
to  have  been  7  feet  high  all  round,  but  it  had  not  been  completed 


THE    DEFENCE    OF    PUKEKOHE   EAST   CHURCH    STOCKADE.       267 

when  the  place  was  attacked,  and  was  not  more  than  5  feet  high 
in  most  places,  and  gave  poor  head-cover.  The  stockade  was  to 
have  been  reinforced  with  a  front  of  thick  slabs  set  upright  outside 
and  spiked  to  the  logs,  but  this  work  had  only  partly  been 
Cc.rried  out  when  the  Maoris  delivered  their  assault.  The  timbers 
for  the  walls  were  hauled  from  the  bush  across  the  road  in  front  of 
the  church  on  the  east  and  south  sides,  and  some  of  the  material 
(slabs)  was  brought  from  Mr.  Comrie's  homestead,  where  it  had  been 
cut  for  a  new  house.  Rifle  loopholes  were  cut  in  the  upper  and 
lower  logs,  about  10  inches  in  length,  vertical,  by  3  or  4  inches 
in  width.  In  places  the  logs  did  not  fit  very  closely,  and  Maori 
bullets  came  through  the  interstices.  The  taller  men  had  to  stoop 
to  avoid  the  enemy's  fire  ;  the  top  logs  of  the  stockade  had  not 
been  spiked  on  when  the  attack  came.  The  defence  work,  as 
measured  by  the  trench  depression-  in  the  ground  to-day,  was 
21  paces  long  by  13  paces  wide  at  the  flanking  bastions. 

On  the  3ist  August  Lieutenant  Lusk  found  the  stockade  in  an 
incomplete  state,  and  made  the  Volunteers  strengthen  the  foot  of 
the  log  wall  by  piling  up  the  earth  from  the  trench.  The  garrison 
neglected,  however,  to  clear  the  bush  to  a  safe  distance  from  the 
stockade. 

Four  young  men,  members  of  the  stockade  garrison,  Privates 
Joseph  Scott  (afterwards  Captain  Scott,  of  Epsom,  Auckland), 
Elijah  Roose,  and  Hodge,  and  a  special  constable  sent  up  from 
Drury,  had  a  perilous  adventure  the  day  before  the  attack.  A 
fortnight  previously  Mr.  Scott,  sen.,  had  been  mortally  wounded 
on  his  farm  by  a  party  of  Maoris  ;  and  the  four  Volunteers,  too, 
fell  in  with  a  war-band  when  they  visited  the  farm  to  see  to  the 
stock.  Taking  cover  behind  some  rimu  logs,  they  opened  fire 
on  the  raiders,  but  found  that  another  small  party  of  natives  was 
in  their  rear.  The  four  men  separated,  Scott  and  Roose  keeping 
together  as  they  ran  for  the  shelter  of  the  bush,  and  the  other 
two  making  for  the  stockade.  Hodge  and  his  companion  were  not 
pursued  far,  and  they  safely  reached  the  post.  Scott  and  Roose 
raced  for  the  bush  in  the  valley  on  the  west  ;  the  Maoris  were 
between  them  and  the  stockade.  As  they  were  crossing  a  fence 
they  received  a  volley  at  less  than  40  yards.  Scott  happened  to 
turn  his  head  to  look  behind  him,  and  a  bullet  grazed  his  right 
eyebrow.  The  Maoris  usually  fired  too  high  at  close  range  ;  seven 
bullet-holes  were  afterwards  found  in  a  tree  at  that  spot,  at  about 
12  feet  above  the  ground.  The  fugitives  ran  through  one  small 
patch  of  bush  and  then  took  shelter  in  the  main  tract  of  forest, 
about  60  acres  in  extent,  in  the  bottom  of  the  valley.  The 
Maoris  surrounded  this  bush  and  parties  of  them  searched  it  for 
th«;  settlers,  who  kept  moving  about  as  they  heard  the  voices  of 
tho  enemy,  creeping  up  after  them  so  that  they  could  keep  within 
hearing  and  retreating  when  they  heard  their  pursuers  returning. 


268 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


As  night  came  on  the  Maoris  lit  large  fires  in  the  fern  around  the 
bush,  illuminating  the  whole  place  and  making  it  impossible  for 
the  two  men  in  hiding  to  emerge  without  being  seen.  At  last, 
however,  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain  extinguished  the  fires,  and  after 
midnight  the  two  fugitives  scouted  cautiously  out  of  their  refuge, 
and  reached  the  stockade  in  the  early  morning  in  time  to  take 
part  in  the  defence. 

Between  9  and  10  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  the  I4th 
September,  while  some  of  the  men  were  cleaning  their  rifles  and 
others  engaged  in  the  cooking-shed  a  few  yards  in  front  of  the 
stockade  gateway,  a  single  shot  was  fired  from  the  bush  on  the 
right  front.  The  puriri  forest  almost  surrounded  the  stockade  ;  on 


THE  PUKEKOHE  EAST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

This  historic  little  church  still  bears  marks  of  the  Maori  attack  in  1863. 
There  are  two  bullet-holes  in  the  front  of  the  porch  (one  of  these,  however, 
appears  too  small  and  clean  cut  for  the  large-calibre  bullets  of  the  "  sixties  "), 
and  there  is  one  inside  in  the  rear  wall,  above  the  pulpit,  besides  several 
splintered  bullet-holes  in  the  ceiling.  The  shingled  roof  has  been  replaced 
by  iron,  but  the  original  ceiling  lining  remains.  Outside  in  the  rear  wall, 
high  up,  there  is  another  bullet-hole.  This  was  drilled  by  a  shot  fired  from 
a  rimu  tree  which  stood  on  the  steep  side  of  the  gully  below  the  church. 
A  Maori  was  shot  down  from  the  upper  branches  of  this  tree  during  the 
fight.  In  the  burying-ground  the  oldest  memorial  is  one  which  made  a 
target  for  a  bullet  fired  from  the  rimu  tree.  This  gravestone  bears  an 
inscription  to  the  memory  of  "  Betsy,  the  beloved  wife  of  William  Hodge, 
who  died  July  3rd,  1862,  aged  24  years."  In  the  back  of  the  tombstone 
there  is  a  large  splintered  bullet-hole.  The  stone  is  just  outside  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  stockade  line. 


THE   DEFENCE   OF   PUKEKOHE   EAST  CHURCH   STOCKADE.        269 

the  side  first  attacked  it  was  within  40  or  50  yards  of  the  defences ; 
some  isolated  trees  were  nearer,  and  at  most  parts  the  bush  was  not 
100  yards  away,  and  logs  and  stumps  gave  cover  for  attackers. 
The  first  shot  was  followed  by  a  charge.  In  an  instant  scores  of 
figures  leapt  out  from  the  trees,  fired  heavily  on  the  stockade 
and  on  the  riflemen  running  for  shelter,  and  rushed  down  on  the 
log  fence,  darting  from  stump  to  stump,  some  firing  the  remaining 
barrel  and  reloading,  others  reserving  their  fire  for  close  quarters. 
With  the  warriors  was  a  woman,  armed  with  a  single-barrel  gun, 
a  cartridge-belt  buckled  about  her  waist.  The  little  clearing,  so 
quiet  a  few  moments  before,  was  filled  with  the  bellowing  of  heavily 
loaded  tupara  and  the  sharp  crack  of  rifles.  High  above  the 
other  sounds  rose  the  screaming  voice  of  the  Maori  amazon  as  she 
exhorted  her  warrior  comrades,  "  Riria  !  Riria!  "  ("Fight  away  ! 
Fight  away  !  ") 

The  defenders  of  the  stockade  numbered  seventeen.  They 
were  Sergeant  Perry,  Privates  Joseph  Scott,  Elijah  Roose,  William 
Hodge,  George  Easton,  James  Easton,  and  three  generations  of 
the  McDonald  family  (Alexander  McDonald,  his  son  James 
McDonald,  and  grandson  James),  besides  nine  volunteers  enrolled 
as  special  constables.  The  young  boy,  James  McDonald,  pluckily 
helped  by  carrying  out  ammunition  from  the  church  to  the 
riflemen.  There  were  three  other  members  of  the  garrison, 
J.  Comrie,  J.  B.  Roose,  and  T.  Hawke,  but  they  were  absent  when 
the  attack  was  made.  Comrie  and  Roose,  who  had  been  on  leave 
to  see  their  families,  were  returning  on  horseback  from  Drury 
when  they  saw  the  church  was  attacked,  and  they  galloped  back 
to  Drury  for  reinforcements. 

Sergeant  Perry's  first  order  to  his  little  force  was  "Fix 
bayonets  !  "  He  ordered  them  on  no  account  to  fire  a  volley. 
The  reason  was  that  while  the  defenders  were  reloading  their 
muzzle-loading  Enfields  the  Maoris  might  charge  in.  Each  man 
ran  to  a  loophole,  and  in  a  moment  the  outer  wall  was  bristling 
with  bayonets  projecting  through  the  rifle-slits.  Independent 
firing  began,  and  for  the  next  six  hours  the  settlers  and  their 
comrades  the  special  constables  fought  a  battle  against  many  times 
their  number  of  brown  skirmishers,  who  kept  up  an  extraordinarily 
heavy  fire  from  behind  trees,  logs,  and  stumps,  and  from  the  tree- 
tops,  and  others  from  the  shelter  of  a  house  (Easton 's),  about 
100  yards  away,  above  the  gull}/  on  the  defenders'  right  flank. 
Every  tree  along  the  ragged  edge  of  the  bush  on  the  front  and  the 
flanks  covered  its  musketeer.  Most  of  the  Maoris,  after  the  first 
rush,  took  cover  on  the  right  'front,  where  some  of  the  ancient 
puriri  survive  to-day. 

The  war-party  was  estimated  by  some  of  the  garrison  at  three 
to  four  hundred  men,  but  according  to  a  Maori  survivor,  the  old 
warrior  Te  Huia  Raureti,  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  it  did  not  exceed 


270 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


THE    DEFENCE    OF    PUKEKOHE    EAST    CHURCH    STOCKADE.       27! 

two  hundred  men.     Te  Huia  (at  Te  Rewatu,  on  the  Puniu  River, 
r/j-th  November,  1920)  said  : — 

"  Our  ope  which  attacked  the  Europeans  at  Pukekohe  East 
barracks  [i.e.,  the  stockade]  consisted  of  a  part  of  my  tribe, 
Ngati-Maniapoto,  some  other  Upper  Waikato  people,  and  the 
Ngati-Pou,  of  Lower  Waikato.  In  all  we  numbered  between  a 
hundred  and  seventy  and  two  hundred.  With  us  was  a  fighting- 
woman  named  Rangi-rumaki  ;  she  was  an  elderly  woman,  of 
determined  countenance,  and  perfectly  fearless.  We  came  down 
the  Waikato  River  from  Meremere  in  three  war-canoes,  and  were 
joined  by  Ngati-Pou.  We  landed  near  Tuakau,  and  were  guided 
through  the  bush  to  Pukekohe  by  Ngati-Pou,  whose  land  it  had 
been.  At  Tuakau  we  had  a  preliminary  skirmish  ;  we  gathered 
in  the  bush  on  the  ridge  near  the  British  pa  [the  Alexandra 
Redoubt]  and  fired  heavily  on  the  British  soldiers,  who  replied  as 
heavily.  We  had  plenty  of  ammunition,  and  we  fired  much  of 
it  away  there.  Then  we  marched  inland  and  north,  keeping  to 
the  level  forest  land  on  the  west  of  the  Pokeno  and  Pukewhau 
Ranges.  We  slept  one  night  in  the  bush  on  the  way  ;  it  was  a 
Sunday.  At  our  bivouac  that  night  the  chiefs  Raureti  Paiaka 
(my  father)  and  Hopa  te  Rangianini  spoke  in  council,  saying, 
'  In  the  battle  to  come  let  us  confine  ourselves  strictly  to  fighting  ; 
let  no  one  touch  anything  in  the  settlers'  houses,  or  their  stock, 
or  otherwise  interfere  with  their  property/  To  this  all  the  warriors 
agreed.  At  daylight  in  the  morning  the  march  was  resumed. 
Wahanui  Huatare  with  a  number  of  his  Ngati-Maniapoto  men 
went  on  ahead,  keeping  under  the  shelter  of  the  bush.  We  saw 
them  enter  a  settler's  house  and  loot  it,  removing  the  goods  it 
contained.  This  breach  of  our  agreement  made  us  angry  ;  it  was 
a  bad  omen  for  us  in  the  fight  that  presently  began.  It  was  not 
right  that  Wahanui  and  his  comrades  should  thus  trample  on  our 
accepted  rules  of  fighting.  Then  the  leading  sections  made  a 
dash  for  the  stockade,  which  stood  in  a  small  clearing.  The  rest 
of  us,  under  Raureti  and  Hopa,  also  charged  along  the  level  ground. 
Raureti  and  Maaka,  with  whom  was  the  woman  Rangi-rumaki, 
saw  a  sentry  on  a  stump  outside  the  defences  and  fired  at  him  ; 
he  ran  inside  the  stockade,  which  enclosed  a  building  [the  church]. 
Rangi-rumaki  was  exceedingly  active  and  courageous.  She 
charged  daringly  close  up  to  the  stockade,  armed  with  a  single- 
Darrel  gun  ;  round  her  waist  was  buckled  a  cartridge-belt.  An 
old  Waikato  fighting-man,  Rapurahi,  was  the  leader  of  the  charge, 
and  the  woman  was  close  up  to  the  front ;  Renata  and  Arama 
followed.  When  we  reached  the  front  of  the  stockade  we  saw 
the  muzzles  of  the  guns  with  fixed  bayonets  pointing  at  us,  and 
we  seized  some  of  the  guns  by  the  end  of  the  barrel  and  tried  to 
pull  them  out  through  the  loopholes,  but  the  rifle-slits  were  not 
large  enough  to  let  the  stocks  come  through." 


272 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


Soon  after  the  first  dash  of  the  Maoris  had  been  stayed,  the 
attackers,  as  they  fell  back  to  take  cover,  seized  the  defenders' 
dinner  of  meat  and  potatoes,  which  was  cooking  in  iron  pots  in 
the  shed  in  front  of  the  stockade.  It  was  a  perilous  enterprise, 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  log  wall,  and  several  warriors  fell  dead 
or  wounded,  but  the  natives  succeeded  in  carrying  off  the  pots, 
and  feasted  on  their  contents  in  the  gully  below  the  right  front  of 
the  church. 

Hour  after  hour  the  firing  continued  in  the  smoke-filled  clearing. 
The  powder-grimed  garrison,  with  smarting  eyes  and  parched 
throats,  stuck  manfully  to  their  posts,  firing  with  care,  for  their 


CAPTAIN  JOSEPH  S.  SCOTT. 

Captain  Scott  (No.  3  Company,  Pukekohe  Rifles,  1872),  of  Epsom, 
Auckland,  is  one  of  the  three  survivors  of  the  Pukekohe  East  Church 
Stockade  defence.  At  the  time  of  the  attack  he  was  a  private  in  the  newly 
formed  Forest  Rifle  Volunteers,  Pukekohe  Company,  numbering  twenty- 
three  all  told. 


ammunition  was  running  short.  It  was  only  the  sight  of  the 
bayonets  projecting  from  the  loopholes  that  prevented  the  Maoris 
from  charging  over  the  unfinished  stockade.  The  angle  holding 
the  narrow  gateway  on  the  right  front  of  the  stockade  was 
defended  by  two  men,  Joseph  Scott  and  James  Easton.  They 
had  the  hottest  work  of  all,  for  most  of  the  attackers  were 


THE   DEFENCE   OF   PUKEKOHE   EAST   CHURCH   STOCKADE.        273 

concentrated  on  that  section  of  the  front.  Both  were  good  shots 
and  did  not  waste  cartridges. 

Many  Maoris  fell ;  the  dead  and  wounded  were  swiftly 
removed  by  means  of  supplejacks  fastened  round  the  ankles 
by  men  who  crawled  up  on  their  hands  and  knees  ;  the  fallen 
ones  would  be  seen  disappearing  over  the  face  of  the  hill  into 
the  valley,  or  hauled  by  unseen  hands  into  the  cover  of  the 
bush. 

On  the  south-east  face,  just  on  the  road-boundary  of  the  church- 
grounds,  not  more  than  20  yards  from  the  stockade,  stood  a  large 
puriri  tree.  Some  of  the  Maoris  climbed  the  tree,  and  from  the 
cover  of  the  thick  flax-like  growth  of  wharawhara,  or  astelia,  in 
the  forks  of  the  main  branches,  fired  over  the  log  wall.  One  at 
least  of  these  snipers  was  shot.  Another  of  the  attackers,  firing 
at  the  garrison  from  the  roof  of  Easton's  house  under  cover  of 
the  wide  slab  chimney,  received  a  bullet  as  he  incautiously  exposed 
his  head  and  shoulders  for  a  moment,  and  came  tumbling  to  the 
ground. 

Some  of  the  Maoris  came  up  so  close  that  they  threw  sticks 
over  the  wall  and  challenged  the  defenders  to  come  out  in  the  open. 
One  warrior  took  cover  behind  a  puriri  stump  just  outside  the 
stockade,  so  close  up  that  he  was  unable  to  move  to  load  his  gun 
and  had  to  crouch  down  low  under  the  loopholes.  The  woman 
Rangi-rumaki  gave  inspiration  to  the  attack  with  her  loud  cries  of 
encouragement—"  Riria,  riria,  riria!" — but  even  her  exmple  and 
her  war-shouts  could  not  prevail  upon  her  men  to  hurl  themselves 
upon  the  sharp  steel  that  glinted  in  the  rifle-flash  from  each  fire- 
aperture. 

The  first  reinforcements  were  joyfully  greeted  by  the  out- 
numbered little  garrison  about  i  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when 
Lieutenant  Grierson  and  thirty-two  men  of  the  yoth  Regiment 
arrived  from  the  Ramarama  post.  Grierson  had  heard  the  firing 
at  10.30  a.m.  Skirmishing  with  the  besiegers  at  the  edge  of  the 
bush,  they  advanced  at  the  double  across  the  clearing  and  joined 
the  defenders  in  the  stockade.  It  was  the  salvation  of  the 
garrison,  whose  ammunition-supply  was  very  low ;  some  men  had 
only  a  round  apiece  remaining.  The  strengthened  force  now  was 
able  to  keep  the  Maoris  close  to  their  cover. 

A  detachment  of  the  ist  Waikato  Militia,  under  Captain  Moir, 
with  three  carts  containing  ammunition,  reached  the  stockade  from 
Drury  in  the  afternoon,  and  there  was  a  sharp  encounter  with  the 
Maoris  in  the  clearing.  One  of  the  Militia  was  shot  in  the  knee 
and  wounded  by  a  tomahawk-cut  in  the  head.  About  4  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon  the  sound  of  British  bugles  was  heard  in  the  bush, 
and  150  soldiers  of  the  i8th  Royal  Irish  and  the  65th  charged 
across  the  clearing  and  engaged  the  Maoris,  who  were  then  within 
40  yards  of  the  stockade.  The  troops  were  led  by  Captain  Inman 


274  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

and  Captain  Saltmarshe  ;  the  latter  received  a  severe  wound  in 
the  mouth.  The  fighting  that  followed,  lasting  for  about  an  hour, 
was  chiefly  on  the  right  front  and  flank  of  the  church.  Many 
of  the  Maoris  held  the  cover  in  the  hollow  immediately  below 
the  church-ground  on  the  south  side,  and  stood  their  ground 
there  until  several  had  been  killed.  Five  natives  were  buried 
here,  on  Easton's  land  ;  the  spot  is  in  a  field  sloping  steeply 
to  the  gully,  just  outside  the  churchyard  fence  on  the  south, 
a  few  yards  from  the  road.  The  British  loss  was  three  killed 
or  mortally  wounded,  and  eight  wounded.  Not  a  man  of  the 
stockade-defenders  was  struck  by  a  bullet  ;  the  one  casualty 
was  a  slight  wound  inflicted  by  a  flying  splinter  of  wood.  The 
garrison's  only  loss  was  a  good  dinner,  which  had  gone  into  the 
Kingites'  stomachs.  The  little  church  showed  many  a  scar  and 
splinter  of  battle  :  the  upper  parts  were  well  riddled  with  bullets, 
and  many  of  the  window-panes  were  either  perforated  or  broken. 

A  curious  incident  of  this  combat  was  narrated  by  some  of 
the  defenders.  A  native  pigeon,  dazed  by  the  firing  and  the 
smoke  of  battle,  and  frightened  out  of  the  bush  by  the  yells  and 
shooting  of  the  Maoris,  flew  on  to  the  high-pitched  roof  of  the 
church  and  remained  there  for  some  time,  unhurt  by  the  bullets 
that  whistled  about  it.  The  beautiful  kereru  perched  in  such 
a  precarious  sanctuary  seemed  a  harbinger  of  hope  and  an  omen 
of  success  to  the  hard-pressed  settlers.  The  story  is  one  of  those 
legends  of  the  past  of  which  it  is  difficult  now  to  obtain  con- 
firmation. Captain  Joseph  Scott  says  that  he  did  not  himself 
see  the  pigeon  ;  it  would  be  difficult  for  most  of  the  defenders 
to  see  anything  on  the  ridging  from  within  the  stockade,  owing 
to  the  narrow  space  between  the  log  wall  and  the  church. 
However,  he  considers  the  incident  is  probably  authentic.  The 
Hon.  Major  B.  Harris,  M.L.C.,  who  was  on  active  service  in  the 
district  at  the  time,  though  not  a  member  of  the  Pukekohe 
church  garrison,  says,  "  I  believe  it  is  true  that  a  bush-pigeon 
settled  on  the  roof  of  the  church  during  the  firing,  and  was 
regarded  by  the  defenders  as  a  mascot,  or  a  bird  of  good  omen." 

"  In  this  encounter,"  says  Te  Huia  Raureti,  "  we  lost,  I  think, 
more  than  forty  men  killed.  Ngati-Pou  suffered  most  ;  they 
had  about  thirty  men  killed.  Most  of  the  dead  were  carried 
off  the  field,  but  we  had  to  leave  them  on  the  way,  and  some  of 
the  bodies  were  concealed  in  the  hollows  and  the  branch  forks 
of  large  trees,  among  the  wharawhara  leaves,  so  that  our  enemies 
should  not  find  them.  We  had  no  time  to  bury  them.  Of  our 
party  from  up  the  river  the  killed  included  Te  Warena,  Wetere 
Whatahi,  Moihi  Whiowhio  (of  the  Ngati-Matakore  Tribe),  and 
Matiu  Tohitaka  (Ngati-Rereahu) .  Te  Raore  Wai-haere,  brother 
of  Rewi  Maniapoto,  was  wounded.  My  father,  Raureti  Paiaka, 
was  wounded  in  the  right  arm." 


THE    DEFENCE    OF   PUKEKOHE   EAST   CHURCH   STOCKADE.         275 

On  the  day  following  the  engagement  a  detachment  of  Militia, 
from  Drury,  arrived  to  garrison  the  church  and  relieve  the 
volunteers  and  special  constables.  Sergeant  Perry,  in  recognition 
of  his  capable  leadership  in  the  defence,  was  given  a  commission 
as  ensign  in  the  2nd  Regiment,  Waikato  Militia. 


On 


THE  ATTACK  ON  BURTT'S  FARM,  PAERATA. 
a  partly    wooded    upswell   of   land   at    Paerata,   midway 


between  Pukekohe  and  Drury  by  a  branch  road,  stands  an  old 
farmhouse  of  the  substantial  kind  built  by  the  frontier  pioneers. 
"  Glenconnel  "  is  painted  on  the  road-gate,  but  its  name  in  1863 
was  Burtt's  Farm,  a  name  associated  with  one  of  the  incidents 
which  proved  the  spirit  of  the  settlers  who  remained  on  their 
farms  after  the  outbreak  of  war.  The  homestead  was  attacked 
by  a  party  of  Maoris  on  the  I4th  September,  1863,  the  same  day 
as  the  Battle  of  Pukekohe  East  Church  Stockade,  a  few  miles 


PAERATA  BLUFF  AND  BURTT'S  FARM. 

A  fortified  pa  of  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  Tribe,  named  Te  Maunu-a-Tu 
("  The  War-god's  Lure  "),  stood  on  the  western  end  of  the  Paerata  ridge 
in  ancient  days. 


away.  Burtt's  Farm  is  three  miles  from  Pukekohe  by  the  road 
which  diverges  to  the  eastward  of  the  railway-line  at  Paerata, 
then  crosses  a  stream  flowing  from  the  Tuhimata  hills,  and 
winds  up  a  steep  hill,  terminating  on  the  westward  in  a  bold 
bluff  like  a  battleship's  ram  bow.  The  southern  and  south- 
western sides  of  the  hill  are  wooded,  and  many  great  oak-like 
puriri  shade  the  approach  to  the  homestead.  Sweet-peas  and 
roses  climb  the  front  of  the  dwelling,  a  comfortable  old  place, 
with  the  high-pitched  roof  and  wide  veranda  that  distinguished  the 
homes  of  the  early  days.  James  Burtt,  an  Auckland  merchant, 
built  this  place  about  1859,  when  heart  of  kauri  and  totara  and 
the  best  rimu  were  used.  There  are  two  bullet-holes,  made  by 
large-calibre  balls,  in  the  front  weatherboards  near  a  window 


276 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


on  the  veranda,  and  another  hole  drilled  in  1863  is  to  be  seen  in 
the  front  of  a  square,  strongly  built  workshop  of  pit-sawn  timber 
in  rear  of  the  farmhouse  ;  the  building  is  almost  hidden  in  ivy. 

On  the  morning  of  the  I4th  September  a  war-party  of  about 
twenty  Maoris  from  the  Lower  Waikato,  chiefly  Ngati-Pou,  came 
up  through  the  puriri  and  rata  forest  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Paerata  ridge  and  surrounded  the  homestead.  The  occupants 
of  the  place  were  Mr.  Watson,  manager  for  Mr.  Burtt,  and  his 
family,  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  and  two  farm  workers 
named  Knight  and  Hugh  McLean.  The  men  had  rifles,  and  they 


Photo,  J.  C.,  1920.] 

BURTT'S  FARMHOUSE,  PAERATA  HILL. 


were  accustomed  to  take  their  arms  with  them  when  they  went 
to  their  work  about  the  farm.  That  morning  Watson  and  one 
of  his  sons  (Robert)  were  engaged  in  putting  up  a  fence  some 
distance  from  the  house,  and  McLean  and  the  eldest  son,  John 
Watson,  were  ploughing  near  the  bluff  on  the  west,  a  third  of  a 
mile  from  the  house.  Mrs.  Watson  was  lying  ill  in  bed  in  the 
house.  The  attack  began  about  10  o'clock,  when  shots  were  fired 
at  Watson  and  his  son,  and  the  boy  Robert,  a  lad  of  fourteen, 
was  mortally  wounded.  Watson  and  Knight  took  cover,  and 
replied  to  the  Maori  fire  with  their  rifles  until  they  had  exhausted 


THE    ATTACK   ON    BURTT  S    FARM,    PAERATA. 


277 


their  ammunition.  They  were  cut  off  from  the  house  by  the 
Maoris,  about  a  dozen  of  whom  had  commenced  firing  into  it. 
In  the  other  direction  the  ploughman  McLean  and  young  John 
Watson,  a  lad  of  eighteen,  were  at  work  when  they  heard  shots, 
and  running  towards  the  house  they  found  it  surrounded  by 
natives.  Ten  Maoris  engaged  McLean,  who  used  his  rifle  bravely 
against  them,  while  Watson  got  the  ammunition  ready.  The 
cartridges  were  soon  expended,  and  McLean  ran  down  the  hill 
eastward,  chased  by  several  Maoris.  John  Watson,  taking  off 
his  boots,  ran  for  his  life  to  summon  help.  He  caught  up  with 


J<*rom  a  water-colour  drawing  by  Major  Von  Tempsky,  1863.] 

THE  MAORI  ATTACK  ON  BURTT'S  FARMHOUSE. 

The  three  figures  on  the  right  in  the  picture  are  Mr.  Hamilton,  Miss  Watson, 

and  Alex.  Goulan. 


one  of  his  brothers,  William,  who  had  been  sent  off  by  his 
father  for  assistance.  They  gave  the  alarm  at  Drury,  and  an 
armed  force  was  soon  on  the  way  to  raise  the  siege. 

In  the  meantime  ten  or  a  dozen  Maoris  were  firing  into  the 
doors  and  windows  of  the  house.  Mrs.  WTatson,  in  her  terror,  got 
under  the  bed  for  safety,  while  one  of  the  daughters  ran  through  the 
thickly  planted  garden  at  the  side  unobserved  by  the  Maoris,  and 
under  cover  of  the  bush  raced  down  across  the  slopes  and  up  the 


378  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

opposite  hill  to  the  home  of  the  nearest  neighbour,  Mr.  James 
Hamilton,  half  a  mile  away  to  the  east,  near  Tuhimata.  Mr. 
Hamilton  and  his  employee,  Alexander  Goulan,  had  already 
heard  the  firing,  and  had  armed  themselves  with  Enfield  rifles 
and  bayonets  (they  were  Militiamen),  and  were  coming  to 
the  rescue.  Taking  advantage  of  the  bush  cover,  they  opened 
fire  on  the  Maoris,  who  were  peppering  the  house  briskly 
with  their  guns.  Keeping  well  concealed  and  firing  rapidly,  they 
drove  the  Kingites  off  from  the  house  into  the  puriri  bush. 
Imagining  that  they  were  attacked  by  a  considerable  number 
of  pakehas,  the  Maoris  retreated,  and  the  relieving  -  party  met 
Mr.  Watson  and  his  man,  who  had  been  cut  off  from  the  home, 
and  entered  the  house  to  find  the  invalid  woman  very  frightened 
but  unhurt. 

A  party  of  troopers  (Mounted  Artillery),  under  Lieutenant  Rait, 
presently  galloped  up  from  Drury,  followed  by  forty  infantrymen  ; 
but  the  Maoris  by  this  time  had  retreated  into  the  forest.  The 
courage  and  prompt  action  of  Hamilton  and  Goulan  deserved  all 
the  praise  bestowed  by  the  military,  for  they  had  not  hesitated 
a  moment  to  come  to  the  rescue,  against  great  odds,  and  -by 
their  skill  in  using  the  cover  around  the  house  they  succeeded  in 
concealing  the  weakness  of  their  party. 

Burtt's  Farm  people  were  escorted  into  Drury,  Mr.  Watson 
carrying  his  mortally  wounded  son.  The  boy  died  in  the  military 
hospital.  After  their  departure  the  Maoris  returned  and  sacked 
the  house.  A  few  days  later  the  body  of  Hugh  McLean  was 
found  in  the  swamp,  shot  through  the  heart  ;  his  rifle  had  been 
carried  off. 

Burtt's  Farm  now  was  made  the  headquarters  for  a  time  of 
a  Flying  Column  (or  Movable  Column)  formed,  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Nixon,  for  the  purpose  of  scouring  the  tracks  in  the 
bush  between  the  Great  South  Road  and  the  Waikato  River.  It 
was  also  used  by  Jackson's  Forest  Rangers  as  a  convenient  field 
base  in  scouting-work  around  the  district. 


NOTE. 
John  Watson's  Narrative. 

The  following  account  of  the  attack  on  Burtt's  Farm  is  contained  in 
a  letter  (yth  May,  1922)  from  Mr.  John  Watson,  of  Riversdale  Road, 
Avondale,  Auckland  ;  he  was  one  of  the  two  boys  who  escaped  from  the 
Maoris  and  ran  for  help  to  Drury.  Mr  Watson  is  the  last  survivor  of  the 
family.  After  confirming  the  narrative  given  in  this  chapter,  he  wrote  : — 

"  The  Paerata  farm,  belonging  to  Mr.  James  Burtt,  consisted  of 
900  acres.  The  road  going  over  the  Paerata  Hill  cut  the  farm  in  two 
sections,  the  homestead  on  one  side  and  the  bluff  on  the  other.  There 
was  a  very  high  raia  tree  growing  on  the  bluff  side  of  the  road,  towering 
above  the  rest  of  the  trees  in  the  clump  of  bush  there  ;  it  could  be  seen 


THE    ATTACK   ON    BURTT  S    FARM,    PAERATA.  279 

for  miles  around.  My  father  was  on  Paerata  farm  in  1859  ;  the  rest  of 
us  went  out  in  1861.  At  that  time  there  was  no  one  living  within  three 
miles  except  Mr.  Hamilton  and  Mr.  Samuel  Luke.  The  latter  lived  down 
in  the  valley  behind  the  Paerata  farm  ;  he  was  very  fortunate,  for  he  and 
his  wife  left  for  Drury  two  or  three  days  before  the  raid  in  September, 
1863.  The  Maoris  camped  in  his  house  the  night  before  they  attacked 
us,  or  the  night  after. 

"  As  you  correctly  state,  Hugh  McLean  and  I  were  ploughing  on  the 
bluff  when  the  attack  was  made.  The  mornirg  was  beautifully  fine  and 
calm.  About  10  o'clock  we  heard  firing  in  the  direction  of  Pukekohe  East 
Church  Stockade.  It  was  not  five  minutes  later  when  firing  commenced 
at  our  house.  We  at  once  unharnessed  our  horses  and  turned  them  adrift. 
Then  we  made  for  the  house  as  fast  as  we  could  run.  Instead  of  keeping 
the  direct  road  which  led  through  thick  scrub  and  tea-tree  we  made  a 
half-circle  round  the  bush  and  came  out  in  the  open  in  front  of  the  house. 
It  was  well  we  did  so,  for  otherwise  we  would  have  been  tomahawked,  as 
four  or  five  of  the  Maoris  came  from  the  road  we  always  used  except  this 
time.  When  we  were  about  400  yards  from  the  house  we  saw  five  or  six 
natives  come  up  the  rise  from  where  we  afterwards  were  told  they  attacked 
my  father  and  brother  and  the  man  Knight.  McLean  opened  fire  on 
them.  He  had  a  rifle.  I  had  nothing  unfortunately;  I  left  mine  at  home 
that  morning.  The  firing  brought  out  of  the  scrub  the  Maoris  who  were 
lying  in  wait  for  McLean  and  me,  and  we  had  five  more  on  the  other  side 
closing  in  on  us  like  the  letter  V.  Their  fire  became  too  hot  for  us,  and 
we  had  to  retreat.  There  was  no  cover  for  us  to  take  shelter  in.  I  took 
the  road  to  Drury,  and  McLean  turned  to  the  right,  in  an  easterly  direction. 
There  was  a  redoubt  with  troops  about  two  miles  from  Drury  that  could 
be  seen  from  our  side;  it  would  be  between  two  and  three  miles  across 
country,  more  than  two  miles  nearer  than  Drury,  but  it  was  through  fern 
hills  and  swamps.  Undoubtedly  it  was  for  this  redoubt  McLean  was 
making.  I  preferred  to  keep  the  road  to  Drury  ;  I  was  afraid  of  the 
swamps  after  winter  rains.  As  we  took  different  directions  one  half  the 
Maoris  followed  McLean,  the  others  followed  me  and  kept  up  a  running 
fire.  I  had  some  narrow  escapes,  but  I  got  out  of  their  range  when  I 
was  half-way  to  Drury.  McLean,  after  getting  about  half-way  to  the 
redoubt  on  the  south  road,  got  stuck  in  a  swamp,  where  he  was  evidently 
shot  at  close  quarters. 

"  Our  retreat  drew  at  least  ten  of  the  Maoris  from  the  attack  on  the 
house,  and  enabled  my  father  and  Knight  to  join  Mr.  Hamilton  and  Alex, 
(ioulan,  who  stuck  to  their  posts  until  a  detachment  of  Mounted  Artillery 
; arrived.  As  soon  as  I  arrived  at  the  camp  at  Drury  and  reported  they 
were  in  their  saddles  and  off,  but  when  they  got  to  the  farm  the  Maoris 
disappeared. 

"  When  my  brother — the  one  who  was  with  my  father  and  the  man 
Knight — was  shot  by  the  Maoris  he  took  cover  in  a  thicket  of  scrub.  He 
was  able  to  tell  us  before  he  died  that  he  heard  the  natives  passing  quite 
near  him,  but  they  did  not  find  him.  That  was  how  he  escaped  being 
Tomahawked." 

Regarding  his  sister's  share  in  the  events  of  that  perilous  morning, 
Mr.  Watson  said  : — 

"  There  were  two  girls  in  the  house,  my  sisters.  When  the  firing 
<  ommenced,  Mary  Ann — she  was  the  one  that  had  the  most  pluck  to  do 
;.nything — rushed  out  of  the  house  to  let  a  watch-dog  off  the  chain,  but 
ihe  dog  was  so  furious  about  the  firing  she  could  not  undo  the  strap. 
She  had  to  return  to  the  house  for  a  knife  to  cut  the  strap.  While  she 
was  doing  so  she  was  fired  on,  but  escaped.  The  dog  then  rushed  into  the 
bush.  He  was  a  savage  one  to  strangers  :  it  took  the  Maoris  some  time 
before  they  got  him  killed.  In  the  meantime  Mary  Ann  made  off  as  fast 


28O  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

as  she  could  run  for  Mr.  Hamilton's.  When  about  half-way  she  met 
Hamilton  and  his  man,  who  had  hurried  off  when  they  heard  the  firing. 
As  to  Mr.  Hamilton  arming  my  sister  with  a  rifle  [as  shown  in  Von  Temp- 
sky's  sketch],  I  do  not  remember  hearing  about  that,  nor  do  I  think  it 
was  possible  for  him.  to  do  so,  because  it  is  not  likely  he  and  Goulan 
would  take  more  arms  than  they  could  use.  If  Von  Tempsky  sketched 
her  carrying  a  rifle  he  could  have  done  it  when  he  was  billeted  in  the 
house.  He  with  Captain  Jackson  and  Captain  Heaphy — afterwards  Major 
Heaphy,  V.C.  —  put  up  in  the  house  at  night  for  three  weeks.  The 
Forest  Rangers  had  no  tents.  Colonel  Nixon  and  the  Flying  Column 
were  camped  on  the  road  on  the  top  of  the  hill.  It  is  quite  likely  that 
Von  Tempsky  sketched  her  for  amusement.  Every  one  connected  with 
the  attack  is  dead  but  myself — my  sisters  and  all.  Before  Von  Tempsky 
came  to  New  Zealand  he  was  in  the  California  gold  rush,  and  at  night  1 
have  heard  him  telling  the  other  officers  of  the  wonderful  adventures  he 
had." 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


OPERATIONS   AT   THE   WAIROA. 

In  September  of  1863  the  Koheriki  and  other  parties  of  Kingites 
who  roamed  the  ranges  of  Wairoa  South  and  the  Hunua  turned 
their  attention  to  the  scattered  settlements  on  the  lower  part  of 


D  -awn  by  Lieut  -Colonel  A.  Morrow.} 

CAMP  OF  A  MOVABLE  COLUMN,  NEAR  PAPATOETOE  (1863). 

This  column,  consisting  of  detachments  of  the  joth  Regiment,  Pitt's 
Militia,  and  the  Auckland  Rifle  Volunteers,  was  encamped  for  a  time  between 
St  John's  Redoubt,  Papatoetoe,  and  the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wairoa. 

the  river.  They  pillaged  the  houses  of  outlying  farmers  who 
had  gone  into  the  stockade  opposite  the  Galloway  Redoubt  or 
into  Papakura,  and  scouted  the  edge  of  the  bush  awaiting  an 
opportunity  to  cut  off  settlers  returning  to  their  sections.  Major 
Lyon,  a  Crimean  veteran,  was  in  command  of  the  Militia  district, 
with  his  quarters  in  the  Galloway  Redoubt.  To  relieve  the 
M:litia  garrison  doing  duty  in  the  redoubt,  detachments  of  the 
Auckland  Rifle  Volunteers  were  sent  down  to  the  Wairoa  in  the 


282 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


Government  armed  steamer  "  Sandfly."  It  was  on  this  service 
that  the  city  Volunteers  first  engaged  the  Maoris  ;  their  previous 
duty  had  chiefly  been  in  garrison  in  Auckland,  varied  by  service 
at  Otahuhu  and  Drury,  and  an  expedition  as  part  of  a  "  Flying 
Column  "  with  the  joth  Regiment,  encamped  near  St  John's 
Redoubt,  Papatoetoe. 

On  the  1 5th  September  some  of  the  garrison  when  playing 
cricket,  and  a  fatigue-party  getting  slabs,  near  the  stockade,  were 
fired  on  at  a  distance  of  about  150  yards,  and  heavy  firing  followed. 
Two  days  later  a  detachment  of  fifty-five  men  led  by  Major  Lyon 
marched  up  the  valley  towards  Otau  in  pursuit  of  a  large  raiding- 
party  which  had  been  plundering  settlers'  houses  on  the  outskirts  of 


From  a  drawing  by  Lieut. -Colonel  A.  Morrow.} 

THE  GALLOWAY  REDOUBT,  WAIROA  SOUTH  (1863). 


the  village.  In  the  skirmish  which  followed  the  Volunteers  behaved 
with  steadiness  and  judgment,  and  inflicted  some  casualties  on  the 
Kingites.  Lyon  extended  his  small  force  across  the  face  of  the 
hill  surrounding  the  native  village  and  kept  up  a  heavy  fire,  to 
which  the  Maoris  replied  by  independent  firing  as  well  as  by  volleys 
from  numbers  of  men  formed  into  large  squares.  Each  square, 
having  delivered  a  volley,  fell  back  behind  the  whares  to  reload. 

Before  daylight  on  the  morning  following  this  engagement 
Major  Lyon  marched  from  the  Galloway  Redoubt  with  a  force 
composed  of  fifty  men  from  the  Auckland  Rifle  Volunteers  and 
twenty  Wairoa  Rifles  from  the  stockade,  under  Lieutenant  Steele, 
to  deliver  an  attack  upon  the  natives  at  Otau.  The  troops 
silently  took  up  a  position  on  the  bank  of  the  flooded  river  opposite 


OPERATONS    AT    THE    WAIROA.  283 

the  whares,  and  in  the  gray  dawn  opened  a  heavy  fire  on  the 
sleeping  camp.  It  was  a  complete  surprise,  for  the  Maoris  had 
not  expected  a  renewal  of  the  attack  so  soon.  There  were  between 
one  hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred  natives  in  the  settlement. 
The  rudely  aroused  men,  women,  and  children  rushed  out  in  great 
confusion  and  took  shelter  in  the  bush.  A  number  of  them  replied 
to  the  Volunteers'  fire,  but  the  whole  body  soon  retreated  into  the 
ranges. 

Among  the  Maoris  was  the  young  half-caste  woman  Heni  te 
Kiri-karamu,  who  had  gone  on  the  war-path  to  share  the  fortunes 
of  her  brother  Neri  (Hone  te  Waha-huka),  of  the  Koheriki. 
Describing  the  surprise  attack  Heni  said,  "  We  had  intended  to 
march  down  and  attack  the  pa  of  the  soldiers  on  the  Wairoa,  but 
they  forestalled  our  plan.  We  camped  in  some  deserted  whares 
near  the  river-bank,  and  did  not  expect  an  early-morning  visit, 
so  there  was  a  panic  when  we  were  awakened  at  daybreak  by  a 
terrific  volley  fired  into  our  huts.  The  troops  had  lined  up  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Wairoa,  and  at  short  range  volleyed  at  us  ; 
it  was  a  wonder  that  any  of  us  escaped.  Instead  of  making  a 
stand  we  retreated  rapidly  into  the  forest.  I  carried  my  baby  on 
my  back.  Most  of  us  were  assembled  in  a  large  whare,  and  in 
running  out  of  it  the  chief  Titipa,  from  Tauranga,  was  shot  dead 
just  in  front  of  me.  Another  man  from  Tauranga  named  Tipene 
was  killed,  and  many  were  wounded.  The  Tamehana  boys,  of 
Ngati-Haua,  were  both  there." 

As  the  river  was  still  flooded,  the  European  force  could  not 
cross  to  follow  up  the  Maoris,  so  Major  Lyon  marched  his  men 
back  to  the  redoubt.  Later  on  in  the  day  twenty  men  of  the 
1 3th  Regiment,  under  Lieutenant  Russell,  were  despatched  to 
occupy  the  position  in  front  of  the  Maori  camp  which  had  been 
held  in  the  morning,  while  the  commanding  officer,  with  seventy- 
five  of  all  ranks,  marched  by  a  track  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
to  take  the  settlement  in  the  rear.  The  troops  found,  however, 
that  the  natives  had  evacuated  the  place. 

In  these  skirmishes  the  Maoris  lost  eight  men  killed. 

On  the  I3th  October  a  party  of  the  Koheriki  retaliated  with 
an  attack  on  unarmed  Europeans  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
Galloway  Redoubt.  An  elderly  man  named  Job  Hamlin  was 
killed,  and  his  companion,  a  boy  named  Joseph  Wallis,  about 
thirteen  years  of  age,  was  terribly  tomahawked,  but  by  a  miracle 
survived  his  wounds.  Joseph  Wallis's  people  were  shifting  their 
property  to  town  from  their  farmhouse  near  the  Wairoa  Road, 
for  fear  of  the  Maoris,  and  Job  Hamlin  was  employed  in  carting 
the  goods,  which  were  loaded  into  a  bullock-dray.  The  boy  was 
riding  on  horseback,  and  Hamlin  was  driving  the  team.  Suddenly 
some  Maoris  ran  out  from  the  bush  and  fired  on  them.  The  boy's 
horse  refused  to  go  on,  and  when  he  got  off  it  to  lead  it,  or  to  run 


284  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

the  Maoris  chased  him.  One  of  them  caught  him  and  delivered 
two  tomahawk-cuts  crosswise  on  the  side  of  his  head  and  face, 
inflicting  an  X-shaped  wound.  The  top  of  his  head  was  also 
smashed  in  with  the  butt  of  a  gun.  The  soldiers  at  the  redoubt 
ran  up  on  hearing  the  firing,  and  found  him  lying  there  apparently 
dead  ;  he  was  taken  to  the  camp  hospital  at  Papakura.  Job 
Hamlin  was  found  dead,  tomahawked.  The  Maoris  had  left  Wallis 
for  dead.  He  recovered,  and  he  is  to-day  farming  in  the  Waikato, 
but  he  has  suffered  all  his  life  from  the  gun-butt  blow.  He  is 
the  younger  brother  of  Mrs.  Harris,  wife  of  the  Hon.  Major  B. 
Harris,  M.L.C. 

On  the  I5th  October  an  old  soldier  named  Fahey  and  his  wife, 
who  were  settled  on  a  small  bush  farm  near  Ramarama,  were  out 
milking  their  cows  when  they  were  surprised  by  some  of  the 
Koheriki  and  shot  and  tomahawked.  Mrs.  Fahey  was  dead  when 
found,  and  her  husband  died  soon  afterwards. 

A  party  of  twenty  Koheiiki  natives  on  the  26th  October  raided 
Kennedy's  Farm  at  Mangemangeroa,  a  few  miles  beyond  Howick 
in  the  direction  of  Maraetai.  Mr.  Trust,  who  was  in  charge  of  the 
farm,  was  away  in  Auckland  at  the  time,  but  there  were  three  of 
his  sons  in  occupation,  besides  two  men,  Courtenay  and  Lord. 
Ambrose  Trust  was  the  eldest  son  ;  the  others,  Richard  and 
Nicholas  Trust,  were  nine  and  twelve  years  of  age.  Lord,  who 
was  a  workman  on  the  place,  was  leaving  the  farmhouse  at  about 
7  o'clock  to  go  to  his  house  when  he  saw  a  number  of  armed  Maoris 
crouching  in  a  ditch  near  the  house.  Lord  and  Courtenay  escaped, 
but  the  latter  was  wounded.  The  Maoris  fired  through  the  front 
window.  Ambrose  Trust,  taking  his  little  brothers  by  the  hand, 
ran  out  at  the  back  and  hurried  in  the  direction  of  the  nearest 
neighbours.  The  Maoris  gave  chase  and  shot  down  the.  two  small 
boys.  Ambrose,  wounded  in  the  shoulder,  with  difficulty  escaped. 
The  boys  were  tomahawked. 

Major  Peacocke,  in  command  of  the  redoubt  at  Howick,  started 
in  pursuit  of  the  Koheriki  with  some  Militia,  and  a  detachment 
of  the  Defence  Force  Cavalry  and  Otahuhu  Volunteers,  numbering 
fifty,  took  up  quarters  at  Kennedy's  Farm.  Peacocke  followed 
the  track  of  the  Maoris  for  some  miles,  but  they  had  made  off  in 
the  direction  of  the  Hunua  Ranges.  H.M.S.  "  Miranda  "  steamed 
down  the  gulf  in  the  afternoon  with  a  force  of  a  hundred  Auck- 
land Naval  Volunteers  and  the  same  number  of  Rifle  Volunteers, 
under  Major  de  Quincey,  and  anchored  off  Mangemangeroa,  but 
the  raiders  by  that  time  had  crossed  the  line  of  posts  between 
Wairoa  and  Papakura,  and  there  was  therefore  no  chance  of  cutting 
them  off. 

Some  weeks  after  these  events  at  the  Wairoa  the  Forest 
Rangers  made  a  successful  surprise  attack  on  a  camp  of  the 
Koheriki  hapu  in  the  heart  of  the  ranges.  By  this  time  (i4th 


OPERATONS   AT   THE   WAIROA. 


285 


December)  the  Rangers  had  been  reorganized,  and  two  companies 
were  formed,  one  under  Jackson  and  the  other  under  Von 
Tempsky.  Jackson's  No.  i  Company  had  the  skirmish  all  to 
themselves ;  Von  Tempsky,  to  his  great  disappointment,  missed 
the  opportunity,  although  he  had  observed  the  native  tracks,  by 
following  a  trail  which  led  him  towards  Paparata.  Jackson, 
sotting  out  from  the  Papakura  Camp  with  Lieutenant  Westrupp 
and  twenty-five  men,  marched  to  Buckland's  Clearing  in  the 
Hunua  Ranges,  and  descended  into  the  densely  wooded  upper 
valley  of  the  Wairoa  River.  Maori  tracks  were  found  leading 
toward  the  source  of  the  Wairoa,  and  a  lately  deserted  camp 
was  passed.  The  trail  led  across  the  head  of  the  Wairoa  and  for 
several  miles  beyond  into  the  terra  incognita  towards  the  river- 
sources  near  the  higher  parts  of  the  Kohukohunui  Range.  The 


MAORI  WAR  FLAG  CAPTURED  BY  THE  FOREST  RANGERS. 
(i 4th  December,  1863.) 


trail  at  last  was  lost,  but  smoke  was  seen  rising  from  a  distant 
gorge  in  the  forest,  and  as  the  Rangers  scouted  in  that  direction 
they  heard  a  cow-bell  ringing  irregularly,  as  if  a  child  were  play- 
ing with  it.  The  sound  guided  them  toward  a  secluded  camp  by 
the  side  of  a  creek.  Ensign  Westrupp  with  six  or  eight  men 
cautiously  advanced  down  the  rocky  stream.  A  coloured  man, 
George  Ward,  who  was  the  first  to  emerge  from  the  bush,  found 
a  Maori  bathing  ;  the  astonished  Maori,  thinking  Ward  possibly 
a  friend,  beckoned  to  him  to  approach,  but  the  Ranger  shot  him 
dnad.  Westrupp  dashed  into  the  camp,  followed  by  the  rest  of 
the  party.  The  Maoris  were  taken  completely  by  surprise.  It 
was  a  Sunday  ;  they  had  had  a  religious  service,  and  some  of 
the  party  were  cleaning  their  guns,  while  others  were  bathing. 


286  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

A  few  of  them  made  desperate  resistance,  and  there  were  one  or 
two  hand-to-hand  combats,  but  it  was  very  soon  over.  Several 
fired,  but  had  no  time  to  reload  before  the  Rangers'  carbines  and 
revolvers  laid  them  low.  A  woman  was  shot  accidentally  while 
assisting  a  wounded  warrior  who  was  endeavouring  to  give  the 
pakehas  a  final  shot.  A  tin  box  containing  three  flags  was 
captured  by  Corporal  W.  Johns.  One  of  these  was  a  red-silk 
flag,  bearing  a  white  cross  and  star  and  the  name  "  Aotearoa  "  ; 
it  had  been  made  by  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu  for  her  chief  Wi 
Koka.  It  is  now  in  the  Auckland  Old  Colonists'  Museum. 
Four  dead  Maoris  were  left  on  the  ground,  and  three  dead  were 
seen  carried  off ;  several  were  wounded.  The  Rangers  sustained 
no  casualties. 

"  Shortly  before  this,"  narrated  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu,  "  it  had 
been  decided  that  we  should  make  for  the  Waikato,  and  we 
were  to  travel  south  through  the  bush  by  way  of  Paparata.  In 
our  party  was  an  old  tohunga,  a  man  named  Timoti  te  Amopo  ; 
he  was  gifted  with  the  power  of  matakite,  or  second  sight.  As 
the  result  of  some  vision  or  foreboding — a  warning  from  his 
personal  god,  Tu-Panapana — Timoti  advised  us  not  to  follow  the 
track  which  ran  straight  toward  Paparata,  but  to  disperse  into 
small  parties  and  make  our  way  through  the  bush  to  the  common 
meeting-place,  so  as  to  throw  the  troops  off  our  trail.  A  number 
of  our  people,  however,  did  not  accept  the  seer's  advice,  and 
continued  on  the  well-marked  track,  while  the  rest  of  us,  with 
Timoti,  split  up  into  small  sections  and  struck  into  the  trackless 
parts  of  the  forest  for  a  rendezvous  to  the  southward.  The 
consequence  was  that  we  escaped,  while  those  who  disregarded 
the  old  seer's  counsel  fell  in  with  the  Forest  Rangers  and  had 
several  men  killed  and  wounded,  It  was  on  a  Saturday  that  we 
parted  company  ;  the  fight  took  place  next  day.  The  survivors 
of  this  skirmish  joined  us  in  the  forest  near  the  headwaters  of 
the  Manga-tawhiri  River." 

This  surprise  attack  in  the  forest  took  place  deep  in  the 
ranges  near  the  sources  of  the  Wairoa  and  the  Manga-tawhiri.  It 
is  sometimes  described  as  having  occurred  at  Paparata,  but  this 
is  an  error  ;  the  spot  was  nearer  Ararimu,  in  the  Upper  Wairoa 
district. 

"  One  of  the  Maoris  in  the  camp,"  said  Heni,  "  was  a  man 
named  Te  Pae-tui.  He  was  terribly  wounded,  shot  through  both 
hips.  His  elder  brother,  Te  Tapuke,  seeing  him  fall,  ran  back  to 
his  assistance,  and  stood  by  him  reloading  his  double-barrel  gun, 
determined  to  defend  his  brother  to  the  death.  Te  Tapuke  a  few 
moments  later  received  a  bullet  through  the  forehead  and  fell 
dead  by  his  wounded  brother.  After  the  fight  the  Forest  Rangers 
attended  as  well  as  they  could  to  Te  Pae-tui's  injuries,  laid  him  on 
blankets  found  in  the  camp,  and  gave  him  drink  and  food.  His 


OPERATONS    AT   THE    WAIROA. 


287 


"\\ife  came  out  from  the  bush,  weeping  over  her  husband,  and 
they  treated  her  kindly,  but  they  could  do  nothing  more  for 
h^r  husband,  and  they  left  her  there.  She  remained  tending  the 
rr  ortally  wounded  man  until  he  died  several  days  later.  She  was 
all  alone  then.  She  could  not  shift  him,  so  she  dug  a  grave  herself 
and  buried  him  there  in  the  forest." 


NOTE. 

The  following  is  the  roll  of  Jackson's  Forest  Rangers  engaged  in  the 
fi[,fht  in  the  Wairoa  Ranges,  i4th  December,  1863  :  William  Jackson  (Captain 
Commanding),  Charles  Westrupp  (Lieutenant),  A.  J.  Bertram  (Sergeant- 
Major),  Thomas  Holden,  William  Johns,  John  Smith,  Robert  Alexander, 
Robert  Bruce,  William  Bruce,  Lawrence  Burns,  George  Cole,  Robert  Gibb, 
Joseph  Grigg,  William  Thomson,  Henry  Hendry,  Richard  Fitzgerald,  Harry 
Jackson,  Patrick  Madigan,  Stephen  Mahoney,  John  Roden,  Henry  Rowland, 
Charles  Temple,  James  Peters,  Matthew  Vaughan,  James  Watters,  George 
Ward,  and  William  Wells. 


THE  SETTLERS'  STOCKADE  AT  WAIROA  SOUTH. 

This  stockade  (see  pages  240  and  282)  was  held  by  the  Wairoa  Rifle 
Volunteers.  It  was  the  scene  of  an  attack  on  the  I5th  September,  1863. 
TLe  drawing  is  after  a  sketch  by  Lieut. -Colonel  A.  Morrow,  of  Auckland, 
who  served  in  the  operations  at  Wairoa  South  as  an  ensign  in  the  Auckland 
R^fle  Volunteers. 


CHAPTER   XXXII. 


MAUKU   AND   PATUMAHOE. 

The  Mauku  and  Patumahoe. districts,  contiguous  to  Pukekohe 
and  extending  to  the  southern  tidal  waters  of  the  Manukau 
Harbour,  are  attractive  to-day  with  the  twin  charms  of  natural 
landscape  beauty  and  the  improvements  made  by  the  farmers' 
hands  during  more  than  sixty  years  of  settlement.  Even  before 
the  Waikato  War  the  Mauku,  first  settled  in  1856,  was  a  fairly- 
well-peopled  locality,  when  the  site  of  the  present  Town  of  Puke- 
kohe was  still  a  forest  of  puriri  and  rimu.  The  branch  railway-line 
from  Pukekohe  to  Waiuku  passes  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
pretty,  antique-featured  building  upon  which  the  war-history  of 
Mauku  is  centred.  The  Church  of  St.  Bride's  is  of  an  eye-pleasing 
design  that  belongs  to  many  of  the  churches  planted  by  the  pioneers, 
whose  first  care,  after  establishing  their  homes,  was  to  set  up  a 
place  of  worship  in  their  midst.  Built  of  totara,  its  shingled  roof 
dark  with  age,  its  spire  lifting  above  the  tree-tops,  it  stands 
picture-like  on  a  green  knoll  in  the  midst  of  its  little  church- 
yard. Walk  round  its  walls  and  count  the  rifle  loopholes  in  its 
sides — narrow  slits  that  remind  one  that  the  place  was  once  a 
fort  as  well  as  a  church.  There  are  fifty-four  of  those  rifle-slits, 
now  neatly  plugged  with  timber  or  covered  with  tin  and  painted 
over.  The  cruciform  design  of  the  building  exactly  lent  itself 
to  fortification,  and  gave  the  defenders  the  necessary  flanking 
bastions.  When  the  Mauku  men  erected  their  stockade  of  split 
logs,  small  whole  tree-trunks  and  heavy  slabs,  10  feet  high,  they 
planted  the  timbers  alongside  one  another  close  up  against  the 
walls  of  the  building.'  The  openings  for  rifle-fire  were  cut  through 
walls  and  stockade ;  the  garrison  therefore  could  point  their 
long  Enfields  through  the  double  defence.  These  loopholes,  at 
regular  intervals  all  round  the  church,  at  about  5  feet  from  the 
floor,  are  9  inches  in  length  vertically  by  about  3  inches  in 
width  ;  the  cuts  in  the  palisade  were  necessarily  a  little  wider 
to  give  the  rifles  .play. 

At  the  tidal  river-landing,  about  a  mile  distant  to  the  west, 
stood  the  Mauku  stockade,  a  small  iron-roofed  structure  defended 


MAUKU   AND   PATUMAHOE.  289 

by  a  wall  of  upright  logs.  This  stood  at  the  spot  where  cutters 
from  Onehunga  landed  stores  for  the  local  forces. 

The  first  alarm  of  a  racial  war  occurred  in  October,  1860, 
when  a  Maori  of  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  Tribe  named  Eriata  was 
found  shot  dead  in  the  bush  at  Patumahoe.  The  natives 
imagined  he  had  been  murdered  by  a  European,  and  a  war- 
party  of  Waikato  and  Ngati-Haua  came  down  in  canoes  to  Te 
Purapura  to  investigate  the  matter.  Wiremu  Tamehana  accom- 
panied them  to  exercise  a  restraining  influence,  for  the  chiefs  of 
the  war-party  had  declared  that  if  it  were  true  that  a  pakeha 
had  killed  the  Maori  they  would  begin  a  war.  Possibly  war 
would  have  been  precipitated  but  for  the  intervention  of  Bishop 
vSelwyn  and  Archdeacon  Maunsell,  who  met  Tamehana  and  the 
taua  and  persuaded  the  force  to  return.  Mr.  Donald  McLean 
and  Mr.  Rogan,  of  the  Native  Department,  also  went  to  investi- 
gate the  matter  and  met  the  Patumahoe  people.  The  conclusion 
arrived  at  was  that  the  Maori  had  accidentally  shot  himself. 

It  was  Mr.  Daniel  H.  Lusk  (afterwards  Major  Lusk),  a 
surveyor  by  profession — he  had  helped  to  lay  out  the  City  of 
Christchurch  in  1851 — and  owner  of  a  bush  farm  in  the  dis- 
trict, who  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  forming  the  Forest  Rifle 
Volunteers.  Mr.  Lusk  had  been  in  New  Zealand  since  1849  ; 
he  was  a  frontiersman  of  the  best  kind,  energetic  and  observant, 
used  to  the  bush,  and  endowed  with  a  natural  gift  of  leader- 
ship. To  him  more  than  to  any  other  settler-soldier  the  credit 
was  due  of  placing  the  district  west  of  the  Great  South  Road 
in  a  state  of  defence.  He  had  organized  local  Volunteer  corps 
during  the  first  Taranaki  War.  When  that  campaign  ended  in 
1861  many  settlers  imagined  that  fighting  had  definitely  ceased 
in  New  Zealand,  and  most  of  the  rifles  at  the  Mauku  were 
returned  to  store.  However,  Mr.  Lusk  was  firmly  of  opinion 
that  there  would  be  war  in  the  Auckland  District,  and  early 
in  1863  ne  was  the  principal  means  of  forming  three  companies 
of  Forest  Rifles — one  at  Mauku,  one  at  Waiuku,  and  one  at 
Pukekohe  East. 

The  first  skirmish  in  which  the  Forest  Rifles  were  engaged 
was  fought  on  the  8th  September  —  the  morning  after  the 
encounter  near  Camerontown  in  which  Captain  Swift,  of 
the  65th,  was  killed.  Early  that  morning  a  small  body  of 
colonial  troops,  consisting  of  about  thirty-five  of  the  Forest 
Rangers,  under  Lieutenant  Jackson  and  Ensigns  Von  Tempsky 
and  J.  C.  Hay,  and  fifteen  of  the  Mauku  Company  of  Forest 
Rifles,  under  Lieutenant  Lusk,  started  out  from  the  Mauku 
stockade  on  a  bush-scouting  expedition  in  search  of  Maoris. 
They  began  by  reconnoitring  the  forest  and  the  bush-clearings 
in  the  direction  of  Patumahoe  and  Pukekohe.  They  reached  the 
fa^ms  of  Lusk  and  H.  Hill,  between  Patumahoe  and  Pukekohe 
10— N.Z.  Wars. 


290 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


MAUKU   AND   PATUMAHOE. 


291 


Hill,  and  found  that  the  Maori  marauders  had  been  there. 
Lusk's  house  had  been  pillaged.  On  the  edge  of  what  was 
known  as  the  "  Big  Clearing,"  belonging  to  Mr.  Hill,  they  found 
traces  of  the  raiders.  The  Maoris  shot  a  bullock  in  this 
cleiring,  which  was  nearly  half  a  mile  square,  covered  with 
burnt  stumps  and  logs.  The  force,  hearing  the  shots,  divided, 
and  twenty,  under  Jackson,  Lusk,  and  Von  Tempsky,  scouted 
about  the  fringes  of  the  paddock,  keeping  under  cover  of  the 
bush.  They  received  a  sudden  volley  at  a  range  of  a  few  yards, 
and  replied  briskly.  The  natives  were  sheltered  behind  masses 
of  fallen  trees  and  undergrowth  interlaced  with  supplejack.  The 
other  party  of  Rangers  skirmished  up  on  Jackson's  left  and 
joiried  their  comrades.  At  last  the  Maori  fire  grew  slacker,  and 
the  Rangers  and  Mauku  Rifles  charged  into  the  bush,  but  their 


S  xtck-plan,  J.  C.,  1920.] 


PLAN  OF  MAUKU  CHURCH, 
Showing  positions  of  loopholes  in  the  walls. 


opponents  had  disappeared.  An  encampment  was  found  with 
about  a  dozen  rough  huts.  Only  fleeting  glimpses  of  the  Maoris 
had  been  obtained  during  the  skirmishing,  and  any  killed  or 
wourded  were  carried  off  the  field.  It  was  reported  afterwards 
that  five  had  been  killed.  The  war-party  was  composed  chiefly 
of  Pi.tumahoe  natives,  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  and  other  hapus,  who, 
after  deserting  their  settlements,  were  prowling  about  the  bush, 
plundering  the  outlying  homesteads.  The  European  force  suffered 
no  casualties,  although  several  of  the  men  had  received  bullets 
through  cap  or  clothes. 

It   was  the  maiden  fight  of  the  Rangers  and  Mauku  Rifles. 
The    guerilla    veteran    Von   Tempsky   in    his   journal   gave   high 


2Q2  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

praise  to  some  of  the  settler-soldiers.  Lusk  he  described  as  "  a 
man  of  consummate  judgment  about  Maori  warfare."  In  the 
height  of  the  skirmish  he  found  time  to  admire  the  sang  froid 
of  the  Mauku  men  :  "  There  are  some  cool  hahds  amongst  those 
Mauku  Rifles.  There  are  big  Wheeler  and  little  Wheeler,  and 
Kelahan,  watching  the  Maoris  like  cats ;  they  have  holes 
through  their  coats,  but  none  through  their  skins  as  yet.  Lusk 
is  cool  and  collected,  keeping  the  men  together."  The  best 
marksmen  were  Jackson  and  Hay,  both  crack  shots. 

This  was  one  of  the  first  fights  in  the  war  conducted  after 
the  traditional  manner  of  North  American  Indian  warfare, 
skirmishing  from  tree  to  tree.  For  some  time  after  this  skirmish 
the  Forest  Rangers  remained  at  Mauku,  making  the  fortified 
church  their  headquarters  and  scouring  the  bush.* 

THE  ENGAGEMENT  AT  TITI  HILL,  MAUKU. 

Less  than  a  mile  south  of  the  Mauku  church  and  village  is 
a  gently  rounded  hill  of  red  volcanic  tufa,  crowned  by  a  farm- 
homestead  and  crossed  by  a  road.  In  1863  this  hill,  known  as 
the  Titi,  was  a  partly  cleared  farm  belonging  to  Mr.  Wheeler. 
Beyond,  on  the  southern  side,  the  land  slopes  deeply  to  a 
valley,  on  the  farther  side  of  which,  nearly  a  mile  distant,  are 
the  heights  known  as  the  Bald  Hills.  The  distance  of  the 
Titi  from  the  nearest  part  of  the  Waikato  River  is  about  six 
miles  ;  the  intervening  country  in  the  war  -  days  was  mostly 
dense  forest,  threaded  by  one  or  two  narrow  tracks — old  Maori 
fighting  trails. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  23rd  October,  1863,  the  sound 
of  heavy  firing  in  the  direction  of  the  Bald  Hills  was  heard  by 
the  little  garrison  of  Forest  Rifles  and  Militia  at  the  Mauku 
church  stockade  and  the  lower  stockade  near  the  landing. 
Lieutenant  Lusk,  commanding  the  Forest  Rifles,  was  at  the  lower 
stockade  at  the  time,  and,  thinking  that  possibly  the  church 
was  being  attacked,  he  advanced  quickly  with  twenty-five  men 
to  St.  Bride's  to  reinforce  the  force  there.  Then  it  was  thought 

*  The  skirmish  in  Hill's  Clearing,  near  Patumahoe,  west  of  Pukekohe, 
was  fought  on  a  level  tract  of  country  traversed  by  the  present  road  from 
Pukekohe.  The  scene  of  the  principal  fighting,  as  nearly  as  can  be  located 
now,  is  on  the  right-hand  side  (north)  of  the  main  road  from  Pukekohe  to 
Mauku  and  Waiuku,  after  passing  the  turn-off  to  Patumahoe  at  Union 
Corner,  three  miles  from  Pukekohe  and  the  same  distance  from  Mauku. 
Soon  after  passing  Union  Corner  (Steinson's)  the  traveller  will  notice  on 
the  right  a  very  large  puriri  stump,  forming  part  of  the  post-and-rail 
fence  dividing  the  road  from  the  fields  :  this  stump  indicates  the  scene  of 
some  of  the  skirmishing  in  the  edge  of  the  bush.  There  are  still  remnants 
of  the  olden  puriri  forest  on  both  sides  of  the  road. 

Major  Von  Tempsky's  MS.  narrative  of  this  skirmish  is  given  in  the 
Appendices. 


MAUKU   AND   PATUMAHOE.  293 

that  the  volleys  in  the  distance  might  be  the  Waiuku  Volunteers 
out  practising,  and  Mr.  John  Wheeler  and  a  comrade  scouted 
up  through  the  bush  and  the  clearing  to  reconnoitre.  They 
discovered  Maoris  shooting  cattle  on  Wheeler's  Farm,  between 
the  Titi  summit  and  the  Bald  Hills.  When  Lieutenant  Lusk 
received  this  report  he  despatched  a  man  to  the  lower  stockade, 
instructing  Lieutenant  J.  S.  Perceval,  who  had  been  left  in  charge 
of  the  Militia  (ist  Waikato  Regiment),  to  join  him  at  once  at  the 
church  with  half  his  force.  At  the  same  time  one  of  the  settler 
Volunteers,  Mr.  Heywood  Crispe,  was  sent  off  to  Drury  for 
reinforcements.  Lieutenant  Perceval  set  out  as  ordered,  at  the 
head  of  twelve  men,  but  instead  of  following  instructions  to  join 
the  others  at  the  church  he  struck  off  to  the  right  for  the  crown 


THE  MAUKU  CHURCH,  PRESENT  DAY. 

oi  the  Titi  Hill,  with  the  object  of  taking  the  Maoris  in  the  rear. 
These  rash  tactics  quickly  involved  Perceval  and  his  small  party 
in  a  perilous  position  from  which  it  was  necessary  for  Lusk  to 
extricate  them.  Perceval  entered  the  bush,  but  the  natives, 
having  ended  their  cattle-shooting,  came  skirmishing  over  the 
hill  and  almost  surrounded  the  Militia.  The  fight  was  now 
visible  from  the  church  stockade,  where  Lusk  had  been  waiting 
for  Perceval  to  join  him,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  Forest 
Rifles  were  dashing  up  the  rise  towards  Wheeler's  Clearing. 
P<  rceval  when  joined  by  the  church-stockade  party  was  retiring 
in  good  order,  hotly  pressed,  but  without  casualties  .so  far. 
At  this  time  Lieutenant  Norman,  a  Militia  officer  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  church  garrison,  and  who  had  ridden  into  Drury 


294  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

for  the  men's  pay,  returned  and,  armed  with  a  rifle,  caught  up 
to  the  fighters  on  the  hill. 

Lieutenant  Lusk,  considering  his  force  of  about  fifty  was  strong 
enough  to  drive  back  the  Maoris  and  enable  him  to  return, 
now  boldly  attacked,  and  before  the  steady  advance  with  fixed 
bayonets  the  raiders  fell  back  through  a  strip  of  Wheeler's  felled 
but  unburned  bush  to  the  open  ground.  The  Maoris,  however, 
skirmished  rapidly  through  the  standing  puriri  and  rata  forest  on 
Lusk's  left  flank,  and  as  they  greatly  outnumbered  the  riflemen 
it  was  necessary  to  retire  in  order  to  avoid  being  outflanked 
and  surrounded.  The  Kingites  were  endeavouring  to  cut  the 
little  force  off  from  the  church  stockade,  and  Lusk  had  need 
of  all  his  bush-fighting  skill  to  counter  their  tactics.  When 
recrossing  this  ragged  strip  of  felled  timber,  taking  advantage 
of  every  bit  of  cover  and  fighting  from  behind  logs  and  stumps 
as  they  fell  back,  the  Volunteers  and  Militiamen  were  charged 
fiercely  by  the  warriors  in  their  full  strength,  about  a  hundred 
and  fifty. 

Now  came  a  desperate  close-quarters  battle,  lasting  ten  minutes 
or  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  At  very  short  range — Lieutenant  Lusk 
afterwards  stated  it  at  20  yards — the  opposing  forces  poured 
bullets  into  each  other  as  fast  as  they  could  load  and  fire. 
Every  log  and  every  stump  and  pile  of  branches  was  contested. 
In  the  centre,  facing  the  Maoris'  front,  the  gallant  Perceval  reck- 
lessly exposed  himself,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  the  Mellsop 
brothers,  three  young  settlers,  prevented  him  from  charging  at 
the  enemy.  Twice  they  saved  his  life  by  pulling  him  under 
cover.  At  last,  after  shooting  several  of  his  nearest  opponents, 
he  was  shot  himself,  and  fell  dead  in  front  of  his  men.  Lieutenant 
Norman  also  was  shot  dead,  and  several  other  men  fell.  Some 
of  the  Maoris,  throwing  down  their  guns,  charged  upon  the  bayonets 
with  their  long-handled  tomahawks.  Lusk,  finding  himself  out- 
flanked on  both  sides,  ordered  his  men  to  take  cover  in  the  bush 
on  the  right.  In  this  movement  the  troops  had  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  a  heavy  cross-fire,  and  man  after  man  was  hit.  One 
of  the  Forest  Rifles,  Private  Worthington,  was  tomahawked  as 
he  was  reloading  his  rifle  ;  another  man  was  killed  with  the 
tomahawk  while  he  was  in  the  act  of  recovering  his  bayonet 
which  he  had  driven  through  a  Maori's  body.  One  of  the 
wounded,  Johnstone,  was  assisted  by  two  comrades  into  the  bush, 
and  as  he  could  not  walk  he  was  concealed  in  a  hollow  rata 
tree,  where  he  huddled  until  the  relief  force  rescued  him  on  the 
following  day. 

Under  cover  of  the  bush  Lusk's  force  had  a  short  breathing- 
space,  and  their  accurate  shooting  soon  cleared  the  smoky  clearing 
of  the  Maoris,  but  it  was  impossible  to  venture  into  the  open 
space  to  carry  off  the  eight  dead  who  lay  there.  The  officer  in 


MAUKU  AND   PATUMAHOE. 


295 


command  re-formed  his  men  and  retired  in  good  order  upon  the 
church  stockade,  keeping  carefully  to  the  timber  cover  most 
oi  the  way.  This  rearguard  action,  firing  by  sections  as  the 
retirement  was  made,  was  carried  out  with  excellent  judgment, 
and  the  little  force  behaved  with  the  steadiness  and  coolness  of 
veterans.  The  headquarters  at  the  stockade  and  the  post  at 
the  church  were  reached  without  further  casualty.  The  force 


MAJOR  D.  H.  LUSK. 
(Died  1921.) 

After  his  active  service  in  command  of  the  Forest  Rifles,  Major 
Lusk  joined  General  Cameron's  army  in  the  Upper  Waikato  as  an 
officer  attached  to  the  Transport  Corps.  When  the  steamer  "  Avon  " 
sank  in  the  Waipa  River  with  her  cargo  of  supplies  (February,  1864)  he 
succeeded  in  getting  commissariat  through  to  the  troops  at  Te  Rore  with 
a  Militia  force,  by  rapidly  cutting  a  pack-track  from  Raglan  Harbour 
over  the  ranges  to  the  Waipa,  and  kept  the  army  supplied  in  this  way 
till  the  "  Avon  "  was  replaced. 


296  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

lost  two  officers  and  six  men  killed  ;  but  grief  at  the  fall  of  good 
comrades  and  at  the  necessity  of  leaving  their  bodies  to  the 
tomahawk  was  tempered  with  the  satisfaction  of  having  killed 
or  wounded  several  times  that  number  of  the  enemy. 

Lusk  and  his  comrades  during  the  fight  had  cast  many  an 
anxious  glance  towards  the  village  in  the  direction  of  the  church 
stockade,  hoping  for  the  reinforcements  from  Drury.  But  when 
the  long-awaited  troops  at  last  arrived  all  was  over,  and  the 
battle-grimed  Volunteers  and  Militia  were  back  in  their  quarters. 
Hey  wood  Crispe,  who  had  galloped  the  twelve  miles  to  Drury 
in  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  had  an  exasperating  interview  with 
the  Imperial  officers  at  the  camp.  "  Colonel  Chapman  was  in 
charge  there,"  narrated  Mr.  Crispe,  "  and  with  him  was  young 
Colonel  Havelock  (Sir  Henry  Havelock,  son  of  the  Indian  Mutiny 
hero),  who  was  on  General  Cameron's  staff.  I  told  them  that 
I  had  seen  the  Maoris  shooting  cattle,  and  they  almost  laughed 
me  to  scorn,  and  said  it  was  impossible  for  natives  to  be  there. 
I  most  earnestly  solicited  them  to  send  for  Major  Rutherford's 
'  Flying  Column/  which  I  knew  was  in  camp  at  the  Bluff  near 
Pokeno,  and  get  the  force  to  go  through  Tuakau  and  on  to 
Purapura,  on  the  Waikato,  where  they  would  be  sure  to  intercept 
the  Maoris  returning  from  Mauku,  as  it  was  their  only  way  of 
retreat  to  cross  the  Waikato."  Crispe  also  begged  for  mounted 
men,  some  of  the  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  to  be  hurried  off  to 
the  Mauku,  but  all  that  was  done  was  to  send  two  companies  of 
infantry — the  Waikato  Militia — who  arrived  there  in  the  evening, 
too  late  to  be  of  any  use. 

Early  next  morning  firing  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the 
Bald  Hills,  and  some  natives  were  seen  there,  but  when  a  force 
of  about  two  hundred  men  advanced  to  the  Titi  Farm  the  Kingites 
had  disappeared.  It  was  learned  afterwards  that  these  Maoris 
were  some  who  had  met  the  returning  war-party  on  the  Waikato 
River,  and,  on  hearing  that  they  had  not  fired  a  volley  over  the 
battle-ground  after  the  battle  by  way  of  claiming  the  victory, 
had  marched  in  themselves  and  fired  off  their  guns  near  the 
spot.  The  troops  found  the  bodies  of  the  slain  men,  all  toma- 
hawked and  stripped  of  arms  and  equipment  and  part  of  their 
clothes,  laid  out  side  by  side  on  the  grass  in  the  clearing.  A  pole 
on  which  a  white  haversack  had  been  tied  indicated  the  place. 
The  bodies,  with  the  exception  of  Worthington's,  which  was 
buried  at  Mauku,  were  sent  in  to  Drury  for  burial.  A  force  was 
sent  through  the  bush  to  Purapura,  following  the  trail  of  the 
Maoris,  and  numbers  of  kauhoa  or  rough  bush-stretchers  for  carrying 
the  dead  and  wounded  were  found.  It  was  estimated  that  the 
natives  had  lost  between  twenty  and  thirty  killed,  besides  many 
wounded.  The  "  Flying  Column  "  had  in  the  meantime  marched 
across  country  via  Tuakau  to  intercept  some  of  the  raiders,  but 


MAUKU    AND   PATUMAHOE.  2Q7 

they  only  reached  Rangipokia,  near  Purapura,  in  time  to  open 
fire  on  the  last  of  the  canoes  crossing  the  river.  The  Maoris 
returned  to  Pukekawa,  the  field  headquarters  of  Ngati-Maniapoto. 


NOTES. 

This  curious  story  with  reference  to  Lieutenant  Norman  was  related 
to  me  by  Major  D.  H.  Lusk : — 

Lieutenant  Norman,  who  had  just  returned  from  Drury  with  the  pay 
for  the  Mauku  Forest  Rifles  and  Militia  garrison,  had  about  £200  in  his 
possession,  mostly  in  bank-notes.  He  was  shot  through  the  chest  and 
killed  ;  the  fatal  shot  was  fired  at  such  close  range  that  his  clothes  were 
forced  into  the  wound.  When  the  body  was  searched  next  day  the  money 
could  not  be  found.  Its  disappearance  remained  a  mystery  to  Lusk  for 
nearly  fifty  years.  Then  a  half-caste  member  of  the  Ngati-Maniapoto 
Tribe  told  him  that  some  years  after  the  war  a  Maori  brought  him  one 
day  a  bundle  which  proved  to  be  a  large  roll  of  bank-notes  stuck  together 
with  earth  and  blood.  With  much  care  the  notes  were  separated  and 
dried,  and  in  the  end  the  Maoris  succeeded  in  passing  them  at  the  banks. 
This  bundle,  the  natives  said,  formed  part  of  the  loot  brought  by  Ngati- 
Maniapoto  from  the  Titi  fight  in  1863.  Without  a  doubt  it  was  the 
missing  pay  for  the  Mauku  men,  and  the  blood  which  caked  the  notes 
together  was  Norman's  life-blood. 

The  Maoris  took  a  prisoner,  a  Portuguese  named  Antonio  Arouge,  in 
the  employ  of  the  Crispe  family.  He  was  captured  by  the  cattle-shooting 
party  and  tied  to  a  tree.  After  the  fight  he  was  taken  into  the  Waikato, 
and  remained  a  prisoner  for  some  months,  when  he  was  allowed  to  return 
to  the  Europeans.  It  was,  no  doubt,  his  swarthy  skin  that  saved  him. 

Many  stories  were  told  of  the  brave  conduct  and  accurate  shooting 
of  t  le  Volunteers  and  Militia.  There  were  also  a  few  good  shots  among 
the  natives.  Just  before  Lusk  advanced  from  the  church  stockade  to 
Perceval's  relief  he  saw,  through  his  field-glasses,  a  Maori  marksman  in 
a  conspicuous  dress  taking  deliberate  sniping  shots  from  the  cover  of  a 
log.  Although  the  sniper  was  quite  1,000  yards  away  he  put  a  bullet 
through  the  soft-felt  hat  of  Tom  Harden,  a  Volunteer  a  few  feet  away  from 
Lusk,  and  sent  two  or  three  other  bullets  remarkably  close  to  him.  The 
Maori  was  evidently  using  a  captured  British  rifle.  Lusk  was  a  good 
rifle-shot,  and,  sighting  for  1,000  yards,  his  first  shot  made  the  Maori 
snipt  r  leap  back  hurriedly  for  cover.  In  the  skirmish  which  followed  as 
the  lorce  advanced  Tom  Harden  had  the  satisfaction  of  taking  compensa- 
tion for  his  damaged  hat  by  killing  the  native  marksman. 

Lusk  in  his  report  gave  praise  to  Sergeant  Harry  W.  Hill  and  Private 
John  Wheeler,  of  the  Forest  Rifles,  who  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
determined  gallantry.  Another  settler  who  behaved  with  special  courage 
was  Felix  McGuire,  afterwards  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

Major  Lusk  narrated  this  incident  which  immediately  preceded  the 
outbreak  of  the  war  : — 

The  Ngati  -  Pou  and  Ngati  -  Tamaoho  Tribes,  of  Waikato  and  Patu- 
mahoe,  had,  it- is  believed,  fixed  a  day  for  a  general  attack  on  the  settlers. 
By  a  curious  coincidence  it  happened  to  be  the  date  on  which  the  pakeha 
reside  nts  were  loyally  celebrating  the  marriage  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 
(afterwards  King  Edward  VII)  and  the  Princess  Alexandra  of  Denmark. 
The  j  rentier  settlers  kindled  bonfires  at  dark  that  night  on  prominent  hills, 
and  ihose  of  the  Mauku,  including  Lusk  and  some  neighbours,  lit  theirs 
on  the  Bald  Hill,  where  it  was  visible  for  many  miles  around  and  as  far  as 
the  Waikato  River.  The  Maoris,  it  was  said,  were  about  to  start  out  on 


298  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

their  raid,  anticipating  the  British  declaration  of  war,  but  the  unexpected 
glare  of  the  bonfires  alarmed  them  into  the  belief  that  their  plans  had  been 
discovered,  and  that  the  fire  was  a  signal  for  a  general  attack  on  the 
Kingites.  Lusk  and  several  fellow- settlers  were  returning  from  the  bonfire 
hill  late  at  night,  when  they  met  a  party  of  about  fifteen  Maoris,  some  of 
them  armed,  who  had  evidently  been  to  Lusk's  house.  He  demanded  their 
business  there.  They  replied  that  they  had  been  alarmed  by  the  bonfires 
and  inquired  if  they  were  a  signal  for  an  attack  upon  the  natives.  Shortly 
after  this  incident  Major  Speedy  (a  retired  Imperial  officer),  who  was  Resident 
Magistrate  and  Native  Agent  for  the  Mauku,  Waiuku,  and  Pukekohe  districts, 
was  directed  to  read  the  Governor's  Proclamation  to  the  natives  requiring 
them  either  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Queen  and  to  deliver  up 
their  arms  or  to  retire  into  the  Kingite  country,  so  that  the  Government 
might  be  able  to  discover  who  were  their  friends.  As  it  was  evident  that 
the  Maoris  would  not  willingly  give  up  their  arms  and  leave  their  land, 
Major  Speedy  instructed  Lieutenant  Lusk  to  organize  all  the  able-bodied 
settlers  of  the  districts  into  three  rifle  volunteer  companies,  which  came  to 
be  known  as  the  Forest  Rifles. 

Mrs.  Jerram  (Remuera,  Auckland),  a  daughter  of  the  late  Major  Speedy, 
of  Mauku,  says  that  the  family's  home  at  "  The  Grange,"  near  the  Mauku 
landing,  was  loopholed  and  garrisoned  by  the  settlers  for  defence  against 
the  natives  in  1863.  This  was  before  the  stockade  was  built  at  the 
landing-place.  Mrs.  Jerram  and  Mrs.  B.  A.  Crispe  describe  the  scene  in 
"  The  Grange  "  in  the  time  of  alarms,  when  for  three  nights  the  women 
and  children  of  the  settlement  took  shelter  there,  waiting  for  the  cutter 
which  was  to  take  them  to  Onehunga.  The  armed  settlers  kept  guard  in 
twos  ;  those  off  guard  lay  down  on  the  floor  in  their  blankets,  their  loaded 
rifles  on  the  table.  There  were  numerous  false  alarms,  especially  just 
before  the  dawn,  the  Maoris'  favourite  time  of  attack.  "  The  Grange  " 
was  not  the  best  of  places  as  a  defensive  shelter,  for  there  was  a  thick 
growth  of  trees  and  creepers  close  up  to  the  house,  affording  perfect  cover 
for  an  enemy. 

Tohikuri,  of  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  Tribe,  Pukekohe,  gives  the  following 
explanation  of  the  place-name  Patumahoe,  that  of  the  gently  rounded  hill 
near  the  battlefield  of  Hill's  Clearing  : — 

The  chief  Huritini,  of  the  Ngaiwi  or  Waiohua  Tribe,  of  the  Tamaki 
district,  came  to  these  parts  to  make  war  upon  Hiku-rere-roa  and  Te 
Ranga-rua,  the  leaders  of  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  Tribe,  six  generations  ago. 
The  pa  of  Ngati-Tamaoho  was  on  the  Titi  Hill.  The  battle  began  on 
the  western  side  of  the  present  Mauku  Railway-station,  near  the  church. 
Huritini  was  killed  with  a  blow  delivered  with  a  mahoe  stake  or  part  of  a 
sapling  snatched  up  hurriedly  from  the  ground  by  a  Ngati-Tamaoho  chief 
who  had  dropped  his  weapon  ;  and  the  Ngaiwi  men  were  defeated  and 
driven  from  the  district.  Hence  the  name  :  Patu,  to  strike  or  kill ;  mahoe, 
the  whitewood  tree  (Melicytus  ramiflorus). 

Tohikuri  is  a  direct  descendant  of  Ranga-rua. 


REDOUBTS  AND  ENGAGEMENTS,  SOUTH  AUCKLAND. 


299 


THE  SOUTH  AUCKLAND  DISTRICT, 
Showing  military  posts  and  scenes  of  engagements,   1863. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 


THE    RIVER    WAR    FLEET. 

It  was  necessary  to  organize  a  small  fleet  of  protected 
vessels  for  the  Waikato  River  in  order  to  carry  the  war  into 
the  Kingite  territory.  The  first  craft  procured  was  the  little 
paddle-steamer  "Avon,"  of  40  tons,  60  feet  in  length,  and  draw- 
ing 3  feet  of  water.  She  had  been  trading  out  of  Lyttelton 
before  the  purchase  by  the  Government.  She  was  brought  up 
to  the  Manukau,  and  at  Onehunga  was  armoured  for  the  river 
campaign.  She  was  armed  with  a  12-pounder  Armstrong  in  the 
bows.  The  work  of  making  the  hull  bullet-proof  was  carried 
out  by  the  engineer,  Mr.  George  Ellis  (now  of  Auckland),  who 
states  that  the  "  Avon  "  was  converted  into  an  armoured 
steamer  by  having  iron  plates  bolted  inside  her  bulwarks.  These 
plates  were  J  inch  thick  and  measured  6  feet  by  3  feet.  The 
wheel  was  enclosed  by  an  iron  house  of  similar-sized  plates,  with 
loop-holes.  "  I  put  the  same  thickness  of  iron  protection  on 
some  smaller  craft,"  said  Mr.  Ellis.  "  These  were  armed  barges 
for  towing  troops.  The  gunboat-barges  were  each  30  feet  to 
35  feet  in  length  ;  they  had  been  open  fore-decked  cutters  in 
Auckland  Harbour,  and  were  taken  over  on  trucks  to  Onehunga. 
I  armoured  them  with  lengths  of  bar  iron,  J  inch  thick  and 
3  or  4  inches  in  width,  along  the  outside  of  the  hull  from  the 
gunwale  to  the  water-line.  In  the  bows  of  each  boat  was  a 
gun-platform  for  a  12-pounder.  The  troops  were  put  into  these 
barges,  which  were  towed  up  by  the  steamers.  The  bulwarks 
protected  the  soldiers  quite  well,  but  the  barges  were  never 
attacked.  There  was  another  vessel,  the  '  Gymnotus/  but  she 
was  not  armoured.  She  was  a  curious-looking  craft  like  a  long 
narrow  canoe,  and  had  been  built  for  ferry  service  on  Auckland 
Harbour.  She  was  the  first  screw  steamer  on  the  Waikato, 
and  was  employed  in  carrying  stores  up  the  river." 

The  paddle-wheeler  "  Avon  "  was  the  first  steam- vessel  to 
float  on  the  waters  of  the  Waikato.  She  was  towed  to  Waikato 
Heads  on  the  25th  July,  1863,  by  H.M.S.  "Eclipse,"  and  Captain 
Mayne,  the  commander  of  that  ship,  took  her  inside  the  Heads 


THE    RIVER   WAR   FLEET.  3OI 

and  anchored  that  night  eight  miles  below  Tuakau.  Next  day, 
watched  with  intense  excitement  by  the  Maoris,  friendlies,  and 
hostiles  alike,  she  reached  the  Bluff,  otherwise  known  as  Have- 
lock — Te  Ta-roa  of  the  Maoris — just  below  the  junction  of  the 
Manga-tawhiri  with  the  Waikato.  She  was  not  fired  upon, 
contrary  to  the  expectations  of  her  crew,  who  expected  a  volley 
from  the  southern  bank  of  the  river  at  the  narrower  parts. 
Mr.  Strand,  of  Kohanga,  assisted  to  pilot  the  "  Avon  "  up  the 
river. 

On  the  7th  August  Captain  Sullivan  (H.M.S.  "Harrier"), 
senior  naval  officer  in  New  Zealand,  took  the  vessel  on  a 
reconnaissance  up  the  river,  and  near  Meremere  she  became  a 
t.irget  for  Maori  bullets  for  the  first  time.  A  volley  from  some 
Maoris  under  cover  on  the  river-bank  was  replied  to  with  the 
12-pounder  Armstrong.  On  several  occasions  later  in  the  cam- 
paign the  "  Avon  "  was  under  fire.  This  little  pioneer  of  steam 
traffic  on  the  Waikato  proved  an  exceedingly  useful  vessel.  When 
the  army  reached  the  Waipa  Plains  she  carried  stores  up  as  far 
as  Te  Rore,  on  the  Waipa  ;  it  was  near  there  that  Lieutenant 
Mitchell,  R.N.,  of  H.M.S.  "  Esk,"  was  killed  on  board  her 
(February,  1864)  by  a  volley  from  the  east  bank  of  the  river. 
Lieutenant  F.  J.  Easther,  R.N.,  was  in  command  of  the  "Avon."* 

The  second  steam-vessel  of  war  placed  on  the  Waikato  was 
the  "  Pioneer  " — a  name  that  more  properly  might  have  been 
bestowed  on  the  "  Avon."  The  "  Pioneer  "  was  specially  designed 
for  navigation  in  shallow  waters,  and  was  a  well-equipped  river 

*  Mr.  George  Ellis,  of  Auckland,  who  was  engineer  of  the  "  Avon," 
says  : — 

"  Lieutenant  Mitchell's  death  occurred  in  this  way  :  We  carried  out 
rather  dangerous  work  in  the  later  stages  of  the  war  when  running  up  and 
down  the  Waipa  River.  Sometimes  we  took  shots  at  anything  that  offered 
on  the  banks,  and  even  landed  to  go  pig-hunting.  One  veiy  warm  summer 
day,  when  steaming  up  the  Waipa  near  Whatawhata,  Mr.  Mitchell  remarked 
that  it  was  too  hot  to  remain  in  the  iron  wheel-house  and  that  he  would 
go  outside  ;  he  declared  that  he  would  not  be  shot  that  day.  He  walked 
out  on  to  the  open  part  of  the  bridge-deck,  and  Lieutenant  Easther  (in 
command)  and  Midshipman  Foljambe  (father  of  the  present  Lord  Liverpool) 
followed  him.  They  had  not  been  long  there  before  a  sudden  volley  was 
fired  from  the  scrub-covered  bank  of  the  river — the  east  or  proper  right 
bank.  The  three  officers  were  close  together,  with  Mr.  Mitchell  in  the 
middle,  and,  curiously,  it  was  only  the  man  in  the  middle  who  was  hit. 
The  volley  was  fired  at  an  oblique  angle.  Mr.  Mitchell  was  shot  right 
through  the  breast,  and  died  next  day.  We  never  saw  a  Maori,  so  thick 
was  the  cover  on  the  bank." 

The  "  Avon,"  besides  plying  on  the  Waipa.,  made  a  number  of  trips 
from  Ngaruawahia  to  General  Cameron's  advanced  camp  at  Pukerimu. 
Tins  perilous  passage  through  the  hostile  country  was  generally  made  at 
ni^ht.  The  "  Avon  "  was  never  fired  at  on  this  part  of  the  Waikato — 
usually  called  the  Horotiu  above  Ngaruawahia — but  there  were  anxious 
moments  when  she  was  passing  through  the  narrows,  where  the  high 
banks  closely  approach  each  other,  above  the  present  town  of  Hamilton. 


3O2  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

gunboat.  She  was  built  for  the  New  Zealand  Government  by 
the  Australian  Steam  Navigation  Company  at  Sydney,  and  was 
an  iron  flat-bottomed  stern-wheel  paddle-steamer  of  nearly 
300  tons,  with  a  length  of  140  feet  afld  beam  of  20  feet,  drawing 
only  3  feet  of  water  when  fully  loaded.  The  engine-room  and 
other  vital  parts  of  the  vessel  were  all  well  protected.  Her 
most  conspicuous  deck  feature  was  the  pair  of  iron  turrets  or 
cupolas,  12  feet  in  diameter  and  8  feet  in  height.  Each  tower 
was  pierced  for  a  12-pounder  gun  and  for  rifle-fire.  (One  of 
these  cupolas  afterwards  stood  on  the  river-bank  at  Mercer  for 
many  years ;  it  was  at  one  time  used  by  the  police  as  a  lock-up. 
It  now  forms  the  lower  part  of  Mercer's  memorial  to  the  local 
soldiers  in  the  Great  War.) 

The    "  Pioneer,"    rigged    for    the    voyage    as    a    three-masted 
fore-and-aft    schooner,    left    Sydney    for    the    Manukau    on    the 


THE  RIVER  GUNBOAT  "  PIONEER/' 

This  drawing,  from  a  sketch  in  1863,  shows  the  "  Pioneer  "  in 
seagoing  rig.  The  mainmast  was  removed  before  she  entered  operations 
on  the  Waikato  River. 

22nd  September,  1863,  in  tow  of  H.M.S.  "  Eclipse,"  and,  after  a 
stormy  voyage,  reached  Onehunga  on  the  3rd  October.  She  was 
taken  into  the  Waikato  later  in  the  month,  after  undergoing 
a  few  alterations,  and  until  the  end  of  the  war  was  actively 
engaged  in  reconnaissances  and  conveyance  of  troops  and  supplies. 

The  four  small  armoured  barges,  or  gunboats,  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Ellis  were  taken  into  the  Waikato  about  the  same  time, 
and  each  of  them  was  placed  under  the  command  of  a  junior 
naval  officer.  Midshipman  Foljambe  (father  of  Lord  Liverpool, 
recently  Governor  of  New  Zealand)  was  in  charge  of  one  of 
these  boats,  which  he  called  the  "  Midge  " ;  it  was  manned  by 
seven  sailors,  and  was  armed  with  a  12-pounder  and  a  4|-inch 
brass  Coehorn  mortar. 

Later  in  the  war  two  stern-wheel  iron  gunboats,  called  the 
"Koheroa"  and  the  "Rangiriri,"  were  procured  in  Sydney,  and 


THE    RIVER   WAR   FLEET. 


303 


were  brought  over  in  sections  and  put  together  at  the  Govern- 
ment's dockyard  and  stores  depot  at  Putataka,  Port  Waikato. 
The  high  bulwarks  of  each  steamer  were  pierced  for  rifle-fire, 
and  there  was  a  gun-position  on  the  lower  deck  amidships.  The 
'  Koheroa  "  on  one  occasion  towards  the  close  of  the  campaign 
went  up  the  Waikato  River  as  far  as  a  point  near  the  present 
town  of  Cambridge. 

Without  this  river  flotilla  General  Cameron  could  not  have 
carried  on  the  Waikato  campaign.  The  gunboats  and  the  troops 
they  carried  enabled  him  to  outflank  the  Maori  positions  at  Mere- 
mere  and  Rangiriri,  to  capture  Ngaruawahia  unopposed,  and  to 
keep  his  army  fed  and  equipped  on  the  Waipa  Plain.  It  was 
the  great  water-road  into  the  heart  of  the  country,  Waikato 's 
noble  canoe  highway,  that  gave  the  British  troops  command 
of  the  Kingite  territory  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  permanent 
European  occupation. 


THE  RIVER  GUNBOAT  "  RANGIRIRI." 
(Sister  ship,   "  Koheroa.") 

The  New  Zealand  Government's  iron  gunboats  "  Koheroa  "  and 
"  Rangiriri  "  were  constructed  at  Sydney  by  P.  N.  Russell  and  Co.  from 
d -signs  by  Mr.  James  Stewart,  C.E.,  of  Auckland,  who  was  sent  to  Sydney 
to  superintend  the  work.  A  correspondent  gave  the  following  description 
of  the  "  Rangiriri  "  in  1864  :  "  This  boat,  which  can  turn  easily  in  the 
space  of  a  little  more  than  her  own  length,  may  follow  the  bendings  of 
such  a  river  as  the  Waikato  in  its  narrowest  part,  and  may  either  be 
used  as  a  steam- tug,  towing  flats  for  the  conveyance  of  troops,  or  may  be 
armed  with  guns  at  each  of  the  singular  -  looking  portholes  [embrasures] 
which  are  closed  with  folding-doors  in  the  middle  of  the  lower  deck  ;  while 
tlie  bulwarks  on  each  side  are  pierced  with  twenty  or  thirty  loopholes  for 
riie  shooting,  and  the  covered  platform  or  tower  amidships  will  afford 
cover  to  a  number  of  men  whose  fire  commands  the  river  and  its  banks. 
T:ie  paddle-wheel  is  placed  astern  of  the  vessel  so  as  to  take  up  less 
room.  The  first  of  these  gunboats,  the  '  Koheroa/  was  built  in  less  than 
six  weeks  after  Messrs.  Russell  got  the  contract."  Both  vessels  were  sent 
in  sections  to  New  Zealand  and  put  together  at  Port  Waikato. 


304 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


Some  small  vessels  were  necessary  for  despatch  and  patrol 
work  on  the  coast.  The  Colonial  Government  bought  the  s.s. 
"  Tasmanian  Maid,"  90  tons,  renamed  her  the  "  Sandfly,"  and 
armed  her.  Under  the  command  of  Captain  Hannibal  Marks,  the 
"Sandfly"  carried  out  useful  work  as  a  gunboat  and  despatch- 
vessel  on  the  east  coast,  particularly  in  the  Hauraki  Gulf  and 
in  the  coast  operations  near.  Maketu  (1864).  The  "  Sandfly" 
was  protected  against  a  sudden  attack  by  canoe-crews  by  an 
arrangement  of  galvanized  wire  stretched  between  stanchions 
fitted  on  the  bulwarks,  thus  forming  a  strong  boarding  netting. 
As  a  further  defence,  canvas  mattress-cases  stuffed  with  flax 
were  provided,  to  be  placed  against  the  wire  netting  as  a  bullet- 
proof barrier.  Another  patrol- vessel  was  a  fore-and-aft  schooner, 


After -a  sketch  by  Mr.  S.  Percy  Smith.} 

PUTATAKA,  PORT  WAIKATO,   1864. 

Extract  from  Mr.  S.  Percy  Smith's  diary  :  "  loth  October,  1864. — 
Pulled  from  survey  camp  at  Maioro  down  to  Putataka  to  take  some 
angles  and  spend  a  couple  of  hours  in  looking  about  the  place.  There  were 
the  steamer  '  Koheroa  '  undergoing  repairs,  the  '  Avon  '  being  dismantled, 
having  done  her  work  on  the  Wai.pa  nobly,  and  the  '  White  Slave,'  a 
new  steamer,  being  built,  besides  the  building  of  barges  and  boats. 
There  are  several  large  and  good  stores  for  commissariat  purposes,  both 
Imperial  and  colonial,  barracks,  and  officers'  quarters  on  a  hill  overlooking 
the  dockyard  ;  a  few  men  of  the  i4th  Regiment  are  in  garrison." 


the  "  Caroline,"  armed  with  a  gun  ;  she  was  used  for  a  time  in 
Auckland  waters,  and  on  one  occasion  took  a  party  of  Naval 
Volunteers  on  a  cruise  in  search  of  a  schooner  trading  in 
contraband  of  war. 


THE    NAVAL   PATROL. 


305 


THE  BRITISH  SCREW  CORVETTES  "  MIRANDA  "  AND  "  FAWN." 

Before  coming  to  New  Zealand  the  "  Miranda,"  a  fifteen-gun  corvette, 
had  been  engaged  in  the  blockade  of  Archangel  during  the  war  with 
Russia,  1853-54.  She  was  employed  in  the  Hauraki  Gulf  in  the  Maori 
War  of  1863,  and  in  1864  was  sent  to  Tauranga,  where  the  Captain 
(Jenkins)  and  a  detachment  shared  in  the  disastrous  attempt  to  storm 
the  Gate  Pa.  The  "  Fawn,  "  which  was  at  Auckland  in  1862,  was  a 
seventeen-gun  corvette. 


Fr  >m  a  painting  by  W.  Forster.] 

THE  GUN-SCHOONER  "  CAROLINE,"  1863. 

The  small  schooner  "  Caroline  "  (afterwards  the  "  Ruby  ")  was  used 
by  the  Government  in  1860-63  as  a  despatch  and  patrol" vessel  on  the 
west  coast  and  in  the  Hauraki  Gulf.  She  was  armed  with  a  gun.  At  one 
time  she  was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  S.  Medley,  R.N. 


306  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Other  vessels  used  on  the  Hauraki  Gulf  patrol  were  the 
s.s.  "  Auckland/'  which  carried  two  12-pounder  guns,  and  the 
cutter  "  Midnight,"  33  tons,  armed  with  a  4-pounder  gun  and 
manned  by  a  crew  of  fifteen  Auckland  Naval  Volunteers. 

The  Naval  Brigade,  made  up  from  the  crews  of  the  several 
naval  ships  in  New  Zealand  waters,  was  a  highly  useful  reinforce- 
ment to  the  land  army.  In  October  of  1863  there  were  five  ships 
of  the  Australasian  Squadron,  all  with  steam-power,  lying  in  the 
Auckland  and  Manukau  Harbours.  The  flagship  was  the  steam- 
frigate  "  Curayoa  "  (Commodore  William  S.  Wiseman),  mounting 
twenty-three  guns — sixteen  plain-bored  8-inch  guns  on  her  main 
deck,  six  4O-pounder  Armstrong  guns  on  her  quarter-deck,  and 
one  no-pounder  Armstrong  pivot  gun  on  her  forecastle.  Her 
tonnage  was  1,571  tons,  and  her  engines  were  350  horse-power. 


H.M.S.  "  ECLIPSE." 

The  "  Eclipse,"  first  under  Commander  H.  G.  Mayne  and  afterwards 
under  Captain  (now  Admiral)  Sir  E.  R.  Fremantle,  carried  out  much 
useful  service  on  the  New  Zealand  coast,  1863-65.  She  was  the  first 
vessel  of  the  British  Navy  to  enter  Waikato  Heads.  The  "  Eclipse  " 
was  a  barque-rigged  steamer  of  750  tons,  capable  of  steaming  u  knots 
per  hour.  She  had  a  crew  of  ninety  men,  and  was  armed  with  a 
no-pounder  Armstrong  gun  and  a  68-pounder,  both  pivot  guns,  besides 
two  32-pound ers.  The  "  Eclipse  "  served  on  the  Taranaki  coast  and  in 
the  Manukau,  and  later  (1865)  was  engaged  in  operations  against  the 
Hauhaus  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty  and  about  the  East  Cape. 

The  "  Miranda,"  Captain  Robert  Jenkins,  was  one  of  the  screw 
corvettes  of  the  "  Niger "  order ;  she  measured  1,039  tons, 
carried  fifteen  guns,  and  had  engines  of  250  horse-power.  The 
"  Esk  "  was  the  latest  addition  to  the  squadron.  She  was  one 


THE   NAVAL   PATROL. 


307 


of  a  numerous  family  of  twenty-one-gun  corvettes,  of  1,169  tons, 
with  engines  of  250  horse-power.  Her  armament  was  powerful 
for  those  days,  consisting  of  sixteen  plain-bored  8-inch  guns, 
four  40-pounder  and  one  no-pounder  Armstrong  field-guns. 
The  "  Esk  "  was  under  the  command  of  Captain  John  Hamilton  ; 
h(-  fell  in  the  assault  of  the  Gate  Pa  in  1864. 

The  two  remaining  ships,  "Harrier"  (700  tons)  and  "Eclipse" 
(750  tons),  were  the  guardians  of  the  Manukau  waters. 


THE  BRITISH  TROOPSHIP  "  HIMALAYA." 

The  ship-rigged  steamer  "  Himalaya,"  3,570  tons,  was  a  celebrated 
British  transport  in  the  days  of  the  Crimean  War  and  the  Indian  Mutiny, 
and  carried  many  thousands  of  troops  to  the  East.  She  was  built  in 
1853  for  the  P.  and  O.  Company.  On  the  i4th  November,  1863,  she 
arrived  at  Auckland  from  Colombo,  bringing  the  5oth  Regiment,  numbering 
8i«)  officers  and  men,  under  Colonel  Waddy,  C.B.  Captain  Lacy  commanded 
the  "  Himalaya." 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 


THE  TRENCHES  AT  MEREMERE. 

Maori  artillery,  emplaced  on  the  long  narrow  ridge  of 
Meremere,  saluted  the  first  steam-craft  that  came  paddling  up 
the  Waikato.  The  roar  of  these  Kingite-manned  guns  —  old 
ship's  pieces  conveyed  with  great  labour  from  the  west  coast 
and  loaded  with  a  strange  variety  of  projectiles — gave  a  deeper 
note  of  determination  to  the  struggle  for  independence.  Every 
tribe  acknowledging  the  authority  of  the  Maori  King  sent  its 
warriors  to  garrison  Meremere.  At  one  period  of  its  occupation 
there  were  more  than  a  thousand  men  there,  from  the  tribes 
of  Waikato,  from  Ngati-Maniapoto,  Ngati-Haua,  Ngati-Koroki, 
Ngati-Raukawa,  Ngati-Tuwharetoa,  and  even  from  Taranaki  and 
the  Upper  Wanganui.  Inland  again,  in  the  direction  of  the  Wairoa 
and  the  Hauraki,  was  the  Paparata  series  of  entrenchments, 
designed  to  bar  the  British  advance  on  the  eastern  side,  and 
to  keep  communication  open  with  the  Thames  Gulf  and  the 
Wairoa  Ranges.  On  the  other  side  of  the  Lower  Waikato,  in  the 
elbow  of  the  river,  was  Pukekawa,  the  advanced  field  base  of 
Ngati-Maniapoto  ;  from  its  domed  crown  they  could  overlook  the 
river  and  the  movements  of  the  troops  from  Whangamarino  down 
to  Tuakau  and  Camerontown.  Meremere  held  the  centre ;  it 
was  the  key  of  the  Waikato,  and  had  the  Kingites  been  armed 
on  equal  terms  with  the  British  they  might,  for  all  their  inferior 
numbers,  have  swept  the  river  clear,  and  maintained  indefinitely 
the  independence  of  the  interior. 

The  Great  South  Road,  which  skirts  the  proper  right  bank 
of  the  Waikato  south  of  Mercer,  cuts  through  the  site  of  the 
Meremere  fortifications  of  1863.  The  principal  remains  of  the 
Maori  works  extend  obliquely  along  a  ridge — now  a  dairy  farm — 
rising  in  places  in  irregular  terraces  parallel  with  the  river,  on 
the  southern  side  of  the  Whangamarino  flax  swamp.  A  system 
of  marshes,  converted  into  lagoons  in  time  of  flood,  bounds  the 
long  Meremere  ridge,  or  succession  of  ridges,  on  the  east,  and 
when  the  Waikato  ran  high  the  Maori  position  was  practically 
an  island.  At  its  greatest  elevation  it  was  about  130  feet  above 
the  river.  The  northern  terminal  of  the  ridges  is  about  two 
miles  south  of  the  Mercer  Railway-station.  As  the  Great  South 
Road,  after  crossing  the  swamp,  ascends  this  end  of  the  long 
hill  it  intersects  the  ruins  of  the  first  line  of  rifle-pits  ;  on  the 


THE    TRENCHES    AT   MEREMERE. 


309 


clay  spur,  grown  with  gorse  and  pine-trees,  the  remains  of  the 
Maori  trenches  and  shelter-holes  are  still  plainly  to  be  traced. 
From  this  point  southwards  for  nearly  half  a  mile  the  road  runs- 
close  to  the  lines  of  trenches.  On  the  edge  of  the  steepest  part 
of  the  slope  above  the  Waikato  irregular  outlines  of  rifle-pits  and 
dug-in  whares  are  traceable  in  the  uneven  turf  of  the  paddock. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  (east),  about  150  yards  from  the 
highway  and  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  are  the  well-preserved 
remains  of  the  British  redoubt  constructed  upon  the  site  of  the 
Maori  tihi  or  citadel.  This  field-work,  cut  in  a  stiff  clay,  retains 
its  original  proportions  well ;  the  trench  shows  15  feet  scarp  at 
the  highest  point,  with  a  counterscarp  of  about  6  feet. 

The  Maori  artillery  in  the  Meremere  works  consisted  of  three 
ship's  guns,  which  the  natives  regarded  with  great  pride  ;    they 


Meremere. 


THE  MAORI  ENTRENCHMENTS  AT  MEREMERE,    1863. 

expected  with  them  to  prevent  any  pakeha  vessel  running  the* 
blockade  of  the  Waikato.  Patara  te  Tuhi,  who  was  in  Mere- 
mere  with  his  tribe,  informed  me  that  two  if  not  all  of  the  guns- 
held  been  given  to  the  Ngati-Tahinga  Tribe,  at  Whaingaroa,  on 
the  west  coast,  many  years  before  by  the  trader  Captain  Kent 
("  Te  Amukete  "  of  the  Maoris).  They  had  been  transported 
over  the  ranges  by  man-power,  and  taken  by  canoe  from  the 
Waipa  down  to  Meremere.*  The  native  gunners  were  taught 

*  Tohikuri,  of  Ngati-Tamaoho.  gives  the  following  names  of  the  largest 
war-canoes  manned  by  the  Waikato  tribes  during  the  river  war  of  1863  : 
Maramarua,  Tawhitinui,  Te  Marei,  Te  Aparangi,  Te  Ata-i-rehia,  Te  Winika, 
T;>.here-tikitiki,  Ngapuhoro,  and  Te  Toki-a-Tapiri.  The  last-named  was. 
among  the  canoes  belonging  to  the  Ngati-te-Ata  seized  by  the  Naval. 
Volunteers  in  the  Manukau  creeks  ;  it  is  now  in  the  Auckland  Museum. 


3 TO  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

the  art  of  loading,  laying,  and  firing  the  pieces  by  a  European 
who  lived  in  the  Maori  country  before  the  war.  This  was  an 
old  East  India  Company's  gunner,  who  was  detained  by  the 
Kingites  until  he  had  trained  the  brown  artillerymen.  Tohikuri, 
of  Ngati-Tamaoho,  says  that  the  guns  were  under  the  charge 
of  Nganiho  Panapana,  a  relation  of  Major  te  Wheoro,  of  the 
Ngati-Naho  Tribe.  This  gunner  succeeded  one  day  in  firing 
a  steelyard  weight  into  the  "  Pioneer."  His  difficulty  was  the 
want  of  proper  projectiles  ;  for  lack  of  shot  he  loaded  his  guns 
with  pieces  of  iron  chain  and  with  paoro  weeti  (pound  weights) 
taken  from  the  traders'  stores.  Panapana  afterwards  was  taken 
prisoner  at  Rangiriri,  and  was  one  of  those  who  escaped  from 
Kawau  Island  in  1864.  Tai-whakaea  te  Retimana  was  one  of 
the  gunners  ;  he  had  worked  as  assistant  to  a  blacksmith.  Later 
on  he  was  in  charge  of  the  two  guns  which  the  Kingites  emplaced 
in  Paterangi  pa,  in  the  Upper  Waikato. 

The  first  line  of  defence  began  at  a  palisading  close  to  a  belt 
of  bush  on  the  Maoris'  extreme  right,  on  the  edge  of  the  Whanga- 
marino  Swamp  and  close  to  the  river.  In  front  of  the  landing 
two  ship's  guns  were  in  place  ;  one  of  these  was  a  small  swivel 
6-pounder.  There  were  two  embrasures  in  a  kind  of  chamber 
-cut  in  the  clay  bank;  these  openings  covered  the  approach  up 
or  down  the  river,  and  the  gun  was  shifted  from  one  embrasure 
to  the  other  with  rope  tackle.  In  rear  of  the  battery  were 
eleven  tiers  of  traversed  pits,  covering  the  landing.  A  covered 
way  led  from  the  first  gun  to  the  second,  which  was  mounted 
on  a  rough  carriage  with  wooden  wheels.  The  next  system 
•of  entrenchments  consisted  of  lines  of  rifle-pits,  extending  for 
several  chains  along  the  face  of  the  ridge.  Here  a  24-pounder 
gun  was  emplaced.  Beyond  these  pits,  and  on  the  summit  of 
Ihe  hill,  was  the  trenched  pa,  28  yards  by  20  yards,  lightly 
palisaded. 

On  the  6th  August  the  "  Avon,"  commanded  by  Captain 
Hunt,  when  steaming  up  the  river  eight  miles  above  Te  la-roa, 
was  fired  on  from  the  left  bank.  The  Maori  bullets  flattened 
harmlessly  on  her  plates.  The  steamer  fired  six  rounds  from 
her  Armstrong  gun,  besides  three  war -rockets,  and  inflicted 
some  casualties.  On  the  I2th  August  the  "  Avon,"  with  General 
Cameron  on  board,  made  a  reconnaissance  of  Meremere.  Anchor- 
ing within  1,000  yards  of  the  pa,  she  sent  some  shells  and  rockets 
into  the  Kingite  rifle-pits.  The  Maoris  had  begun  their  fire  on 
the  steamer  from  the  bush  on  the  bank,  and  as  she  swung  round 
to  return  down  the  river  they  fired  one  of  their  pieces  of  artillery 
at  her  at  point-blank  range — about  100  yards.  The  gun  was 
loaded,  in  lieu  of  other  shot,  with  long  iron  nails,  which  furrowed 
the  water  astern  of  the  gunboat.  One  of  the  seamen  received  a 
slight  scalp-wound. 


THE   TRENCHES    AT   MEREMERE.  311 

On  the  2Qth  and  3oth  October  the  gunboat  "  Pioneer " 
made  reconnaissances  of  the  Meremere  position.  General  Cameron 
and  his  staff  were  on  board.  The  gunboat  was  fired  on  heavily 
by  the  Maoris,  who  used  their  cannon  as  well  as  small-arms,  but 
the  fire  was  not  effective.  Most  of  the  shots  fell  short,  but  on 
the  30th  a  7lb.  steelyard  weight  fired  from  the  upper  gun,  a 
:>4-pounder,  penetrated  the  upper  works  of  the  gunboat  and 
lodged  in  a  cask  of  beef.  Fragments  of  iron  used  as  projectiles 
rattled  against  the  plating  and  the  cupolas,  but  did  no  damage. 
On  the  first  day's  reconnaissance  the  "  Pioneer  "  replied  to  the 
Maoris'  cannonade  with  her  gun,  and  the  40-pounder  Armstrongs 
in  the  Whangamarino  redoubt  also  sent  several  shells  into  the 
Meremere  entrenchments. 


Drawn  from  a  sketch  by  an  officer  of  H.M.S.  "  Curacoa."] 

THE  GUNBOAT  "  PIONEER  "  AT  MEREMERE. 

On  the  2Qth  October,  1863,  the  "  Pioneer,"  with  Lieut.-General  Cameron 
and  staff  on  board,  reconnoitred  the  Kingite  entrenchments  on  the 
Meremere  ridge.  The  gunboat  anchored  in  the  Waikato  300  yards  from 
the  shore,  and  remained  there  for  more  than  two  hours  under  fire.  A 
correspondent  in  the  "Pioneer,"  describing  the  reconnaissance,  wrote: — 

"  A  cloud  of  white  smoke  burst  from  the  bank  at  the  landing.  The 
Maoris  had  fired  their  lower  guns.  .  .  .  Another  puff  of  smoke 
sprang  up,  this  time  from  a  kind  of  embrasure  in  the  upper  line  of 
rifle-pits.  This  shot  fell  short,  endangering  the  Maoris  more  than  the 
people  in  the  steamer.  Again  the  same  gun  fired,  and  with  similar  effect, 
the  langridge  splashing  up  the  water,  but  nearer  to  the  rifle-pits  than 
to  the  steamer.  The  gun  at  the  landing  belched  out  again,  and  a  jet  of 
water  spouted  up  alongside  the  gunboat  ;  she  was  hit  at  last.  A  broken 
rocket-tube  fell  on  board,  but  without  any  injury  resulting.  The  natives 
had  evidently  dug  up  this  projectile  and  used  it  as  a  charge  of  langridge. 
The  side  of  the  steamer  was  in  a  moment  enveloped  in  white  smoke,  and 
the  fragments  of  a  shell  tore  up  the  ground  about  the  rifle-pits  at  the 
landing.  Another  followed,  and  another,  while  not  a  movement  was  made 


312  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

in  the  native  position.  Now  a  sharp  crack  was  heard  in  another  direction, 
followed  by  a  sustained  hissing  sound — the  4O-pounder  Armstrong  gun  had 
sent  its  shell  from  Whangamarino,  and  this  burst  over  the  long  line  of 
rifle-pits  on  the  hilltop.  The  steamer  again  fired,  and  alternately  the 
40-pounder  fired,  the  missiles  bursting  over  every  part  of  the  position. 
The  time-fuse  appeared  rather  short  for  the  4O-pounder  range,  and  the 
shells  burst  in  the  air,  but  the  percussion  fuse  exploded  the  other  shells  as 
they  struck  the  ground,  and  each  sent  a  shower  of  earth  into  the  air.  The 
natives  rnade  no  reply  for  a  time,  but  at  length,  from  a  point  near  the  water, 
where  a  palisade  had  been  erected  to  arrest  the  march  of  any  troops  that 
might  attack  the  place  from  the  Whangamarino  side,  a  sharp  volley  of 
musketry  rattled  out,  succeeded  by  another,  and  then  came  a  dropping 
fire  from  the  whole  extent  of  rifle-pits.  The  balls  pinged  on  the  steamer 
and  pattered  on  the  iron  plating,  occasionally  going  through  an  opening 
•or  glancing  sharply  off  the  cupolas.  No  one  was  struck,  save  perhaps 
some  man  in  his  coat-skirt  or  the  brim  of  his  hat.  For  half  an  hour  now 
the  steamer  lay  without  firing  a  shot.  General  Cameron  and  his  staff  had 
now  made  themselves  acquainted  with  the  nature  of  the  position  ;  at  each 
loophole  a  sketch  was  being  made,  while  the  natives  expended  their 
ammunition  in  vain." 

The    "  Pioneer  "    again   reconnoitred    the   Meremere   entrenchments   on 
the  3oth  October  and  was  fired  on  heavily. 

After  the  reconnaissance  in  the  "  Pioneer"  on  the  3oth  October 
•General  Cameron  returned  to  the  Queen's  Redoubt,  and  orders 
were  given  for  the  embarkation  of  a  column  of  six  hundred 
men,  consisting  of  detachments  of  the  4oth  and  65th  Regiments, 
and  two  gun  detachments  of  the  Royal  Artillery.  These  marched 
to  the  naval  camp  on  the  Manga-tawhiri,  and  were  taken  off  to 
the  "  Pioneer  "  as  she  lay  at  her  moorings  in  the  Waikato  near 
the  Bluff.  The  expedition  before  daybreak  on  the  3ist  October 
had  passed  the  enemy's  position  at  Meremere,  fired  upon  by  the 
upper  and  lower  battery  and  rifle-pits  as  she  steamed  up  the 
flooded  river.  Without  returning  the  fire,  the  "  Pioneer,"  accom- 
panied by  the  "  Avon,"  and  having  in  tow  several  of  the  small 
gunboats,  steamed  for  about  eight  miles  above  Meremere,  and  the 
force  was  landed.  An  entrenchment  was  thrown  up  on  the  high 
ground  on  the  right  bank  and  on  the  track  from  the  landing  to 
Rangiriri  and  Meremere.  Three  guns  were  got  into  position  early 
in  the  day.  One  of  the  small  gunboats  was  left  in  the  river  to 
cut  off  the  Maoris'  communication  from  the  interior  by  water, 
and  the  "Pioneer"  and  "Avon"  returned,  towing  the  remaining 
gunboats. 

The  Maoris  realized  the  importance  of  this  move,  and 
attempted  to  dislodge  the  British  force  by  an  attack  on  the 
field-work  early  next  morning,  but  they  were  repulsed.  A  force 
of  about  six  hundred  men  was  to  have  embarked  on  the 
ist  November  to  form  a  junction  with  the  advance  force  and 
march  back  to  Meremere,  attacking  it  about  dawn  on  the  left 
flank  and  rear.  The  Maoris  forestalled  this  movement  by  a  retreat. 
The  flooded  state  of  the  country  favoured  their  escape  from  the 
rear  ;  and  about  2  o'clock  a  despatch  from  Captain  Phelps,  of 


THE   TRENCHES   AT   MEREMERE.  313 

the  I4th  Regiment,  in  command  at  Whangamarino,  gave  the  first 
news  that  the  natives  were  crossing  the  lagoon  in  canoes  from 
Meremere  towards  Paparata  and  the  Thames.  General  Cameron, 
accompanied  by  his  staff,  immediately  left  the  Queen's  Redoubt, 
and  in  passing  the  Koheroa  redoubts  gave  orders  for  250  men 
of  the  1 2th  and  i/|.th  Regiments  to  embark  in  the  "  Pioneer." 
The  General  wrent  ahead  in  the  "Avon"  to  reconnoitre,  and  on 
being  joined  by  the  "  Pioneer  "  the  expeditionary  force  landed. 
Meremere  was  found  deserted  ;  two  of  the  heavy  guns,  one 
musket,  and  three  canoes  were  all  that  were  captured.  The 
troops  occupied  the  position,  and  built  a  redoubt  on  the  highest 
point. 

THE  MIRANDA  EXPEDITION. 

On  the  i6th  November  a  force  of  about  nine  hundred  men, 
under  Lieut  .-Colonel  Carey,  embarked  at  Auckland  for  the 
Thames  Gulf.  The  object  of  the  expedition  was  to  occupy  the 
principal  Maori  settlements  on  the  western  shore  of  the  gulf, 
whence  men  and  supplies  had  been  sent  to  the  Waikato,  and 
to  establish  a  line  of  forts  across  country  from  the  sea  to 
the  Queen's  Redoubt.  The  Kingite  position  at  Paparata  still 
threatened  the  rear  of  Cameron's  army,  and  raiding-parties  were 
able  to  cross  the  frontier  at  will  and  rove  the  Wairoa  Ranges. 
Carey's  expeditionary  force  consisted  of  two  companies  of  the 
Auckland  Coastguards  (Naval  Volunteers),  (Captain  William  C. 
Daldy),  sixty  of  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry  (Captain 
Walmsley),  detachments  of  the  I2th  and  7oth  Regiments,  and 
the  ist  Regiment  of  Waikato  Militia.  The  warships  "Miranda" 
and  "  Esk  "  headed  the  fleet  of  transports,  -which  included  the 
Government  gunboat  "  Sandfly,'  the  steamers  "  Corio  "  and 
"Alexandra,"  the  brigantine  "Jessie,"  and  seven  or  eight  cutters. 
The  cavalrymen  and  their  horses  were  taken  down  in  the 
"  Corio  "  and  "  Alexandra." 

For  eight  days  the  vessels  lay  at  anchor  in  Waiheke  Passage, 
weather-bound/  At  last  the  fleet  brought  up  off  Wakatiwai, 
north  of  the  Pukorokoro,  a  small  stream  which  flows  out  into 
the  mangrove-fringed  gulf  near  the  spot  now  known  as  Miranda. 
The  Coastguards  were  boated  ashore  at  Wakatiwai,  and,  cutting 
tlieir  way  through  bush  and  scrub,  they  reached  the  main  ridge 
and  marched  along  it  towards  the  Pukorokoro,  about  six  miles. 
In  the  meantime  the  gunboat  steamed  southward.  From 
Wakatiwai  a  beautiful  shelly  beach  extended  nearly  to  Pukoro- 
koro. This  stretch  of  beach  and  the  rising  ground  behind  were 
thick  with  enemy  rifle-pits,  in  two  lines,  extending  over  about 
a  mile  north  and  south.  The  Maoris  had  also  blocked  the 
mouth  of  the  Pukorokoro  with  large  limbs  of  pohulukawa  trees. 
(The  "Miranda"  and  "Sandfly"  had  reconnoitred  Pukorokoro  a 


314  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

fortnight  previously,  when  three  of  the  native  villages  were  shelled.) 
The  Coastguards,  hurrying  along  the  ridge,  were  just  in  time  to 
see  the  Kingites  retreating  quickly  across  the  creek  in  the  direction 
of  Waitakaruru  and  the  Piako  Swamp.  The  officer  commanding 
the  Coastguards  (who  had  by  this  time  been  joined  by  the  rest 
of  the  military  force)  obtained  permission  to  lead  the  attack  on 
the  native  village  at  Pukorokoro,  which  stood  a  short  distance 
south  of  the  stream.  Doubling  up  past  the  Regulars  and  Militia, 
the  bluejackets  took  the  lead  and  crossed  the  creek.  The  Maoris 
made  no  stand,  but  quickly  retreated  along  the  narrow  level 


THE  ESK  REDOUBT. 

This  redoubt,  for  150  men,  named  after  H.M.S.  "  Esk,"  was  constructed 
at  the  end  of  November,  1863,  by  the  force  under  Colonel  Carey  It  was 
situated  on  a  commanding  ridge  between  the  Miranda  post  (Pukorokoro) 
and  the  Surrey  Redoubt,  south  of  Paparata,  and  formed  one  of  the  chain 
of  redoubts  from  the  Thames  Gulf  to  the  Waikato  River. 

belt  between  the  mangroves  and  the   hills  for  about  two  miles 
towards  the  Piako  Swamp. 

On  the  bluff  above  the  creek-mouth  the  troops  built  a  redoubt 
for  120  men.  It  was  named  the  Miranda,  after  the  warship. 
Working  detachments  were  sent  out  later  along  a  route  west- 
ward selected  for  a  line  of  posts  to  the  Waikato,  and  two 
redoubts,  named  the  Esk  and  the  Surrey,  were  constructed  along 
the  Miranda-Manga-tawhiri  line,  linking  up  with  the  Queen's 
Redoubt. 


NAVALS   SERVICE  ON  THE  MANUKAU.  315 

OPERATIONS  OF  THE  NAVAL  VOLUNTEERS. 

The  Auckland  Coastguards — later  known  as  the  Auckland 
Naval  Artillery  —  who  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  Miranda 
expedition,  performed  very  useful  service  during  the  year  in 
scouring  the  shores  of  Manukau  Harbour  and  the  Hauraki,  and 
(in  conjunction  with  the  Onehunga  Naval  Volunteers)  in  seizing 
the  flotilla  of  Maori  war-canoes  in  the  South  Manukau  creeks. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Henry  Parker,  of  Devonport,  who  served  for 
nine  months  as  a  seaman  in  the  Auckland  Coastguards,  narrating 
the  services  of  the  corps  (1918),  stated  that  the  first  call  to 
war  came  on  the  i8th  July,  1863.  The  corps  had  a  flagstaff 
near  Government  House,  overlooking  the  town  and  harbour,  and 
a  gun  was  mounted  there.  The  signal  went  up  to  muster,  and 
at  2  p.m.  the  company  fell  in  at  Princes  Street  fully  armed 
and  accoutred,  under  Lieutenants  Guilding  and  Stevenson.  On 
reaching  the  rendezvous  the  Navals  found  that  sixty  armed 
friendly  Maoris  were  to  accompany  them  to  the  Manukau. 
They  objected  to  march  with  the  natives  unless  the  latter  were 
disarmed,  as  they  did  not  trust  them.  The  Defence  Minister, 
after  a  conference  with  his  officers,  had  the  rifles  and  ammunition 
taken  from  the  Maoris.  The  Volunteers  marched  out  to  One- 
hunga, and  on  reaching  the  Manukau  were  embarked  in  cutters. 
With  the  flood  tide  the  flotilla  stood  up  the  south  bay,  and 
at  2  o'clock  next  morning  the  force  landed  at  a  point  on  the 
left-hand  side  of  the  tidal  river,  sailing  up.  Here  there  was  a 
settlement  of  Kingite  Maoris  (Ngati-te-Ata)  who  were  in  possession 
of  many  large  canoes  ;  these  canoes,  it  was  believed,  were  to  be 
used  to  transport  war-parties  of  Kingites  across  the  Manukau  to 
Blockhouse  Bay  for  an  attack  upon  Auckland.  Immediately  the 
Maoris  in  the  fenced  village  of  raupo  huts  observed  the  presence 
of  an  enemy  in  the  channel  they  opened  fire  on  the  troops.  In 
the  meantime  a  considerable  number  of  the  men  had  landed  and 
gained  the  shelter  of  the  cliff.  The  company  advanced,  and  when 
the  natives  discovered  the  landing-party  they  retreated.  The 
Volunteers  suffered  only  one  casualty — Seaman  Thomas  Barren 
(afterwards  a  well-known  Auckland  oarsman),  who  was  hit  in 
the  ankle  by  a  slug  from  a  Maori  gun.  The  force  on  returning 
to  the  village  threw  the  Maori  drays,  ploughs,  and  other  movable 
property  into  the  harbour.  After  enjoying  the  kumara  and  other 
stores,  the  men  endeavoured  to  set  fire  to  the  timber  palisading 
around  the  pa,  but  it  would  not  burn.  The  Navals  explored 
the  Papakura  Creek,  where  H.M.S.  "Harrier"  was  lying,  and 
searched  all  the  native  villages.  One  of  the  main  objects  of 
the  expedition,  the  capture  of  the  enemy's  means  of  transport 
across  the  Manukau,  was  successfully  accomplished.  Twenty-one 
large  canoes  were  secured  ;  these  wakas  were  capable  of  carrying 


316  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

from  thirty  to  fifty  men  each.  The  force  also  found  an  historic 
craft,  the  war-canoe  "  Toki-a-Tapiri  "  ("  Tapiri's  Axe  ") — which 
now  reposes  in  the  Auckland  Museum.  The  "Axe  "  could  carry 
quite  a  hundred  warriors.  At  Onehunga  the  canoes  were  handed 
over  to  the  troops.  Most  of  them  were  broken  up  and  used  for 
firewood  or  otherwise  destroyed.  The  contingent  then  marched 
back  to  Auckland,  after  an  absence  of  a  week. 

The  Auckland  Coastguards'  next  warlike  mission  was  a  minor 
expedition  to  carry  despatches.  Ten  of  the  volunteer  blue- 
jackets; under  Chief  Petty  Officer  (afterwards  Captain)  W.  C. 
Daldy,  were  ordered  to  carry  despatches  to  the  head  chief  of  the 
native  hapu  on  the  Wairoa  River  ;  this  was  Hori  te  Whetuki, 
of  the  Koheriki  Tribe.  The  detachment  embarked  in  the  gun- 
schooner  "  Caroline/'  Captain  Hannibal  Marks.  Arriving  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Wairoa  in  the  early  morning,  the  schooner  anchored, 
and  the  boat's  crew  was  ordered  away  to  carry  the  despatches 
up  the  river.  Chief  Petty  Officer  Daldy  and  four  men  formed 
the  crew,  Daldy  steering ;  one  of  the  oarsmen  was  Seaman 
Parker.  The  bluejackets  had  pulled  about  two  miles  up  the 
river  when  they  were  fired  on  by  a  party  of  natives  in  the  bush 
on  the  bank.  In  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  under  the  thwarts, 
were  loaded  Enfield  rifles,  but  as  the  crew  was  so  small  it  was 
deemed  advisable  not  to  return  the  fire.  Not  a  Maori  could  be 
seen — only  the  smoke  that  hung  about  the  edge  of  the  bush. 
This  hostile  reception  compelled  the  despatch-carriers  to  return 
to  the  schooner.  They  pulled  down  the  river  and  out  to  the 
"  Caroline,"  and  a  few  hours  later  were  back  in  Auckland. 

Three  days  later  the  Coastguards  received  orders  to  go  to 
the  Wairoa  again.  The  Government  had  chartered  the  steamer 
"  Auckland,"  and  Nos.  I  and  2  Companies  (the  second  company 
had  just  been  formed),  totalling  about  two  hundred  men,  were 
ordered  aboard,  and  all  preparations  were  made  for  fighting. 
The  steamer  anchored  off  Ponui  (Chamberlin's  Island),  several 
miles  off  the  mouth  of  the  Wairoa,  and  all  the  boats  were  put 
into  the  water.  The  force  rowed  ashore,  but  not  a  Maori  was 
found ;  all  the  coast  settlements  were  deserted.  The  expedition, 
finding  no  foe  whereupon  to  play  Enfield  and  cutlass,  returned 
to  town. 

A  week  later  the  Coastguards  were  ordered  out  to  the  military 
camp  at  Drury.  For  several  weeks  the  Volunteers  were  employed 
on  convoy  duty  in  the  district  between  Drury,  Mauku,  and  the 
Queen's  Redoubt.  On  one  occasion,  the  day  after  the  fight  at 
the  Titi  Farm,  Mauku,  a  -convoy  of  the  Coastguards  was  ordered 
to  take  stores  of  food  up  to  the  soldiers  at  the  Mauku  stockades. 
The  convoy  had  covered  about  half  the  distance,  over  a  very 
bad  road  cut  through  the  dense  forest,  when  the  bullock-drays 
became  bogged.  Some  Maoris  had  taken  post  in  a  wooded 


THE  AUCKLAND  NAVAL  VOLUNTEERS.  317 

gully  flanking  the  road.  By  this  time  it  was  dark,  and  the  Maori 
fires  could  be  seen  twinkling  through  the  screen  of  foliage.  The 
enemy  opened  fire  on  the  convoy.  The  fire  was  effectively 
returned,  the  natiyes  were  driven  off,  and  the  convoy  delivered 
the  stores  at  Mauku  and  returned  to  Drury  without  further 
molestation. 

This  convoy  duty  and  working  cargo  on  the  Drury  tidal 
landing  from  the  small  craft  that  plied  from  Onehunga  were 
arduous,  but  were  cheerfully  undertaken  by  the  Coastguards. 
They  openly  rebelled,  however,  against  an  order  to  build  a  redoubt. 
Captain  Daldy  paraded  the  corps  one  day,  arid  informed  them 
that  orders  had  been  given  by  the  Imperial  officers  to  turn  to 
and  build  an  earthwork  for  the  troops.  This  order  met  with 
very  strenuous  objections  from  the  men,  who  protested  that  they 
had  come  to  fight  and  not  to  build  redoubts  for  the  Regulars. 
They  considered  that  as  there  were  then  some  thousands  of 
scddiers  at  Drury  the  troops  could  set  to  at  their  own  fortifications. 
The  protest  held  good.  The  officer  in  command  rescinded  his 
order,  and  the  Coastguards  presently  received  orders  to  return 
to  Auckland. 

In  the  town  the  Coastguards  were  continuously  engaged  in 
garrison  duty  ;  the  pay  was  two  guineas  per  week. 

Later  in  the  year  (November)  an  expedition  of  Onehunga 
N avals  and  Rifle  Volunteers,  under  Captain  Purnell,  scoured  the 
southern  and  western  shores  of  the  Manukau  in  the  s.s.  "  Lady 
Barkly,"  and  brought  in  canoes  overlooked  by  the  first  expedition. 
The  "  Toki-a-Tapiri,"  which  had  not  been  removed  by  the  force 
in  July — only  the  stern  portion  of  the  hull  had  been  taken — 
was  brought  up  to  Onehunga.  At  Waiuku  it  was  learned  that 
a  party  of  Maoris  had  cut  down  the  signal-mast  at  the  South 
Manukau  Head,  and  had  taken  away  two  boats.  The  shore  was 
searched,  but  the  raiders  had  disappeared.  A  few  days  later 
there  was  another  expedition  in  the  steamer,  this  time  to  Awhitu, 
where  it  was  reported  that  Kingite  Maoris  had  appeared  in 
force.  The  Navals  landed,  and  in  skirmishing  order  rushed 
the  kainga,  but  the  Maoris  took  to  the  bush,  where  it  was  not 
practicable  to  follow  them. 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 


THE    BATTLE    OF    RANGIRIRI. 

Fifty-six  miles  south  of  Auckland  the  Main  Trunk  trains  pass 
the  station  of  Rangiriri.  Nothing  is  to  be  seen  there  of  the 
battle-ground  of  the  2Oth  November,  1863 — the  view  is  of  swamps 
and  lagoons  and  a  forest  of  weeping-willows  bordering  the  Waikato 
River — but  from  the  line  a  little  distance  north  of  the  station 
one  may  see,  a  mile  away,  the  hill  where  the  engagement  was 
fought.  Westward  of  the  railway  is  the  still,  sedge-bordered 
Lake  Kopuwera,  now  a  bird-sanctuary,  alive  with  wild  duck  and 
swans  and  wading-birds.  This  lagoon  extends  to  the  eastern  base 
of  a  ridge  marked  by  a  dark  plantation  of  pines  :  that  is  the 
spot  where  the  Maoris  of  Waikato  built  their  redoubt  and  dug 
out  their  rifle-pits  and  trenches  to  resist  General  Cameron.  On 
the  west  side  sweeps  the  Waikato  River,  here  a  full  third  of  a 
mile  wide.  The  Great  South  Road,  running  west  of  the  railway, 
traverses  the  battlefield.  Half  a  mile  before  reaching  Rangiriri 
Township  going  south  from  Auckland  the  traveller  motors  or 
rides  over  the  actual  site  of  the  entrenchments.  The  central 
redoubt  of  Rangiriri  was  just  on  the  western  side  of  the  present 
road.  The  trenches  and  rifle-pits  extended  down  the  slopes  on 
either  side  to  the  Waikato  on  the  west  and  to  the  small  lake  on 
the  east.  The  long  double  trench  and  parapet  on  the  north  (or 
front)  face  of  the  position  can  still  be  traced  from  the  hilltop  ; 
it  is  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  stretching  from 
water  to  water.  The  redoubt  in  the  centre  of  the  works,  the 
apex  of  the  ridge,  is  indicated  by  a  ditch  still  about  6  feet  deep, 
with  a  parapet  extending  westward  over  the  crown  of  the  hill. 

In  rear  of  the  left  centre  of  the  main  line  and  at  right  angles 
to  it  there  was  a  line  of  trenches  and  rifle-pits  parallel  to  the 
Waikato  River,  designed  to  resist  troops  landing  from  the  war- 
steamers.  In  rear  again  and  some  distance  from  the  pa  there  was 
a  separate  earthwork  on  the  spur,  the  southern  terminal  of  the 
ridge.  This  work  General  Cameron  had  observed  on  a  recon- 
naissance, and  arranged  to  attack  it  by  landing  a  force  from  the 
steamers  simultaneously  with  the  land  attack  on  the  front  of  the 
main  position.  The  distance  between  the  central  redoubt  on  the 


THE    BATTLE    OF    RANGIRIRI. 

ridge  and  this  entrenchment  in  rear  immediately  overlooking 
the  swamps  and  lakes  was  about  500  yards.  The  whole  of  the 
Kingite  defences  consisted  of  earthworks  ;  no  palisading  was 
u^ed. 

General  Cameron,  after  reconnoitring  Rangiriri  on  the  i8th 
November  in  the  "  Pioneer,"  moved  against  the  Kingite  strong- 
hold on  the  20th.  The  whole  of  the  river  fleet  was  engaged  in 
taking  up  sailors  and  soldiers  from  the  Manga-tawhiri,  while  the 
troops  encamped  at  Meremere  and  Takapau  marched  up  along 
the  right  bank  of  the  river.  The  "  Pioneer  "  and  "  Avon  "  brought 
up  the  headquarters  of  the  4oth  Regiment,  about  320  strong.  In 
tow  of  the  steamers  were  the  four  armoured  gunboats  filled  with 
men.  Commodore  Sir  William  Wiseman  commanded  the  flotilla. 
A  Naval  Brigade  of  a  hundred  men,  under  Lieutenant  Alexander, 
of  H.M.S.  "  Curagoa,"  marched  up  the  bank  with  the  infantry 
column.  The  force  which  assembled  on  the  north  front  of 
the  Rangiriri  ridge  at  3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  after  a  hot 
march  totalled  about  850,  made  up  as  follows  :  Royal  Navy, 
100  officers  and  men,  with  a  6-pounder  Armstrong  ;  Royal  Engi- 
neers, 15  ;  Royal  Artillery,  54,  with  two  Armstrong  guns  ;  I2th 
Regiment,  112  ;  I4th  Regiment,  186  ;  65th  Regiment,  386.  On 
the  river  side  of  the  operations  much  delay  was  caused,  as  the 
"  Pioneer  "  became  unmanageable  and  was  not  able  to  anchor 
at  the  point  arranged,  owing  to  the  powerful  current  of  the 
flooded  Waikato  and  the  strong  wind  blowing. 

The  attack  began  with  an  artillery  bombardment  at  a  range 
of  about  700  yards.  The  three  Armstrong  guns  shelled  the 
Maori  works  for  nearly  two  hours ;  a  fire  was  also  directed 
on  the  pa  from  the  gunboats.  The  solid  earthworks  suffered 
very  little  from  the  shelling,  but  many  casualties  were  inflicted 
on  the  Maoris  crowded  in  their  trenches  and  pits.  The  heaviest 
gun  employed  was  a  12-pounder  Armstrong.  Then  General 
Cameron,  concluding  that  this  artillery  preparation  was  sufficient, 
ordered  an  assault  of  the  Kingite  trenches.  For  this  task  the 
65th  Regiment  was  detailed.  The  leading  company,  under 
Lieutenant  Toker,  carried  scaling-ladders  and  planks  ;  with  the 
stormers  was  a  small  detachment  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  under 
Captain  Brooke.  Three  companies  of  the  65th  followed,  with 
the.  I4th  in  support.  The  storming-party,  with  fixed  bayonets 
at  the  charge,  swept  gallantly  up  the  manuka-grown  slope  of  the 
hil:,  and  quickly  forced  the  defenders  out  of  the  first  line  of 
entrenchments,  but  lost  several  men.  A  bullet  smashed  Captain 
Gresson's  right  arm. 

The  Kingite  warriors  fell  back  to  defend  the  second  line  of 
rifle-pits,  and  for  a  few  minutes  held  the  position  with  great 
determination,  but  this  system  of  defences  also  was  captured  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet. 


320 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


^  w 

^>  HT 

•5  H 

1 


THE    BATTLE    OF   RANGIRIRI. 


32I 


The  long  lines  of  outer  works  were  now  in  the  British  hands, 
{Jid  the  greater  number  of  the  defenders  crowded  into  the  central 
redoubt,  a  rectangular  citadel  of  high  and  broad  parapet  sur- 
lounded  by  an  unusually  wide  ditch.  The  scarp  of  the  earth- 
works was  17  or  1 8  feet  in  height  from  the  bottom  of  the  trench. 
From  the  rough  banquette  inside  the  rampart  the  defenders, 
resting  their  guns  on  the  top,  fired  heavily  on  the  troops.  Many 
of  the  Maoris,  however,  were  unable  to  reach  this  redoubt  on  the 
lilltop.  When  the  outer  trenches  were  stormed  the  musketeers 
on  the  Maori  right  flank  ran  for  the  lagoon  and  the  swamps  in 
the  rear,  but  were  fired  on  hotly  by  detachments  of  the  65th, 
which  pursued  them.  Some  of  these  were  hit  and  wounded  in 
swimming  away,  and  most  of  the  other  fugitives  lost  their  guns. 


63  Feet 


Whare 


CROSS-SECTIONS  OF  THE  CENTRAL  REDOUBT,  RANGIRIRI. 


The  40th  Regiment,  late  in  the  afternoon,  succeeded  in 
lauding  from  the  steamers  where  the  present  township  of 
Rangiriri  stands,  in  rear  of  the  pa,  and  attacked  and  captured 
a  series  of  entrenchments  on  a  spur  above.  The  defenders  of 
this  outwork  fled  across  the  swamps  and  made  for  Lake  Waikare, 
which  they  crossed  in  canoes.  A  portion  of  the  65th  Regiment 
now  worked  round  to  the  Maoris'  left  rear,  crossing  the  deserted 
double  trench  and  parapet  which  extended  from  the  crown  of 
th<>  ridge  to  the  Waikato  River.  By  this  time  an  attempt  by 
th'i  main  body  of  the  65th  and  the  I4th  to  storm  the  central 
redoubt  failed,  because  the  ladders  brought  were  too  short  to 
rer.ch  to  the  top  of  the  parapets  ;  and  although  a  few  did 
mount  the  high  rampart  they  were  hurled  back  or  shot  down. 

The  Maoris  in  the  main  work  were  now  fighting  with  desperate 
determination,  firing  at  close  range  as  quickly  as  they  could 
IT—N.Z.  Wars. 


322  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

load  their  guns.  There  were  women  among  them  :  after  the  battle 
a  beautiful  girl  was  found  lying  dead  on  the  hilltop,  killed  by 
a  fragment  of  shell. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  General  Cameron  issued  the  most 
extraordinary  order  of  the  day.  A  detachment  of  the  Royal 
Artillery,  armed  with  revolvers  and  swords,  was  to  storm  the 
redoubt.  Captain  Mercer  led  thirty-six  of  his  men  to  the 
assault.  Leaping  into  the  wide  trenches,  they  attempted  to 
gain  the  top  of  the  parapet,  but  only  one  or  two  succeeded  in 
planting  foot  upon  it.  Sergeant-Ma j or  Hamilton  reached  the 
top  and  fired  his  revolver  into  the  Maoris,  but  was  forced  back 
with  a  severe  gunshot  wound  in  the  right  arm.  Captain  Mercer 
fell,  mortally  wounded,  outside  the  trench  ;  he  was  shot  through 
the  mouth. 

This  repulse  only  strengthened  Cameron's  stubborn  resolution 
to  take  the  redoubt,  and  another  assault  was  ordered.  This 
time  the  Royal  Navy  men  were  selected  for  the  forlorn  hope. 
Captain  Mayne,  of  H.M.S.  "  Eclipse,"  was  directed  to  make  a 
frontal  attack  with  ninety  sailors  of  the  Naval  Brigade,  consisting 
of  portions  of  the  crews  of  the  "  Eclipse,"  "  Curacoa,"  and 
"  Miranda."  The  bluejackets,  with  rifle  and  cutlass,  dashed  at 
the  works  and  endeavoured  to  swarm  up  the  straight-scarped 
parapet,  but  once  more  the  stormers  were  thrown  back,  and 
dead  and  dying  men  strewed  the  ditch  and  the  ground  in  front 
of  it.  A  few  reached  the  top  of  the  parapet.  Midshipman 
Watkins  was  one  of  them  ;  he  fell  back  into  the  trench  with  a 
bullet  through  his  head.  Commander  Mayne  was  severely  wounded 
in  the  left  hip  ;  Lieutenant  Downes,  of  H.M.S.  "  Miranda,"  was 
shot  through  the  left  shoulder;  and  two  officers  of  the  "Cura9oa" 
suffered  bad  wounds,  Lieutenant  Alexander  in  the  right  shoulder 
and  Lieutenant  C.  F.  Hotham  (afterwards  Admiral)  in  the  right 
leg. 

When  this  attack  failed  a  party  of  seamen,  under  Commander 
Phillimore,  of  the  "  Curagoa,"  charged  up  to  the  ditch  and  threw 
hand-grenades  over  into  the  redoubt,  but  this  attempt  did  not 
alter  the  position.  In  the  Naval  Brigade  was  Midshipman  C.  G. 
Eoljambe  ("  Curagoa  "),  afterwards  Earl  of  Liverpool  and  father 
of  a  recent  Governor  of  New  Zealand.  He  and  his  comrades 
made  several  attempts  to  scale  the  parapet,  but  the  task  was 
hopeless. 

It  was  now  almost  night,  and  the  General  was  compelled  by 
the  darkness  to  cease  the  waste  of  brave  men's  lives.  The  pa 
was  surrounded  by  the  troops  in  readiness  to  renew  the  combat 
in  the  morning,  and  sailors  and  soldiers  lay  in  the  main  ditch  all 
night  listening  to  the  shouts  and  war-songs  of  the  maddened 
Maoris,  and  occasionally  returning  the  fire  directed  at  them  from 
the  parapet.  Many  of  the  Maoris  contrived  to  escape  during 


THE    BATTLE   OF   RANGIRIRI. 


323 


I  t  Vr$    -t&P^     '    1? 

'V>fS4  o 

^    :r  f 


324  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

the  night  ;  among  them  was  Te  Wharepu,  a  leading  warrior, 
who  was  severely  wounded.  Hand-grenades  were  thrown  into 
the  redoubt  in  the  darkness  and  caused  a  number  of  casualties. 

The  British  casualties  in  this  second  Ohaeawai  totalled  128. 
Of  this  number  two  officers  were  killed  outright  (Mr.  Watkins, 
R.N.,  and  Lieutenant  Murphy,  I4th  Regiment),  four  died  from 
their  wounds  (Lieut. -Colonel  Austen,  I4th,  Captain  Mercer,  R.A., 
Captain  Phelps,  I4th,  and  Ensign  Ducrow,  4Oth),  and  nine  others 
were  wounded.  Forty-one  men  were  killed  or  died  of  wounds, 
and  seventy-two  were  wounded.  The  Maori  losses  were  greater; 
thirty-six  dead  were  buried  after  the  capture  of  the  pa  on  the 
following  day,  and  many  were  shot  or  wounded  in  escaping 
across  the  flooded  lagoons. 

Before  daybreak  next  morning  (2ist  November)  the  men  of 
the  Royal  Engineers,  under  Colonel  Mould  and  Captain  Brooke, 
made  an  attempt  to  mine  the  main  pa,  and  a  gallery  was  run  in 
under  an  angle  of  the  parapet  for  the  purpose  of  blowing  it  up 
and  making  a  breach.  It  was  found,  however,  that  the  fuses 
had  been  mislaid  on  board  the  "  Pioneer."  Picks  and  shovels 
were  afterwards  used  to  bring  the  parapet  down,  but  shortly 
after  daybreak  the  Maoris  ceased  firing  and  hoisted  a  white  flag 
in  token  of  surrender. 

One  of  the  staff  interpreters,  Mr.  Gundry,  was  sent  forward, 
and  after  some  discussion  the  principal  chiefs,  headed  by  Tioriori, 
of  the  Ngati-Koroki  (a  section  of  Ngati-Haua),  agieed  to  submit 
unconditionally.  The  gallant  Tioriori  had  sustained  three  wounds 
when  chivalrously  attempting  to  remove  a  wounded  officer  out 
of  the  line  of  fire.  The  defenders  surrendered  to  the  number 
of  183,  and  gave  up  175  stand  of  arms  of  varied  makes, 
chiefly  double-bai  rel  shot-guns.  The  troops  entered  the  redoubt 
— a  pitiful  scene  after  the  battle — and  the  prisoners  of  war  were 
escorted  to  the  native  church  near  the  river;  they  were  after- 
wards taken  down  the  Waikato  in  the  "Pioneer,"  and  marched 
from  the  Manga-tawhiri  to  Auckland. 

Soon  after  the  surrender  of  the  pa  a  large  force  of  Maoris  was 
seen  near  Paetai,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rangiriri  Stream.  An 
interpreter  found  that  they  were  a  body  of  reinforcements,  under 
Wiremu  Tamehana.  The  leader  was  desirous  of  surrendering, 
and  sent  his  greenstone  mere  to  the  General  as  a  token  of  peace. 
His  men,  however,  were  strongly  opposed  to  giving  up  themselves 
or  their  arms,  and  Tamehana  accordingly  retired  with  them  to 
Ngaruawahia. 

Many  prominent  Kingite  chiefs  were  captufed  when  Rangiriri 
surrendered,  besides  Tioriori.  The  Maori  of  highest  rank  was 
Ta  Kerei  ("  Sir  Grey ")  te  Rau-angaanga,  a  near  relative  of  the 
Maori  King.  Others  who  surrendered  were  Wiremu  Kumete 
(Whitiora),  Tarahawaiki,  Te  Kihirini,  Te  Aho,  Tapihana  (of 
Kawhia),  Wini  Kerei,  and  Maihi  Katipa.  Te  Wharepu,  the 


THE    BATTLE   OF   RANGIRIRI. 


325 


principal  engineer  in  the  construction  of  the  pa,  escaped  badly 
wounded.  Among  the  men  of  importance  killed  were  Te  Tutere, 
of  Ngati-Haua,  and  Amukete  Ta  Kerei,  son  of  Ta  Kerei  te  Rau- 
angaanga.  The  total  Maori  loss  in  killed  was  between  forty  and 
fiftfr. 

A  veteran  of  the  Ngati-Tamaoho  Tribe  says  that  the  principal 
reason  for  the  surrender  of  Rangiriri  on  the  second  day  was  the 
fact  that  all  the  ammunition  was  expended.  "The  highest  chief 
who  remained  in  the  pa,  Ta  Kerei  te  Rau-angaanga,  spoke  to  the 


THE  ENTRENCHMENTS  AT  RANGIRIRI,  PRESENT  DAY. 

This  photograph,  taken  from  the  site  of  the  central  redoubt  of 
Rargiriri  pa  (intersected  by  the  Great  South  Road),  shows  the  long 
par;  pet  and  double  ditch  extending  westward  from  the  hilltop  to  the 
Waikato  River. 


int(  rpreter  sent  forward  by  the  General  and  said,  '  Kaore  e  man 
te  rongo  '  ('  Peace  shall  .not  be  made  ').  In  response  to  the 
summons  to  surrender  he  declared,  '  We  will  fight  on.'  Then 
he  made  the  request,  '  Ho  mai  he  paura  '  ('  Give  us  some  gun- 
pov  der  ').  He  thought  it  would  be  fair  play  if  the  soldiers  gave 


326  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

the  Maoris  some  powder  to  continue  the  fight.  But  the  inter- 
preter said,  '  No.'  Ta  Kerei  and  his  people  therefore  decided 
to  surrender." 

The  same  authority  says,  "  Wiiemu  Kingi  te  Rangitaake,  of 
Taranaki,  was  in  Rangiriri  at  the  beginning,  but  retreated  when 
he  saw  the  war-steamers  coming  up  the  river." 


NOTE. 
The  Escape  from  Kawau  Island. 

On  the  night  of  the  nth  September,  1864,  the  Waikato  prisoners  of 
war  taken  at  Rangiriri  escaped  from  Kawau  Island  to  the  mainland.  The 
escape  was  planned  chiefly  by  Tapihana,  of  Kawhia  ;  other  leading  men 
in  the  party  were  Wi  Karamoa  (the  Waikato  lay  reader,  who  was  the  only 
man  to  surrender  at  Orakau)  and  Wiremu  Kumete  te  Whitiora,  of  Ngati- 
Mahuta.  Tioriori  and  Ta  Kerei  had  been  released.  The  prisoners,  after 
a  confinement  of  many  months  in  the  hulk  "  Marion  "  in  Auckland  Harbour, 
under  a  guard  of  fifty  Militia  (Captain  Krippner),  had  been  removed  to  the 
Kawau,  but  no  charge  was  laid  against  them,  nor  were  they  tried  by  any 
tribunal.  This  uncertainty  and  their  home-sickness  were  quickened  by 
wild  reports  that  they  were  to  be  taken  out  to  sea  in  a  vessel  and  sunk  by 
gun-fire — a  story  which  had  gained  currency  owing  to  a  warship  having 
carried  out  target  practice  off  the  island.  Their  quarters  were  near  the 
old  sulphur- workings  on  the  Kawau.  They  were  allowed  the  use  of  boats 
for  fishing,  but  the  oars  and  rowlocks  were  locked  up  at  night.  To  the 
number  of  nearly  two  hundred  they  crowded  into  the  boats,  taking  all  the 
craft  on  the  island,  and  worked  their  way  across  to  the  nearest  point  of 
the  mainland  with  their  spades  and  shovels  and  pieces  of  board  which 
they  had  shaped  into  paddles.  The  fugitives  landed  at  Waikauri,  and 
ascended  the  mountain  Otamahua,  overlooking  Omaha  and  Matakana. 
There  they  entrenched  themselves  on  a  narrow  ridge  commanding  a 
view  over  the  surrounding  country  for  many  miles.  Their  nikau-hut 
camp,  partly  fenced  and  ditched  around,  was  about  150  yards  in  length 
by  15  to  20  yards  in  width;  on  either  side  were  precipices,  and  the 
only  approach  was  up  a  steep  spur.  Here  they  watched  for  pursuers, 
and  were  visited  by  many  of  the  neighbouring  Ngapuhi  people,  who 
supplied  them  with  food.  They  were  visited  also  by  Government  agents 
and  their  late  keeper,  who  tried  to  coax  them  back  to  their  prison 
island  ;  but  Wiremu  Kumete  asked  sardonically,  "  How  many  birds,  having 
escaped  from  the  snare,  return  to  it  ?  "  The  Government  wisely  left  them 
alone,  and  they  presently  made  their  way  across  to  the  Kaipara,  and  thence 
to  West  Waikato. 

There  had  been  some  discussion  between  the  Governor  and  his 
Ministers  with  regard  to  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  from  Rangiriri, 
and  some  ill-natured  critics  even  professed  to  believe  that  Sir  George 
Grey  had  connived  at  their  escape  from  his  island  home,  the  Kawau.  Upon 
this  the  entertainer  Richard  Thatcher,  whose  topical  songs  were  highly 
popular  among  the  Auckland  audiences  of  the  "  sixties,"  wrote  and  delivered 
a  song  (to  the  old-fashioned  tune  of  "  Nellie  Gray  "),  one  verse  of  which 
ran — 

Oh,  ka  kino  !    Hori  Grey, 

For  you  let  us  get  away, 
And    you'll   never    see   your   Maoris    any   more  ; 

Much  obliged  to  you  we  are, 

And  you'll  find  us  in  a  pa 
Rifle-pitted  on  the  Taranaki  shore. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 


THE  ADVANCE  ON  THE  WAIPA. 

The  trumpet-call  of  "  Boot  and  saddle  "  in  the  cavalry  and 
mounted  artillery  camps,  and  the  infantry  '•'  Assembly  "  bugle, 
set  all  hearts  bounding  when  the  news  came  that  Cameron's 
march  for  the  Upper  Waikato  had  begun.  Already  large  infantry 
detachments  had  gone  forward  from  the  advanced  camp  at 
Rangiriri  to  Ngaruawahia,  where  the  British  flag  was  hoisted  on 
the  8th  December,  and  the  main  army  was  now  to  be  transported 
into  the  heart  of  the  Maori  country.  Horse,  foot,  and  guns 
streamed  southward  in  the  beautiful  midsummer  weather  ;  in 
their  train  came  an  endless  procession  of  munitions  and  stores 
in  transport-carts.  The  river  was  alive  with  the  steam  flotilla 
and  the  boats  and  canoes  of  the  transport  service.  Bend  after 
bend  of  the  broad  Waikato  was  invaded  by  the  steadily  churning 
gunboat -paddles  and  the  flashing  oars  of  the  heavy  boats 
manned  by  the  newly  organized  Water  Transport  Corps.  The 
time-songs  of  Te  Wheoro's  and  Kukutai's  friendlies  rang  like 
war-cries  along  the  Waikato  as  they  came  sweeping  up  in  their 
long  canoes,  carrying  thirty  or  forty  men  apiece,  and  loaded, 
like  the  boats,  with  commissariat  stores.  Then,  too,  one  would 
hear  English  sea-songs  strangely  far  inland,  for  most  of  the 
pakeha  Water  Transport  Corps  were  sailors,  and  they  chantied 
as  they  stretched  out  on  their  oars  that  they  would  "go  no 
mere  a-roving,"  and  at  their  camp-fires  they  raised  the  old 
choruses  of  "  Good-bye,  fare  you  well,"  and  "  Rio  Grande." 
And  many  a  man  of  Jackson's  and  Von  Tempsky's  Forest 
Rangers  —  now  two  independent  companies  —  swinging  light- 
heartedly  along  the  bank,  joined  in  the  chanties,  for  a  large 
proportion  of  the  blue-shirted  carbineers  had  at  one  time  or 
another  followed  the  sea. 

Crying  their  farewells  to  their  old  homes  and  chanting  the 
ancient  tangi  laments  over  sacred  Taupiri,  their  mountain  necro- 
polis, the  Kingites  abandoned  their  hold  on  mid- Waikato  and 
drew  off  to  the  open  delta  that  lay  between  the  Horotiu  and 
the  Waipa.  They  realized  now  that  the  pakeha  would  not  be 
satisfied  until  the  garden  of  the  Upper  Waikato  was  occupied. 


328 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


and  that  Cameron  intended  to  break  the  Maoris  by  cutting  them 
off  from  their  main  source  of  food-supply,  the  cultivations  at 
Rangiaowhia  and  the  surrounding  districts.  So,  after  evacuat- 
ing Ngaruawahia,  they  set  desperately  to  work  fortifying  the 
principal  avenues  of  approach  to  the  central  granary  of  the 
Kingitanga.  Two  main  tracks  led  to  Rangiaowhia  from  the 
river  highways.  The  usual  route  was  from  the  Waipa  at  Te 
Rore  in  an  easterly  direction  across  the  hills  of  Paterangi  and 
Te  Rahu  ;  this  was  a  Maori  cart-road  used  for  the  transport  of 
wheat  and  flour  to  the  Auckland  market.  The  other  was  from 
Kirikiri-roa  (now  Hamilton),  on  the  Horotiu — the  name  for  the 
upper  part  of  the  Waikato  River,  where  the  current  is  swift 


THE  MAORI  KING'S  CAPITAL,  NGARUAWAHIA. 

This  drawing  was  made  by  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Colonel)  IT.  S. 
Bates,  of  the  65th  Regiment,  staft  interpreter,  in  the  early  part  of  1863, 
before  the  war.  The  sketch  shows  the  junction  of  the  Waikato  and  Waipa 
Rivers,  and  the  Kingite  village,  the  site  of  the  present  town  and  railwav- 
station  of  Ngaruawahia. 

and  the  banks  high,  from  the  water- junction  at  Ngaruawahia  to 
the  rapids  near  the  base  of  the  Pukekura  Range.  There  was 
also  a  track  from  Ngaruawahia  parallel  with  the  Waipa, 
passing  Tuhikaramea,  Whatawhata,  and  Pikopiko.  At  Pikopiko 
(Puketoki)  and  Paterangi  the  Maoris  now  constructed  the  most 
formidable  systems  of  redoubts  and  entrenchments  built  in  this 
campaign  ;  and  in  rear  again  they  threw  up  fortifications  almost 
as  strong,  at  Rangiatea  and  Manga-pukatea,  completely  barring 


THE   ADVANCE    ON    THE   WAIPA.  329 

the  way  to  Rangiaowhia.  Wiremu  Tamehana's  people,  the 
N^ati-Haua,  presently  occupied  a  stronghold  of  their  own  at 
IV  Tiki  o  te  Ihingarangi,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Waikato,  a 
short  distance  above  the  present  Town  of  Cambridge.  Paterangi 
was  the  headquarters  ;  here  at  one  time  in  the  early  part  of 
1864  nearly  two  thousand  Maoris  were  in  garrison,  the  largest 
K^ngite  force  ever  assembled  in  the  war. 

The  Maoris  had  made  some  preparation  for  the  defence  of 
N(^aruawahia.  When,  on  the  8th  December,  General  Cameron's 
advanced  force  occupied  the  abandoned  Kingite  capital  and 
hoisted  the  British  colours  on  Tawhiao's  flagstaff  it  was  found 
that  some  trenches  and  rifle-pits  had  been  dug  on  the  point 
of  land  at  the  junction  of  the  Horotiu  and  the  Waipa,  and  a 
partly  constructed  earthwork  pa,  30  yards  square,  overlooked 
the  mouth  of  the  Waipa,  about  200  yards  up  the  bank  of  that 
river.  A  suggestion  had  also  been  made  to  bar  the  progress 
of  the  troops  at  Taupiri,  where  the  opposing  lofty  ranges  made 
a  grand  natural  gateway,  forested  Taupiri  on  the  east  side  and 
a  spur  of  the  Hakarimata  Mountain  on  the  west.  But  without 
artillery  the  defence  of  these  points  was  hopeless  against 
Cameron's  armoured  gunboats. 

The  small  steam  fleet  on  the  Waikato  was  now  busy  trans- 
porting troops  from  a  point  near  Rangiriri  to  Ngaruawahia,  and 
by  the  end  of  1863  there  were  nearly  three  thousand  soldiers, 
Imperial  and  colonial,  assembled  at  the  apex  of  the  Waikato- 
Waipa  delta  for  the  conquest  of  the  territory  to  the  southward. 
General  Cameron  moved  his  field  headquarters  forward  to  Tuhi- 
karamea,  with  the  Waipa  River  on  his  right  flank.  By  this  water 
highway  great  quantities  of  army  supplies  were  hurried  to  the 
front.  Later,  supplies  were  also  brought  across  by  packhorse 
from  Raglan,  when  the  "Avon"  was  temporarily  out  of  service 
through  striking  a  snag  and  sinking  in  the  Waipa.  At  the  end 
of  January  Cameron  moved  the  army  headquarters  forward  to 
Te  Rore,  three  miles  from  Paterangi,  and  Colonel  Waddy,  with 
six  hundred  men,  took  up  an  advanced  position  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  from  the  pa.* 

*  Describing  the  advance  on  the  Kingites'  new  positions,  Von  Tempsky 
wrote  in  his  journal  : — - 

"  On  the  2jih  of  January,  1864,  the  two  columns  from  Tuhikaramea 
and  Whatawhata  started  on  the  main  road  for  Pikopiko.  For  miles  and 
mil«  s  now  there  was  an  unbroken  stream  of  soldiers,  bullock-drays, 
arti;lery,  packhorses,  and  orderlies  meandering  over  the  plains  and  fern 
ridges  of  the -sacred  Maori  delta.  Yellow  clouds  of  dust  hovered  along  our 
road,  to  the  great  disparagement  of  our  faces,  sight,  and  clear  speech. 
We  had  the  special  honour  to  escort  on  the  first  day  some  Armstrong  guns 
dragged  by  bullocks.  On  a  low  backed  ridge  of  considerable  width,  near 
a  deserted  village,  the  army  encamped  under  their  blanket  tents.  I  saw 
Jackson's  blue -blanket  tents  in  the  Tuhikaramea  column.  We  had 


330  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

discarded  even  that  trouble  and  slept  in  the  fern,  in  line  of  battle,  at  the 
most  exposed  flank,  opposite  the  bush. 

"  On  the  following  morning  we  sighted  Pikopiko,  and  one's  heart 
began  to  beat  as  soon  as  the  General  began  to  mass  his  troops  in  columns 
before  the  Maori  stronghold.  There  it  lay,  no  despicable  object  even  in 
the  eyes  of  the  greatest  ignoramus  of  works  of  defence.  There  were  the 
Maoris — at  least,  their  black  heads  visible  on  the  parapet ;  here  and  there 
sentries  walking  on  the  parapet,  and  again,  some  fellows  dancing  on  it 
and  waving  to  us  and  shouting  '  Come  on  !  ' 

"  For  more  than  an  hour  we  were  kept  in  suspense  regarding  the 
intentions  of  the  General.  (The  loyal  chief  Wiremu  Neera,  of  Raglan, 
now  made  his  appearance  with  a  party  on  horseback.)  Our  suspense  was 
broken  at  last  by  the  columns  filing  away  to  the  west,  past  Pikopiko, 
towards  the  Waipa,  and  this  night  we  camped  unmolested  near  Te  Rore. 
Our  encampment  extended  nearly  a  mile  from  the  banks  of  the  Waipa  to 
the  hills  opposite  Paterangi.  The  headquarters  were  pitched  in  a  grove 
of  fruit-trees  on  an  eminence  isolated  by  gullies  on  three  sides,  and  at  the 
foot  of  it  the  two  companies  of  Forest  Rangers  were  ordered  to  pitch  their 
camp.  We  had  also  charge  of  a  picket  guarding  the  entrance  to  a  valley 
on  the  Waipa  where  all  the  commissariat  stores  and  munitions  of  war  were 
kept.  We  were,  moreover,  to  be  ever  ready  to  move  to  any  one  point,  be 
it  night  or  be  it  day  ;  and  we  felt  proud  of  this  kind  of  honour,  and  to 
the  last  man  in  the  two  companies  our  alertness  was  never  found  deficient. 

"  From  our  most  advanced  post,  under  Colonel  Waddy,  of  the  5oth 
Regiment,  you  could  see  the  daily  life  going  on  at  Paterangi.  A  little 
battery  of  Armstrongs  kept  the  alertness  of  the  Maoris  somewhat  in 
practice,  and  from  a  still  more  advanced  hill  a  picket  amused  itself  daily 
by  long  shots  at  the  Maoris. 

"  I  had  a  great  desire  to  make  a  sketch  of  Paterangi,"  Von  Tempsky 
continued,  "  so,  getting  leave  of  the  General,  I  took  five  men  with  me  and 
started.  I  had  chosen  five  of  my  best  shots,  to  keep  heads  below  the 
parapet  while  I  made  my  sketch,  and  I  also  had  chosen  them  from 
amongst  the  new  men  to  see  what  effect  the  whistle  of  a  bullet  would  have 
upon  them.  I  passed  the  picket  hill,  and,  leaving  my  men  with  Roberts 
in  some  fern,  I  advanced  to  see  how  far  the  Maori  sharpshooters  would 
allow  me  to  come.  An  Enfield  bullet  striking  the  ground  at  my  feet  soon 
convinced  me  that  I  was  far  enough.  On  returning  to  my  men  I  told 
them  to  commence  whenever  they  saw  a  shot.  I  also  began  my  sketch. 
It  was  not  long,  however,  before  another  Enfield  bullet  struck  within  a 
foot  at  my  right.  I  shifted  to  the  left.  Another  one  checked  as  closely 
as  before  my  shifting  in  that  direction.  However,  I  persevered  with  my 
work,  and  my  men  blazed  away  as  happy  as  larks — till  again  that  same 
rifle  cracked  and  a  bullet  struck  the  ground  in  front  of  me.  I  shifted  once 
more,  but  got  two  more  close  shaves  from  the  same  rifle  (evidently  out  of 
a  casemate  hole),  and  having  finished  my  sketch  I  waved  a  complimentary 
adieu  to  my  friend  with  the  Enfield  rifle  and  departed,  highly  contented 
with  the  behaviour  of  my  men  and  with  the  acquisition  of  the  sketch, 
which  I  had  intended  for  the  General." 

"  It  was  little  wonder,"  says  a  veteran  of  Nixon's  Cavalry, 
"  that  General  Cameron  declined  to  assault  Paterangi  pa.  The 
place  was  immensely  strong.  We  felt  very  dubious  about  it  as 
we  watched  it  week  after  week  and  waited  for  the  General's 
decision.  An  attempt  to  storm  it  would  have  cost  even  more 
lives  than  Rangiriri."  And  an  Imperial  officer  who  had  fought 
in  the  Crimea  declared,  when  he  inspected  the  fortifications  later 


THE   ADVANCE    ON    THE   WAIPA. 


331 


I 


332  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

in  the  year,  that  the  Paterangi  works  were  stronger  and  more 
skilfully  designed  than  even  the  Redan.  Some  of  Cameron's  staff, 
like  Despard  at  Ohaeawai,  declined  to  believe  that  the  Maoris 
were  capable  of  planning  such  ingenious  defences,  and  imagined 
that  some  European  must  have  assisted  them.  It  was  difficult 
to  convince  some  of  the  Regulars  that,  like  Kawiti  and  Pene 
Taui  in  1845,  the  men  who  drew  the  lines  of  the  Paterangi 
redoubts  and  intricate  trench-system,  though  none  of  them  held 
a  Royal  Engineers  commission  or  had  gone  through  a  staff 
college  course,  were  military  engineers  of  a  high  order. 

The  Paterangi  works  occupied  a  bold  and  commanding  site, 
formidable  of  front,  with  a  comparatively  open  rear.  The  highest 
central  part  only  was  stockaded  ;  the  rest  of  the  works  consisted 
of  a  network  of  trenches  and  parapets.  The  frontal  earthworks 
were  unusually  solid  and  broad  ;  and  it  was  on  these  parapets 
that  the  natives,  as  they  saluted  the  coming  of  the  troops  with 
a  great  war-dance,  gave  many  of  the  troops  their  first  view  of 
the  Maori  forces  in  large  numbers.  The  hill-crest  which  formed 
the  front  is  the  western  terminal  of  a  long  ridge  trending  east 
and  west,  with  low  and  swampy  country  on  three  sides  of  it. 
It  overlooked  the  whole  valley  of  the  upper  Waipa,  from  the 
mountain-range  of  Pirongia  on  the  west  to  Maunga-tautari  on 
the  east.  The  position  can  readily  be  identified  to-day,  and  an 
exploration  of  the  hill  and  the  sloping  ground  on  the  south 
reveals  many  traces  of  the  works  of  1863-64.  As  in  so  many 
battlefields  of  the  Waikato,  a  road  passes  through  the  middle 
of  the  works.  This  is  the  road  connecting  Pirongia  and  Te  Rore, 
on  the  Waipa,  with  the  Ohaupo-Te  Awamutu  main  road  on 
the  east.  Paterangi  village  and  churches  are  one  mile  east  of 
the  pa  site,  and  the  Township  of  Pirongia  is  three  miles  to  the 
south-west. 

Our  plan  of  Paterangi,  from  a  survey  made  by  Captain 
Brooke,  R.E.,  in  1864,  shows  how  cleverly  the  Maori  engineers 
entrenched  the  whole  western  and  south-western  faces  of  the 
ridge  with  works  completely  blocking  an  advance  over  the 
ground  between  the  flanking  swamps.  The  central  works,  on  the 
hilltop,  consisted  of  three  strong  redoubts  ;  the  two  on  the  east 
— separated  from  the  other  by  the  present  line  of  road — were 
connected  with  the  western  hill-crest  pa  by  a  line  of  covered 
way,  about  100  yards  in  length,  a  deep  ditch  with  a  frontal 
parapet  and  a  roofing  of  timber  and  earth.  Close  to  this  trench 
was  a  deep  well.  From  the  south  side  another  trench  with  a 
high  rampart  curved  down  the  hillside  and  across  the  road  to 
a  hollow  under  the  slopes.  In  this  depression  was  a  spring  of 
water  ;  the  trench  and  the  wall,  about  10  feet  high,  protected 
the  water-carriers  from  observation.  Thence  the  line  of  ditch 
and  bank  extended  in  a  south-easterly  direction  to  the  lower  hill 


THE    ADVANCE    ON    THE    WAIPA. 


333 


334  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

of  the  ridge,  and  effectually  barred  any  attempt  to  mount  the 
ridge  on  that  side.  The  native  cart-road  which  ran  from  the 
Waipa  landing  at  Te  Rore  through  Paterangi  to  Te  Rahu  and 
Rangiaowhia,  across  which  the  entrenchments  were  made,  is 
followed  almost  exactly  by  the  modern  road.  A  portion  of  the 
parapet,  about  6  feet  high,  defending  the  way  to  the  water- 
spring,  is  still  standing,  on  Mr.  H.  Rhodes's  property,  "  Parekura," 
on  the  south-west  slope  of  the  hill. 

The  general  outline  of  the  main  redoubt  and  trenches  on  the 
level  crest  are  indicated  by  slight  depressions  extending  over  an 
area  of  about  2  acres,  and  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  road  the 
traces  of  a  pa  converted  into  a  British  redoubt  after  the  occa- 
pation  are  equally  plain  in  the  turf.  Te  Huia  Raureti,  when 
pointing  out  the  sites  of  the  redoubts,  showed  a  depression  in  the 
ground  which  marked  the  place  where  a  large  shell-proof  whare 
was  constructed  by  Ngati-Maniapoto  and  occupied  by  Rewi, 
Raureti,  and  their  party.  This  slight  hollow,  retaining  the  shape 
of  a  house-excavation,  is  near  the  southern  end  of  the  main 
works  on  the  hilltop  west  of  the  road.  About  it  are  the  traces 
of  other  excavations  and  of  parapets.  The  roofs  of  some  of  the 
shell-proof  ruas  (or  dug-in  shelters)  and  whares  in  the  pa  were 
so  strong,  covered  with  heavy  timber  and  with  earth,  that  drays 
were  driven  over  them.  These  drays  were  used  by  the  Maoris 
in  carting  in  provisions  to  the  pa  from  Rangiaowhia,  ten  miles 
in  the  rear. 

On  the  western  side  the  hill  of  Paterangi  falls  steeply  to  a 
narrow  swamp  of  raupo  and  manuka,  on  the  opposite  side  of 
which  the  land  rises  into  undulating  country  about  200  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  pa  on  the  crest.  The  scrub-  and  fern-covered 
slopes  here  and  the  swampy  valley  were  the  favourite  lurking- 
grounds  of  the  Maoris,  who  were  accustomed  to  skirmish  daily 
with  the  troops,  without  much  damage  to  either  side.  From 
the  large  expenditure  of  ammunition  there  the  natives  gave  the 
place  the  name  of  "  Maumau-paura,"  or  "  Waste  of  gunpowder." 
The  advanced  British  camp,  under  Colonel  Waddy,  was  on  the 
slightly  rising  ground  to  the  south  of  Maumau-paura  and  about 
south-west  of  the  pa ;  the  road  now  passes  through  the  spot, 
half  a  mile  from  the  site  of  the  fortification.  The  Armstrong 
guns  were  posted  there,  and  frequently  threw  shells  into  Pate- 
rangi without  inflicting  much  damage. 

Te  Huia  Raureti  states  that  Rangiatea  was  the  first  fortifi- 
cation built  for  the  defence  of  the  Rangiaowhia  country.  The 
second  pa  constructed  was  Manga-pukatea,  intended  to  block 
the  road  from  Kirikiri-roa  via  Ohaupo  ;  it  was  built  by  Ngati- 
te-Kohera,  from  West  Taupo.  When  these  forts  were  completed 
the  united  force  of  the  Kingites  threw  up  the  large  defences 
of  Paterangi.  The  entrenchments  at  Pikopiko  —  usually  called 


THE   MAORI   ARTILLERY   AT   PATERANGI. 


335 


Puketoki  (Axe  Hill)  by  the  Maoris — were  made  by  Ngati-Apakura 
and  other  Waikato  tribes  ;  the  place  is  two  to  three  miles  north 
c-f  Paterangi. 

As  in  Meremere,  the  Kingites  in  Paterangi  derived  some  moral 
support  from  the  possession  of  artillery  of  a  kind.  They  had 
two  cannon — old  ship's  guns,  originally  from  Kawhia  Harbour. 
A  Ngati-Maniapoto  veteran,  Pou-patate  Huihi,  of  Te  Kopua, 
who  was  with  Raureti  in  the  Paterangi  trenches,  says  that  these 
guns  had  been  carried  overland  to  Te  Kopua  long  before  the 
war,  and  stood  near  the  mission  station  there.  They  were  borne 
C'ver  the  Rau-a-moa  spur  of  Pirongia  Mountain  from  Oparau,  via 
Hikurangi,  slung  on  strong  poles,  which  were  shouldered  by  parties 
of  men  in  frequent  reliefs.  The  guns  lay  on  the  bank  of  the 
Waipa  at  Te  Kopua  for  many  years.  When  Paterangi  was 
fortified  thev  were  taken  down  in  canoes  to  Te  Rore  and  carted 


From  a  skeich  by  Captain  E.  Brooke,  R.E.] 

No.  i   REDOUBT,  PATERANGI  PA,   1864. 

This  Maori  redoubt  was  one  of  a  series  of  strong  field-works  on 
Paterangi  Hill,  connected  by  lines  of  trench  and  parapet.  The  site  is 
very  close  to  the  present  homestead  of  Mr.  H.  Rhodes.  The  view  is 
south-west,  looking  towards  No.  3  Redoubt,  on  the  crest  of  the  hil]  ; 
Mount  Pirongia  in  the  distance. 


to  the  fort,  where  they  were  mounted  behind  the  parapets  (in 
which  there  were  embrasures)  on  the  south-west  front,  in  a  posi- 
tion that  would  sweep  the  only  road  by  which  the  troops  could 
advance.  The  gunner  who  had  charge  of  them  was  Te  Retimana, 
who  had  had  experience  with  the  artillery  at  Meremere.  He  was 
a  man  ot  very  short  stature,  belonging  to  Ngati-Wairangi,  a  hapu 
of  Ngati-Raukawa.  Retimana  had  been  in  a  blacksmith's  employ 
before  the  war,  and  spoke  English.  The  cannon  were  loaded 
with  heavy  charges  of  powder  and  crammed  with  pieces  of 


336  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

bullock-chain  (tini-kau),  steelyard-weights,  and  scraps  of  iron. 
The  little  gunner  had  a  small  fire  burning  close  by,  and  in  this 
he  had  an  iron  heating,  ready  to  fire  the  guns.  He  slept  by  his 
artillery  ;  he  was  ever  on  the  alert  for  the  advance  of  the  soldiers. 
But  the  troops  did  not  come  within  range,  to  Retimana's  great 
disappointment,  and  so  the  guns  were  never  fired.  They  were 
reserved  for  the  always-expected  rush.  The  two  pieces  were 


From  a  plan  by  Captain  E.  Brooke,  R.E.] 

THE  MAORI  ENTRENCHMENTS  AT  PIKOPIKO  (PUKETOKI). 

within  a  few  yards  of  each  other,  one  on  either  side  of  the  road. 
Stout  sections  of  tree-trunks  were  sunk  in  the  ground,  and  each 
gun  was  made  fast  to  these  posts  with  aka  vines,  in  lieu  of  rope 
breeching,  to  prevent  capsize  from  the  recoil.  One  of  the  guns 
now  lies  in  the  disused  well  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  road. 

Rangiatea  pa,  a  strong  fortification,  was  built  in  rear  (east- 
ward) of  Paterangi  in  order  to  cover  more  effectually  the  sources 


THE   ENTRENCHMENTS   AT   RANGIATEA.  337 

of  food-supply  at  Rangiaowhia.  The  pa  was  on  the  crown  of 
a  narrow  ridge  of  land,  and  the  trenches  ran  down  to  a  deep 
swamp  on  one  hand  and  the  swampy  border  of  the  Ngaroto  lakes 
—  now  partly  drained — on  the  other.  It  was  along  this  ridge, 
the  prolongation  of  the  Paterangi  high  ground,  that  the  Maori 
cart-road  passed  from  Rangiaowriia  to  Paterangi  and  to  the  canoe- 
la  iding  at  Te  Rore.  The  present  road  from  Pirongia  and  Pate- 
rangi eastward  to  the  Ohaupo-Te  Awamutu  main  road  and  Te 
Rahu  passes  through  the  Rangiatea  works,  long  since  obliterated 
by  the  road  and  by  filling-in  and  ploughing.  The  spot  is  on 
M:\  W.  Taylor's  farm,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  junction 
of  the  Paterangi,  Te  Awamutu,  and  Ohaupo  Roads.  On  Mr. 
George  Finch's  farm,  along  the  same  road,  near  the  Lake  Road 
Station,  are  the  tree-covered  remains  of  a  fort  named  Tauranga- 
nrrimiri,  occupied  for  a  time  during  the  war  period  1863-64. 
The  position  is  on  a  commanding  hill,  with  the  Ngaroto  lakes 
below  on  the  northern  side.  Near  the  eminence  known  as 
"  Green  Hill,"  overlooking  Te  Awamutu,  there  was  a  Maori 
settlement  named  Te  Rua-kotare,  but  this  was  not  occupied  as 
a  fortification. 

THE  ENGAGEMENT  AT  WAIARI. 

As  the  expected  assault  on  Paterangi  was  never  delivered, 
the  fighting  was  mostly  long-range  sniping,  varied  by  occasional 
shelling  from  the  British  guns  ;  but  the  period  of  waiting  for 
action  was  relieved  on  the  nth  February,  1864,  DY  a  sharp 
skirmish  at  Waiari,  on  the  Mangapiko  River,  a  mile  south  of 
the  fortifications.  In  this  encounter  five  soldiers  and  forty-one 
Maoris  were  killed.  The  central  scene  of  the  engagement  is  an 
ancient  earthwork  fortification  of  the  Ngati-Apakura  Tribe,  built 
in  a  loop  of  the  Mangapiko.  The  river  doubles  back  on  itself 
here,  and  across  the  narrow  neck  of  land  on  the  left  bank  of 
thi>  stream  are  three  lines  of  very  high  and  broad  parapet  and 
deep  ditches.  Covered  with  thick  manuka  and  fern  in  1864,  the 
place  is  in  very  much  the  same  jungly  condition  to-day.  Just 
above  the  pa  the  river  is  very  narrow,  at  one  place  not  more 
the  n  15  feet  in  width,  and  across  this  deep  run  at  the  time  of 
th(  fight  there  lay  a  precarious  Maori  bridge,  a  single  tree-trunk, 
smoothed  on  the  upper  surface.  A  short  distance  from  the  old 
fortress  was  a  large  pool  which  the  soldiers  in  Colonel  Waddy's 
advanced  camp  used  as  a  bathing-place. 

Colonel  Waddy's  camp,  the  most  advanced  British  post,  was 
situated  on  a  hill  with  an  abrupt  front  towards  Paterangi,  and  a 
gentle  slope  at  the  back  where  the  tents  of  the  4oth  and  5oth 
were  pitched,  sheltered  from  Maori  bullets.  The  native  scouts 
reported  that  if  they  worked  round  to  the  rear  of  the  hill  they 
would  be  able  to  surprise  the  camp  by  night  from  that  side. 


338 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


The  Paterangi  leaders  therefore  planned  an  attack  to  be  delivered 
by  about  a  hundred  warriois,  who  could  conceal  themselves 
during  the  day  at  the  Mangapiko  Creek,  below  the  camp.  After 
their  first  volleys  on  the  camp  in  the  night  they  were  to  be 
supported  by  large  bodies  from  Paterangi.  However,  Colonel 
Waddy  had  sent  that  day  a  large  bathing-party  of  the  4oth 
Regiment  to  the  creek.  The  Maoris  were  hidden  in  the  bushes 
on  the  south  side,  close  to  the  water  and  a  short  distance  from 
Waiari  pa.  They  could  not  resist  firing  on  the  bathing-party 
and  the  small  covering  detachment  of  soldiers.  The  soldiers  were 


From  a  water-colour  drawing  by  Major  Von  Tempsky,  1864.] 

THE  FOREST  RANGERS  AT  WAIARI. 
(nth  February,  1864.) 


soon  reinforced  by  two  hundred  men  of  the  40th  and  5oth  from 
the  advanced  camp,  under  Lieut. -Colonel  Havelock.  With  the 
reinforcements  came  Captain  William  Jackson,  of  No.  I  Company 
Forest  Rangers,  and  Captain  C.  Heaphy,  of  the  Auckland  Rifle 
Volunteers.  In  the  skirmishing  that  followed  Jackson  shot  a 
Maori  in  the  river,  and  secured  his  double-barrel  gun. 

Some  of  the  troops  crossed  the  stream  and  closely  engaged 
the   Maoris   in   the   manuka   and   fern  ;     others   fired   across   the 


THE   ENGAGEMENT  AT  WAIARI.  339 

narrow  gully  of  the  river.     The  natives  were  driven  down-stream 
and  took  cover  in  the  overgrown  ditches  of  Waiari. 

Reinforcements  were  hurrying  down  from  Paterangi  and 
threatening  the  British  rear  and  flanks.  Von  Tempsky  and  half 
of  the  Forest  Rangers  were  in  their  camp  at  Te  Rore,  two  miles 
away,  when  the  firing  began,  but  with  their  usual  eagerness  they 
rushed  off  at  their  utmost  speed  when  the  news  of  the  fight 
reached  them.  Colonel  Havelock,  carbine  in  hand,  was  directing 
the  attack  when  Von  Tempsky  and  his  panting  Rangers  reached 
the  southern  side  of  the  Mangapiko.  He  requested  Von  Tempsky 


Photo  by  J.  Cowan,  1920.] 

THE  MANGAPIKO  RIVER  AND  WAIART. 
(From  the  north  bank.) 

to  clear  out  some  Maoris  who  had  taken  cover  in  the  thicket 
thcit  filled  an  olden  trench  in  the  rear  of  the  British  party, 
and  away  the  Rangers  went.  "  A  ditch  of  the  breastwork 
of  an  ancient  pa  sloped  down  into  the  river,"  Von  Tempsky 
wrote.  "  It  was  densely  covered  with  scrub,  as  well  as  the 
banks  of  the  river.  My  men  bounded  down  into  it  like  tigers. 
On  our  hands  and  knees  we  had  to  creep,  revolver  in  hand, 


j.|o  NltW   XKAI.ANI)   WANS, 

I.M.I  111^  lor  our  Invisible  foes,    The  thumping  ol  double-bawd 

KIUIS    around    UH    announced    soon    (hilt    we    Were    ill    Hie    mid   I     <l 

(lie  nest,  I  had  in  *ill  about  thirty  men,  Some  were  Htati"n«i 
on  MI-  lop  ol  H"  hank,  others  in  the  very  river,  and  !h<  >  i 
crawling  through  tin*  snub,  Their  were  some  strange  meetings 
in  that  sernb.  Mu//.le  to  nni/./le,  the  shot  ol  despair,  tli<  K|<  >i 
iiiKr  rrarks  of  revolvers  anol  earbine  thuds,  and  the  brown  bodies 
ol  Maoris  made  their  appearance  gradually,  either  rollni"  down 
the  hill  or  I"  in;;  di.ii;/;«d  out  of  the  Hcrnb," 

II  was  nearly  dark  by  tin-  lime  the  old  /.,/  was  lm.il!\  cleared 
nl  (he  Maoris,  and  (he  troops  returned  to  camp,  kfrmUhing 
with  lai><e  bodies  of  Maoris  under  cover  of  low  bush  and  //M/////W 
on  the  ritfht  Hunk  ol  'the  tonic.  'Hick,.-  ,  «.  M.I  tin  return 
of  the  force  and  remained  in  aiimii  unhl  darklli  '  " 

Soon  after  tin-  battle  opened  ,ii  Waiari  «  ipl;iin  (li.nlr. 
lleaphy,  "I  Ihc  AiK'kland  Iv'illc  Volunti  i  perform  'I  n  deed 

lor    which    he    was    promoted    '"    M-i|"i    .m«l    I    (In-    nnl\ 

Vietoria  Cross  uwanh-d   !••  .1  i«.l«.mii    oldifl    m   MM    Al.n.n   wftn 
lleaphy  was  attached    i<>   Mr     i >       nil     nrveyoi       n-    had 

arrived   ill    the   coli  n\    m     i     •/!    i.   mi<     ol    Hie    New   /-;d.md    (loin 

pany's  survey  htali   .md  h.id  dlitingulihcd  Wmiell  M    in  explore! 

in  {lie  South  Inland     \\ini-   krylnf]  i wo i«-d  loldiei 

lie  raised  the  man'    head  "•   i"     "in  .  .md  m  «lnnif  >..  ,,, 

a  volley  from  thirl-.  COVei     tt  d Lgi     ''   •    bull  i  md 

contusing  him,     A     »ld  •  i  "I  tin-   i"Mi  •  mn    lo  in    .1    i  lam  •     md 
lleaphy  direct  -i  othw    |i(  win-n-  ih«-  natlvi    werej   \^<  "i  ih'- 

Maoris  were  hh»i 

The      MlUiii'.      aim      Irll      III      Mn  I   n  mi    li      IIIIIII|M  iri|  Ini  I  \    .,IP 

Twenly-eifjil      bndt<         ••  >  < nl«il,       nlh    i        l>  II     in  Ihc     n       i 

Two    wounded    |.ir.nii(  i      WW     laki  n       A I  in;     ol     HIOM 

were   Kawhi.i   men   win.  h.id  «'iil\    n-ii-nilv  arrived   al  I'uleran^i 

One   of   tin  n    prim  M1-1'    '  '"'  '     '  '"' (|       '      ' '     Mnnn  \\  iiitai,    ••! 

Ntfaii  I lii-.-in-.  .    otheri  wan    Paatl     fi  Kerei     Paaro,  i e  Karixij 

and  Hone  i\n|nh;i   (Ngati  \i poto)       "i"1    "i   H"  di  «d  weri 

blllied    nn    I  he    imi  I  h    -.nlc    "I    I  In     rivei      •nnl    .  lose    In    ML 

the  troops,    ""n    lit' i    Mn.  ifiii,  i.uiii    .1   i.iionbi    i"  guard  MI 
-.i\H  at  Will. IN.     i  in-  I.M  i|"  i    and  trencli  "i  MM    n  doubt  (OB 
Mr.  1 1.  i\h..,i       !.M  mi   •!.     nil  well  | d    md   '"   marked 

i.\  .1  .1  ii  ,,  n 


i     IAI'11    K'     XXXVII 


INK  INVASION  OK  RANOIAOWH1  \ 

The  summer  of  iHO^  was  well  ;i<l  inced  before  Cletiera! 
Ciitneron  found  himself  able  to  execute  I  lie  litud  strategic  move- 
ment of  fhe  campaign,  the  outflanking  of  M"  Km/;iieV  heavy 
di  fence*  at  Paterangi  and  Uangiatea,'  Two  i,.n.ifr  guides 
attached  to  headcjirirtcr*,  James  Kdwards  and  John  (iage,  who 
hid  lived  in  Kmigiaowhia  and  Kilnl  "I"  bffofi  HM  vv.n,  b 
th<t|  Mtaff  with  detailed  information  .iboiit  tic  '<uniiv, 
surprise  expedition  was  planned  to  advanee  on  ihe  Mitoic;'  »  hn  I 
source*  of  food-supply  by  way  of  HIP  mi'. ••"••i  'iilmient  ;it  T<- 

A  vamutu,     The  forward  move  was  mad -I- 1  » over  of  darkness 

of  the  2oth  February,  At  Inli  pi  i  10  o'docl  >i  night  ;\  fofCl 
ol  nearly  a  thousand  men  (about  lull  UK  hoop-,  }H 
omirters)  fell  in  at  Te  J<ore  ;  the  other*  were  to  follow  in 
diytime  with  the  baggage  and  supplies,  N-iivin 
garrison  in  front  of  Paterangi,  The  utmost  silmee  was 
N'*  bugle  Mounded)  the  swords  and  bridle  chains  of  the  ravidiy 
wre  muffled  with  cloth,  The  advance -guard,  commanded  by 
( 1  ptain  Von  Tempsky,  COntilttfd  of  No,  2  Companv  of  the 
lrorest  Rangers,  with  one  hundred  men  of  the  6jth  Regiment, 
ui'der  Lieutenant  Tabuteau  ;  Colonel  Nixon's  Colonial  Defence 
Force  Cavalry  corp*  and  Kait's  MrMinti'd  Artillery,  doing  duty 
tit  cavalry,  followed.  The  main  infantry  body  wa*  composed  of 
d( tttchments  of  the  50! h,  6.5tli,  and  yoth  Regiments,  with  No,  i 
Company  of  the  I;orest  Hanger*  a*  rearguard,  The  gui'l< 
M-'.  Kdwardn  ("  Nimi  Manuao  "  of  the  Maoris),  The  route 
VM  Waiari,  where  the  Mftflgftpiko  was  crossed,  thence  well  i 
th'3  fern  ridges  to  Te  Awamutu,  passing  near  the  old  pa  Ofawl>  0 
(if"  the  neighbourhood  of  the  present  railway-station  at  Te 
A'vamutu),  Mi*fiop  Selwyn  rode  with  C»enetal  Cameron,  The 
*pire  of  the  Kev,  John  Morgan's  mi**ion  church  wa*  in  *lght 
at  daylight,  The  troop*  made  no  halt  at  Te  Awamutu,  but 
|>i  shed  on  to  Kangiaowhia,  three  mile*  di*tant,  along  a  hilly 
ro  id  -ibovc  the  deej)  swamp*  and  htihilwlftt  forest  that  frin 
tin  Manga-o-Noi  Stream,  The  ridge  of  Nairini  *urmoimi"i. 
af  out  a  mile  and  a  half  fnmi  the  mi**ion  *tatioti,  the  I 
Uf  fcrhfM-d  ^Htlement  of  Kangiaowhia  came  in  Might,  a  scene  of 
p(*ce  and  beauty,  Fields  of  wheat,  maj/c,  and  potatoes  extmded 
m  er  long  gentle  slope*,  and  peach  -  grove*  shading  cluster*  of 
that'll' d  'house*  were  mattered  along  a  gfeen  hill  trending  north 


342 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


THE    INVASION    OF    RANGIAOWHIA.  343 

and  south,  the  crown  of  the  village,  with  the  steeples  of  two 
churches  rising  above  the  trees,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  apart.  In 
the  swampy  and  part -wooded  valley  of  Pekapeka-rau,  below  on 
the  left  as  the  invading  army  marched  along  the  southern  rim  of 
the  Rangiaowhia  basin,  the  morning  mists  curled  up  from  the 
raitpo-bordeied  waters  of  a  little  lagoon,  the  dam  which  supplied 
the  power  for  a  flour-mill. 

Nixon's  cavalry  galloped  ahead,  and  the  crack  of  carbines 
and  popping  of  revolvers,  replied  to  with  double-barrel  guns, 
broke  the  quiet  of  Rangiaowhia.  The  main  forces  of  the  Kingites 
were  in  Paterangi  and  Pikopiko  ;  those  occupying  Rangiaowhia 
were  chiefly  people  of  the  Ngati-Apakura  and  Ngati-Hinetu 
sections  of  Waikato,  engaged  in  supplying  food  to  the  garrisons 
at  the  front.  There  were  about  a  hundred  men  in  the  settle- 
ment, with  many  women  and  children.  Alongside  the  road, 
lined  with  whares  extending  from  the  south  end  of  the  village 
to  the  hill  on  the  north  where  the  Roman  Catholic  church 
dominated  Rangiaowhia,  great  quantities  of  food  were  laid  out — 
potatoes,  kumara,  pigs,  and  fowls — packed  ready  for  carting  to 
Paterangi.  The  Maoris,  recovering  from  their  first  astonishment 
at  the  attack,  took  cover  in  their  raupo  huts  and  in  one  or  two 
houses  of  sawn  timber,  and  opened  fire  on  the  cavalrymen.  The 
Rangers  were  soon  up  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  followed 
by  the  65th,  and  the  skirmish  spread  along  the  street  between 
tfe  rows  of  houses.  The  cavalry  gave  their  attention  to  some 
large  whares  to  the  south  and  south-east  of  the  English  church  ; 
these  houses,  one  of  which  was  the  home  of  the  chief  Ihaia 
('Isaiah"),  of  Ngati-Apakura,  were  clustered  at  a  spot  called 
Tau-ki-tua,  about  the  head  of  a  long  swampy  valley  which  ex- 
tended in  a  northerly  direction ;  a  little  to  the  south  was  Tioriori 
kainga.  Lower  down  this  valley,  the  Rua-o-Tawhiwhi,  was  a 
flour-mill  similar  to  that  at  Pekapeka-rau.  The  Forest  Rangers 
found  the  Roman  Catholic  church  crowning  the  mound  at  the  north 
end  of  the  settlement,  called  Karanga-paihau,  crammed  with  armed 
Maoris,  who  showed  a  white  flag,  and  so  were  not  pressed  further. 
In  rear  of  the  church,  surrounded  by  lines  of  whanake  or  cabbage- 
trees  (these  whanake,  now  grown  to  enormous  trees,  still  adorn 
the  old  village-site),  was  the  kainga  Te  Reinga,  the  headquarters 
oi  Hoani  Papita  ("  John  the  Baptist  ")  and  his  people  of  Ngati- 
Hinetu.  Between  the  church  and  this  settlement  was  the  house 
of  the  priest  of  the  district.  The  Rangers,  fired  at  here  and 
there  from  whares — one  or  two  of  these  snipers  were  women — 
hurried  down  to  the  right,  where  heavy  firing  was  now  going 
on.  The  English  church,  too,  was  filled  with  Maoris,  and  some 
shots  came  from  the  windows,  but  the  action  centred  in  one  of 
the  large  houses  on  the  slope  above  the  spring  at  the  head  of 
the  little  valley.  Close  by  was  a  house  which  belonged  to  a 
European,  a  man  named  Thomas  Power,  who  had  a  Maori  wife. 
In  both  of  these  houses  a  number  of  Maoris  had  taken  refuge. 


344 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


Colonel  Nixon's  cavalrymen,  dismounting,  surrounded  the 
whares  near  the  swamp-head  (the  spot  is  in  the  angle  formed 
by  the  junction  of  the  present  Kihikihi  -  Rangiaowhia  main 
road  and  the  road  eastward  from  Te  Awamutu  to  Puahue 
and  Panehakua).  The  Colonel  sent  Lieutenant  McDonnell  and 
Ensign  William  G.  Mair  (interpreter — afterwards  Major  Mair)  to 
summon  the  Maoris  in  the  large  house  to  surrender,  assuring 
them  of  good  treatment.  The  reply  was  a  volley.  Then 
began  independent  firing  from  scores  of  carbines,  rifles,  and 
revolvers,  perforating  the  raupo  walls  of  the  house  everywhere ; 
the  troops  were  drawn  round  the  place  on  three  sides.  The 


THE  ENGLISH  CHURCH  AT  RANGIAOWHIA. 

This  historic  mission  church  was  built  for  the  Ngati-Apakura  people 
some  years  before  the  Waikato  War,  and  was  one  of  many  churches 
established  under  the  first  Bishop  Selwyn.  It  is  now  used  by  the  European 
residents  of  Rangiaowhia  and  Hairini.  The  principal  scene  of  the  fighting 
on  the  2ist  February,  1864,  was  a  short  distance  to  the  right  of  the  picture, 
and  many  Maoris  took  refuge  in  the  church. 


occupants  of  the  whare,  however,  had  good  cover  for  a  time, 
as  the  interior  was  excavated  a  foot  or  two  below  the  level  of 
the  ground  outside,  and,  crouching  on  the  floor,  the  Maoris  could 
deliver  their  fire  through  holes  in  the  bottom  of  the  walls,  as 
in  a  shallow  rifle-pit.  An  excited  cavalryman,  Sergeant  McHale, 
rushed  forward  eager  to  storm  the  whare.  He  reached  the  low 


THE    INVASION    OF    RANGIAOWHIA. 


345 


doorway,  and  was  stooping  firing  into  it  with  his  revolver  when 
h(  was  shot  dead  and  dragged  inside.  A  65th  soldier  was  also 
shot  dead  in  front  of  the  house.  The  Maoris  secured  Me  Male's 
carbine  and  revolver,  with  about  twenty  rounds  of  carbine 
ammunition,  and,  using  the  captured  firearms  and  their  own 
gi  ns,  continued  their  resistance.  Hundreds  of  shots  were  poured 
into  the  whare,  and  Colonel  Nixon  himself  fired  into  it  with  his 
revolver.  He  was  shot  through  the  lungs  from  the  open  door- 
way, and  fell  in  front  of  the  house.  McDonnell  and  Mair  ran 
to  his  assistance,  and  Mair  pulled  off  a  door  from  a  hut  and  laid 
the  mortally  wounded  colonel  on  it.  Some  of  the  neighbouring 
whares  were  now  on  fire,  either  ignited  by  the  firing  through  the 
thatch  or  set  on  fire  by  the  troopers. 


&,im 

Flow  a  drawing  by  J.  A.  Wilson,  1864.] 

THE  FIGHT  AT  RANGIAOWHIA. 
(2ist  February,  1864.) 

The  soldier  shown  falling  is   Colonel  Marmaduke   Nixon,    commanding 
the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  who  was  shot  from  the  doorway  of  the 
house  in  the  middle  of  the  picture. 


Von  Tempsky  came  running  up  with  his  Rangers,  and, 
followed  by  a  dozen  of  his  men,  rushed  at  the  doorway  of 
the  large  whare.  Sergeant  Carron  thrust  his  head  into  the 
lo\  •  doorway,  seeking  a  target  in  the  gloom  of  the  house, 
bu:  could  see  nothing  at  which  to  fire.  At  this  moment 
Co-poral  Alexander,  of  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry, 
rail  up  and,  crouching  at  the  open  door,  was  about  to  fire  his 
caibine  into  the  house  when  he  was  shot  dead.  The  Rangers 


346  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

dragged  the  dead  corporal  away  from  the  door,  and  Von 
Tempsky  quickly  fired  the  five  shots  of  his  revolver  into  the 
corner  from  which  he  had  heard  the  last  report.  Then  he 
pulled  the  body  of  the  65th  soldier  away  and  drew  his  men  off 
a  little  distance.  One  of  the  Rangers,  a  young  Canadian  named 
John  Ballender — a  surgeon  by  profession,  and  a  very  brave 
fellow  and  a  fine  shot — fell  wounded  in  the  hip  ;  he  died  from 
his  injury  some  months  later.  Four  cavalrymen,  including 
Sergeant  Hutchinson  and  Trooper  E.  Mellon,  rushed  forward 
with  a  stretcher  and  carried  Colonel  Nixon  out  of  the  line  of 
fire.  Then  they  went  back  for  Trooper  Alexander,  who  was 
lying  outside  the  door  shot  through  the  throat.  The  shot  had 
been  fired  at  so  short  a  range  —  only  a  few  feet  —  that  his 
whiskers  were  burned  by  the  powder-flash. 

The  garrison  whare  was  now  on  fire,  like  the  neighbouring 
huts.  A  veteran  of  the  cavalry  says  that  one  of  the  troopers 
had  run  round  to  the  rear  of  the  hut  and  set  it  alight  ;  but  an 
old  Forest  Ranger  considers  that  the  thatch  may  have  been 
ignited  by  the  firing.  "  We  put  the  muzzles  of  our  carbines 
close  to  the  ra-upo  walls,"  he  says,  "  and  fired  through  the 
thatch.  The  Maoris  inside  were  doing  the  same,  and  naturally 
the  inflammable  walls  would  soon  catch  fire  from  the  flash  and 
the  burning  wadding." 

The  flames  at  last  drove  one  of  the  occupants  out.  A  tall 
old  man,  clothed  in  a  white  blanket,  which  he  was  holding  about 
his  head,  emerged  from  the  doorway  of  the  burning  house.  His 
upstretched  arms  showed  that  he  had  no  weapon.  He  advanced 
towards  the  crescent  of  troops  in  surrender,  facing  a  hundred 
levelled  rifles.  "  Spare  him,  spare  him  !  "  shouted  the  nearest 
officers.  But  next  moment  there  was  a  thunder  of  shots. 
Staggering  from  the  bullets,  the  old  hero  recovered  his  poise  for 
an  instant,  stood  still  with  an  expression  of  calm,  sad  dignity, 
then  swayed  slowly  and  fell  to  the  ground  dead.  The  episode 
enraged  the  chivalrous  officers  who  had  entreated  quarter  for 
him,  and  young  St.  Hill,  of  the  General's  staff,  pointed  to  a 
soldier  of  the  65th  Regiment  and  shouted,  "  Arrest  that  man  ! 
I  saw  him  fire  !  "  But  Leveson-Gower,  the  captain  of  the 
detachment,  replied,  "  No,  I'll  not  arrest  him  ;  he  was  not  the 
only  one  who  fired."  The  truth  was  that  the  troops  clustered 
promiscuously  about  the  burning  houses  were  not  under  the 
immediate  control  of  their  officers  at  the  moment  of  the  Maori's 
surrender  ;  and  there  were  many  who  burned  to  avenge  the  fall 
of  their  beloved  Colonel  Nixon. 

No  more  Maoris  surrendered  after  that  sacrifice.  The  house 
was  now  wrapped  in  flames.  A  man  stepped  out  of  the  pit  of 
death,  stood  in  front  of  the  doorway,  and  fired  his  last  shots 
from  his  double-barrel  gun.  A  volley  from  the  soldiers,  and 
he  fell  dead.  Yet  another  appeared  from  the  doorway  and  was 


THE   INVASION    OF    RANGIAOWHIA.  347 

shot  dead  while  aiming  at  his  foes.  The  burning  house  crashed 
and  fell  inward.  When  the  troops  were  able  to  approach  it 
they  found  in  the  smoking  ruins  the  charred  bodies  of  Sergeant 
McHale  and  seven  Maoris.  The  brave  little  garrison  had  num- 
bered ten,  opposed  to  some  hundreds  of  the  invaders,  and  the 
taking  of  the  raupo  hut  cost,  besides,  three  whites  shot  dead  and 
two  mortally  wounded. 

None  of  the  other  whares  was  defended  in  this  determined 
manner.  About  a  dozen  houses  were  burned  down  ;  some  of 
their  occupants  had  dispersed  to  the  northward,  making  across 
the  slopes  for  the  Catholic  church  on  the  hill ;  others  took  refuge 
in  the  swamp  or  fled  eastward  into  the  bush.  At  the  Catholic 
church  some  of  Hoani  Papita's  men  made  a  short  stand.  Twenty 
or  thirty  of  them  rushed  into  the  church  and  fired  through  the 
windows,  and  it  was  thought  at  first  that  they  intended  standing 
a  siege  there,  but  they  discovered  that  the  weatherboards  were 
not  bullet-proof.  The  Rangers  and  some  Regulars  attacked,  and 
the  church-walls  were  soon  perforated  with  bullets.  At  last 
the  defenders  dashed  out  through  the  door  on  the  northern  side, 
and  fled  to  the  swamps.* 

Twelve  Maoris,  including  the  chiefs  Hoani  and  Ihaia,  were 
killed  in  the  morning's  encounter,  and  above  thirty  prisoners, 
some  wounded,  were  taken. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  HAIRINI. 

The  news  of  the  General's  surprise  expedition  and  the  attack 
on  Rangiaowhia  brought  the  main  body  of  the  Waikato  and 
their  allies  pouring  eastward  into  the  invaded  village,  and  a  few 
hours  after  the  fight  the  leaders  were  hastily  planning  the 
fortifications  for  the  defence  of  their  supply  headquarters.  They 
realized  now  that  Paterangi,  Pikopiko,  and  Rangiatea  repre- 
sented so-much  heavy  labour  lost  as  the  result  of  the  British 
turning  movement,  and  those  forts  were  evacuated  immediately. 
A  position  was  selected  for  an  entrenchment  to  block  the  road 

*  Mr.  William  Johns,  of  Auckland,  who  served  as  a  corporal  in  the 
Fonst  Rangers,  says,  regarding  the  firing  at  the  Roman  Catholic  church, 
Rar  giaowhia  : — 

"  The  Natives  took  cover  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church  after  most  of 
the  whares  on  the  lower  ground  had  been  cleared  of  them  ;  the  huts  were 
nearly  all  set  on  fire  by  natives  firing  through  the  raupo  walls  at  the  troops. 
The  church  was  held  by  them  for  only  a  brief  period  ;  they  retreated  quickly 
before  the  advancing  Forest  Rangers  and  troops.  The  Rev.  Father  Vinay, 
who  resided  at  the  church  for  many  years  after  the  war,  cleverly  effaced 
and  closed  up  the  bullet-holes  left  in  the  building  during  the  skirmish,  and 
yet  these  were  long  visible  upon  close  inspection.  The  temporary  stand 
mads  by  the  natives  in  the  church  formed  the  closing  scene  of  that  morning's 
encounter. 

"  A  great  deal  of  wild  talk  arose  as  to  the  burning  of  the  Maori  whares 
designedly,  but  the  firing  of  Maori  guns  and  of  soldiers'  rifles  at  close  range 
into  dry  raupo  whares  is  a  sufficient  explanation." 


348  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

from  Te  Awamutu  to  Rangiaowhia.  The  place  chosen  was  the 
crest  of  a  ridge  at  Hairini  ("  Ireland  "),  the  highest  part  of  the 
approach  to  Rangiaowhia  from  the  west.  An  old  line  of  ditch 
and  bank,  fencing  in  some  large  cultivations,  crossed  the  crown 
of  the  height  from  north  to  south.  This  line  the  Maoris  quickly 
strengthened  on  the  morning  after  the  invasion  of  the  village, 
deepening  the  ditch  and  converting  the  bank  into  a  strong  parapet, 
with  a  stake  fence  surmounting  it.  The  road  was  blocked  by 
a  rifle-trench  with  a  narrow  opening.  The  entrenchment  ran 
down  the  hill  on  the  north  side — the  defenders'  right  flank— 
into  a  deep  swamp ;  on  the  south  side  the  ditch  and  bank 
extended  along  a  slope  to  the  cover  of  thick  bush  and  manuka, 
which  continued  thence  steeply  down  to  the  kahikatea  forest  in  the 
swampy  valley  of  the  Manga-o-Hoi.  The  flanks  of  the  Kingites 
were  thus  well  protected.  Members  of  many  Kingite  tribes 
shared  in  the  work  of  defence.  Besides  numerous  subtribes  of 
Waikato,  there  were  many  Ngati-Maniapoto,  one  of  whose  chiefs 
was  Wahanui — a  gigantic  figure  of  a  man,  afterwards  the  most 
celebrated  orator  of  the  King  party — some  men  of  Ngai-te-Rangi 
from  Tauranga,  and  a  contingent  of  nearly  a  hundred  Urewera 
warriors,  under  Piripi  te  Heuheu,  Hapurona  Kohi,  Te  Whenuanui, 
and  Paerau.  With  the  Ngai-te-Rangi  was  a  savage  fellow  of 
Ngati-Rangiwewehi  from  Rotorua,  named  Kereopa  te  Rau  ;  he 
became  notorious  in  the  following  year  as  Kereopa  Kai-Karu  (the 
"  Eye-swallower  "),  the  Hauhau  apostle  who  put  the  missionary 
Volkner  to  death  at  Opotiki. 

On  the  morning  of  the  22nd  February,  the  day  following 
the  attack  on  Rangiaowhia,  an  outlying  picket  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Manga-o-Hoi  Stream  at  Te  Awamutu  was  fired  upon 
by  a  party  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  from  the  cover  of  some  manuka 
at  Matariki,  on  the  river-bank  a  short  distance  above  the  bridge. 
The  troops  in  the  camp  at  Te  Awamutu  had  been  reinforced 
by  a  large  body  from  Te  Rore,  including  the  5oth  Regiment 
(under  Brevet-Colonel  Weare),  a  detachment  of  Royal  Artillery, 
and  a  party  of  Royal  Navy  men  from  the  ships  at  Auckland, 
with  two  6-pounder  Armstrong  guns  and  a  naval  6-pounder. 
The  soldiers  were  just  preparing  for  dinner  when  the  "Assembly" 
sounded.  The  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  under  Captain 
Pye,  V.C.,  and  Captain  Walmsley,  led  the  advance  upon  Hairini 
which  was  now  ordered,  and  the  Forest  Rangers,  as  usual  where 
there  was  fighting  in  prospect,  were  well  ahead  of  the  other 
infantry  corps.  The  General,  immediately  on  learning  that  the 
natives  had  taken  up  a  position  on  Hairini  Hill,  determined  to 
attack  before  they  had  time  to  strengthen  their  defences,  and 
early  in  the  afternoon  nearly  a  thousand  bayonets  flashed  back 
the  sun  as  the  column  advanced  in  fours  along  the  narrow  road 
towards  the  ridge  With  high  fern  on  either  side.  (The  present 


THE    BATTLE    OF   HAIRINI.  349 

maia  road  follows  exactly  this  route.)  A  mile  from  Te  Awamutu 
the  route  led  under  the  southern  crest  of  a  rather  steep  spur  ; 
belcw  was  a  gully  of  scrub  and  bush  and  swamp.  A  Maori 
skirmish  line  under  cover  of  a  hedge  was  driven  in,  and  on  a  hill 
abo.it  500  yards  in  front  of  Hairini  height  the  guns  were  placed 
and  opened  fire  on  the  entrenchments,  now  manned  by  five  or 
six  hundred  men.  The  infantry  went  on  and  halted  in  the 


From  a  painting  by  G.  Lindauer,  in  Auckland  Municipal  Art  Gallery.} 

WAHANUI  HUATARE. 

Wahanui,  whose  home  was  at  Hangatiki,  received  a  slight  wound  in  the 
fight  at  Hairini.  He  was  the  most  prominent  chief  of  Ngati-Maniapoto 
after  the  war,  and  was  the  leading  representative  of  the  Maori  King  party 
in  th  ;  negotiations  with  the  Government. 

fern17  hollow  between  the  two  hills,  awaiting  the  order  to  storm 
the  position.  Just  outside  the  road  gateway  at  the  trenches  a 
wild  figure  leaped  and  brandished  a  taiaha,  yelling  defiance  at 


350  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

the  troops,  and  encouraged  his  comrades  with  cries  of  "  Riria, 
riria  !  Patua,  patua  !  "  ^  ("  Fight  on,  fight  on  !  Strike,  kill !  ") 
This  was  Kereopa  te  Rau.  The  field-pieces  fired  shells  over  the 
heads  of  the  Forest  Rangers  (mustering  seventy-nine)  and  the 
5oth  (480  strong) — the  65th  were  in  support,  and  the  7oth  Regi- 
ment in  reserve — and  the  Maoris  all  along  the  line  replied  heavily 
with  their  double-barrel  guns.  "  It  was  as  pretty  a  bit  of  hot 
firing  as  I  have  ever  seen,"  says  a  veteran  of  Jackson's  company 
of  Rangers.  "  The  Armstrongs  were  sending  their  shells  screeching 
over  us,  and  the  Maori  bullets  were  cutting  down  the  fern  near 
me  with  as  even  a  swathe  almost  as  you  could  cut  it  with  a 
slash-hook.  We  were  lying  down  within  300  yards  of  the  enemy. 
At  last  the  '  Charge '  was  sounded,  and  away  we  went,  the  whole 
of  us,  we  Rangers  making  for  the  Maoris'  right  flank,  and  the 
5oth  Regiment,  on  our  right,  for  the  centre.  With  a  great  cheer 
the  50th  swept  splendidly  up  to  the  parapet  with  bayonets  at 
the  charge.  We  on  their  left  stormed  the  Maori  line  on  even 
terms  with  them  ;  we  had  no  bayonets,  but  used  our  revolvers 
for  close-quarters  work  " 

The  Kingite  warriors  maintained  a  heavy  fire,  but  their 
bullets  flew  too  high,  and  as  the  fatal  line  of  steel  approached 
they  broke  into  confusion  and  flight.  Some  raced  down  to  the 
left  into  the  shelter  of  the  deep  swamp  on  the  north  side,  and 
struggled  across  it  in  the  direction  of  Rangiaowhia ;  others  fled 
across  the  hill  in  the  rear  and  into  the  cover  of  the  bush  on 
the  south. 

Now  came  the  opportunity  for  the  cavalry.  One  detachment 
of  the  Colonial  Defence,  under  Captain  Walmsley,  advanced  on 
the  right  flank,  taking  the  high  ground  overlooking  the  Manga- 
o-Hoi  Valley  ;  the  other  troop,  under  Captain  Pye,  galloped  up 
on  the  left,  crossing  a  maize-field  above  the  swamp,  with  its 
patches  of  kaliikaiea  bush.  The  trumpet  sounded  the  "  Charge," 
and  the  troopers  rode  into  the  Maoris  with  their  sabres,  cutting 
down  a  number  as  they  went  over  them.  Some  of  the  warriors 
bravely  faced  the  horsemen.  Captain  Pye's  men  met  a  volley. 
"  Our  detachment,"  says  a  veteran  of  this  troop,  "  got  in  among 
a  party  of  Maoris  who  attempted  to  resist  us.  I  made  a  cut  with 
my  sword  at  one  man,  but  he  jumped  aside  and  I  missed  him. 
As  I  passed  ahead  I  looked  round  and  saw  another  trooper, 
Middleton,  running  his  sword  through  him.  Some  of  the  Maoris 
ran  down  on  the  south  side  of  Hairini,  where  we  could  not  follow 
them ;  others  retreated  across  the  swamp  at  Pekapeka-rau,  where 
the  Maori  dam  and  flour-mill  were."  This  was  one  of  the  few 
occasions  on  which  cavalry  charges  were  practicable  in  the  Maori 
wars.  Cavalry  were  used  at  Orakau,  a  few  weeks  after  the 
Hairini  fight  ;  the  other  principal  instances  of  charges  with  the 
sabre  occurred  at  Nukumaru,  on  the  west  coast,  in  1865,  and 
at  Kiorekino,  on  the  Opotiki  Flat,  in  the  same  year. 


THE    BATTLE    OF   HAIRINI.  351 

The  Forest  Rangers,  under  Von  Tempsky,  meanwhile  were 
firing  from  a  peach-grove  on  the  left  upon  the  Maoris  escaping 
through  the  swamp,  and  they,  with  some  of  the  5oth  and  the 
70th,  skirmished  up  towards  Rangiaowhia,  where  the  fighting 
ended.  The  village  was  looted,  and  the  Rangers  and  many  other 
troops  returned  to  Te  Awamutu  laden  with  spoils  in  the  way  of 
food  and  Maori  weapons. 

The  day's  casualties  numbered  two  soldiers  killed,  one  of 
the  Defence  Force  Cavalry  mortally  wounded,  and  fifteen  others 
wounded,  including  Ensign  Doveton,  of  the  5oth.  The  Maoris 
lost  about  a  score  killed,  besides  many  wounded,  some  of  whom 
were  captured  and  treated  in  the  field  hospital  at  Te  Awamutu. 
The-  troops  probably  would  have  suffered  more  severely  when 
doubling  along  the  road  to  the  assault  but  for  the  clouds  of  dust 
that  obscured  them. 

A  British  redoubt  was  built  at  Rangiaowhia,  near  the  brow 
of  the  hill  Hikurangi,  overlooking  the  Manga-o-Hoi  forest  and 
swamp  (the  district  school  now  stands  close  to  the  spot).  The 
post  was  garrisoned  by  a  company  of  the  65th  Regiment,  under 
Captain  Blewitt.  In  later  years,  when  the  Waikato  frontier  was 
threatened  by  the  King  Country  Hauhaus,  a  blockhouse  was 
built  on  the  site  and  held  by  the  armed  settlers,  some  of  whom 
were  old  Forest  Rangers  of  Jackson's  No.  I  Company. 

I  OTHER  OPERATIONS. 

The  whole  of  the  mid- Waikato  and  the  fertile  plain  of  the 
delta  between  the  Waipa  and  the  Horotiu  (upper  Waikato 
River)  as  far  south  as  the  Mangapiko  River  was  now  under 
British  occupation.  General  Cameron  left  detachments  to 
garrison  Te  Rore,  Pikopiko,  and  Paterangi,  and  at  Kirikiri-roa, 
on  the  Horotiu,  established  a  post  which  became  the  present 
TOVTI  of  Hamilton.  The  gunboats  "  Pioneer  "  and  "  Koheroa  " 
steamed  up  the  Horotiu  for  the  first  time  on  the  2nd  March, 
1864,  with  a  detachment  of  the  65th,  and  anchored  below  the 
deserted  native  settlement  of  Kirikiri-roa.  Next  day  the 
"  Koheroa,  "  under  command  of  an  officer  of  H.M.S.  "  Eclipse," 
ascended  the  strong  river  as  far  as  Pukerimu,  and  the  officers 
and  surveyors  on  board  made  a  rapid  reconnaissance  of  the 
country.  Redoubts  were  built  soon  after  this  at  Pukerimu  and 
Kirikiri-roa,  and  were  garrisoned  by  detachments  of  the  i8th 
and  yoth  Regiments  ;  later,  the  settlements  were  occupied  by 
men,  of  the  Waikato  Militia.  The  Ngati-Haua  and  their  allies, 
including  many  Ngai-te-Rangi  from  Tauranga,  had  now  strongly 
fortified  themselves  at  Te  Tiki  -  o  -  te  -  Ihingarangi,  where  the 
Pukekura  Range,  an  out -spur  of  Maunga  -  tautari,  terminates 
above  the  precipitous  left  bank  of  the  Waikato  River.  Soon 
after  the  first  visit  to  Pukerimu  the  General  advanced  with 


352  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

a  force  of  several  hundred  men  from  Te  Awamutu  and  skir- 
mished towards  the  Ngati-Haua  positions.  After  a  little  firing 
at  comparatively  long  range  the  troops  retired.  The  pa  was 
occupied  for  several  weeks,  but  at  last  was  evacuated  before 
Cameron  had  made  up  his  mind  to  attack  it.  This  was  the 
only  strong  position  in  the  Waikato  country  remaining  to  the 
Kingites  in  March.  There  were  now  nearly  five  thousand  troops, 
Imperial  and  colonial,  distributed  in  the  occupied  territory ; 
the  greater  number  was  encamped  at  Te  Awamutu,  where  the 
army  spent  the  winter  of  1864, 

The  headquarters  of  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  Tribe,  the  large 
village  of  Kihikihi,  three  miles  south-east  of  Te  Awamutu,  was 
invaded  on  the  23rd  February.  It  was  an  attractive  place  in 
those  days,  with  its  clusters  of  thatched  houses  spaced  over  a 
considerable  area  of  hill  and  valley,  shaded  by  peach-groves  and 
surrounded  by  large  cultivations  of  potatoes  and  maize  which 
extended  in  the  direction  of  the  Puniu  River  to  the  south  and  to 
the  outskirts  of  the  forest  and  swamps  on  the  east.  Here  was 
Rewi  Maniapoto's  home  ;  and  on  the  gentle  southern  slope  of 
Rata-tu  Hill,  on  which  the  principal  settlement  stood,  was  the 
carved  house  "  Hui-te-Rangiora,"  in  which  Rewi  and  his  nmanga 
of  chiefs  had  framed  the  belligerent  policy  which  precipitated 
the  Waikato  War.  No  attempt  was  made  by  Ngati-Maniapoto 
to  defend  Kihikihi.  They  could  have  blocked  for  a  time  the 
advance  of  the  troops  from  Te  Awamutu  by  entrenching  the 
steep  northern  and  north-west  face  of  the  ridge  on  which  Kihi- 
kihi stood  (the  present  road  ascends  this  face),  and  extending 
the  wings  of  the  defences  to  the  swamps  on  either  flank.  But 
Rewi  and  his  people  abandoned  Kihikihi  after  the  fighting  at 
Rangiaowhia,  and,  crossing  to  the  south  side  of  the  Puniu  River, 
encamped  at  Tokanui,  on  the  slopes  overlooking  their  old  homes. 
From  there  they  saw  the  flashing  of  the  bayonets  as  a  body 
of  troops  marched  into  Kihikihi,  and  presently  watched  the 
smoke  and  flames  ascending  from  their  council-house,  destroyed 
by  the  soldiers.  Rewi's  flagstaff  was  also  demolished,  and  the 
village  was  looted  by  the  Regulars  and  the  Forest  Rangers.  A 
redoubt  was  soon  afterwards  built  on  the  crest  of  the  Rata-tu 
Hill,  a  commanding  site  overlooking  the  whole  of  the  Kihikihi 
and  surrounding  country  for  many  miles.  This  post  was  first 
garrisoned  by  detachments  of  the  line  regiments,  and  afterwards 
by  a  force  of  the  ist  Waikato  Militia,  under  Colonel  T.  M.  Haultain. 

Numerous  scouting  expeditions  were  made  from  headquarters 
at  Te  Awamutu  by  the  Forest  Rangers  and  by  the  Colonial 
Defence  Force  Cavalry.  It  was  after  one  of  the  troopers'  rides 
to  the  neighbourhood  of  Kihikihi,  where  Maoris  were  again  seen 
to  be  gathering — one  was  shot  at  long  range  by  Lieutenant 
(afterwards  Colonel)  McDonnell  —  that  it  was  decided  to  build 


THE    INVASION    OF    RANGIAOWHIA. 


353 


tli3  redoubt  just  mentioned.  An  expedition  marched  before 
daylight  one  morning,  under  Colonel  Waddy  and  Colonel  Have- 
lock,  with  the  Forest  Rangers,  as  usual,  forming  the  advanced 
guard,  to  pay  a  surprise  visit  to  Kihikihi,  but  the  natives 
again  retired  in  time.  Von  Tempsky  went  on  through  some 
maize-fields  and  skirmished  across  a  swamp  with  some  of  the 
Me  oris,  but  did  not  get  close  to  them.  That  night  he  took  the 
men  into  the  kahikatea  bush  and  swamp  which  flanked  Kihi- 
kihi, in  an  attempt  to  reach  the  Maoris  who  had  retreated  into 
some  distant  whares  on  a  rise,  and  after  a  very  rough  experience, 


Phot,  by  W.  Beattie,  i> 


ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  TE  AWAMUTU. 


This  mission  church  was  built  in  the  early  "  fifties,"  when  Te  Awamutu 
was  the  station  of  the  Rev.  John  Morgan,  of  the  C.M.S.,  who  introduced 
civilization  and  English  methods  of  agriculture  among  the  tribes  of  the 
Upper  Waikato.  Mr.  Morgan  carried  on  mission  work  and  industrial 
education  here  from  1841  until  the  beginning  of  the  Waikato  War.  The 
sold  ers  who  fell  at  Orakau  and  other  fights  in  the  district  were  buried  in 
the  vhurchyard. 


scrambling  through  the  swamp  and  jungle  in  the  darkness, 
reached  the  whares  at  daylight  and  rushed  them,  but  found 
them  empty.  Sergeant  Carron  reported  that  there  were  Maoris 
in  the  bush  which  nearly  surrounded  this  settlement,  a  little 
12— N.Z.  Wars. 


354  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

distance  to  the  eastward  of  Kihikihi  Village.  Von  Tempsky 
withdrew  his  men  from  the  whares,  and  received  a  harmless 
volley  from  the  bush-covered  hill.  He  took  up  a  position 
within  300  yards  of  the  huts,  under  cover  of  logs  and  fern,  and 
awaited  a  Maori  advance,  but  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  party  wisely 
remained  in  their  cover.  The  Rangers  returned  to  Kihikihi, 
and  from  the  central  hill  that  afternoon  they  saw  some  hundreds 
of  Maoris  in  the  distance  driving  their  cattle  and  horses  into 
safety  southward  of  the  Puniu. 


NOTES. 

The  site  of  Rewi  Maniapoto's  council-house  "  Hui-te-Rangiora,"  burned 
by  the  troops,  is  a  little  distance  to  the  south-west  of  the  present 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  Kihikihi  Township.  Near  this  church  is  the 
house  which  the  Government  built  for  Rewi  shortly  before  the  Kingites 
finally  made  peace  in  1881  ;  close  to  the  house  at  a  street-corner  is  his 
grave  ;  he  died  in  1894  The  name  "  Hui-te-Rangiora,"  celebrated  in 
Maori-Polynesian  tradition,  is  still  honoured  among  Ngati-Maniapoto  ;  it 
has  been  given  to  the  house  (a  gift  from  the  Government)  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Puniu  River  in  which  Rewi's  widow,  Te  Rohu,  now  lives. 

The  redoubt  on  Rata-tu,  the  highest  part  of  the  Kihikihi  ridge,  was 
a  military  post  for  about  twenty  years  after  its  construction.  It  was 
occupied  as  a  barracks  by  the  Armed  Constabulary,  1870-83,  and  was 
an  important  place  in  the  chain  of  defences  along  the  frontier  against  the 
often-threatened  Kingite  and  Hauhau  invasions  of  the  Upper  Waikato. 
The  lines  of  the  redoubt  can  be  traced  just  behind  the  present  police- 
station  in  Kihikihi  Township. 

The  head  of  river  navigation  for  the  wheat-growers  of  Kihikihi,  the 
headquarters  of  Ngati-Maniapoto,  was  at  Tokatoka,  afterwards  known 
as  Anderson's  Crossing,  on  the  Puniu  River,  about  two  miles  from  the 
village.  Large  canoes  carrying  sixty  or  seventy  men  could  come  up  the 
Puniu  River  in  the  old  days,  before  it  was  blocked  with  willows,  and 
cargoes  of  wheat  and  potatoes  loaded  there  were  taken  down  into  the 
Waipa,  and  thence  into  the  Waikato  for  Auckland.  A  mile  north  of  the 
Tokatoka  landing  was  the  flour-mill  of  the  Kihikihi  Maoris  ;  the  water- 
power  was  supplied  by  a  small  stream  which  drained  the  Whakatau- 
ringaringa  swamp  on  the  west  and  south-west  side  of  the  Kihikihi  ridge. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 


THE    SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU. 

Three  miles  to  the  east  of  General  Cameron's  advanced  post 
at  Kihikihi  the  village  of  Orakau  ("  the  Place  of  Trees  ")  lay 
among  its  fruit-groves  and  its  cultivated  fields,  gently  tilted  to 
the  quarter  of  greatest  sunshine.  This  easy  northward-looking 
slant  of  the  country  is  a  topographical  feature  particularly  marked 
in  these  parts  of  the  Waipa  basin.  The  contour  of  Rangiaowhia, 
Orakau,  and  the  neighbouring  terrain  of  Otautahanga  and  Para- 
wera  is  distinguished  by  a  gradual  upward  slope  to  the  south, 
and  then  a  sudden  break  in  a  descent  of  a  hundred  or  two 
hundred  feet  to  the  swamps  and  wooded  levels.  The  Orakau 
settlement,  a  collection  of  thatched  hamlets,  was  spread  over 
half  a  square  mile  of  the  slopes  and  plain  extending  from  the 
ridge  called  Karaponia,  on  the  south,  to  the  edge  of  the  swamps 
ami  kahikatea  forest  through  which  the  Manga-o-Hoi  coiled  in 
its  sluggish  course  to  join  the  Mangapiko  at  Te  Awamutu  on 
the  west.  These  swamps  and  the  creek  separated  the  Orakau 
country  from  the  higher  land  of  Rangiaowhia.  To  the  east  the 
range  of  Maunga-tautari  made  a  rugged  skyline  ;  to  the  south 
the  blue  mountains  of  Rangitoto  marked  the  source  of  the  Waipa 
River  in  the  heart  of  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  country.  The  crest 
of  the  Orakau  ridge  broke  off  abruptly  to  a  manuka  swamp  ; 
from  the  northern  part  of  this  swamp  watercourses  drained  into 
the  Manga-o-Hoi,  and  from  the  southern  side  of  the  imperceptible 
watershed  the  eel-waters  flowed  toward  the  Puniu,  a  clear  stream 
running  over  a  gravelly  bed  in  a  westerly  course  two  miles 
away. 

Orakau  was  an  idyllic  home  for  the  Maori.  Like  Rangiao- 
whia, it  was  a  garden  of  fruit  and  root  crops.  On  its  slopes 
were  groves  of  peaches,  almonds,  apples,  quinces,  and  cherries  ; 
grape- vines  climbed  the  trees  and  the  thatched  raupo  houses. 
Potatoes,  kumara,  maize,  melons,  pumpkins,  and  vegetable- 
marrows  were  grown  plentifully.  Good  crops  of  wheat  were 

12* 


356 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


grown  in  the  "  fifties  "  and  early  "  sixties  "  on  the  northward- 
sloping  ground  between  Karaponia*  Hill  crest  and  the  groves 
of  Orakau  and  Te  Kawakawa.  The  Maoris  at  one  time  were 
paid  I2s.  a  bushel  for  the  wheat  from  Rangiaowhia  and  Orakau. 
"  Ah,"  said  old  Tu  Takerei,  of  Parawera,  who  was  born  in 
Orakau,  "  it  was  indeed  a  beautiful  and  fruitful  place  before 
the  war.  The  food  we  grew  was  good  and  abundant,  and  the 
people  were  strong  and  healthy — there  was  no  disease  among 
them ;  those  were  the  days  of  peace,  when  men  and  women 
died  only  of  extreme  old  age." 


ORAKAU  AND  SURROUNDING  COUNTRY, 
Showing  the  routes  of  the  British  march,   1864. 


*  The  name  Karaponia  ("  California  "),  bestowed  upon  the  hill  of  the 
wheat-fields  at  Orakau,  has  a  curious  history.  One  or  two  natives  of  the 
district  who  had  gone  to  Auckland  in  the  early  "  fifties  "  shipped  in  a  New 
Zealand  vessel  bound  for  San  Francisco,  where  the  gold-diggings  of  the 
Sacramento  had  created  a  demand  for  wheat,  flour,  and  potatoes  from 
the  South  Pacific  colonies.  After  trying  their  luck  at  the  diggings  they 
found  their  way  back  to  New  Zealand,  and  when  they  reached  their  homes 
narrated  their  travels  to  California  (Maorified  into  "  Karaponia  ").  The 
word  appealed  to  the  native  ear  as  a  pleasant  -  sounding  name  —  "He 
ingoa  rekareka,  ingoa  ngawari,"  says  the  Maori.  So  "  Karaponia  "  presently 
came  to  be  given  to  the  wheat-farm  terminating  in  the  ridge  on  which 
the  British  guns  were  emplaced  in  1864. 


THE    SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU. 


357 


The  people  of  Orakau  were  the  Ngati-Koura  hapu  of  Waikato, 
with  a  section  of  Ngati-Raukawa.  The  focus  of  the  settlement 
was  the  Maori  church,  which  stood  on  the  crown  of  a  knoll  on  the 
west  side  above  a  deep  but  narrow  swamp,  through  which  a  small 
watercourse,  the  Tautoro,  flowed  toward  the  Manga-o-Hoi.  (On 
this  elevation  Mr.  W.  A.  Cowan,  father  of  the  present  writer, 
bui;t  his  homestead  a  few  years  after  the  battle.)  Near  the  church 
the  chief  Te  Ao-Katoa,  of  Ngati-Raukawa,  lived  before  the  war. 
He  was  a  tohunga  of  the  ancient  Maori  school  ;  later,  he  became 
a  war-priest  of  the  Hauhau  fanaticism.  To  the  north  a  short 


THE  BATTLEFIELD  OF  ORAKAU,  PRESENT  DAY. 

The  eucalyptus  tree  in  the  foreground  was  planted  by  the  Armed 
Const  ibulary  in  the  "seventies"  to  mark  the  position  of  the  British 
Armsirong  guns  on  Karaponia  Hill. 


distance  along  the  slopes  were  the  whares  and  peach-groves  of 
Te  Kawakawa;  beyond  was  Te  Ngarahu,  where  under  the  acacias 
on  the  swamp-edge  Dr.  R.  Hooper  lived  (1848-63)  ;  he  had  a 
half-(  aste  wife,  and  received  a  small  salary  from  the  Government 
for  dispensing  medicines  to  the  natives. 

Such,  before  the  war,  was  Orakau,  soon  to  become  a  place  of 
sadness  and  glory,  the  spot  where  the  Kingites  made  their  last 


358  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

hopeless  stand  for  independence,  holding  heroically  to  nationalism 
and  a  broken  cause. 

There  was  a  military  expedition  to  Orakau  a  month  before  the 
construction  of  the  pa  to  which  the  British  troops  laid  siege. 
This  was  on  the  2Qth  February,  1864,  when  Colonel  Waddy,  of 
the  5oth,  led  a  column  out  from  Te  Awamutu,  six  miles  away, 
with  the  object  of  dispersing  some  Maoris  who  it  was  reported 
were  digging  rifle-pits.  The  Forest  Rangers  were  in  the  advance. 
A  little  more  than  half-way  between  Kihikihi  and  Orakau  (at  a 
spot  where  the  present  main  road  ascends  a  small  hill  above  a 
narrow  swamp)  the  Rangers  encountered  a  newly  built  stake 
fence  ;  a  high  bank  rose  behind  it,  and  the  crown  of  this  bank 
looked  suspicious  to  Von  Tempsky.  He  ordered  his  men  to  throw 
down  the  fence,  making  a  gap  ;  they  then  rushed  the  bank.  As 
expected,  there  was  a  line  of  rifle-pits  there  ;  the  trenches  were 
masked  with  branches  of  manuka  stuck  into  the  earth.  The 
position  was  deserted,  but  a  few  shots  were  fired  at  long  range 
by  some  Maoris,  who  fell  back  on  Orakau.  The  village  was 
abandoned,  and  the  Rangers  went  through  it  in  skirmishing  order. 
The  natives  made  no  stand,  but  drew  off  eastward  in  the  direction 
of  Otautahanga,  and  the  troops,  after  burning  some  of  the  whares, 
returned  to  Te  Awamutu. 

After  the  defeats  at  Rangiaowhia  and  Hairini,  and  the  British 
occupation  of  Kihikihi,  Ngati-Maniapoto  with  some  of  the  other 
tribes  gathered  at  Tokanui,  below  the  group  of  terraced  hills  now 
called  the  "  Three  Sisters."  Thence  they  travelled  southward  to 
Otewa,  on  the  Waipa,  and  from  there  they  were  called  to  a 
conference  at  Wharepapa,  a  large  village  about  three  miles  south 
of  the  Puniu.  The  gathering  discussed  two  questions  :  (i)  Whether 
or  not  the  war  should  be  renewed  ;  (2)  whether  a  fortified  position 
should  be  taken  up  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Puniu  River  or 
on  the  southern  side.  The  decision  to  continue  the  war  was 
unanimous.  As  to  the  site  of  the  new  fighting  pa,  it  was  resolved 
to  confine  the  war,  if  possible,  to  the  northern  side  of  the  Puniu. 
Rewi  made  a  proposal  to  consult  Wiremu  Tamehana  at  the 
stronghold  Te  Tiki  o  te  Ihingarangi,  on  the  upper  Waikato,  on 
the  question  of  the  future  conduct  of  the  campaign.  It  was 
decided  to  send  to  the  kingmaker  and  ask  his  advice,  and 
Rewi  and  a  small  party  of  his  men  set  out  for  Te  Tiki. 
They  marched  by  way  of  Ara-titaha,  on  the  southern  spur  of 
Maunga-tautari.  There  they  met  an  Urewera  (Tuhoe)  war-party, 
140  strong,  under  the  chiefs  Piripi  te  Heuheu,  Hapurona  Kohi, 
Te  Whenuanui  (Ngakorau),  the  old  warrior  Paerau  te  Rahgi-kai- 
tupu-ake,  Te  Reweti  (of  the  Patu-heuheu),  Ngahoro  (of  Ngati- 
Whare),  and  Hoani  (Tuhoe  and  Patu-heuheu).  Tuhoe  proper 
numbered  fifty  ;  the  Ngati-Whare  and  Patu-heuheu  party  was  also 
fifty  strong.  The  prophet  Penewhio  sent  two  tohungas,  Hakopa 


THE    SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU.  359 

and  Tapiki,  with  the  contingent.  In  the  contingent  were  twenty 
mer  of  the  Ngati-Kahungunu  Tribe,  from  the  Wairoa,  Hawke's 
Ba>,  under  Te  Waru  Tamatea.  The  main  body  of  this  force, 
numbering  a  hundred,  led  by  Piripi  te  Heuheu,  had  fought  in 
some  of  the  engagements  of  the  war,  including  Hairini,  and  had 
helped  to  garrison  Manga-pukatea  and  Paterangi.  The  Ngati- 
Kahungunu  party  did  not  arrive  until  after  Hairini  had  been 
fought.  About  the  end  of  1863  Rewi  had  made  a  recruiting 
journey  to  the  Rangitaiki  country  and  to  the  Ngati-Whare  and 
Tuhoe  headquarters  ;  there  were  old  ties  of  friendship  between 
his  section  of  Ngati  -  Maniapoto  and  the  Warahoe  people  and 
some  of  their  Urewera  kinsmen.  Rewi  visited  Tauaroa,  Ahikereru, 
and  Ruatahuna,  accompanied  by  Te  Winitana  Tupotahi  and  Hapi 
te  Hikonga-uira,  and  aroused  the  fighting-blood  of  the  mountain 
tribes  by  his  appeal  for  assistance  and  his  chanting  of  two  thrilling 
war-songs.  The  first  was  the  Taranaki  patriotic  chant  beginning 
"  Kohea  tera  maunga  e  tu  mai  ra  ra  ?  "  ("  What  is  that  mountain 
standing  yonder  ?  ")  referring  to  Mount  Egmont.  The  second 
was  the  song  that  began  "  Puhi  kura,  puhi  kura,  puhi  kaka  "  ("  Red 
plumes,  red  plumes,  plumes  of  the  kaka  "),  his  favourite  battle- 
chant.  These  impassioned  war-calls  intensely  excited  the  young 
warriors  of  Tuhoe,  and  in  spite  of  the  advice  of  some  of 
the  old  chiefs  they  raised  a  company  for  the  assistance  of  the 
Maori  King.  Two  casks  of  gunpowder  were  given  to  Rewi's  party. 
One  of  these— presented  by  Harehare,  Te  Wiremu,  and  Timoti,  of 
the  Ngati-Manawa,  at  Tauaroa — had  been  sent  from  Ohinemuri  by 
the  old  cannibal  warrior  Taraia  Ngakuti,  of  Ngati-Tamatera.  The 
tohungas  had  recited  charms  over  the  cask  of  powder  to  render 
the  contents  doubly  efficacious  against  the  pakeha ;  and  it  had 
been  given  a  name,  "  Hine-ia-Taraua."  Takurua  Koro-kai-toke 
joined  Rewi ;  he  was  the  elder  brother  of  Harehare,  the  present 
chief  of  Ngati-Manawa  at  Murupara,  on  the  Rangitaiki.  He  and 
his  wife  Rawinia  (Lavinia)  were  both  wounded  at  Orakau.  Hare- 
hare  himself,  having  no  grievance  against  the  Europeans,  did  not 
join,  saying  that  he  would  fight  the  troops  if  they  invaded  the 
Rangitaiki  country,  but  not  otherwise.  But  Tuhoe  and  Ngati- 
Whare  entertained  no  such  punctilio;  they  were  eager  to  make 
use  of  their  weapons,  and  would  travel  far  for  the  pure  love  of 
fighting.  A  small  war-party  of  Tuhoe  had  already  gone  to  the 
Waikato.  This  taua  consisted  of  twenty  men  from  Ruatahuna.  led 
by  Piripi  te  Heuheu.  These  warriors  assisted  Ngati-Maniapoto  in 
the  Lower  Waikato  in  the  latter  part  of  1863,  but  did  not  share 
in  the  defence  of  Rangiriri,  and  returned  to  Ruatahuna.  It 
was  then  in  response  to  Rewi's  appeal  for  reinforcements  that 
the  larger  expedition  was  formed.  It  numbered  a  hundred 
men  (ran  taki-tahi).  After  Hairini,  the  Urewera  remained  at 
Arohena  with  Ngati-Raukawa  ;  and  the  Ngati-te-Kohera  section 


360  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS.  • 

of  this  tribe  was  assembled  with  them  at  Ara-titaha  when  Rewi 
reached  that  village. 

The  Urewera  chiefs,  strongly  supported  by  Ngati-Raukawa, 
urged  that  a  fort  should  be  built  at  or  near  Orakau  as  a  challenge 
to  the  troops,  and  Te  Whenuanui  chanted  a  song  composed  by 
the  chief  tohunga  of  the  Urewera,  prophesying  the  defeat  of  the 
Europeans  and  the  reconquest  of  the  land  by  the  Maoris.  Rewi 
replied  that  he  had  no  faith  in  such  a  prophecy,  and  proposed 
that  the  chiefs  should  all  consult  Tamehana  before  renewing  the 
war.  He  opposed  the  suggestion  to  fortify  Orakau,  but  the 
Urewera  were  persistent.  Their  tohungas,  Hakopa  and  Tapiki, 
said,  "  Let  us  go  on  ;  let  us  challenge  the  pakeha  to  battle.  We 
are  bearing  heavy  burdens  [guns  and  ammunition]  ;  let  us  use 
them."  Rewi  angrily  replied,  "  If  you  Tuhoe  persist  in  your 
desire  for  battle  I  alone  will  be  the  survivor  "  ;  and  he  chanted 
this  song  of  warning,  foretelling  defeat  :— 

Tokotokona  na  te  hau  tawaho, 

Koi  toko  atu 

E  kite  ai  au 

I  Remu  waho  ra, 

I  kite  ai  au, 

I  Remutaka  ra, 

I  kite  ai  au 

Mate  kuku  ki  Wai'mata  ra  e. 

Tohungia  mai  e  te  kokoreke  ra 

Katahi  nei  hoki  ka  kite 

Te  karoro  o  tua  wai, 

Tu  awaawa  ra. 

Na  te  kahore  anake 

E  noho  toku  whenua  kei  tua. 

Tera  e  whiti  ana, 

E  noho  ana, 

Ko  te  koko  koroki  ata, 

"  Ki — ki — tau." 

In  this  chant,  a  mata  or  prophecy,  Rewi  in  figurative  language 
endeavoured  to  dissuade  Tuhoe  from  again  entering  the  campaign. 
He  sang  of  the  winds  of  war.  of  the  enemy  troops  gathering  at 
the  seaports,  in  the  south  and  on  the  Waitemata,  to  sweep  over 
the  lands  of  the  people;  and  concluded  with  an  allusion  to  the 
koko  (tui)  singing  in  the  dawn.  He  was  the  bird  of  dawn;  by 
this  he  meant  that  he  would  be  the  lone  survivor  of  the  battle. 
"But  this,"  says  an  Urewera  survivor,  "did  not  change  our 
purpose,  although  Rewi  repeated  his  warning  and  again  declared, 
'  If  you  persist  I  alone  will  be  the  survivor,'  for  he  had  a  strong 
presentiment  that  we  would  be  defeated." 

Rewi,  abandoning  his  visit  to  Tamehana,  gloomily  returned 
to  Waikeria.  He  had  dreamed,  he  told  his  people,  that  he  was 
standing  outside  the  church  in  Orakau  and  flying  a  kite,  one  of 


THE    SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU.  361 

the  large  bird-shaped  kites  made  of  raupo  and  adorned  with 
feathers.  At  first  it  soared  strongly  upwards  to  the  clouds  ; 
then  it  broke  loose  and  came  to  the  ground  in  pieces.  The 
shattering  of  the  kite  he  interpreted  as  a  portent  of  the  utter 
defeat  of  the  Maoris.  But  Rewi's  recital  of  his  matakite,  or 
vision  of  omen,  did  not  turn  his  tribe  from  their  resolve  to 
renew  the  war  ;  they  were  burning  to  join  the  Urewera  and 
strike  another  blow  in  defence  of  their  land.  Now,  reluctantly 
and  against  his  better  judgment,  he  acceded  to  the  general  wish. 

The  war-parties  united  at  Otautahanga,  and  marched  to 
Orakau,  two  miles  to  the  west,  to  select  a  site  for  the  fort.  Near 
Ara-titaha  some  of  the  people  had  begun  to  fortify  a  mound 
called  Puke-kai-kahu,  but  the  majority  of  the  warriors  demanded 
that  a  position  be  taken  up  nearer  the  British  advanced  post. 
One  important  reason  for  the  selection  of  Orakau  was  that  it  was 
in  a  convenient  position  for  the  supply  of  food  to  the  garrison. 

Only  a  few  of  the  Waikato  people  living  at  Orakau  joined  in 
the  forlorn  hope  of  the  Kingites.  The  greater  number  of  Ngati- 
Maniapoto  had  gone  southward  for  safety,  and  did  not  return  in 
time  for  Orakau,  and  the  war-party  of  that  tribe  consisted  chiefly 
of  Rewi's  immediate  kinsmen,  in  number  about  fifty.  The  back- 
bone of  the  defence  was  furnished  by  the  war-loving  Urewera 
and  Ngati-te-Kohera. 

The  ground  chosen  for  the  fort  was  the  gentle  slope  of 
Rangataua,  in  the  midst  of  the  Orakau  peach-groves.*  Rewi 
saw  the  folly  of  constructing  the  works  in  such  an  exposed 
position,  and  urged,  now  that  he  had  consented  to  the  building 
of  a  pa,  that  it  should  be  placed  more  to  the  north,  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  Orakau  slopes  and  close  to  the  kahikatea  forest 
of  the  Manga-o-Hoi ;  this  bush  would  afford  a  way  of  retreat. 
Others  suggested  that  the  site  should  be  near  the  church  at  the 
edge  of  the  hill  above  the  Tautoro  swamp  on  the  west  ;  the 
land  iiere  fell  rather  steeply  on  the  Kihikihi  face,  and  could  be 
entrenched  strongly.  But  these  counsels  were  overruled ;  and 

*  Pou-patate,  of  Te  Kopua,  who  was  sent  as  one  of  the  messengers  to 
assemble  the  people  at  Wharepuhvmga  and  other  places  for  the  defence 
of  Orakau,  states  that  a  proposal  was  made  by  some  of  Ngati-Maniapoto, 
when  the  refugees  were  gathering  near  the  Puniu,  to  build  a  fort  at  Kiharoa. 
This  is  on  the  crown  of  the  high  ground  just  to  the  north  of  the  three  round 
hills  ar  Tokanui,  two  miles  south  of  the  Puniu  River,  on  the  road  from 
Kihikihi  to  Otorohanga.  But  by  this  time  the  chiefs  had  decided  upon 
Orakau. 

Another  Maori  survivor  says  that  when  the  warriors  gathered  at 
Orakau  to  select  the  site  of  the  pa  it  was  seen  that  the  crest  of  the  hill  at 
Karap(  nia  was  the  most  suitable  spot,  but  upon  consideration  it  was 
disapproved  because  there  was  no  water  there,  and  Rangataua  was  chosen 
because  it  was  close  to  a  water-spring  and  also  was  in  the  middle  of  the 
food  cultivations. 


362 


NFW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


THE   SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU.  363 

on  the  crown  of  the  slightly  rising  ground  at  Rangatana,  about 
400  yards  from  the  native  church  and  250  yards  from  the 
southern  crest  of  the  Karaponia  ridge,  the  lines  of  the  Orakau 
entrenchments  were  drawn. 

The  main  work  thrown  up  by  the  natives,  working  in 
relays  because  there  were  not  sufficient  spades,  was  oblong  in 
figure,  about  80  feet  in  length  by  40  feet  in  width,  with  its 
greatest  axis  north  and  south.  The  design  was  an  earthwork 
redoubt  with  external  trench  and  a  broad  parapet,  inside  which 
was  another  ditch,  well  traversed  against  an  enfilading  fire,  and 
converted  into  a  series  of  ruas,  or  burrows,  partly  covered  over 
for  protection  from  shell-fire.  The  main  parapet  was  about  6  feet 
thick ;  the  height  from  the  bottom  of  the  ditch  was  6  to  8  feet. 
In  constructing  the  rampart  the  builders  used  alternate  layers 
of  earth  and  armfuls  of  newly  pulled  fern  ;  the  fern  helped  to 
bind  the  friable  soil,  and  gave  the  wall  an  elastic  quality  which 
greatly  reinforced  its  resistance  to  shot  and  shell.  The  interior 
scheme,  divided  into  a  number  of  ruas,  also  neutralized  to  some 
extent  the  shell-fire  ;  a  shell  dropped  into  one  of  these  burrow- 
like  compartments  would  have  a  very  circumscribed  radius  of 
damage.  In  portions  of  the  earthwork  the  builders  made  long 
horizontal  rifle  loopholes  or  embrasures,  with  sections  of  board 
for  the  upper  part  and  short  pieces  of  timber  at  the  sides. 
There  was  no  palisading,  but  surrounding  the  redoubt  was  a  post 
and  three-rail  fence.  This  fence,  harmless-looking  enough,  was  in 
reality  a  serious  obstacle  to  any  rush;  it  was  partly  masked 
by  flax-bushes,  high  fern,  and  peach-trees.  The  pa  was  built 
in  a  scattered  grove  of  peach-trees,  and  the  defences  were  only 
a  few  feet  above  the  general  level  of  the  ground.  Orakau  pa, 
flimsy  as  it  was,  proved  an  unexpectedly  difficult  problem  for 
the  assaulting  forces. 

In  advance  of  the  north-west  angle  of  the  redoubt,  and 
connected  with  it  by  a  short  trench,  a  small  outwork  was  built, 
by  the  Ngati-te-Kohera  and  Ngati-Parekawa.  This  bastion  was 
not  completed  when  the  attack  began,  and  the  outer  trench  was 
not  more  than  3  feet  deep.  There  was  a  proposal  to  strengthen 
the  fortifications  by  constructing  another  redoubt  on  the  crest 
of  the  ridge  at  Karaponia  —  where  the  British  headquarters 
presently  were  fixed  and  where  a  blockhouse  was  built  during 
the  Hauhau  wars — and  connecting  the  two  works  by  a  parapet 
and  double  trench.  This  would  greatly  have  increased  the 
defensible  value  of  Orakau,  but  the  swiftness  of  the  British 
attack  prevented  any  extension  of  the  kind. 

While  the  people  were  entrenching  the  position  several  men 
were  sent,  on  the  suggestion  of  a  prophetess,  to  procure  some 
otaota  (fern,  or  leaves  of  shrubs)  from  the  scene  of  the  bloodshed 
at  Rangiaowhia.  The  otaota  was  to  be  used  in  ceremonies  to 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


propitiate  the  deities  and  ensure  the  successful  defence  of  the 
fort.  But  the  scouts  did  not  reach  Ranglaowhia.  One  of  them 
was  shot  in  an  encounter  with  some  troops  near  the  Manga-o- 
Hoi,  and  the  others  returned  without,  the  material  for  the  luck- 
bringing  rite. 

The  builders  and  defenders  of  the  fort  in  the  peach-groves 
numbered  scarcely  more  than  three  hundred  ;  among  them  were 
about  twenty  women  and  some  children.  The  units  were — 
Urewera,  Ngati-Whare,  and  Ngati-Kahungunu,  about  140  ;  Ngati- 
Raukawa  and  Ngati-te-Kohera,  with  a  few  of  Ngati-Tuwharetoa, 


^m^m^^^^Mi. 


Orakau. 

From  a  sketch-plan  by  Captain  W.  N.  Greaves,  April,  1864.} 
PLAN  OF  ORAKAU  PA. 

The  shaded  parts  indicate  the  trenches  and  the  dug-outs  for  shelter 
from  shell-fire.  Maori  survivors  of  Orakau  state  that  this  is  a  more  accurate 
plan  of  the  redoubt  than  the  one  which  follows.  The  flanking  bastions 
at  the  north  end  are  here  shown  of  a  rounded  form,  resembling  the  plan 
usually  adopted  in  a  British  field-work.  The  defences  at  the  north  end 
(foot  of  the  plan)  had  not  been  completed  by  Ngati-Parekawa  and  other 
hapus  when  the  troops  attacked  the  position. 

about  100 ;  Ngati-Maniapoto,  50 ;  Waikato,  20  :  approximate 
total,  310.  A  number  of  the  wives  and  sisters  of  Urewera  and 
other  warriors  shared  in  the  toil  and  peril  of  the  enterprise, 


THE    SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU. 


365 


and  several  of  the  Orakau  families  joined  the  garrison  and 
carried  in  food-supplies.  Ngati-Maniapoto  held  the  south-east 
angle  and  the  east  flank ;  the  Urewera  the  south-west  angle 


.0 

g 

1 

r. 
p 

•+-> 

d> 

tf) 

H 

•d 

3 

u 

0 

fe 

* 

0 

pj 

^ 

p 

i 

9 

5 
o 
o 

•yf 

a 

.9 

j 


and  part  of  the  west  flank,  facing  Kihikihi ;  the  north-west 
an^le  and  the  outwork  were  defended  by  Ngati-Raukawa,  Ngati- 
te-Kohera;  and  some  men  of  Ngati-Tuwharetoa. 


366  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Rewi  Maniapoto  was  by  common  consent  the  chief  in 
supreme  control,  but  he  consulted  his  fellow-chiefs  on  important 
questions.  The  principal  men  of  the  various  tribes  under  Rewi's 
generalship  were  :  Ngati-Maniapoto  —  Te  Winitana  Tupotahi, 
Raureti  Paiaka,  Te  Kohika  ;  Waikato  —  Wi  te  Karamoa  (Tu- 
manako),  Te  Paewaka,  Aporo,  Te  Huirama ;  Ngati-te-Kohera, 
Ngati  -  Parekawa,  and  allied  sections  of  Ngati-Raukawa  —  Te 
Paerata,  his  sons  Hone  Teri  and  Hitiri  te  Paerata,  Henare  te 
Momo,  Hauraki  Tonganui ;  Ngati-Tuwharetoa — Rawiri  te  Rangi- 
hirawea,  Nui,  Rangi-toheriri  ;  Urewera — Te  Whenuanui,  Piripi 
te  Heuheu,  Paerau,  Hapurona  Kohi ;  Ngati-Kahungunu — Te 
Waru  Tamatea,  Raharuhi. 

One  of  Rewi's  lieutenants,  his  cousin  Te  Winitana  Tupotahi, 
was  a  man  of  enterprise  and  some  adventures.  He  was  one 
of  several  Maoris  who  had  voyaged  to  Australia,  attracted  by 
the  gold  rushes  of  the  "  fifties  "  in  Victoria.  Tupotahi  worked 
on  the  diggings  at  Ballarat,  and  returned  with  a  little  hoard  of 
gold,  although  he  had  suffered  losses  by  robbery  on  the  gold- 
fields.  At  the  gold  -  diggings  he  '  learned  a  good  deal  about 
shaft-sinking,  tunnelling,  and  boarding  -  up,  and  this  knowledge 
he  turned  to  account  in  military  engineering  when  the  Waikato 
War  began.  Tupotahi  was  severely  wounded  at  Orakau.  Another 
notable  man  was  Te  Waru  Tamatea,  the  leader  of  the  small 
Ngati-Kahungunu  party  ;  his  home  was  at  Te  Marumaru,  Wairoa 
(Hawke's  Bay).  He  was  a  veteran  of  the  olden  Maori  wars,  a 
figure  of  the  pre-European  era  in  his  attire  of  flax-mats,  with 
his  long  hair  twisted  up  in  a  knob  on  top  of  his  head  and 
adorned  with  feathers.  His  son  Tipene  te  Waru,  who  was  taken 
prisoner  and  had  an  arm  amputated  after  Orakau,  became  a 
desperate  Hauhau  in  the  war  of  1868-70.  At  last  he  and  his 
father  surrendered.  Another  warrior  of  the  ancient  type  was 
Te  Paerata,  the  leader  of  the  Ngati-te-Kohera.  When  his  party 
reached  Orakau,  the  ancestral  home  of  his  people,  he  declared, 
Me  mate  au  ki  konei  "  ("  Let  me  die  here  "),  and  he  and  his 
son  Hone  Teri  insisted  on  the  pa  being  built  where  he  halted  on 
Rangataua  Hill.  They  both  fell  on  the  last  day  of  the  battle. 
There  were  lay  readers  or  minita  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the 
garrison — Wi  Karamoa,  of  Waikato,  was  the  principal  minita — 
who  led  in  the  religious  services,  but  the  ancient  Maori  rites 
were  not  neglected.  Most  of  the  people,  including  Rewi  himself, 
while  adopting  the  faith  of  the  missionaries,  turned  to  the  old 
religion  in  their  extremity.  When  the  ancient  Celts  and  Norsemen 
began  to  amalgamate,  the  people  are  described  as  having  been 
"  Christians  in  time  of  peace,  but  always  certain  to  invoke  the 
aid  of  Thor  when  sailing  on  any  dangerous  expedition."  There 
was  as  curious  a  mixture  of  Christian  and  pagan  beliefs  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Orakau  defenders.  The  principal  tohunga  Maori, 


THE    SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU.  367 

or  men  skilled  in  ceremonies  and  incantations  and  arts  of 
divination,  were  Apiata  and  Tiniwata  te  Kohika  ;  and  the 
latter's  wife,  Ahuriri,  was  gifted  with  the  powers  of  matakite, 
or  "  second  sight,"  and  of  prophecy.  There  was  also  an  old 
tohunga  named  Te  Waro,  who  had  fought  in  the  Taranaki  Wars. 
Pou-patate  says  that  Te  Waro  was  the  priest  of  the  god  Tu-kai- 
te-uru,  whose  aria,  or  visible  form,  was  a  fiery  glow  on  the  horizon 
seen  on  certain  occasions. 

Not  all  the  garrison  were  armed  with  guns.  Peita  Kotuku, 
a  veteran  of  the  first  Taranaki  War,  says  that  he  laboured  in  the 
building  of  the  Orakau  pa,  but  he  had  no  firearm.  Te  Huia 
Raureti  says :  "  Our  weapons  were  mostly  double-barrel  guns, 
with  some  flint-muskets  and  a  few  rifles ;  some  of  us  also 
carried  greenstone  and  whalebone  mere,  taiaha,  and  tomahawks. 
We  carried  our  ammunition,  roughly  made  up  in  paper-cased 
cartridges,  in  wooden  hamanu,  or  cartridge-holders,  fastened  on 
leather  belts,  which  we  wore  either  as  cross-shoulder  belts  or 
buckled  around  the  waist.  These  hamanu  were  made  out  of 
kahikatea,  pukatea,  or  tawhero  wood  ;  they  were  curved  in  form 
so  as  to  sit  well  to  the  body,  and  each  was  bored  with  auger- 
holes  for  eighteen  or  twenty  cartridges.  Many  of  us  wore  three 
hamanu  buckled  on  for  the  battle.  We  were,  however,  short  of 
ammunition  ;  most  of  our  powder  and  lead  had  been  left  in  our 
deserted  villages,  and  the  troops  were  in  occupation  before  we 
could  obtain  it."  Before  the  attack  a  man  was  sent  to  Kihikihi 
to  recover  a  bag  of  bullets  left  there,  but  he  found  a  sentry 
walking  up  and  down  on  the  very  place  where  it  had  been  buried. 
Pou-patate  was  armed  with  a  Minie  rifle  ;  it  was  one  of  fifteen 
captured  rifles  which  had  been  brought  from  Taranaki  by  the 
victors  of  Puke-ta-kauere  in  1860. 

As  for  food,  there  was  little  in  the  pa  when  the  attack  began, 
but  under  cover  of  night  and  the  bushes  some  of  the  young  men 
stole  out  during  the  siege  and  brought  in  kits  of  maize,  potatoes, 
pumpkins,  and  kamokamo,  or  vegetable  marrows.  The  water- 
supply  on  the  east  side  was  cut  off  early  in  the  battle,  and  all  the 
defenders  then  had  to  quench  their  thirst  were  raw  potatoes  and 
kamokamo.  The  women,  who  worked  under  fire  like  the  men, 
ground  flour  from  wheat  in  small  steel  hand-mills  (such  as  were 
in  general  use  in  the  country  at  that  period),  and  baked  bread 
at  the  beginning  of  the  siege.  Potatoes  also  were  cooked  in  the 
excavations  on  the  inner  side  of  the  main  parapet,  but  the 
people  were  unable  to  swallow  this  food  when  the  water-supply 
in  calabashes  (kiaka)  was  exhausted. 

On  the  morning  of  Wednesday,  the  soth  March,  two  surveyors, 
Mr.  Gundry  and  Mr.  G.  T.  Wilkinson,  from  the  eastern  hill  of 
Kihikihi  observed  through  a  theodolite  telescope  a  large  number 
of  natives  at  Orakau  working  at  entrenchments.  Lieutenant 


368 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


From  a  photo  by  Pulman,  Auckland,  1883.] 

REWI  MANIAPOTO  (MANGA). 
(Died  1894.) 


THE    SIEGE    OF   ORAKAU.  369 

Lusk,  of  the  Mauku  Forest  Rifles,  attached  to  the  Transport  Corps, 
also  reported  the  presence  of  Maoris  at  Orakau.  The  news  was 
sent  to  headquarters,  and  Brigadier-General  Carey,  who  was 
then  in  command — General  Cameron  was  at  Pukerimu — at  once 
organized  an  expedition.  Three  columns  were  despatched,  with 
the  object  of  surprising  and  surrounding  the  Maoris.  No.  i 
column,  starting  from  Te  Awamutu  about  midnight,  was  to  take 
the  natives  in  the  rear  ;  it  consisted  of  about  half  of  Von  Tempsky's 
company  of  Forest  Rangers  as  the  advance  guard,  and  detach- 
ments of  the  4oth  and  65th  Regiments,  the  whole  numbering 
about  three  hundred  men,  and  commanded  by  Major  Blyth,  of 
the  4oth.  This  force  marched  to  the  west  of  Kihikihi,  flanking 
the  Whakatau-ringaringa  swamp,  fording  the  Puniu,  and  taking 
a  track  along  the  south  side  of  the  river  as  far  as  Waikeria,  where 
the  Puniu  was  recrossed  and  a  route  followed  that  brought  the 
column  well  in  rear  of  Orakau.  John  Gage,  half-caste,  who  had 
lived  in  Kihikihi  before  the  war,  was  the  guide.  No.  2  column, 
the  main  body,  consisting  of  six  hundred  men  of  the  various 
regiments,  with  two  6-pounder  Armstrongs,  under  Brigadier- 
General  Carey,  started  from  Te  Awamutu  shortly  after  daylight, 
and  marched  by  the  cart-road  to  Orakau,  picking  up  at  the  Kihi- 
kihi redoubt  a  detachment  of  the  65th  and  a  company  of  the 
•ist  Waikato  Militia  (Colonel  Haultain).  Lieutenant  Roberts  and 
nineteen  men  of  the  Forest  Rangers  marched  with  this  body, 
holding  the  usual  post  of  honour  as  advance  guard.  (Jackson's 
company  was  camped  at  Ohaupo,  and  did  not  arrive  till  the  next 
day.)  No.  3  column  was  a  smaller  force — detachments  of  the  65th 
and  Waikato  Militia  from  the  redoubt  under  Captain  Blewitt's 
command  at  Rangiaowhia  ;  this  force  crossed  the  Manga-o-Hoi 
River  and  advanced  through  the  bush  and  swamp,  guided  by 
Sergeant  Southee,  of  the  Forest  Rangers. 

Major  Blyth's  column,  after  a  rough  and  wet  march,  came  out 
on  the  Orakau-Aratitaha  track  soon  after  daylight,  at  a  spot  near 
the  old  pa  Otautahanga,  and  close  to  where  Mr.  Andrew  Kay's 
homestead  now  stands.  Here  Von  Tempsky's  leading  men  fired 
at  five  Maoris  at  the  head  of  the  swampy  gully  on  the  right 
(north)  and  killed  one  (Matene),  hit  by  Sergeant  Tovey.  Then, 
quickly  advancing  westward  again  in  extended  order,  Major 
Blyth  moved  in  the  direction  of  heavy  firing  which  was 
now  heard,  and  came  in  sight  of  the  Orakau  ridge,  veiled  in 
gunp  owder-smoke . 

The  first  attack  on  the  pa  was  delivered  early  in  the  morning 
of  the  3ist  March  by  the  Forest  Rangers  (the  advanced  guard 
of  Carey's  main  body)  and  120  men  of  the  i8th  Royal  Irish, 
under  Captain  Ring,  supported  by  a  company  of  the  4oth 
Regiment.  The  work  of  the  garrison  in  relays  of  diggers  had 
gone  on  continuously  for  two  days  and  two  nights,  but  the  parapets 


370  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

and  post-and-rail  fence  on  the  east  side  and  the  outwork  at  the 
north-west  angle  were  still  unfinished.  Most  of  the  Maoris  were 
outside  the  fort,  and  were  holding  morning  prayers  when  the 
troops  were  first  seen.  "  Wi  Karamoa,  the  lay  reader,  was  praying 
to  Jesus  Christ  to  guard  and  uphold  us,  and  protect  us  against 
the  anger  of  the  pakeha,"  said  Tupotahi,  narrating  his  experiences 
in  the  battle,  "and  the  people  were  bowed  with  their  hands  over 
their  eyes,  so.  I  was  a  little  distance  away,  and  happened  to 
look  toward  the  parapet,  and  saw  a  Ngati-Raukawa  man  beckon- 
ing to  me  and  pointing.  I  looked  towards  Kihikihi,  and  there 
I  saw  in  the  distance  the  bayonets  and  rifles  of  the  soldiers 
glinting  in  the  morning  sunshine.  I  waited  until  prayers  were 
over,  and  then  gave  the  alarm.  Then,  too,  Aporo,  who  from  his 
post  on  the  parapet  had  seen  the  soldiers,  raised  the  shout,  He 
whakaariki !  He  whakaariki — e !  (A  war-party,  a  war-party  !) 
and  each  man  ran  for  his  gun." 

Now  Rewi  gave  his  orders  for  defence,  as  the  British  column 
came  marching  in  fours  along  the  track  past  the  groves  of  Te 
Kawakawa  and  into  the  fields  of  Orakau.  The  majority  of  the 
garrison  he  had  instructed  to  take  post  in  the  outer  ditch,  leaving 
about  forty,  including  the  older  warriors,  inside  the  parapet. 
He  bade  the  tupara  men  hold  their  fire  until  the  soldiers  were  close 
up  to  the  post-and-rail  fence,  and  then  fire  one  barrel  in  a  volley, 
reserving  the  other  barrel  for  a  second  volley. 

The  troops  could  see  little  of  the  defences  as  they  approached 
through  the  fern  and  the  fallow  cultivations.  All  that  were  visible 
were  low  parapets  of  freshly  turned  soil  in  a  grove  of  peach- 
trees,  with  a  post-and-rail  fence.  The  line  advanced  in  skirmishing 
order  on  the  west  and  north-west  sides  of  the  position,  the  Forest 
Rangers  on  the  left  of  the  line.  The  bugle  sounded  the  "  Charge," 
and  the  Royal  Irish,  led  by  Captain  Ring,  and  the  Rangers,  under 
Lieutenant  Roberts,  dashed  at  the  apparently  weak  position. 
The  Maoris  held  their  fire  until  the  attackers  were  within  50  yards. 
Then  Rewi  shouted  to  the  defenders  in  the  outer  trench  "  Puhia  !  " 
("  Fire  !  ")  Two  hundred  guns  thundered  as  a  line  of  flashes 
and  smoke-puffs  ran  along  the  front  of  the  works  and  back  again. 
The  tops  of  the  flax-bushes  and  the  fern  were  mowed  off  in 
swathes,  and  but  for  the  usual  Maori  fault  of  too  heavy  a  charge 
of  powder  and  too  high  a  fire  the  British  losses  would  have  been 
heavy  ;  as  it  was  the  first  rush  was  stopped.  Captain  Ring  fell 
mortally  wounded  near  the  ditch,  by  Lieutenant  Roberts's  side, 
and  several  others  of  his  regiment  were  hit.  The  "  Retire  "  was 
sounded,  and  the  assaulting  column  fell  back  to  re-form,  and 
was  reinforced  by  another  company  of  the  4oth.  But  the  second 
bayonet  charge  was  no  more  successful  than  the  first.  Reserving 
their  fire,  the  garrison  waited  until  the  leading  files  were  close 
to  the  fence  ;  then  Rewi  gave  the  orders,  "  Puhia,  e  waho!  Puhia, 


THE   SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU.  37! 

e  nto!"  ("Fire,  the  outer  line!  Fire,  the  inner  line!")  and 
the  volleys  swept  the  glacis.  Several  men  of  the  i8th  and  4oth 
were  killed,  and  Captain  Fischer  (4oth)  and  some  men  were 
wounded.  Captain  Baker,  of  the  i8th,  who  was  Deputy  Adjutant  - 
General,  galloped  up  on  Captain  Ring's  fall,  dismounted,  and 
rallied  the  men  of  his  regiment  ;  but  this  gallant  effort  was  also 
repulsed  by  the  heavy  fire  from  the  trenches  at  point-blank 
rant^e.  Lieutenant  Roberts  and  his  Rangers  advanced  to  within 
a  few  yards  of  the  defenders,  who  had  now  all  retired  behind  the 
parapet,  and  a  few  of  the  men  got  into  the  outer  ditch,  close 
enough  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  dense  row  of  Maoris  lining  the 
earth- wall,  with  many  a  long-handled  tomahawk  gleaming  for  the 
expected  combat  at  close  quarters.  The  natives  yelled  defiance 
and  derision  as  each  storming-party  fell  back  ;  some  of  them 
cried  in  English,  "  Come  on,  Jack,  come  on  !  " 

A  soldier  had  fallen  just  outside  the  fence.  The  old  warrior- 
tohunga  Te  Waro,  of  Ngati-Paea,  seeing  the  man  lying  there, 
pulled  out  his  knife,  and  called  to  some  of  the  young  men  to  rush 
out  of  the  fort  and  drag  the  body  into  the  ditch,  in  order  that  he 
might  cut  out  the  heart  for  the  rite  of  the  whangai-hau.  The 
heart  of  the  first  man  killed  (the  mata-ika)  must  be  offered  in  burnt 
sacrifice  to  Uenuku,  the  god  of  battle.  But  Rewi  and  his  fellow- 
chiefs  and  Wi  Karamoa,  the  lay  reader,  forbade  this  return  to 
the  savage  war-rites  of  old.  Te  Waro  argued  that  if  the  heart 
of  the  mata-ika  were  not  offered  up  to  Uenuku  the  garrison  would 
be  deserted  by  the  Maori  gods.  "  I  care  not  for  your  Atua  Maori," 
said  Rewi,  "  we  are  fighting  under  the  religion  of  Christ." 

Finding  that  the  pa  was  a  more  formidable  place  than  it 
appeared  at  first  view,  the  Brigadier  drew  off  his  troops,  and, 
as  Major  Blyth  and  Captain  Blewitt  were  now  at  their  appointed 
posts,  he  determined  to  invest  the  place  closely  and  play  upon  it 
with  artillery.  The  two  6-pounder  Armstrongs  were  brought 
up  and  emplaced  on  the  highest  part  of  the  Karaponia  ridge. 
At  ;i  distance  of  350  yards  the  guns  began  to  throw  shells  into 
the  redoubt,  but  the  shells  made  very  little  impression  on  the 
earthworks,  resilient  with  their  packing  of  fern. 

The  Brigadier  now  decided,  upon  the  suggestion  of  Lieutenant 
Hurst,  of  the  i8th,  acting  Engineer  officer,  to  approach  the 
redoubt  by  sap.  A  trench  was  opened  on  the  western  side  of 
the  pa,  in  a  slight  hollow  covered  by  some  peach-trees  and  flax, 
about  120  yards  from  the  Maori  position.  The  sap  was  first 
earned  in  a  northerly  direction,  crossing  the  line  of  the  present 
road,  and  then  continued  easterly  towards  the  pa,  with  many 
turns  and  angles,  and  traversed  every  few  yards.  The  necessary 
gabions  for  head-cover  were  first  ordered  up  from  Te  Awamutu, 
where  a  supply  had  been  prepared  for  an  impending  attack  upon 
Win-mu  Tamehana's  pa  at  Te  Tiki  o  Te  Ihingarangi,  and  a  party 


372  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

of  the  4oth  Regiment  was  sent  down  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp 
on  the  south  to  cut  manuka  and  make  more  gabions. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  pa  the  cordon  of  troops  was  completed 
by  Von  Tempsky  and  his  Forest  Rangers,  who  were  stationed 
under  the  fall  of  the  ground  near  the  swamp  which  trended  toward 
the  Manga-o-Hoi.  Von  Tempsky,  observing  that  a  large  party 
of  Maori  reinforcements  had  appeared  in  the  distance  eastward, 
placed  a  picket  of  his  men  near  a  sawn-timber  house  (formerly 
occupied  by  a  European  named  Perry)  which  stood  on  a  hill  on 
the  east  side  of  the  swamp,  commanding  a  view  of  the  quarter 
from  which  the  Maori  relief  was  coming. 

The  Maoris  in  the  pa  had  early  observed  the  approach  of 
reinforcements,  and  raised  loud  shouts  in  chorus  and  fired 
volleys,  which  brought  responsive  calls,  although  the  intervening 
distance  was  more  than  a  mile.  A  warrior  in  the  pa,  pitching 
his  voice  in  the  high-keyed  chant  that  carries  over  long  distances, 
called  route  directions  to  the  advance  skirmishers  of  the  relief 
who  had  made  their  Way  across  the  swamps.  Then  the  British 
riflemen  and  the  sap-workers  heard  the  Orakau  garrison  burst 
into  the  stamp  and  chorus  of  a  war-dance.  One  of  the  songs 
chanted,  as  Tupotahi  narrated,  was  the  Kingite  haka  composition 
likening  the  Government  and  its  land-hunger  to  a  bullock 
devouring  the  leaves  of  the  raurekau  shrub:— 

He  kau  ra, 

He  kau  ra  ! 

U—u! 

He  kau  Kawana  koe 

Kia  miti  mai  te  raurekau 

A   he  kau  ra,  he  kau  ra  ! 

U—u—u  ! 

[TRANSLATION.] 
Oh,  a  beast, 
A  beast  that  bellows — 
Oo — oo  ! 

A  beast  art  thou,   O  Governor, 
That  lickest  in  the  leaves  of  the  raurekau— 
A  beast — oh    a  beast  ! 
Oo — oo  ! 

The  Maori  reinforcements  (Ngati-Haua,  Ngati-Raukawa,  and. 
other  tribes)  who  were  gathered  at  Otihi,  on  the  Maunga-tautari 
side  of  the  Manga-o-Hoi  swamp,  responded  to  this  bellowing 
chorus  with  volleys  of  musketry  and  the  chanting  of  war-songs. 
The  Orakau  garrison  saw  them  rush  together  in  close  column 
and  leap  in  the  action  of  a  peruperu,  or  battle-dance,  with  their 
guns  and  long-handled  tomahawks  flashing  in  the  sun  as  they 
thrust  them  above  their  heads  at  arm's  length.  The  action 
and  the  rhythm  told  the  watchers  that  the  peruperu  was  the 


THE    SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU. 


373 


great  Taupo  war-song  "  Uhi  mai  te  waero."  Skirmishers  from 
the  party  of  reinforcements  soon  appeared  on  the  nearer  edge 
of  the  bush  and  fired  at  long  range  at  the  Forest  Rangers'  line, 
but  could  not  venture  across  the  intervening  open  ground. 

The  Forest  Rangers  had  a  rather  uncomfortable  position  in 
their  hollow  on  the  eastern  flank  of  the  pa,  for  the  soldiers  who 
covered  the  sap-workers  with  their  rifle-fire  dropped  many  of 
.their  bullets  into  the  lines  on  the  other  side.  Heavy  firing 
continued  all  the  afternoon,  and  all  night  long  there  was  an 
intcTmittent  fire  from  the  Maoris  and  the  troops.  The  soldiers' 


Photo  by  J.  Cowan,  at  Te  Rewatu,  iQ2o.~\ 

TE  HUIA  RAURETT. 

This  veteran  of  Ngati-Paretekawa  hapu,  Ngati-Maniapoto  Tribe,  is  a 
nephew  of  Rewi  Maniapoto.  and  with  his  father,  Raureti  Paiaka,  shared  in 
the  defence  of  Orakau  pa,  and  helped  to  safeguard  Rewi  on  the  retreat 
to  trie  Puniu.  Te  Huia  was  born  about  the  year  1840.  Much  of  the 
information  embodied  in  these  chapters  was  given  by  him. 


investing  detachments,  lying  in  the  sap-trenches  or  in  shallow 
holes  scraped  with  bayonet  and  bowie-knife,  heard  bullets 
whistling  over  their  heads,  cutting  off  the  fern  or  dropping  in 
their  midst,  until  the  early  hours  of  the  morning.  All  night  the 


374  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Royal  Artillery  troopers,  under  Lieutenant  Rait,  patrolled  the  lines. 
The  strength  of  the  force  investing  the  redoubt  had  now  been 
increased  to  about  fifteen  hundred  men  by  the  arrival  of  two 
hundred  more  of  the  i8th  Regiment,  under  Captain  Inman,  from 
Te  Awamutu. 

In  the  pa  the  sentinels,  or  kai-whakaaraara-pa,  paraded  the 
rampart,  chanting  their  high  songs  and  bidding  the  garrison  be 
on  the  alert.  The  first  of  these  inspiriting  watchmen,  Aporo, 
of  Ngati-Koura,  was  shot  dead  before  night.  The  second  was 
Te  Kupenga,  of  Ngati-Raukawa ;  but  he  made-  a  whati,  or 
break,  in  one  of  his  chants,  which  was  unlucky  ;  and  his  place 
was  taken  by  Raureti  Paiaka,  of  Ngati-Paretekawa  (Ngati-Mania- 
poto),  who  continued  to  chant  sentinel  songs  and  war-cries  until 
the  last  day  of  the  siege. 

"  The  second  morning  of  the  battle  dawned/'  narrates  Te 
Huia  Raureti.  "  A  thick  fog  enveloped  the  pa,  and  completely 
concealed  the  combatants  from  each  other.  By  this  time  Tupo- 
tahi  had  discovered  that  the  greater  part  of  our  ammunition 
had  been  fired  away,  and  that  there  was  no  reserve  of  powder 
and  bullets  ;  also  that  there  was  no  water,  and  that  the  people 
were  eating  raw  kamokamo  and  kumara  to  relieve  their  thirst. 
Tupotahi  therefore  made  request  of  the  council  of  chiefs  that 
the  pa  should  be  abandoned,  in  order  to  save  the  lives  of  the 
garrison,  under  cover  of  the  fog.  The  runanga  considered  the 
question,  but  resolved  not  to  abandon  the  pa.  This  was  the 
announcement  made  by  Rewi  Maniapoto  :  '  Listen  to  me,  chiefs 
of  the  council  and  all  the  tribes  !  It  was  we  who  sought  this 
battle,  wherefore,  then,  should  we  retreat  ?  This  is  my  thought  : 
Let  us  abide  by  the  fortune  of  war  ;  if  we  are  to  die,  let  us  die 
in  battle  ;  if  we  are  to  live,  let  us  survive  on  the  field  of  battle.'* 
So  we  all  remained  to  continue  the  fight.  When  the  sun  was 
high  the  fog  lifted  from  the  battlefield,  and  then  again  began 
the  firing.  When  the  sun  was  directly  overhead  we  made  a 
sally  from  the  pa — a  kokiri,  or  charge,  against  the  troops  on 
our  eastern  flank.  Every  tribe  took  part  in  this  kokiri,  which 
was  directed  against  the  troops  who  formed  a  cordon  between 
us  and  the  quarter  from  which  we  expected  relief.  Most  of  us 
rushed  out  on  that  flank,  but  on  all  four  sides  of  the  pa  warriors 
leaped  outside  shooting  at  the  soldiers.  The  Urewera,  Ngati- 
Maniapoto,  Waikato — all  sallied  out.  My  father,  Raureti,  was 
on  top  of  the  parapet,  firing.  Just  before  we  rushed  out  many 
of  us  formed  up  on  the  east  side  of  the  works,  and  there  we 

*  Rewi's  words  translated  above  were  :  "  Whakarongo  mai  te  runanga, 
me  nga  iwi  :  Ko  te  whawhai  tenei  i  whaia  mai  e  tatou,  a  i  oma  hoki  hei  aha  ? 
Ki  toku  mahara  hoki,  me  mate  tatou  mate  ki  te  pakanga,  ora  tatou  ora  kt  te 
marae  o  te  pakanga." 


THE   SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU.  375 

leaped  in  the  movements  of  the  war-dance  and  we  chanted  the 
wa.r-song  of  the  Ngati-Toa  and  Ngati-Maniapoto  : — 

"  A  whea  to  ure  ka  riri  ? 
A  whea  to  ure  ka  tor  a  ? 
A   ko  te  tai  ka  wiwi, 
A   ko  te  tai  ka  waiva 

[TRANSLATION.] 

Oh,   when  will  your   manhood  rage  ? 
Oh,    when   will   your   courage   blaze  ? 
When  the  ocean  tide  murmurs, 
When  the  ocean  tide  roars 

"  But  we  were  too  impatient  to  finish  the  chant.  When  we 
'shouted  the  word  '  wawa,'  with  one  accord  we  all  dashed  out 
of  the  pa  to  meet  the  soldiers.  Rewi  Maniapoto  directed  the 
charge  from  the  parapet,  and  as  we  rushed  out  to  the  east 
we  heard  his  voice  crying,  '  Whakaekea,  whakaekea!  ('Dash 
upon  them,  charge  upon  them  !  ')  Only  one  man  was  in  high 
command,  and  that  was  Rewi.  He  carried  a  famous  hardwood 
taiaha,  called  '  Pakapaka-tai-oreore ' ;  it  had  been  taken  in  battle 
long  ago  in  the  Taupo  country ;  in  his  belt  glistened  a  whalebone 
club,  a  patu-paraoa.  I  lay  down  and  reloaded  after  firing  off 
my  two  barrels  as  the  troops  fell  back  before  us,  and  fired  again. 
In  reloading  my-tupara  I  did  not  wait  to  use  the  ramrod,  but 
dashed  the  butt  of  the  gun  on  the  ground  to  settle  the  bullets 
down  ;  this  was  our  way  with  the  muzzle-loader  when  we  were 
in  the  thick  of  a  fight.  Our  charge  down  the  slopes  extended 
as  far  as  from  here  to  yonder  fence  [about  200  yards].  One  of 
our  chiefs,  Te  Huirama,  was  shot  dead  ;  he  fell  near  the  grove 
of  elderberries  below  the  pa,  close  to  where  a  tall  poplar-tree 
now  stands  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road  as  you  descend 
tho  hill  eastward.  We  fell  back  on  the  pa  as  quickly  as  we 
could,  but  some  of  us  were  cut  off  from  the  work  by  the  lines 
of  soldiers,  and  had  to  lie  concealed  in  the  fern  and  creep  back 
under  cover  of  night. 

"  We  were  in  better  spirits  after  our  fight  in  the  open  ; 
nevertheless  we  realized  that  our  position  was  hopeless,  short 
of  food  and  water,  short  of  lead,  and  surrounded  by  soldiers 
many  times  outnumbering  our  garrison,  and  with  big  guns 
throwing  shells  into  our  defences." 

Further  reinforcements  arrived  on  the  second  day  (ist  April), 
including  Jackson's  No.  i  Company,  Forest  Rangers,  from  Ohaupo. 
There  were  now  a  hundred  Rangers  with  their  carbines  and 
five-shot  revolvers  guarding  the  east  flank. 

The  sap  was  pushed  on  vigorously,  in  spite  of  two  kokiri,  or 
rushes,  made  by  the  warriors,  who  delivered  their  fire  as  they 
charged  into  the  head  of  the  trench.  The  Armstrongs  threw 
some  shells  at  the  Maori  reinforcements  near  the  Manga-o-Hoi. 
On  the  hills  to  the  east,  in  the  direction  of  Owairaka,  were  some 


376  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Ngati-Tuwharetoa,    from   West   Taupo,   under  Te   Heuheu   Horo- 
nuku,  but  they  were  powerless  to  assist  the  garrison. 

The  day  had  been  very  hot,  and  the  garrison,  surrounded  by 
that  ring  of  fire  and  helpless  to  stay  the  steady  approach  of  the 
sap,  were  quite  without  water.  Wounded  men  were  lying  about 
the  pa  tortured  with  thirst.  That  night  a  young  warrior,  Hitiri 
te  Paerata,  crept  out  through  the  British  lines  to  the  spring  in 
the  gully  on  the  east  side  and  returned  with  a  calabash  of  water 
for  the  wounded.  Hitiri,  narrating  this,  said,  "  I  passed  right 
through  the  line  of  soldiers.  Perhaps  they  knew  what  I  wanted 
the  water  for,  because  they  did  not  fire  at  me."  A  British  sentry 
told  his  comrades  next  day  that  when  on  duty  in  the  night  on 
the  east  side  of  the  pa  he  saw  a  woman  creeping  down  through 
the  fern  to  the  spring  to  obtain  water,  and  he  allowed  her  to  pass, 
pretending  he  did  not  see  her. 

That  evening  Tupotahi  proposed  to  Rewi  that  the  garrison 
should  fight  their  way  out  of  the  pa  under  cover  of  darkness. 
Rewi  agreed,  and  suggested  that  he  should  speak  to  the  other 
chiefs  in  their  trenches  and  obtain  their  opinions.  After  dark 
the  chiefs  assembled  and  discussed  the  question.  Rewi  declared 
in  favour  of  evacuating  the  pa  that  night.  Hone  Teri  te  Paerata 
strongly  opposed  this.  "  If  we  do  not  break  out  through  the 
soldiers  to-night,"  said  Rewi,  "  we  will  all  perish.  If  we  retreat 
in  the  darkness  we  will  be  able  to  fight  through  with  little  loss. 
Do  not  wait  for  daylight,  but  go  to-night,  so  that  the  soldiers 
will  be  confused  and  will  not  know  our  line  of  retreat."  Rewi 
pointed  out  the  way  of  flight  he  suggested,  in  the  direction  of 
the  Maori  force  on  the  north-eastern  side  of  the  Manga-o-Hoi. 

But  the  Paerata  family  and  the  Urewera  chiefs  were  stubborn 
in  their  decision  not  to  retreat  but  to  continue  the  battle. 
("  Kaore  e  pai  kia  haere,  engari  me  whawhai  tonu.")  "  E  pai 
ana"  ("It  is  well — so  be  it"),  said  Rewi,  submitting  to  the 
general  voice  of  the  council. 

The  supply  of  lead  was  now  running  very  short,  although 
there  was  some  powder  in  reserve.  Rewi  instructed  his  people 
to  reserve  their  bullets  for  daylight  firing,  and  to  use  pieces  of 
wood  for  the  night  fighting.  The  chiefs  experimented  with  the 
wood  of  peach  and  apple  trees  and  manuka,  cut  up  into  small 
pieces,  about  2  inches  in  length.  The  sections  of  apple-branches 
proved  the  most  solid  and  carried  the  farthest.  That  night 
Ngati-Maniapoto  and  their  allies  fired  chiefly  wooden  bullets. 
Several  of  the  men  smashed  off  the  legs  of  their  iron  cooking- 
pots  for  projectiles  ;  others  fired  peach-stones.  Some  of  the  old 
smooth-bores  began  to  give  way  from  the  heavy  powder-charges 
and  the  jagged  iron  bullets,  to  the  rage  of  their  owners,  who 
made  shift  heroically  with  their  damaged  guns.  In  spite  of 
the  poorness  of  the  ammunition,  the  Maori  shooting  was  accurate 
enough  to  make  the  troops  keep  close  to  cover. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 


THE  SIEGE  OF  ORAKAU— continued. 
THE  LAST  DAY. 

As  the  first  faint  glimmer  of  coming  dawn  spread  over  the 
battlefield,  the  chiefs  of  the  beleaguered  redoubt  held  council. 
Tupotahi,  as  shrewd  a  soldier  as  his  cousin  Rewi,  realized  that 
now  or  never  was  the  hour  to  make  a  dash  for  liberty,  with 
a  fighting  chance  of  escaping  in  the  uncertain  light.  He  pro- 
posed to  Rewi  that  'the  pa  should  be  evacuated  at  once. 
"  Let  us  charge  out  before  it  is  day,"  he  said ;  "  if  we 
retreat  now  we  may  fight  our  way  through."  Rewi  smiled 
grimly,  and  bade  Tupotahi  consult  Raureti  Paiaka  and  the 
other  chiefs.  When  the  question  was  put  to  Raureti  he 
refused  to  abandon  the  pa.  Nor  would  any  of  the  other 
tribal  leaders  agree  to  the  proposal.  "  We  shall  remain  here," 
they  declared;  "we  shall  fight  on."  But  many  of  Ngati-Mania- 
poto  were  of  like  mind  with  Tupotahi,  and  voiced  their  anger 
at  Raureti's  stubbornness.  They  stood  by  their  chiefs,  however, 
and  all  prepared  to  resist  to  the  end. 

Rewi's  first  order  to  his  people,  as  early  morning  came,  was 
to  cook  food.  They  roasted  potatoes  in  the  excavations  on 
the  inner  side  of  the  parapets,  but  the  parched  throats  refused 
the  food.  There  was  not  a  drop  of  water  in  the  redoubt. 
Rewi  went  from  man  to  man  of  his  tribe  questioning  him  about 
the  meal,  and  each  one  returned  the  same  answer,  "  I  cannot 
swallow  the  potatoes."  Rewi  returned  to  his  quarters  in  the 
centre  of  the  pa.  "  We  shall  have  to  go,"  he  told  his  fellow- 
chiefs,  "  but  we  shall  not  go  as  Waikato  did  at  Rangiriri 
[as  prisoners].  We  shall  retreat  fighting."  He  strapped '  six 
cartouche-boxes  about  him — three  in  front  and  three  at  the  back 
—and  took  two  guns.  Hone  Teri  te  Paerata  suggested  that  all 
the  best  men  should  be  gathered  to  start  the  rush  through  the 
British  lines.'  But  now  it  was  too  late;  it  was  clear  daylight. 
The  morning  haze  swept  away  from  the  battlefield,  and  the  smoke 
of  heavy  musketry  took  its  place. 


378  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

The  morning  grew  warm,  and  the  sufferings  of  the  thirst- 
racked  garrison  increased.  The  sappers  had  been  at  work  all 
night,  and  early  in  the  forenoon  the  trench  had  reached  the 
post-and-rail  fence  and  was  within  a  few  yards  of  the  north- 
west outwork.  Lieut. -Colonel  Sir  Henry  Havelock,  D.A.Q.M.G., 
came  in  from  Pukerimu  via  Ohaupo,  and  with  him  came  some 
of  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  leading  packhorses  loaded 
with  hand-grenades.  The  sap  was  now  close  enough  to  the 
outwork  for  the  grenades  to  be  thrown  over  the  parapet,  and 
this  service  was  carried  out  by  Sergeant  MacKay,  R.A.,  under  a 
hot  fire.  Two  colonial  officers  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
gallantry  at  the  head  of  the  sap — Captain  Herford,  of  the  Waikato 
Militia,  and  Lieutenant  Harrison,  of  the  same  corps,  both  of 
whom  fought  at  the  head  of  the  sap,  keeping  down  the  fire  of  the 
Maoris  with  their  rifles.  Captain  Herford,  in  attempting  to  cut 
down  a  post  of  the  fence  later  in  the  day,  was  shot  in  the  head 
and  lost  an  eye.  The  bullet  remained  in  the  back  of  his  head, 
and  caused  his  death  some  time  afterwards  at  Otahuhu.  Captain 
Jackson,  of  the  Forest  Rangers,  who  was  a  very  good  shot,  also 
assisted  with  his  carbine  in  covering  the  workers  at  the  head 
of  the  sap. 

In  a  short  kokiri  or  rush  out  of  the  pa  in  the  morning  two 
old  men  were  killed  ;  one  was  Te  Waro,  the  wa.rrioT-tohunga  who 
had  predicted  misfortune  after  the  chiefs  prevented  him  from 
cutting  out  the  heart  of  the  first  soldier  killed. 

At  noon  General  Cameron  and  his  staff  arrived  from  Pukerimu 
with  an  escort  of  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry.  There 
were  now  eighteen  hundred  British  and  colonial  troops  surround- 
ing the  pa.  One  of  the  6-pounder  Armstrong  guns  was  taken 
into  the  sap  near  the  head,  and  opened  fire  on  the  outwork, 
making  a  breach  in  the  defences.  Under  the  storm  of  shells, 
hand-grenades,  and  rifle-bullets,  the  garrison  now  suffered  many 
casualties.  Dead  and  wounded  were  lying  in  every  trench,  but  the 
desperately  pressed  men  and  women  still  held  the  fort.  By  noon 
some  of  them  were  quite  out  of  ammunition,  but  most  were 
reserving  one  or  two  cartridges  for  the  last  rush.  Pou-patate, 
who  was  one  of  the  few  armed  with  rifles,  was  sparing  of  his 
ammunition,  which  could  not  be  replaced.  In  the  first  day's 
fighting,  he  says,  he  expended  twenty  cartridges  —  a  pouchful. 
On  the  last  day  he  had  ten  cartridges  left  at  the  close  of  the 
fighting ;  he  was  reserving  them  in  case  the  British  pursuit 
was  continued.  One  of  the  Urewera  survivors,  Paitini,  says 
that  he  fired  during  the  siege  thirty-six  rounds,  the  contents  of 
two  holders,  or  hamanu.  The  British,  man  for  man,  fired  a  far 
greater  amount  of  lead  than  the  Maoris. 

The  defenders  hurriedly  buried  their  dead  in  shallow  graves 
scooped  in  the  pits  and  trenches.  One  man,  Matiaha,  of  Ngati- 


THE   SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU.  379 

Tamatea  and  Ngati-Ruapani  (grandfather  of  Hurae  Puketapu, 
of  Waikaremoana),  was  blown  to  pieces  by  the  explosion  of  a 
shell.  The  casualties  included  several  of  the  women. 

The  first  of  the  hand-grenades  (rakete,  or  "  rockets,"  the  Maoris 
call  them)  thrown  into  the  pa  from  the  head  of  the  sap  had  long 
fuses,  and  some  daring  fellows  snatched  out  the  burning  fuses 
(wihi,  or  "  wicks  ")  and  poured  the  powder  out  for  their  own 
cartridges.  Others  they  threw  back  into  the  sap  before  they 
had  time  to  explode,  and  they  burst  among  the  men  who  had 
hurled  them.  One  of  the  warriors  who  returned  the  grenades 
in  this  way  was  Hoani  Paruparu,  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  ;  he  had 
become  familiar  with  the  action  of  shells  in  the  Taranaki  War. 
But  the  Royal  Artillery  men  shortened  the  fuses,  and  when 
Hoani  attempted  to  repeat  his  performance  he  was  killed  by  the 
explosion  of  one  of  the  bombs.* 

Early  in  the  afternoon  General  Cameron,  impressed  by  the 
Maoris'  courage,  decided  to  give  the  garrison  an  opportunity  of 
making  surrender.  The  buglers  sounded  the  "  Cease  fire,"  and  two 
interpreters  of  the  staff,  Mr.  William  G.  Mair  (afterwards  Major 
Mair),  then  an  ensign  in  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry,  and 
Mr.  Main  waring  were  sent  into  the  sap  with  a  white  flag  to  invite 
the  natives  to  capitulate.  The  din  of  musketry  was  stilled,  and 
the  Maoris  crowded  the  walls  as  the  interpreters  approached  the 
head  of  the  sap,  now  within  a  few  yards  of  the  north-west  out- 
work. Many  of  them  were  suspicious  of  the  flag  of  truce  ;  the 
Urewera  at  first  imagined  it  a  piece  of  deceit  on  the  part  of  the 
British.  Controversy  has  raged  over  the  details  of  this  historic 
interview ;  many  a  picturesque  fiction  has  been  printed,  and 
artists  have  depicted  Rewi  Maniapoto  posed  in  a  heroic  attitude 
on  the  parapets  hurling  defiance  at  the  troops.  The  bare  facts 
are  sufficiently  thrilling  and  inspiring  without  the  decorations  of 
fiction.  The  British  and  Maori  versions  of  the  "  challenge  scene  " 


*  At  Ohaeawai  in  1845  many  of  the  shells  thrown  into  Pene  Taui's  pa 
by  Colonel  Despard's  artillery  proved  harmless,  as  the  fuses  were  defective 
and  i  he  shells  did  not  explode.  A  good  deal  of  powder  was  thereby  furnished 
to  the  Maoris,  who  poured  the  powder  out  of  the  shells  to  make  their 
cartridges. 

\n  incident  curiously  resembling  the  episode  of  the  hand-grenades  at 
Orakau  occurred  in  1844  in  the  French-Tahitian  war,  when  the  natives  of 
the  Society  Islands  resisted  the  aggression  of  Admiral  Du  Petit  Thouars 
and  Commandant  D'Aubigny,  and  when  Queen  Pomare  took  refuge  in  a 
mountain-camp  on  the  island  of  Raiatea.  In  a  fight  in  rear  of  the  present 
town  of  Papeete  the  natives  lost  about  seventy  and  the  French  twenty-five 
killed.  Being  in  want  of  gunpowder,  and  discovering  the  secret  of  the 
explosion  of  the  shells  fired  by  the  French  artillery,  the  Tahiti  warriors 
watcied  for  the  alighting  of  the  projectiles,  when  they  fearlessly  seized 
therr  and  removed  the  fuses  on  the  instant  before  they  had  time  to  explode. 
From  each  shell  or  bomb  they  obtained  powder  for  many  musket-charges. 
The  emptied  shells  they  converted  into  drinking-cups. 


38o 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


differ  in  some  details,  as  will  be  shown,  but  the  essential  facts 
remain.  The  men  and  women  of  Orakau  chose  death  on  the 
battlefield  rather  than  submission.  Another  fact  which  emerges 
from  the  many  narratives  gathered  is  that  Rewi  Maniapoto  did 
not  personally  confront  the  General's  messenger,  but  remained 
with  the  council  of  chiefs,  delegating  the  delivery  of  the 
ultimatum  to  others. 


MAJOR  W.  G.  MAIR. 

Major  William  Gilbert  Mair  and  his  younger  brother,  Captain  Gilbert 
Mair,  N.Z.C.,  were  two  of  the  most  distinguished  colonial  soldiers  who 
fought  in  the  Maori  wars.  William  Mair,  after  Orakau,  was  Resident 
Magistrate  and  Government  Native  Agent  in  various  districts.  As  an 
officer  in  command  of  Arawa  and  other  Maori  contingents  he  fought  the 
Hauhaus  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty  and  the  Urewera  country,  1865-69.  One 
notable  success  was  his  capture  of  Te  Teko  pa,  on  the  Rangitaiki  River, 
by  means  of  sap,  which  forced  a  surrender  (described  in  Vol.  II).  For 
many  years  after  the  wars  he  was  Judge  of  the  Native  Land  Court. 


An  account  of  the  interview  with  the  garrison  given  to  the 
writer  in  1906  by  Major  Mair,  the  interpreter  who  spoke  to  the 
Maoris,  is  of  first  importance,  as  it  preserves  the  actual  phrases 


THE   SIEGE  OF  ORAKAU.  381 

used  in  demanding  the  surrender,  and  the  words  of  the  Maori 
reply.  Mair  wrote  the  account  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  a 
relative  shortly  after  the  capture  of  the  pa: — 

"  I  got  up  on  the  edge  of  the  sap  and  looked  through  a  gap  in  the 
gabions  made  for  the  field-piece.  The  outwork  in  front  of  me  was  a  sort 
of  double  rifle-pit,  with  the  pa  or  redoubt  behind  it.  The  Maoris  were  in 
rows,  the  nearest  row  only  a  few  yards  away  from  me.  I  cannot  forget 
the  lust-stained  faces,  bloodshot  eyes,  and  shaggy  heads.  The  muzzles  of 
their  guns  rested  on  the  edge  of  the  ditch  in  front  of  them.  One  man 
aimed  steadily  at  me  all  the  time — his  name  was  Wereta. 

"  Then  I  said,  '  E  hoa  ma,  whakarongo  !  Ko  te  kupu  tenei  a  te  Tienara  : 
ka  viui  tona  miharo  ki  to  koutou  maia,  kati  me  mutu  te  riri,  puta  mai  kia 
matou,  kia  ora  o  koutou  tinana.'1  ('  Friends,  listen  !  This  is  the  word  of  the 
General  :  Great  is  his  admiration  of  your  bravery.  Stop  !  Let  the  fighting 
cease  ;  come  out  to  us  that  your  bodies  may  be  saved  '). 

'  I  could  see  the  Maoris  inclining  their  heads  towards  each  other  in 
consultation,  and  in  a  few  minutes  came  the  answer  in  a  clear,  firm  tone : — 

'  '  E  hoa,  ka  whawhai  tonu  ahau  ki  a  koe,  ake,  ake  ! '  ('  Friend,  I  shall 
fight  against  you  for  ever,  for  ever  ! ')  * 

'  Then  I  said,  '  E  pai  ana  tena  mo  koutou  tangata,  engari  kahore  e  tika 
kia  mate  nga  wahine  me  nga  tamariki.  Tukuna  mai  era  '  ('  That  is  well  for 
you  men,  but  it  is  not  right  that  the  women  and  children  should  die.  Let 
them  come  out ') . 

'  Some  one  asked.  '  Na  te  aha  koe  i  mohio  he  wahine  kei  konei  ? ' 
('  How  did  you  know  there  were  women  here  ?  ') 

'  I  answered,  '  /  rongo  ahau  ki  te  tangi  tupapaku  i  te  po  '  ('  I  heard 
the  lamentations  for  the  dead  in  the  night '). 

'There  was  a  short  deliberation,  and  another  voice  made  answer: — 

'  '  Ki  te  mate  nga  tane,  me  mate  ano  nga  wahine  me  nga  tamariki  ' 
('  If  the  men  die,  the  women  and  children  must  die  also'). 

"  I  knew  it  was  over,  for  there  was  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  the 
Maoris  to  parley  ;  so  I  said,  '  E  pai  ana,  kua  mutu  te  kupu  '  ('  It  is  well  ; 
the  v/ord  is  ended  '),  and  dropped  quickly  into  the  sap. 

'  Wereta,  the  man  who  had  been  aiming  at  me,  was  determined  to 
have  the  last  say  in  the  matter,  and  he  fired  at  me.  His  bullet  just  tipped 
my  right  shoulder,  cutting  my  revolver-strap  and  tearing  a  hole  in  my 
tunic  Wereta  did  not  long  survive  his  treachery,  for  he  was  killed  by  a 
hand  grenade  soon  after. 

The  people  in  this  outwork  were  Ngati-te-Kohera,  of  Taupo,  under 
their  chief  Te  Paerata,  whose  sons,  Hone  Teri  and  Hitiri,  and  his  daughter, 
Ahumai  (wife  of  Wereta),  were  with  him  in  the  trench.  There  were  also 
some  of  the  Urewera  under  Piripi  te  Heuheu.  Very  few  of  them  escaped." 

Mair  reported  the  interview  to  General  Cameron,  who  was 
greatly  impressed  with  the  stubborn  devotion  of  the  Maoris. 
"He  certainly  does  not  like  killing  them,"  wrote  Mair.  "Colonel 
Sir  Henry  Havelock  said,  in  his  jerky  way,  '  Rare  plucked  'uns, 
rare  plucked  'uns  !  ' 

*  The  Maori  accounts  differ  somewhat  from  Major  Mair's  in  regard  to 
the  answers  given  by  the  chiefs.  A  current  version  of  the  defenders'  reply 
to  th<-  demand  to  surrender  gives  it  in  these  words  :  "  Ka  whawhai  tonu 
matou  ake,  ake,  ake!"  ("  We  shall  fight  on,  for  ever,  and  ever,  and  ever! ") 
The  £  ctual  phrase  of  defiance  used  by  Rewi  and  repeated  by  the  people, 
according  to  Ngati-Maniapoto*,  was  "  Kaore  e  mau  te  rongo — ake,  ake!" 
("  Pecice  shall  never  be  made — never,  never  !  ")n 


382  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

Raureti  Paiaka,  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  survivors  state,  was  the 
principal  intermediary  between  the  council  of  chiefs,  headed  by 
Rewi,  and  the  General's  interpreter.  A  Ngati-te-Kohera  account, 
obtained  at  Taupo,  states  that  Hauraki  Tonganui  replied  to 
the  first  demand  for  surrender  by  a  refusal,  and  added,  "  Hoki- 
hoki  koutou  katoa  ki  Kihikihi,  ka  hoki  matou  ki  to  matou 
kainga,  me  waiho  atu  Orakau  nei "  ("  Let  all  of  you  return  to 
Kihikihi,  and  we  will  go  to  our  homes  and  abandon  Orakau"). 
Te  Huia  Raureti,  son  of  Raureti  te  Paiaka,  agrees  that  such  a  reply 
was  given  to  the  first  demand,  but  says  it  was  uttered  by  his 
father,  and  that  it  voiced  the  opinion  of  Rewi  and  most  of  the 
chiefs.  Rewi  was  at  that  time  sitting  inside  the  parapets,  near 
the  north  end  of  the  pa.  The  first  message  was  taken  to  him 
by  Te  Paetai,  a  man  of  Ngati-Maniapoto.  Rewi  himself  did  not 
see  the  interpreter  at  that  time.  Some  of  the  chiefs  in  council 
proposed  to  accept  the  offer  of  peace,  but  Rewi  and  others 
dissented  (they  had  Rangiriri  in  their  minds),  and  they  proposed 
that  the  troops  should  leave  the  battlefield,  and  that  the  Maoris 
on  their  part  should  evacuate  the  pa.  After  discussion  it  was 
decided  to  refuse  the  General's  offer  and  to  continue  the  defence. 
Rewi  cried,  "  Kaore  e  mau  te  rongo — ake,  ake  !  "  ("Peace  shall 
never  be  made — never,  never  !  ")  Raureti  returned  to  the  outer 
parapet,  stood  up  on  the  firing-step  a  few  yards  from  Mair, 
and  delivered  this  decision,  and  all  the  people  shouted  with  one 
voice,  "Kaore  e  mau  te  rongo — ake,  ake,  ake!"  Rewi  came  out 
to  the  north-west  angle  when  the  final  decision  had  been  made, 
and  stood  in  the  trench  a  few  yards  in  rear  of  Raureti.  "As  to 
the  reported  words,  '  Ka  whawhai  tonu  matou,  ake,  ake,  ake ! ' ' 
says  Te  Huia,  "  I  did  not  hear  them  uttered." 

That  is  the  version  of  Ngati-Maniapoto.  But  a  different  story 
is  given  by  some  of  the  Ngati-te-Kohera  and  Ngati-Tuwharetoa. 
Moetu  te  Mahia  (died  1921),  whose  home  was  at  Kauriki,  near 
Manunui,  on  the  Main  Trunk  Railway,  declared  that  it  was  Hauraki 
Tonganui  who  delivered  Rewi's  reply  to  Mr.  Mair.  Moetu  fought 
at  Orakau  ;  he  was  then  about  twenty  years  old.  He  and  Hauraki 
were  both  of  Ngati-Tuwharetoa  and  Ngati-te-Kohera,  and  were 
first  cousins.  Rewi  Maniapoto  was  a  cousin  of  theirs  several 
times  removed.  Hauraki  was  a  man  with  a  very  powerful 
voice,  and  Rewi  kept  him  with  him  throughout  the  siege  to  act 
as  his  spokesman.  Hauraki's  voice,  according  to  Moetu,  could  be 
heard  at  times  above  the  din  of  battle.  Apparently  Hauraki 
was  used  as  a  kind  of  crier  or  human  megaphone  for  Rewi, 
and  no  doubt  it  was  he  who  called  route  directions  to  the 
reinforcements  in  the  distance  during  the  siege.  If  he  replied 
to  Mair  on  behalf  of  Rewi — and  this  Ngati-Maniapoto,  in  their 
Highlander-like  clan  jealousy,  will  not-  admit — he  apparently  did 
not  use  his  leader's  exact  words,  but  improved  upon  them  with 


THE    SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU.  383 

the  phrase  reported  by  the  interpreter,  "  E  hoa,  ka  whawhai  tonu 
aha.t  ki  a  koe,  ake,  akef" 

The  request  to  send  the  women  and  children  out  of  the  pa 
was  taken  to  Rewi,  Te  Huia  Raureti  believes,  by  a  Tuhoe  man  ; 
this  probably  was  Hapurona.  But  the  women  did  not  wait  for  the 
decision  of  the  chiefs.  Ahumai,  a  tall  handsome  young  woman, 
daughter  of  the  old  West  Taupo  chief  Te  Paerata,  stood  up  and 
made  heroic  reply,  "  If  the  men  are  to  die,  the  women  and 
children  must  die  also."  It  was  her  husband,  Wereta,  who  all 
the  time  had  his  gun  steadily  aimed  at  Mair. 

"  Wereta,"  says  Te  Huia.  "  was  standing  beside  me  in  the 
trench  while  my  father,  standing  on  the  earthwork  a  little 
above  me,  was  speaking  to  the  General's  messenger.  He  was 
a  tattooed  man,  of  the  Ngati-te-Kohera.  He  loaded  his  gun 
in  a  furious  hurry  and,  resting  it  on  the  parapet,  aimed  at 
the  pakeha.  As  the  last  words  were  spoken  I  saw  that  Wereta 
was  on  the  point  of  firing,  and  I  caught  hold  of  him  and  tried  to 
pull  him  back,  but  he  pressed  the  trigger  just  as  I  caught  him. 
His  aim,  however,  was  bad  through  his  excitement,  or  else  I 
diverted  it,  for  the  bullet  only  grazed  the  pakeha,  though  the  range 
was  so  close."  It  was  Te  Huia,  therefore,  who  saved  Mair's 
life  that  day.* 


::  Neither  Mair  nor  his  comrades  then  knew  any  of  the  Maoris  ;  but 
long  after  the  war  the  Major,  then  Judge  of  the  Native  Land  Court,  met 
the  aged  Hauraki  Tonganui,  of  Ngati-te-Kohera  and  Ngati-Tuwharetoa,  who 
reminded  him  of  the  day  they  confronted  each  other  at  Orakau.  Mair 
then,  after  inquiry,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  Hauraki  who 
spokt  to  him  from  the  parapet  and  delivered  the  Maori  reply  to  the 
demand  for  surrender.  No  doubt  more  than  one  man  spoke  to  Mair. 
One  thing  is  certain,  that  Rewi  himself  did  not  appear  on  the  ramparts  or 
speak  to  the  interpreter. 

The  following  note  is  made  for  the  guidance  of  artists  who  may  essay 
some  day  to  paint  the  historic  scene  at  Orakau  : — 

Te  Huia  Raureti  said  (3ist  May,  1920)  :  "  My  father,  Raureti  Paiaka, 
who  delivered  the  final  reply  of  Rewi  and  his  fellow-chiefs  to  the  British 
General's  demand  for  their  surrender,  wore  this  costume  :  Shirt  and 
waistcoat,  rapaki  (waist-garment)  of  white  calico,  and  a  piece  of  red  calico 
worn  like  a  shawl  over  the  left  shoulder,  where  it  was  tied,  and  under  the 
right  arm.  He  wore  three  hamanu,  or  cartridge-belts — two  round  the  waist 
and  one  over  the  left  shoulder.  These  were  leather  belts  with  wooden 
boxes  each  bored  for  about  eighteen  cartridges  ;  one  of  these  ammunition- 
holders  came  across  the  breast,  one  was  in  front  of  the  waist,  and  one  at 
the  back.  Raureti  Paiaka  was  a  partly  tattooed  man  with  a  short  greyish 
beard  He  was  about  the  same  age  as  his  cousin  Rewi." 

Tupotahi  described  Rewi  Maniapoto's  war-dress,  an  historical  detail 
which  may  also  be  of  use  to  our  artists  when  the  incidents  of  Orakau  come 
to  be  painted.  "  Rewi  wore,"  he  said,  "  a  short  parawai,  a  mat  of  soft 
flax,  ;  bout  his  waist ;  over  that  he  had  a  flax  piupiu  kilt ;  he  also  wore  a 
shirt  ,md  waistcoat.  In  his  girdle  was  a  whalebone  mere,  or  patu-paraoa." 
Many  Maoris  wore  pakeha  waistcoats  when  fighting,  for  the  reason  that  the 
pocke:;s  were  very  convenient  for  holding  percussion  caps. 


384  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Now  the  firing  recommenced  hotter  than  ever.  The  hand- 
grenades  hurled  in  from  the  sap-head  killed  and  wounded  many. 
Te  Huia  says  the  casualties  through  the  explosion  of  these 
bombs  numbered  scores.  The  artillery-fire  at  short  range  also 
inflicted  losses,  besides  battering  the  works.  Two  attempts  to 
rush  the  north-west  outwork  were  made  by  the  Waikato  Militia 
and  other  men,  but  were  repulsed  with  loss.  It  was  now 
4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  The  sap  was  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  outwork.  The  end  was  near. 

The  story  of  the  last  day  in  Orakau  imperishably  remains 
as  an  inspiration  to  deeds  of  courage  and  fortitude.  Nowhere 
in  history  did  the  spirit  of  pure  patriotism  blaze  up  more 
brightly  than  in  that  little  earthwork  redoubt,  torn  by  gun- 
fire and  strewn  with  dead  and  dying.  The  records  of  our  land 
are  rich  in  episodes  of  gallant  resistance  to  overwhelming  force, 
but  they  hold  no  parallel  to  Orakau.  Suffering  the  tortures  of 
thirst,  half-blinded  with  dust  and  powder-smoke,  many  bleeding 
from  wounds  which  there  was  no  time  to  stanch,  ringed  by 
a  blaze  of  rifle-fire,  with  big-gun  shells  and  grenades  exploding 
among  them,  the  grim  band  of  heroes  held  their  crumbling  fort 
till  this  hour  against  six  times  their  number  of  well-armed,  well- 
fed  foes.  Now  they  must  retreat,  but  they  would  go  as  free 
men. 

Rewi  and  the  chiefs  sent  round  the  word.  Those  who  still 
had  cartridges  loaded  their  guns  for  the  last  time  ;  others 
gripped  long-handled  tomahawks.  The  sap  had  been  connected 
with  the  trench  of  the  outwork,  and  Ngati-te-Kohera  fell  back 
into  the  main  work.  The  women  and  children  were  placed  in 
the  middle  of  the  massed  warriors,  and  with  the  best  men  in 
advance  to  fight  a  way  through  they  broke  down  a  part  of 
the  earthwork  on  the  south-east  angle  of  the  pa  and  rushed 
out.  Only  one  un wounded  man  remained  in  the  pa.  This  was 
the  lay  reader,  Wi  Karamoa  Tumanako,  of  Ngati-Apakura,  who 
stayed  to  surrender,  holding  up  a  stick  with  a  white  cloth.* 

"  Haere  !  Haere  !  "  shouted  Rewi  when  he  ran  out  from 
the  pa.  It  was  the  Maori  "  Sauve  qui  pent."  But  the  people 

*  Wi  Karamoa  was  the  only  man  who  advocated  acceptance  of  the 
General's  offer.  When  the  council  of  chiefs  resolved  to  continue  the  defence 
of  the  pa  he  stood  up  and  declared  that  he  would  make  peace.  Rewi  and 
his  fellow-chiefs  told  him  that  they  would  not  suffer  their  people  to  be  made 
prisoners.  "  Wait  until  we  have  left  the  pa,"  said  Rewi,  "  then  you  can 
make  your  own  peace." 

"  At  3.30  the  enemy  suddenly  came  out  of  their  entrenchments  into  the 
open,  and  in  a  silent  and  compact  body  moved  without  precipitation. 
There  was  something  mysterious  in  their  appearance  as  they  advanced 
towards  the  cordon  of  troops,  without  fear,  without  firing  a  shot,  or  a 
single  cry  being  heard  even  from  the  women,  of  whom  there  were  several 
among  them." — (Journals  of  Lieut. -Colonel  D.  J.  Gamble,  D.O.M.G.,  published 
by  the  War  Office.) 


THE   SIEGE    OF    ORAKAU.  385 

preserved  a  solid  formation  for  some  distance,  going  at  a  steady 
trot,  as  a  survivor  narrates,  and  there  was  some  firing  from  both 
flanks.  By  this  time  the  soldiers  in  the  sap-head  had  rushed 
into  the  pa,  and  some  were  firing  at  the  retreating  Maoris 
from  the  parapets.  The  last  to  leave  the  fort  encountered  the 
bayonet,  and  the  troops  on  either  side  closed  in  towards  the 
natives  ;  but  here  the  hesitation  to  fire  for  fear  of  hitting  each 
other  was  the  salvation  of  many  of  the  Maoris. 

The  main  body  of  the  fugitives  made  for  the  dip  in  the  lower 
end  of  the  ridge,  just  to  the  east  of  the  hill  on  which  the  Orakau 
blockhouse  was  afterwards  built.  Here  there  was  a  steep  fall  of 
20  or  30  feet  to  the  fern  flat  at  the  edge  of  the  manuka  swamp. 
Along  the  lower  face  of  the  ridge  there  was  a  scarped  bank 
with  a  ditch,  made  by  the  Maoris  to  keep  the  wild  pigs  out  of 
the  cultivations.  Immediately  below  this  was  a  thin  cordon  of 
soldiers,  men  of  the  4oth  Regiment,  under  Colonel  Leslie ;  others 
were  employed  at  the  edge  of  the  swamp  cutting  manuka  for 
sap-gabions.  Before  the  leading  men  had  reached  the  edge  of 
the  dip  the  close  body  of  fugitives  had  been  broken  up  into 
groups  and  the  pace  became  a  run. 

Yelling  and  shouting  in  pursuit  came  the  soldiers,  the  various 
corps  all  mixed  up,  eager  for  a  final  shot  at  their  enemies. 
Down  over  the  gully-rim  poured  the  fugitives.  The  surprised 
40th  were  unable  to  stay  the  rush,  although  they  shot  or 
bayoneted  some  of  the  leaders.  A  man  named  Puhipi  was 
killed  in  penetrating  the  line,  and  the  foremost  men  momentarily 
hesitated ;  but  Raureti  Paiaka  and  his  comrade  Te  Makaka  dashed 
at  the  nearest  soldiers  and  broke  through,  and  the  rest  of  the 
fugitives  followed  them.  As  the  leaders  leaped  down  over  the 
scarped  bank  Raureti  shot  two  soldiers,  one  with  each  barrel, 
close  to  the  ditch.  He  received  a  slight  wound  in  this  dash 
for  freedom.  Another  man  who  distinguished  himself  was  the 
half-caste  Pou-patate,  a  tall,  athletic  young  man  (his  figure  is 
stalwart  to-day,  but  he  is  quite  blind).  "  Pou-patate  was  a 
hero  that  day,"  says  Te  Huia.  "  He  was  a  very  quick,  active 
man  in  breaking  through  the  line  of  troops."  Another  warrior, 
Te  Kohika,  uncle  to  Te  Huia,  was  armed  with  a  gun,  but  his 
ammunition  was  all  expended.  Glancing  back  as  he  rushed 
through  the  cordon  for  the  swamp,  he  saw  a  Maori  fall,  shot  dead, 
and  thinking  it  might  be  his  brother  he  stopped  and  turned 
back.  He  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  soldiers,  who  tore  his 
gun  from  him  and  tried  to  bayonet  him,  but,  leaping  aside, 
he  escaped.  His  knee  was  badly  hurt  by  a  blow  with  the 
butt  of  a  rifle.  A  shot  at  very  close  quarters  missed  him,  but 
so  narrowly  that  the  powder  scorched  his  bare  shoulder.  He 
reached  the  swamp,  where  he  lay  concealed  in  the  manuka  until 
night,  and  then  he  hobbled  along  to  the  Puniu,  suffering  great 
13— N.Z.  Wars. 


386 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


pain  from  his  injured  knee,  and  joined  the  survivors  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river.  As  for  Rewi,  his  retreat  through  the 
swamp  of  death  was  safeguarded  by  a  devoted  body-guard 
consisting  of  twelve  of  his  kinsmen,  including  Raureti  Paiaka 
and  his  son  Te  Huia,  Pou-patate,  Matena  te  Paetai,  Rangi-toheriri, 
and  Tamehana. 

Pou-patate,  describing  the  flight,  gave  a  dramatic  narrative 
of  his  retreat  with  Rewi  to  the  gully  and  through  the  swamp 
from  which  the  Manga-ngarara  Stream  flows  to  the  Puniu.  "  The 


HITIRI  TE  PAERATA. 
(Ngati-Raukawa  and  Ngati-te-Kohera,  West  Taupo.) 

Hitiri  and  his  sister  Ahumai  were  the  only  survivors  of  their  family  at 
Orakau.  Their  father,  the  old  chief  Te  Paerata,  was  killed  in  the  retreat 
on  the  2nd  April,  1864. 

bullets,"  he  said,  "  were  flying  all  around  us ;  they  whistled 
whi-u  !  whi-u  I  about  my  ears.  When  we  were  in  the  manuka 
the  tops  of  the  bushes  were  cut  off  by  the  bullets,  swishing  like 
a  storm  through  the  swamp.  Yet  not  one  touched  me.  I  saw 
Hepi  Kahotea  shot  dead  there.  The  soldiers  were  massed  all 
along  the  Karaponia  ridge,  firing  down  into  the  manuka  and 


THE   SIEGE    OF   ORAKAU.  387 

rai'po.  There  were  hundreds  of  rifles  blazing  into  us.  Then, 
on  the  other  side  of  the  swamp  were  more  foot  soldiers  and 
some  mounted  men  hurrying  round  to  cut  us  oft." 

Rewi  escaped  unwounded.  He  and  his  tribe  suffered  less 
than  the  Urewera  and  the  Ngati-te-Kohera,  whom  he  had 
vainly  tried  to  dissuade  from  the  building  of  the  challenge  fort 
at  Orakau.  Many  years  after  the  war,  standing  on  the  sacred 
soil  of  Orakau  pa,  he  gave  a  narrative  of  the  siege.  His  story 
of  the  last  day  and  the  flight  to  the  Puniu  reveals  the  curious 
mingling  of  ancient  and  modern  religious  beliefs  in  the  Maori 
mind,  and  the  reversion  to  the  ancient  faith  in  hours  of  peril 
when  the  soul  of  man  is  laid  bare. 

"When  we  rushed  out  of  the  pa,"  said  Rewi,  ."  I  prayed  to 
God.  The  words  of  my  prayer  were,  '  E  Ihowa,  tohungia  ahau, 
kaua  e  whakaekea  tenei  hara  ki  nmga  i  a  au  '  ('  O  Lord,  save  me, 
and  visit  not  this  sin  upon  me').  Just  then  I  stumbled  and 
fell  down,  which  made  me  very  dark  in  my  heart,  for  it  was  an 
evil  omen.  I  rose  and  started  on  again,  but  had  only  gone  a 
short  distance  when  I  stumbled  and  fell  once  more.  When  I 
rose  the  second  time  I  recited  this  prayer  : — 

"  Wetea  mai  te  whiivhi, 
Wetea  mai  te  hara, 
Wetea  mai  te  tawhito, 
Wetea  kia  mataratara, 
Tawhito  te  rangi,  ta  taea." 

|  In  this  karakia  Rewi  besought  his  Maori  gods  to  remove  from 
him  all  sins  or  transgressions  of  which  he  or  his  male  relatives 
might  have  been  guilty.] 

"Then  I  slapped  my  thighs,  and  I  cried  out — 

"  Tupe  runga,  tupe  raro,  tupe  haha, 

Kei  kona  hoe  tu  mai  ai, 
I  Ki  konei  au  rere  ake  ai, 

Rere  huruhuru,  rere  a  newa  a  te  rangi." 

[This  karakia  was  used  by  the  Maoris  when  after  a  battle 
the  defeated  warriors  were  being  pursued  by  the  victors.  A 
chief  singled  out  one  of  the  enemy  for  pursuit,  and  this  charm 
had  the  effect  of  causing  the  pursued  one  to  fall  or  stop  to 
be  captured.  Rewi  used  it  here  with  the  object  of  stopping 
the  pursuit  by  the  soldiers.  The  translation  of  the  expression 
beginning  "  Kei  kona  koe  tu  mai  ai"  is  "  Remain  there  where 
you  are.  I  will  flee  on  from  here,  fly  like  a  bird,  rising  high 
toward  the  heavens."] 

"  I  went  on  across  the  fern  slope  towards  the  swamp," 
continued  Rewi.  "I  was  not  yet  clear  of  the  soldiers.  There 
were  three  parties  of  them.  My  only  weapon  was  a  short- 
handled  tomahawk.  I  had  dropped  my  two  guns  when  I  fell 

13* 


388  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

down  ;  my  younger  brother  took  them.  I  called  out  to  some  of 
my  people  who  were  a  little  ahead  of  me  and  who  had  guns, 
'  Come  here  ;  one  of  you  fire  there ' ;  to  another,  '  Fire  over  there ' ; 
to  one  who  was  standing  close  to  me  I  said,  '  You  fire  right  in  here.' 
We  descended  the  hill  and  jumped  down  over  the  bank.  We 
were  fired  upon  here,  but  although  the  soldiers  were  close  they 
did  not  hit  us,  as  we  were  over  them  and  they  had  to  fire 
upwards.  At  my  call  one  of  my  companions  shot  a  soldier  who 
had  fired  at  me.  The  soldiers  gave  way  before  us,  and  we  rushed 
down  into  the  swamp.  My  comrades  kept  firing  as  we  went 
on.  The  troops  were  on  either  side  of  us,  on  the  high  ground, 
firing  across  at  us  as  we  fled  through  the  manuka.  Now  I 
prayed  again.  I  uttered  the  words,  '  Matiti,  matata  I '  That  was 
all  my  prayer.* 

"  Continuing  our  retreat  through  the  swamp  we  overtook  an 
elderly  relative  of  mine  named  Mau-pakanga.  He  had  two  guns. 
I  took  one  of  them.  Mau-pakanga  soon  was  shot  by  some  of  the 
soldiers  who  were  firing  at  us  from  the  hills.  Next  we  overtook 
Hone  Teri.  I  said  to  him,  '  Don't  run  ;  go  easily.'  A  short 
distance  farther  on  a  soldier  took  aim  at  Hone  Teri  and  shot  him 
dead.  I  went  up  to  him  to  take  his  gun  (he  was  shot  in  the 
head,  and  his  gun  was  lying  under  him),  and  cried  a  farewell  to 
him  and  his  parents.  Then  we  continued  our  flight  to  the  Puniu 
River,  some  of  us  returning  the  fire  of  our  pursuers.  Raureti  and 
his  companions  shot  two  troopers  out  of  their  saddles.  A  soldier 
on  the  Ngamako  spurs  rode  in  chase  of  a  native  named  Ngata. 
I  called  to  Te  Whakatapu,  who  was  reloading  as  he  ran,  to  stand. 
The  cavalryman  jumped  off  and  got  behind  his  horse  to  avoid 
being  shot  by  Te  Whakatapu  ;  but  Ngata  had  by  this  time  taken 
cover  in  the  swamp,  and  having  a  good  view  of  the  soldier  he  shot 
him.  Hurrying  on,  we  forded  the  Puniu,  and  on  the  south  side 
rested  ourselves  and  collected  the  survivors  ;  there  were  sixty  of 
us  there.  Others  came  in  later." 

The  Forest  Rangers  and  the  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry 
with  some  of  Rait's  Royal  Artillery  troopers  had  pushed  on  along 
the  line  of  steep-faced  hills  on  the  south-eastern  side  of  the  long 

*  "  Split  up  !  Open  up  !  "  is  the  meaning  of  this  magic  formula,  which 
is  used  only  in  the  last  extremity.  In  Maori  mythology  it  was  the  charm 
uttered  by  the  Arawa  hero  Hatupatu  when  making  his  escape  from  the 
clutches  of  the  witch-goddess  Kura-ngaituku — "  Kura-of-the-claws."  The 
ogress  was  about  to  seize  him  when  he  came  to  a  great  rock — it  is  identified 
to-day  with  a  curious  volcanic  rock  by  the  roadside  at  Ngatuku  Hill,  near 
Atiamuri — and  exclaiming,  "  Matiti,  matata  !  "  the  rock  opened  to  receive 
him,  and  closed  after  him.  To  the  Maori  the  expression  carries  the 
significance  of  the  Christian  hymn  "  Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me." 
Fortunately  for  Rewi,  this  "  open  sesame  "  proved  as  successful  as  in 
Hatupatu 's  case  ;  at  any  rate,  he  escaped  unscathed  when  his  comrades 
were  falling  all  round  him. 


THE   SIEGE    OF   ORAKAU.  389 

swamp  in  order  to  cut  off  the  retreat.  Von  Tempsky  was  at  his 
post  in  the  valley  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  pa  when  the  loud 
cheering  from  the  hill  and  the  intensified  volume  of  rifle-fire  told 
him  that  at  last  the  Maoris  had  broken  cover.  The  pa  ridge 
was  thickly  veiled  in  gunpowder-smoke,  and  the  heavy  rattle  of 
musketry  was  uninterrupted.  The  Rangers,  led  by  Von  Tempsky 
and  Lieutenant  Roberts,  dashed  off  southward  along  the  Ngamako 
ridge,  crossing  small  gullies  and  swamps,  and  came  within  shot  of 
the  fugitives  as  their  foremost  men  ascended  a  sharp  spur  of  fern 
land  called  Ti-kiore.  The  Armstrong  gun  on  the  Karaponia  ridge 
threw  some  shells  into  the  body  of  fugitives.  The  cavalry  headed 
the  Maori  leaders  off  into  the  swamps  again  by  a  rough  cross- 
country gallop,  but  as  the  first  of  the  troopers,  Rait's  men,  to 
come  up  with  the  natives  had  only  revolvers  besides  their  swords, 
they  were  compelled  to  stand  off  when  the  fugitives  turned  on 
them  with  their  double-barrel  guns,  killing  one  or  two  horses  and 
wounding  some  men.  The  Rangers  by  this  time,  having  taken 
a  short-cut  across  the  broken  ground,  began  to  drop  Maori  after 
Maori  with  their  accurate  carbine-fire.  Many  warriors  were  shot 
down  after  delivering  their  last  barrel.  The  troopers  were  out- 
distanced by  the  strong  runners  of  Von  Tempsky 's  and  Jackson's 
corps.  "  There  was  Roberts  ahead  of  us  all/'  wrote  Von  Tempsky 
in  Ids  journal,  "with  Thorpe,  of  Jackson's  company,  and  two  or 
three  others,  the  fleetest  of  the  corps.  That  day  I  christened 
Roberts  '  Deerfoot  '  as  I  panted  behind  him,  bellowing  my  lungs 
out  in  shouting  to  the  men  and  directing  the  pursuit."  The 
Rangers  followed  their  game  for  several  miles  ;  some  of  them 
crossed  to  the  south  side  of  the  Puniu  in  the  eagerness  of  the  chase. 
About  a  hundred  men  of  various  regiments  who  had  followed  the 
escaping  garrison  through  the  swamp,  using  their  Enfields,  joined 
in  the  pursuit  along  the  ridges  to  the  Puniu,  but  they  could  not 
keep  up  with  the  Rangers,  who  could  load  their  breech-loading 
carbines  as  they  ran.  It  was  dusk  when  the  pursuit  ended,  at 
the  sound  of  the  distant  bugles,  and  the  Rangers,  on  recrossing 
the  Puniu,  met  Colonel  Havelock  collecting  the  troops  for  the 
return  to  camp. 

As  the  straggling  pursuers  marched  back  across  the  broken 
country  they  found  several  of  their  victims.  One  mortally 
wounded  Maori,  raving  with  thirst  and  fear,  they  tended  and 
carried  along  till  he  died.  Another  was  borne  campward  till  he, 
too,  expired  from  his  terrible  wounds.  Some  of  the  3rd  Waikato 
Militia  were  also  succouring  the  wounded,  and  they  and  the 
Rangers  carried  into  Orakau  a  warrior  with  a  broken  thigh. 

At  the  camp-fires  were  told  some  of  the  episodes  in  the  first 
rushing  of  the  pa.  Dead  and  wounded  lay  about  the  pa.  Among 
the  wounded  were  several  women,  and  even  these  did  not  escape  the 
bayonets  of  the  maddened  Imperials.  The  colonial  troops  behaved 


390 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


better.  In  the  flight  to  the  Puniu  a  half-caste  girl,  shot  through 
the  arm,  was  on  the  point  of  being  bayoneted  by  a  soldier  when  a 
Forest  Ranger  saved  her  ;  and  Von  Tempsky's  favourite  scout, 
Sergeant  Southee,  protected  another.  In  the  pa,  however,  there 
was  a  pitiful  tragedy.  Mr.  Mair,  rushing  in  with  the  stormers, 
found  some  Regulars  about  to  bayonet  a  wounded  woman  who  had 
scraped  away  the  light  layer  of  earth  covering  the  body  of  her 
slain  husband  for  a  last  look  at  him,  weeping  as  she  brushed  the  soil 
from  his  face.  Mair  tried  to  beat  the  men  back  with  his  carbine, 
and  knocked  one  of  them  into  the  ditch ;  then  he  turned  to  attend 


WlNITANA    TUPOTAHI. 

Tupotahi,  who  was  cousin  to  Rewi  Maniapoto,  was  one  of  the  leading 
men  in  the  defence  of  Orakau,  and  was  severely  wounded  in  the  retreat. 
His  narrative  is  given  in  these  chapters. 


to  the  poor  woman.  She  was  Hine-i-turama,  a  high  chief tainess 
of  the  Arawa  people,  ninth  in  direct  descent  from  Hinemoa,  and 
celebrated  as  a  composer  of  songs  ;  she  had  been  the  wife  of  Hans 
Tapsell,  the  trader  of  Maketu,  and  on  coming  to  Orakau  to  visit 
her  daughter,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Hooper,  had  been  detained  by  the 
Kingites,  and  married  another  man,  Ropata,  who  fell  in  the 
siege.  Mr.  Mair  carried  her  to  an  angle,  and  then  went  to  attend 
to  another  wounded  woman  ;  but  when  he  returned  Hine-i-turama 


THE   SIEGE   OF  ORAKAU.  3QI 

had  been  bayoneted  to  death  by  some  brutal  soldiers  in  avenge- 
rient  of  fallen  comrades.* 

The  splendid  devotion  and  fearlessness  displayed  by  the 
Maori  heroes  of  that  retreat  aroused  the  admiration  of  their 
enemies.  Colonel  Roberts,  N.Z.C.  —  the  "  Deerfoot  "  of  Von 
Tempsky's  journal — narrates  one  poignant  episode  of  the  Forest 
Rangers'  chase.  "  Most  of  the  troops,"  he  says,  "  abandoned  the 
p  ursuit  at  the  Puniu  River,  but  several  of  us  Forest  Rangers  and 
two  or  three  men  of  Rait's  Artillery  crossed  the  river  and  went  on 
in  chase  for  a  little  distance.  We  caught  up  on  one  Maori,  who 
repeatedly  turned  and  deliberately  knelt  and  levelled  his  single- 
barrel  shot-gun  (he  was  endeavouring  to  cover  the  retreat  of  some 
of  the  wounded).  I  and  the  Ranger  who  was  near  to  me  took 
cover  among  the  wiwi  rushes  and  scrub,  fired,  and  were  reloading 
as  we  lay  there.  The  Maori  retreated  a  few  yards,  then  turned 
and  presented  his  gun  at  us  as  before.  Several  shots  were  fired 
at  him,  but  he  did  not  reply.  At  last  one  of  us  shot  him  dead. 
We  went  up  to  the  plucky  fellow  as  he  lay  there  in  the  rushes,  and 
we  found  that  his  gun  was  empty  ;  he  had  not  a  single  cartridge  left. 
On  the  middle  fingers  of  the  left  hand  he  wore  a  little  bag  which 
held  a  few  percussion  caps.  I  was  terribly  grieved — we  all  were — 
to  think  that  we  had  killed  so  brave  a  man.  Of  course  we  did 
not  know  he  was  pointing  an  unloaded  gun  at  us  ;  we  had  to  save 
ourselves  from  being  potted,  as  we  thought.  Had  he  dropped 
his  useless  gun,  and  stood  up  and  shown  that  he  was  unarmed 
and  helpless,  we  would  have  been  only  too  glad  to  have  spared 
him.  But  at  that  time  none  of  us  knew  enough  Maori  to  call 
upon  him  to  surrender. "f 

*  Major  Mair  said,  "  There  was  great  indignation  in  camp  at  Te 
Awamutu  over  the  bayoneting  of  the  woman  Hine-i-turama,  and  I  went 
with  Lieutenant  Albert  Jackson,  of  the  i8th  Regiment,  through  the  tents 
oJ  one  regiment  hoping  to  detect  the  men,  but  I  could  not  identify  them." 

f  Captain  Gilbert  Mair,  N.Z.C.,  narrates  another  incident  of  heroism 
ir  this  retreat  from  Orakau.  In  the  year  1888  he  was  interpreting  an 
a<  count  given  by  Hitiri  te  Paerata  in  Parliament  House,  Wellington, 
describing  the  Battle  of  Orakau.  Major  Jackson,  M.H.R.  for  Waipa,  who 
ai  Orakau  commanded  No.  i  Company  of  the  Forest  Rangers,  asked, 
"  Who  was  the  Maori  in  the  white  shirt  whom  I  was  chasing  ?  "  It  was 
slated  that  this  Maori  was  assisting  a  young  woman  who  was  wounded 
tc  escape.  Hitiri  remembered  the  incident.  The  young  Maori  warrior 
described  succeeded  in  helping  this  girl,  who  was  wounded  in  the  thigh, 
tl  rough  the  cordon  of  soldiers,  and  through  the  swamp  and  scrub  to  the 
Puniu.  He  kept  his  pursuers  in  check  by  repeatedly  turning,  kneeling 
d«  >wn,  and  aiming  his  gun  at  them,  while  the  girl  hobbled  on  towards  the 
river  and  safety.  At  last  the  pair  crossed  the  Puniu,  and  in  the  Maori 
country  they  came  to  a  sheltered  place  where  there  was  a  grove  of  peach- 
trees.  There  they  remained,  resting,  and  living  on  the  peaches,  until  the 
girl  was  able  to  travel  to  her  people. 

"  Well,  what  happened  ?  "  Hitiri  was  asked. 

"  Oh,  nothing  happened  ;  but  what  I  was  going  to  tell  you  was  that 
the  Maori's  gun  was  unloaded  all  the  time.  He  had  not  a  charge  left  when 
hu  knelt  down  and  kept  the  troops  off  with  his  levelled  tupara." 


392  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

The  British  casualties  in  the  three-days  battle  were  seventeen 
killed  or  died  from  wounds  and  fifty-two  wounded.  The  dead 
were  buried  in  the  English  Mission  Churchyard  at  Te  Awamutu. 
More  than  half  the  gallant  Maoris  lay  dead  when  the  sun  went 
down  that  night  of  the  2nd  April.  Out  of  a  very  few  more 
than  three  hundred,  quite  one  hundred  and  sixty  were  killed,  and 
of  the  survivors  at  least  half  were  wounded.  Of  the  twenty-six 
prisoners  taken  nearly  all  were  wounded,  and  several  died  in  the 
field  hospital  at  Te  Awamutu.  Brigadier-General  Carey  reported 
101  killed,  besides  eighteen  to  twenty  stated  by  the  Maoris  to  have 
been  buried  in  the  pa.  The  total  killed  was,  however,,  heavier 
than  this  estimate.  Forty  were  buried  by  the  soldiers  in  the 
trenches  on  the  northern  side  of  the  pa  (the  spot  is  just  within 
the  farm-fence  on  the  north  line  of  the  present  main  road).  As 
many  more  were  buried  on  the  edge  of  the  swamp  near  the  place 
where  the  fugitives  broke  through  the  lines  of  the  4oth  Regiment, 
and  many  were  laid  to  rest  on  the  spur  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  swamp,  near  Ngamako,  and  further  along  the  line  of  retreat 
to  the  Puniu.  The  dead  at  the  pa  were  buried  in  their  own 
trenches  on  a  beautiful  sunny  morning,  and  so  near  to  the  surface 
that  one  clenched  hand  rose  above  the  surface,  and  a  soldier 
trampled  on  it  to  press  it  under 

Ngati-te-Kohera    and    the    Urewera     suffered     the    heaviest 

casualties.     Hitiri   te   Paerata   and   his   sister   Ahumai   were   the 

only   survivors   of  a   family.     Their   father,   the   old   warrior  Te 

Paerata,   his   son   Hone   Teri,    and   several   others   of   the  house 

fell  in  the  retreat.     Ahumai — she  who  declared  that  the  women 

would  remain  in  the  pa  and  share  the  fate   of  the  men — was 

wounded  in  four  places.     She  was  shot  through  the  body,   the 

bullet  going  in  on  her  right  side  and  coming  out   on  the  left, 

through  the  shoulder,   and  through  the  wrist,   hand,   and  arm. 

Yet   she   survived   that   terrible   flight   and   recovered   from   her 

wounds ;     she    died    at    Mokai,     near    Taupo,     in    1908.      The 

Urewera  lost   thirty  killed,   and  a  great   many  were  wounded  ; 

they  sustained  probably  over  50  per  cent,  of  casualties.     Paitini 

te    Whatu,    who    was    badly    wounded,    and    whose    father    was 

killed,    gives   the   following   list    of   the   principal   people   of   the 

contingent  of  Urewera  and  their  kin  who  fell  at  Orakau  ;    the 

killed,    he    states,    included    three    out    of   the    six    women    who 

were  with  the  company  :     Piripi  te  Heuheu  and  his  wife  Mere, 

Te    Kaho,    Rakuraku,    Te    Parahi,    Wiremu    Tapeka    (Paitini's 

father),    Paiheke,   Te   Teira,    Penehio,    Kaperiere,    Hoera,    Reweti 

te  Whakahuru   and  his  wife   Marata   Kopakopa  ;    also  Matiaha, 

of  Ngati-Tamatea,  and  Raharuhi  Tamatea,  of  Ngati-Kahungunu. 

Paitini,    describing  his    experience   in   the  retreat,    said :     "I 

fired  a  shot  and  brought  down  a  soldier  as  we  descended  the 

steep  bank  above  the  manuka  swamp.     In  fact,  I  dropped  down 


THE    SIEGE   OF   ORAKAU.  393 

the  bank  on  to  the  man  I  shot,  and  I  could  not  recover  my 
double-barrel  gun.  A  soldier  shot  me  in  the  left  thigh,  causing 
a  very  bad  wound.  I  managed  to  reach  the  cover  of  the 
manuka  and  went  slowly  along  toward  the  Puniu,  bleeding  very 
much  and  in  great  pain.  Many  of  our  wounded  lay  out  in  the 
swamp  all  that  night  and  next  day.  My  father  was  killed  in 
the  retreat,  outside  the  pa.  He  was  behind  me  ;  I  did  not  see 
him  fall.  Our  chief  Piripi  te  Heuheu  was  killed  in  the  pa. 


Front  a  drawing,  at  Taupo,  by  Captain  T.  Ryan.] 

AHUMAI  TE  PAERATA. 

Ahumai  was  the  woman  who  made  the  heroic  reply  at  Orakau  that 
the  women  would  die  with  the  men.  She  was  very  severely  wounded  in 
the  retreat.  In  the  following  year  she  saved  the  life  of  Lieutenant 
Meade,  R.N.,  who  was  in  danger  of  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Ngati- 
Raulcawa  Hauhaus,  near  Taupo. 

Paruki  Wereta,  now  living  at  Te  Umuroa,  escaped  from  Orakau 
unwound  ed/'* 

Peita  Kotuku,  who  is  part  Ngati-Maniapoto  and  part  Patu- 
heuheu,  was.  a  member  of  the  Urewera  contingent.  He  narrates 

:::  Statement  by  Paitini  te  Whatu,  to  the  writer,  at  Omakoi,  Urewera 
country,  23rd  January,  1921. 


394 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


that  a  pora,  a  thick  shaggy  shoulder-cape  of  flax,  which  he  was 
wearing  deflected  one  or  two  bullets  that  struck  him.  Four  of 
his  mother's  people,  the  Patu-heuheu,  were  killed  in  the  battle  ; 
one  was  his  uncle  Peita,  whose  name  he  took  in  memory.  The 
old  chief  Paerau,  of  Tuhoe,  escaped,  and,  like  Peita,  became  a 
strong  Hauhau  partisan. 

Ngati-Maniapoto  did  not  surfer  so  severely  as  the  other  clans 
— at  any  rate,  none  of  their  leading  chiefs  was  killed.  Tupotahi 
had  his  collar-bone  broken  by  a  bullet  when  he  was  leaving  the 
pa.  The  wiry  old  chief,  a  small-framed  man  like  Rewi,  narrated 
that  the  bullet  went  out  at  the  back  of  his  right  shoulder,  and 
the  arm  hung  helpless.  He  picked  up  his  gun  in  his  left  hand, 
and  ran  on  after  his  comrades,  supporting  his  right  arm  by 
clenching  the  fingers  between  the  teeth.  At  last  he  had  to  drop 
his  gun  and  support  his  right  hand  and  arm  with  his  left,  and 
so  hurried  on  to  the  swamp.  Men  fell  all  around  him,  but  he 
was  not  hit  again.  Half-dead  with  pain,  and  loss  of  blood  and 
tortured  with  thirst,  he  lay  in  the  manuka  for  some  time  unable 
to  move.  At  last,  when  it  was  dark,  he  rose  and  struggled  on 
through  the  scrub  to  the  Puniu.  With  many  of  the  other 
wounded  he  was  taken  to  the  Otewa  Village,  on  the  Waipa, 
where  his  hurt  was  tended.  Some  of  the  survivors  gathered  at 
Korakonui  and  Wharepapa,  a  few  miles  south  of  the  Puniu  ; 
others  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  returned  to  Hangatiki. 

The  Urewera  survivors  collected  at  Ara-titaha  and  Waotu, 
and  made  their  way  home  to  their  mountains,  travelling  slowly 
because  of  their  many  wounded.  Harehare,  of  Ngati-Manawa, 
says :  "  We  who  had  remained  at  home  at  Tauaroa  (on  the 
Rangitaiki)  waited  anxiously  for  news  of  our  relatives  and  friends. 
One  of  our  old  men  had  a  premonition  of  disaster.  He  beheld 
a  wairua  —  an  apparition  —  which  he  interpreted  as  a  message 
from  the  dead,  and  he  told  us  that  misfortune  had  befallen  our 
people  in  the  Waikato.  A  few  days  later  the  morehu  —  the 
survivors — began  to  arrive,  among  them  my  brother  Takurua  and 
his  wife,  both  wounded,  and  then  we  found  that  the  Battle  of 
Orakau  had  been  fought  just  about  the  time  the  vision  appeared 
to  our  old  seer." 


NOTES. 

The  present  main  road  from  Kihikihi  eastward  toward  Maunga-tautari 
passes  through  the  site  of  Orakau  pa.  A  stone  monument  on  the  roadside 
now  marks  the  spot.  The  only  trace  on  the  roadway  of  the  olden  entrench- 
ment is  part  of  a  ditch  on  the  southern  side  of  the  road-cutting.  Just 
inside  the  fence  of  the  field  on  the  northern  side,  where  the  north-east  angle 
of  the  pa  stood,  there  is  a  large  mound  surrounded  by  uneven  lines  of 
depression,  indicating  trenches.  This  is  where  forty  Maoris  were  buried  in 
the  outer  trench  by  the  troops.  This  sacred  spot  was  fenced  in  over 


THE   SIEGE   OF  ORAKAU. 


395 


396  .       NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

fifty  years  ago  by  the  then  owner  of  Orakau,  Mr.  W.  A.  Cowan,  and  was 
planted  with  blue-gums ;  but  the  little  cemetery  is  now  part  of  a  paddock, 
and  the  fence  and  the  memorial  trees  have  disappeared.  Great  poplar-trees, 
planted  about  the  same  time,  line  the  southern  side  of  the  road.  For 
many  years  after  the  war  the  bullet-riddled  peach-trees  stood  dotted  about 
the  battlefield.  The  outlines  of  the  British  sap  of  1864  are  now  in- 
distinguishable except  for  a  few  yards  in  the  field  on  the  north  side  of 
the  road  where  a  slight  depression  in  the  turf  indicates  the  olden  trench 
towards  the  position  on  the  round  of  the  hill.  Te  Huia  Raureti,  when 
pointing  out  the  line  of  the  sap,  said  it  was  started  in  a  peach-grove  in  the 
western  side  of  the  gentle  rise  about  150  yards  from  the  pa.  The  first 
trench  ran  northward,  parallel  to  the  west  flank,  for  a  few  yards  and  crossed 
the  line  of  the  present  road  ;  then  the  sap  was  directed  toward  the  north- 
west angle  of  the  fort  and  zigzagged  (haere  kopikopiko  ana)  easterly,  parallel 
with  the  road.  The  sap  was  traversed  every  few  yards,  and  was  cut  with 
many  turns.  There  were  also  demi-parallels,  occupied  by  the  covering- 
parties  of  riflemen.  The  sap  was  not  very  deep,  said  the  old  warrior,  but 
the  soldiers  digging  it  were  sheltered  by  means  of  peke  oneone  (gabions, 
large  wicker  baskets  made  of  manuka  and  filled  with  earth  from  the  trench) 
placed  along  the  edge  of  the  ditch  for  head-cover.  At  the  head  of  the 
sap  as  it  went  on  they  rolled  along  a  peke  rakau — a  sap-roller — made  of 
green  manuka  tightly  bound  together,  4  or  5  feet  in  thickness,  for  protection 
from  the  Maoris'  fire.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  cover  on  the  ground 
traversed  by  the  sap — peach-trees  and  flax  and  fern. 

Among  the  wounded  prisoners  taken  at  Orakau  (and  April,  1864)  was 
a  young  warrior  named  Tipene  te  Waru,  whose  after-career  was  rather 
remarkable.  He  was  taken  to  the  military  hospital  at  Te  Awamutu, 
where  his  left  arm  was  amputated  by  Dr.  Spenser,  and  on  recovering  was 
sent  home  to  his  people  at  Wairoa,  Hawke's  Bay.  His  father,  Te  Waru 
Tamatea,  of  Marumaru,  was  the  leader  of  the  small  Ngati-Kahungunu 
contingent  which  had  joined  the  Urewera  war-party.  Tipene  took  revenge 
for  the  loss  of  his  arm  by  joining  the  Hauhaus  when  the  Pai-marire  war- 
faith  reached  the  Wairoa  in  1865.  His  history  is  related  by  Captain 
G.  A.  Preece,  N.Z.C.,  in  the  following  note  (i5th  July,  1922)  : — 

"  This  man,  Tipene  te  Waru,  who  had  lost  his  left  arm  from  a  wound 
at  Orakau,  fought  against  us  at  Manga-aruhe  or  Omaru-hakeke  on 
Christmas  Day,  1865,  and  at  Te  Kopane,  near  Lake  Waikare-moana,  on 
the  1 8th  January,  1866.  The  elder  Te  Waru  and  all  his  tribe  surrendered 
to  us  about  February,  1866,  and  after  the  lands  were  confiscated  they  and 
the  Waiau  natives  were  allowed  to  go  back  to  their  settlements  at  Whataroa 
and  the  Waiau  Valley  (south  of  the  lake),  where  they  remained  quietly 
until  after  Te  Kooti  landed  on  his  escape  from  the  Chatham  Islands  in 
1868.  Indeed,  after  the  fight  at  Ruakituri  (inland  of  Gisborne)  Te  Waru 
pretended  to  be  loyal,  and  came  to  Wairoa  and  got  twenty  stand  of  rifles 
to  protect  himself  against  Te  Kooti,  and  professed  to  give  information  as 
to  his  (Te  Kooti's)  movements.  This  continued  up  to  the  time  he  murdered 
Karaitiana  Roto-a-Tara  and  his  three  fellow-scouts  at  Whataroa  in  October, 
1868.  Te  Waru  (the  elder)  himself  was  not  present  when  the  scouts  were 
treacherously  killed  in  the  whare  given  them,  but  it  was  prearranged.  His 
brother  Reihana  or  Horotiu  [afterwards  notorious  as  Te  Kooti's  '  butcher,'  or 
executioner  of  prisoners]  actually  committed  the  murders,  but  they  were 
all  implicated.  Te  Waru,  Tipene  te  Waru,  Reihana  or  Horotiu,  Hemi 
Raho,  another  brother,  and  the  whole  of  the  hapu  then  living  (about  forty 
people  in  all)  came  out  of  the  Urewera  country  at  Horomanga  and 
surrendered  to  me  at  Fort  Galatea,  on  the  Rangitaiki,  on  the  gth  December, 
1870.  When  I  was  Resident  Magistrate  at  Opotiki  in  1877  Te  Waru  and 
the  little  tribe  were  living  at  Waiotahi,  where  they  had  been  given  some 
land.  In  that  year  Tipene  te  Waru,  while  out  pig-hunting,  ran  a  manuka 
stake  through  his  right  foot,  and  got  in  such  a  bad  way  that  he  was  sent 


THE   SIEGE   OF  ORAKAU.  397 

to  the  Auckland  Hospital.  However,  he  got  mokemohe  (lonely,  home-sick) 
there,  and  returned  to  Opotiki,  and  at  last  the  leg  had  to  be  amputated. 
Dr  Reed,  assisted  by  Captain  Northcroft,  N.Z.C.,  took  it  off.  We  got  a 
wooden  leg  for  him  from  Sydney,  and  the  one-armed  and  one-legged  warrior 
used  to  ride  all  over  the  country.  I  think  Hemi  Raho  was  allowed  to 
return  to  Wairoa,  but  none  of  the  other  members  of  the  rebel  tribe  went 
bark  to  their  old  homes,  and  I  paid  them  a  sum  of  £400  or  ^500  for  all 
their  interests  in  the  Wairoa  lands." 

Another  wounded  prisoner  taken  at  Orakau  proved  less  amenable  to 
the  surgeon's  skill.  This  was  an  old  man  named  Te  Wiremu,  who  had  his 
thigh  broken  by  a  bullet  from  Mr.  Mair's  carbine.  Mair  took  a  friendly 
interest  in  Te  Wiremu  in  the  hospital  at  Te  Awamutu,  but  the  old  warrior 
was  determined  to  die.  "  He  defied  the  doctors  and  hospital  attendants 
to  the  end,"  Mair  wrote.  "  Nor  could  the  chaplains  make  anything  of 
him.  One  day  he  would  call  himself  a  '  missionary,'  and  the  next  he  was 
a  '  Catholic  '  ;  indeed,  he  succeeded  in  establishing  something  like  a  coolness 
between  the  worthy  representatives  of  the  two  denominations.  He  was 
buried  in  Te  Awamutu  churchyard  with  the  other  prisoners  who  died  of 
wounds.  The  men  of  the  65th  Regiment,  who  held  the  Maori  people  in 
great  esteem,  erected  a  head-board  over  the  grave,  bearing  an  inscription 
written  by  Bishop  Selwyn." 


CHAPTER   XL. 


THE    END    OF    THE    WAIKATO    WAR. 

Although  the  Battle  of  Orakau  was  the  final  and  decisive 
blow  delivered  in  General  Cameron's  Waikato  campaign,  it  did 
not  end  the  Maoris'  preparations  for  resistance.  Ngati-Maniapoto 
fully  expected  that  the  British  would  follow  up  their  victory, 
and  would  invade  the  country  south  of  the  Puniu  River.  The 
scattered  hapus  were  collected,  and  the  defence  of  the  territory 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  Waipa  basin  was  decided  upon. 
The  first  fortification  built  was  designed  to  block  the  advance 
of  troops  towards  Hangatiki,  the  home  of  Wahanui  Huatare  and 
a  large  section  of  Ngati-Maniapoto.  It  consisted  of  entrench- 
ments thrown  up  at  Haurua,  across  a  ridge  on  the  main  track 
between  Otorohanga  and  Hangatiki,  with  swamps  on  the  flanks. 
The  ditches  and  parapets  of  this  work  are  intersected  by  a  riding- 
track  on  the  west  side  of  the  railway-line  a  short  distance  south 
of  Otorohanga.  In  rear  of  this  advance  work  was  a  stronger 
position,  Te  Roto-Marama,  an  entrenched  hill  near  the  present 
Village  of  Hangatiki.  The  third  pa  built  was  Paratui,  a  hill- 
fort  between  the  Mangaokewa  and  Mangapu  Stream?,  a  short 
distance  south  of  Hangatiki ;  the  site  is  to  the  west  of  the 
Main  Trunk  Railway.  The  whole  strength  of  Ngati-Maniapoto  was 
concentrated  on  the  construction  of  these  fortifications,  under 
Rewi,  Raur.eti,  Wetini,  Paku-kohatu,  Te  Rangi-ka-haruru  ("  The 
Thundering  Heavens"),  and  Hauauru  and  his  brother  Patena, 
the  chiefs  of  the  Ngati-Matakore  subtribe,  both  warriors  of  the 
old  days  of  intertribal  strife.  Topine  te  Mamaku,  from  the  Upper 
Wanganui,  was  also  there.  Haurua  was  for  some  time  the 
headquarters  of  these  Kingites,  resolved  to  bar  the  southward 
march  of  the  troops.  But  Cameron's  advance  had  ended,  and 
Kihikihi  remained  the  most  southern  outpost  of  the  troops. 

It  was  at  Ara-titaha,  a  Ngati-Raukawa  settlement  on  the 
southern  spur  of  Maunga-tautari,  that  the  last  shots  of  the 
Waikato  War  were  fired,  in  a  slight  skirmish.  This  was  a 
reconnaissance  affair,  about  three  months  after  Orakau.  A 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  the  Rev.  Father  Garavel,  arrived  at  Te 


THE    END    OF    THE    WAIKATO   WAR.  399 

Awamutu  one  day  from  Taupo  via  Orakau,  and  mentioned  that- 
he  had  seen  an  armed  party  of  Maoris  at  Ara-titaha,  where  the 
track  ascended  from  the  plain  near  Waotu.  Lieutenant  Rait, 
commanding  the  mounted  artillery,  on  patrol  around  the  ad- 
vanced posts,  organized  a  secret  expedition,  which  was  joined 
by  detachments  of  the  65th  and  other  corps  from  Kihikihi 
and  Rangiaowhia,  under  Captain  Blewitt  and  other  officers.  The 
mounted  men  were  engaged  at  long  range  by  some  Maori 
skirmishers  near  the  Village  of  Ara-titaha,  but  the  artillery 
troopers,  having  only  revolvers,  could  not  reply  to  the  fire,  and 
the  infantry  were  some  distance  in  the  rear.  Ensign  Mair,  the 
interpreter,  however,  was  armecl  with  a  carbine,  and  he  returned 
the  Maoris'  fire,  and  fired  the  last  shot  in  the  campaign.  The 
force  withdrew  to  the  camps  without  carrying  hostilities  further. 

Soon  after  the  capture  of  Orakau  the  Ngati-Haua  and  their 
allies  from  Tauranga,  who  had  entrenched  themselves  at  Te  Tiki 
o  te  Ihingarangi,  evacuated  their  stronghold.  The  fortification, 
ci  pa  of  ancient  days,  had  been  strengthened  by  deepening  the 
trenches,  digging  covered  ways,  and  erecting  palisades.  The  main 
pa  stood  on  the  edge  of  a  high  cliff  overlooking  the  rapid  Wai- 
kato, at  the  foot  of  the  Pukekura  Range  ;  in  rear  was  a  higher 
pa  of  small  area.  General  Cameron  had  made  preparations  to 
shell  the  place,  and  had  gathered  a  strong  battery  at  Pukerimu. 
Tamehana  and  his  people  did  not  wait  for  the  bombardment. 
They  abandoned  the  place  under  cover  of  night,  crossing  the 
river  in  canoes  —  a  dangerous  feat,  for  the  current  was  very 
swift,  and  there  were  rapids  just  below  the  crossing-place.  Men, 
women,  and  children  all  safely  reached  the  eastern  side  and 
marched  across  the  plain  to  Peria,  near  Matamata.  For  some 
time  after  the  British  occupation  of  Te  Tiki  o  te  Ihingarangi  a 
force  of  Militia  garrisoned  a  redoubt  on  the  site  of  the  upper  pa. 
Wiremu  Tamehana  made  his  peace  with  the  British,  after  his 
long  and  hopeless  struggle,  by  meeting  Brigadier-General  Carey 
at  Tamahere  on  the  27th  May,  1865,  and  signing  a  document 
acknowledging  submission  to  the  law  of  the  Queen.  His  tribe 
lost  some  land  by  confiscation,  but  Waikato  were  the  heaviest 
sufferers  ;  they  were  dispossessed  of  all  their  territory  east  of 
the  Waikato  River,  and  remained  on  the  lands  of  their  friends 
the  Ngati-Maniapoto  for  nearly  a  generation  after  the  war. 

Te  Awamutu  was  the  winter  quarters  for  the  Waikato  army 
of  occupation.  When  the  Government  fixed  the  confiscation-lines 
the  Puniu  River  was  made  the  frontier,  and  no  attempt  was 
made  to  drive  the  defeated  Kingites  farther  south.  Four  thou- 
sand regular  troops  remained  at  Te  Awamutu  and  the  outposts 
until  the  end  of  1864,  and  as  they  were  withdrawn  the  mili- 
tary settlers  embodied  in  the  regiments  of  Waikato  Militia  took 
their  places  and  established  frontier  villages,  each  defended  by 


400 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


THE    END    OF   THE    WAIKATO   WAR. 


401 


a  redoubt,  which  developed  into  towns  as  the  settlement  of 
the  surrounding  confiscated  lands  gradually  increased.  The  ist 
Regiment  of  Waikato  Militia  were  given  their  sections  of  land 
at  Tauranga  ;  the  other  three  regiments  garrisoned  and  settled 
the  southern  Waikato — the  2nd  at  Alexandra  (now  Pirongia,  at 
the  head  of  steamboat  navigation  on  the  Waipa  River)  and 
Kihikihi  ;  the  3rd  Regiment  at  Cambridge,  at  the  head  of  the 


Rewi  TIaniapoto  (Manga). 


Tawhana. 


Taonui. 


Hone  Wetere  te  Rerenga. 


Te  Rangituataka.  Te  Naunau. 

THE  CHIEFS  OF  NGATI-MANIAPOTO. 

This  photograph,  taken  at  a  settlement  in  the  King  Country  about  1884, 
shows  most  of  the  leading  chiefs  of  the  Ngati-Maniapoto  Tribe  from  the 
Puniu  to  the  Mokau.  Wetere  te  Rerenga  was  the  leader  of  the  small 
war- party  of  Mokau  men  who  killed  the  Gascoignes  and  the  Rev.  John 
Whheley  at  Pukearuhe  Redoubt,  White  Cliffs,  in  1869. 


Horotiu  navigable  waters;  and  the  4th  at  Hamilton,  formerly 
Kirikiriroa.  The  river-steamer  "  Rangiriri,"  from  Mercer,  landed 
the  first  of  the  military  settlers  at  the  site  of  the  present  Town 
of  Hamilton  on  the  24th  August,  1864  ;  they  numbered  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  men,  under  Captain  W.  Steele.  Each 


402  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Waikato  military  settler  received  a  grant  of  one  town  acre  and  a 
section  of  from  fifty  acres  upward,  according  to  rank.  Jackson's 
and  Von  Tempsky's  Forest  Rangers  were  given  land  at  Rangiao- 
whia,  Te  Rahu,  Kihikihi,  and  Harapepe.  South  of  the  frontier 
most  of  the  Kingites  remained  in  isolation,  planning  the  reconquest 
of  the  Waikato,  but  deterred  from  a  renewal  of  the  war  by  their 
lack  of  good  arms  and  by  the  presence  of  strong  and  well-trained 
bodies  of  soldier  farmers  on  the  fringes  of  the  conquered  territory. 
It  was  not  until  1881,  when  Tawhiao  laid  down  his  guns  at  Major 
Mair's  feet  at  Alexandra,  that  Waikato  and  Ngati-Maniapoto 
definitely  and  finally  made  their  peace  with  the  Government  of 
the  colony. 


NOTES. 

The  New  Zealand  Settlements  Act  of  1863,  under  which  the  confiscation 
of  native  lands  was  carried  out,  set  forth  in  the  preamble  that  it  was 
necessary  "  that  some  adequate  provisions  should  be  made  for  the  perma- 
nent protection  and  security  of  the  well-disposed  inhabitants  of  both  races, 
for  the  prevention  of  future  insurrection  or  rebellion,  and  for  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  Her  Majesty's  authority,  and  of  law  and  order 
throughout  the  colony."  The  best  and  most  effectual  means  of  attaining 
those  ends  would  be  by  the  introduction  of  a  sufficient  number  of  settlers, 
able  to  protect  themselves  and  to  preserve  the  peace  of  the  country.  As 
there  were  large  tracts  of  land  lying  unoccupied,  useless,  and  unproductive, 
which  might  be  made  available  for  the  introduction  and  location  of  such 
settlers  "  with  benefit  to  themselves,  and  with  manifest  advantage  to  the 
colony,"  it  was  enacted  that  the  Governor  in  Council  might  take  native 
land  where  desirable  in  order  to  set  apart  sites  for  settlements.  The  money 
derived  from  the  sale  of  land  was  to  be  devoted  to  recouping  the  expenses 
of  the  war,  in  the  construction  of  public  works,  the  establishment  of  schools 
and  other  institutions,  and  in  promoting  immigration  for  the  colonization 
of  the  confiscated  territory. 

An  enormous  area  of  the  Waikato  and  neighbouring  country  was 
confiscated  under  this  Act.  It  embraced  the  whole  of  the  country  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Waikato-Waipa  basin,  from  the  Manga-tawhiri  south  to 
the  summit  of  Mount  Pirongia,  thence  along  the  Puniu  River  to  the 
Waikeria,  and  from  there  across  to  Pukekura,  on  the  foothills  of  the 
Maunga-tautari,  thence  northward  to  the  Thames  Gulf.  Portions  of  this 
area  were  afterwards  returned  to  hapus  who  had  not  shared  in  the  war, 
but  by  far  the  greater  portion  was  parcelled  out  for  white  settlement. 

In  1866  Dr.  Edward  Waddington,  who  was  for  many  years  the 
Government  military  surgeon  in  the  Waikato,  in  a  report  on  the  district 
gave  the  following  statement  of  the  strength  of  the  principal  military 
settlements  (number  exclusive  of  officers)  : — Alexandra  (now  Pirongia)  : 
2nd  Waikato  Regiment — 675  men,  102  women,  183  children.  Cambridge  : 
3rd  Waikato  Regiment — 843  men,  87  women,  198  children.  Hamilton  : 
4th  Waikato  Regiment— 432  men,  282  women,  751  children. 

In  addition  to  these  chief  settlements  there  were  the  Militia  township 
at  Kihikihi  and  the  Forest  Rangers'  allotments  already  mentioned.  In 
all,  the  Government  introduced  about  three  thousand  military  settlers  into 
the  Upper  Waikato  country. 


THE   END    OF   THE    WAIKATO   WAR. 


403 


CHAPTER   XLI. 


THE    ARAWA    DEFEAT    OF    THE    EAST    COAST   TRIBES. 

The  Maori  King  movement  had  gained  strong  support  among 
many  of  the  tribes  of  the  East  Coast,  along  the  shore  of  the  Bay 
of  Plenty  from  Matata  to  Opotiki,  and  thence  round  the  East 
Cape  as  far  as  Turanganui  (Gisborne)  and  the  Wairoa.  By  the 
end  of  1863  a  formidable  crusade  in  aid  of  hard-pressed  Waikato 
and  their  kin  was  set  on  foot  on  the  coast,  and  half  a  score 
of  tribes  joined  in  a  strong  contingent  of  reinforcements.  The 
design  was  to  gather  at  a  point  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  and  thence 
march  through  the  Arawa  country  to  the  Upper  Waikato  plains, 
passing  Rotorua  on  the  way.  By  January  of  1864  the  plan  of 
campaign  was  matured,  and  a  war-party  which  swelled  to  the 
proportions  of  a  small  army  was  soon  assembled  at  Matata,  the 
headquarters  of  the  Ngai-te-Rangihouhiri,  for  the  advance  upon 
Waikato,  where  General  Cameron  was  temporarily  blocked  by 
the  heavy  entrenchments  on  the  Paterangi  ridge.  It  was  now 
that  the  Arawa  people  definitely  ranged  themselves  on  the  side 
of  the  Queen  as  defenders  of  their  territory  against  the  Kingites. 

From  1856  to  1863  the  majority  of  the  Arawa  Tribe  were 
scattered  over  the  North  Auckland  country  digging  kauri-gum. 
By  their  industry  they  had  acquired  a  fleet  of  small  cutters 
and  schooners,  which  were  engaged  largely  in  the  carrying 
trade  between  Auckland  and  the  East  Coast  ports.  In  1863 
they  had  spread  up  north  beyond  the  Bay  of  Islands.  Then 
rumours  began  to  reach  them  of  the  intention  of  the  East  Coast 
tribes  to  send  a  large  force  through  to  support  the  Waikato 
Kingites.  These  reports  became  so  alarming  and  urgent  that  the 
Arawa  exhumed  the  bones  of  their  numerous  dead  in  various 
parts  of  the  gumnelds  of  the  north,  and  setting  sail  in  their 
small  craft  early  in  January,  1864,  they  arrived  at  Maketu  to 
defend  their  ancestral  soil.  In  their  eagerness  to  get  into  action 
some  of  them  drove  their  vessels  ashore  ;  others  dropped  anchor 
out  in  the  stream  at  Maketu  and  hastened  ashore  without  taking 
time  to  stow  their  sails.  During  the  six  or  seven  years'  fighting 
that  followed,  all  the  vessels  sank  at  their  anchors  or  rotted  on 


THE  ARAWA  DEFEAT  OF  THE  EAST  COAST  TRIBES.      405 

the  beach.     Another  result  was  that  sandbanks  formed  round  the 
sunken  vessels  and  quite  ruined  the  little  harbour  of  Maketu. 

Now  it  became  known  that  about  seven  or  eight  hundred 
hostile  natives  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty  and  the  East  Cape  were  on 
the  way  to  the  Rotorua  district.  By  this  time  the  contingent  of 
Ngati-Porou  and  other  Tai-Rawhiti  tribes  had  been  swelled  by 
the  addition  of  the  Whanau-a-Te  Ehutu,  Ngai-Tawarere,  Te 
Whanau-a-Apanui ,  the  Whakatohea,  Ngati-Awa,  Ngati-Pukeko,. 
and  other  clans,  and  finally  the  Ngai-te-Rangihouhiri  at  Matata. 
Te  Puehu  visited  the  Arawa  country  as  a  herald,  asking  the  lakes 
tribes  to  permit  them  to  pass  through  to  help  Waikato  against 
the  whites,  but  permission  was  peremptorily  refused.  Had  the 
Tai-Rawhiti  tribes  been  allowed  to  pass  through  to  join  the  King 
party  the  addition  of  several  hundreds  of  well-equipped  warriors 
would  obviously  have  exercised  a  powerful  influence  on  the 
fortunes  of  the  campaign,  and  would  at  least  have  prolonged 
the  war.  The  Arawa  found  themselves  in  this  position :  that,, 
never  having  expected  any  war,  they  had  neglected  to  provide 
themselves  with  arms  and  ammunition  and  the  necessary  equip- 
ment for  a  campaign.  They  had  not  followed  the  example  of 
the  other  tribes,  who  all  eagerly  set  to  work  purchasing  guns 
and  ammunition  on  the  relaxation  of  the  arms  restrictions  by 
Gore  Browne  in  1857. 

When  the  plight  of  the  Arawa  was  realized,  with  the  invaders, 
onry  a  few  days'  march  away,  several  delegates  of  the  tribe  were 
despatched  from  Rotorua  to  Maketu,  where  they  interviewed  the 
Civil  Commissioner  and  asked  him  to  supply  them  with  arms 
to  defend  their  land  against  the  Queen xs  enemies.  The  request 
was  declined.  Fortunately,  Mr.  William  Mair  (the  interpreter  at 
Orakau),  who  had  lately  been  appointed  Magistrate  at  Taupo,. 
arrived  at  Maketu  at  this  juncture,  and,  seeing  how  necessary 
it.  was  that  these  people  should  receive  help,  he  returned  to 
Tauranga  and  begged  the  Imperial  military  officers  there  to  give 
him  the  whole  of  their  sporting  ammunition  for  the  loyal  Maoris.. 
He  succeeded  in  obtaining  about  three  hundredweight  of  powder,, 
several  hundredweight  of  shot,  and  a  large  quantity  of  percussion 
cap^.  He  went  to  the  local  storekeepers,  and  they  even  emptied 
their  chests  of  tea  and  gave  Mair  the  lead.  At  Maketu  the 
timdy  munitions-supply  was  given  to  the  Arawa,  who  took 
their  warlike  stores  inland  to  Mourea,  the  village  on  the  Ohau 
Stream,  which  connects  Lakes  Rotorua  and  Rotoiti ;  there  all' 
set  to  work  making  cartridges. 

Meanwhile  some  Taupo  men  had  arrived  under  Rawiri  Kahia 
and  Hohepa  Tamamutu,  and  this  contingent  joined  Ngati- 
Whakaue  at  Ohinemutu.  The  allied  force  crossed  the  lake  in 
a  flotilla  of  large  canoes — "  Te  Arawa,"  the  largest,  could  carry 
nearly  a  hundred  men — and  combining  with  the  others  at  Mourea, 


406 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


the  whole  force(>  some  four  hundred  strong,  swept  down  Lake 
Rotoiti  in  true  ancient  warlike  state  to  meet  the  advancing 
Tai-Rawhiti  army,  who  were  marching  up  from  Otamarakau  by 
way  of  Rotoehu  and  Hongi's  Track  through  the  bush  to  the 
east  end  of  Rotoiti. 

The  fighting  which  followed  occurred  on  the   7th,   8th,   and 
9th  April,  1864.      The  great  war-party  of  the  East  Coast  tribes 


Bay   of  Plenty 


THE  BATTLEFIELDS  AT  LAKE  ROTOITI,  MAKETU,  AND  KAOKAOROA. 

emerged  from  the  forest  and  encamped  at  Tapuae-haruru  ("  The 
Beach  of  the  Resounding  Footsteps  "),  with  the  forest  in  their 
rear  and  the  beautiful  wooded  range  of  Matawhaura  lifting  above 
them  like  a  wall  on  their  right.  The  Arawa  made  the  Komu- 
humuhu  pa,  a  palisaded  village  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake, 
their  headquarters,  and  from  there  advanced  along  the  shore 


THE    ARAWA    DEFEAT    OF   THE    EAST   COAST   TRIBES.  407 

now  traversed  by  the  main  road  from  Rotorua  to  the  eastern 
lakes  and  Whakatane.  The  three  days'  skirmishing  ended  in 
the  complete  repulse  of  the  invaders.  The  fighting  began  at 
Ngauhu,  near  Wai-iti.  On  the  second  day  a  hot  battle  was 
fought  on  the  Taurua  ridge  and  the  lake-edge  between  Komu- 
humuhu  and  Wai-iti.  About  twenty  of  the  invaders  were  killed, 
including  the  chief  Apanui,  who  fell  at  Te  Tu-arai,  the  wooded 
headland  near  Emery's  house  at  Taurua.  The  Arawa  lost  three 
of  their  men.  The  enemy  retreated  to  the  sea-coast,  announcing 
that  they  would  next  invade  Maketu ;  to  which  the  Arawa 
chief  Te  Mapu  te  Amotu  replied,  "  That  is  well ;  we  shall  finish 
our  battle  there." 

NOTE. 
THE  FIGHTING  AT  LAKE  ROTOITI   (1864). 

At  Otaramarae,  Lake  Rotoiti  (6th  January,  1919),  Hohapeta  te 
Wtianarere,  a  veteran  of  the  Ngati-Pikiao  Tribe,  gave  Captain  Gilbert  Mair 
and  myself  a  narrative  of  the  encounter  at  Taurua  with  the  Kingite  reinforce- 
ments from  the  East  Coast.  After  describing  the  gathering  of  the  Arawa 
force  and  the  canoe  expedition  to  the  eastern  end  of  Rotoiti  to  stay  the 
advance  of  the  East  Coast  army,  the  old  warrior  said  : — 

"  Our  first  skirmish  with  the  Tai-Rawhiti  men  was  at  Ngauhu,  just 
beyond  Wai-iti,  and  close  to  the  lake-beach  at  Tapuae-haruru,  where  the 
track  from  the  coast  by  way  of  Rotoma  and  Rotoehu  comes  out  of  the 
bush.  We  held  the  East  Coast  men  there,  and  at  last  they  retired  to 
Tapuae-haruru,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day  we  returned  to  our 
palisaded  pa  on  the  lake-side  at  Komuhumuhu.  In  the  skirmishing  we 
cut  bunches  of  fern  and  stuck  them  in  the  ground  for  cover  and  fired  from 
behind  them.  We  chiefly  had  flint-lock  guns  (ngutu-parerd)  and  not  much 
ammunition. 

"  Next  morning  the  East  Coast  tribes  came  up  along  the  lake-side  to 
attack  us  at  Komuhumuhu.  We  sallied  out  and  met  them  at  Taurua  and 
fought  a  battle  there.  The  skirmishers  spread  out  all  over  the  ridge  of 
Taurua  above  the  point  where  the  half-caste  Emery's  house  now  stands.  We 
scooped  out  little  hollows — they  could  hardly  be  called  rifle-pits — for  cover 
on  the  bare  hill ;  we  dug  them  hurriedly  with  our  tomahawks  and  hands. 
In  this  fighting  we  lost  Mohi  and  Maaka  shot  dead,  Topia  (Mita  Taupopoki's 
elder  brother)  mortally  wounded  ;  others  wounded  were  Piwai  te  Whare- 
kohatu  (hand  smashed),  Matua-iti  (jaw  shot  away),  and  Wi  Pori.  Several 
of  us  held  a  little  parapet  on  the  hill — I  and  my  brothers  Te  Harete  and 
Te  Pere,  Mohi,  my  cousin  Te  Pokiha  and  his  brother  Waata  Taranui. 
Mohi  had  been  standing  up  and  firing  at  the  enemy,  and  they  fired  a  volley 
in  return.  A  bullet  pierced  his  brain,  and  he  fell  back  dead  on  top  of  us. 
Down  below  us  at  the  edge  of  the  lake  (near  the  present  native  store  at 
the  little  jetty)  the  enemy  were  held  in  check  by  the  hapus  Ngati-Uenuku- 
kopako  and  Ngati-Kereru. 

"  A  section  of  the  rebels  nearly  succeeded  in  cutting  us  off  from  our 
pti  by  working  up  inland  into  the  bush,  and  we  were  compelled  to  retire 
along  the  beach  and  fall  back  on  Komuhumuhu.  Two  of  our  old  chiefs, 
Te  Mapu  te  Amotu  and  Te  Puehu,  would  not  retire  although  hard  pressed, 
and  it  was  then  that  the  rebels  took  us  in  flank.  One  of  our  men,  Kakahi, 
was  shot  through  the  chest.  We  only  saved  ourselves  by  a  rapid  retreat 
to  the  pa.  Some  of  the  Arawa  were  panic-stricken  by  the  persistence 
and  numbers  of  the  enemy,  and  ran  to  the  war-canoes  at  the  beach  to 
escape.  Then,  after  some  sharp  fighting,  the  foe  hoisted  a  white  flag : 


408  NEW   ZEALAND   WAES. 

they  had  had  enough  of  it.  Hakaraia,  a  chief  of  Waitaha,  came  towards 
us  with  a  flag  of  truce.  The  enemy  retreated,  and  we  followed  them  up 
to  the  end  of  the  lake  at  Tapuae-haruru.  Te  Mapu  and  Te  Porarere  (son 
of  Te  Puehu)  went  out  and  ordered  them  to  leave  the  Arawa  country.  Te 
Mapu  told  them  that  they  need  not  rejoice  over  the  fact  that  they  had 
temporarily  driven  the  Arawa  back  on  Komuhumuhu  pa ;  they  must 
retire  to  the  sea-coast  lest  worse  befall  them.  '  E  waru  nga  pu-manawa 
o  te  Arawa  '  ('  The  Arawa  have  eight  breaths,  or  eight  talents  '),  he 
concluded.  (This  proverbial  saying,  famous  among  the  Arawa,  is  an 
expression  to  denote  courage,  resolution,  and  resourcefulness.)  The  rebels' 
leader  replied,  '  I  shall  go  and  shall  not  return  here,  but  I  shall  kindle  my 
fires  of  occupation  at  Maketu  '  ('  Ka  ka  taku  ahi  ki  runga  o  Maketu  '). 
To  this  Te  Mapu  returned,  "  That  is  well  ;  we  shall  finish  our  piece  of 
battle  (pito  whawhai)  at  Maketu.' 

"  This  understanding  was  honourably  kept,"  said  Hohapeta.  "  The 
foe  retired  to  the  coast  at  Matata,  and  there  awaited  reinforcements  for 
the  march  on  Maketu.  As  for  us,  we  returned  to  Mourea,  where  for  the 
first  time  the  Arawa  all  assembled  and  prepared  for  a  campaign,  and  then 
we  marched  on  to  Maketu  to  meet  the  invaders. 

"  In  the  Rotoiti  fighting  we  killed  about  twenty  of  the  invaders. 
Among  them  was  Apanui,  a  high  chief  from  the  East  Coast.  He  fell  at 
Te  Tu-arai,  the  wooded  headland  just  to  the  eastward  of  Emery's  house, 
above  the  present  road  and  overlooking  the  lake." 

MAKETU  AND  KAOKAOROA. 

The  Tai-Rawhiti  expedition  was  reinforced  at  Otamarakau, 
the  ancient  pa  of  Waitaha,  on  the  sea-coast,  by  a  company  of 
sixty  Tuhoe  and  Ngai-Tama,  also  by  a  section  of  Ngati-Makino 
and  some  Ngati-Porou.  The  large  flotilla  of  war-canoes  was 
drawn  up  on  the  beach  at  the  mouth  of  the  Waitahanui  Stream, 
below  the  massive  earthworks  of  Otamarakau.  Towards  the  end 
of  April  they  marched  on  Maketu,  and  their  advance-guard 
surprised  two  officers,  Major  Colvile  (43rd  Regiment)  and  Ensign 
Way  (3rd  Waikato  Militia),  who  were  out  duck-shooting  in  a 
canoe  on  the  Waihi  Lagoon,  two  miles  east  of  Maketu.  The 
officers  had  a  narrow  escape.  By  this  time  there  was  a  small 
body  of  troops,  under  Major  Colvile,  in  occupation  of  Maketu, 
and  Pukemaire,  an  ancient  pa  on  the  hill  above  Maketu,  was 
converted  into  a  redoubt,  in  which  two  field-guns  were  mounted. 
Major  Drummond  Hay  and  Captain  T.  McDonnell  had  also 
arrived  with  a  few  men  of  the  Forest  Rangers  and  the  Colonial 
Defence  Force  to  organize  the  Arawa  defence.  Skirmishing 
followed  for  two  or  three  days  at  Kakiherea  and  Te  Rahui,  on 
the  high  land  overlooking  the  Waihi  estuary  and  the  sea,  and 
the  invaders  dug  themselves  in  on  the  tableland  called  Te 
Whare-o-te-Rangi-marere,  about  a  mile  east  of  the  Maketu  Village. 
There  -the  line  of  rifle-pits  is  still  to  be  seen.  Then  two 
warships  appeared,  H.M.S.  "  Falcon  "  and  the  colonial  gunboat 
"  Sandfly,"  and  these  vessels,  and  also  the  guns  on  Pukemaire, 
opened  fire  on  the  Tai  -  Rawhiti,  and  soon  drove  them  out 
of  their  entrenchments.  They  recrossed  the  Waihi  Lagoon  and 


THE    ARAWA   DEFEAT   OF   THE    EAST   COAST   TRIBES  409 

occupied  the  sandhills  on  the  opposite  side,  but  their  position 
was  gallantly  stormed  by  McDonnell  and  his  Rangers  and  Te 
Pokiha  Taranui  (afterwards  known  as  Major  Fox)  and  his  Ngati- 
Pikiao  under  a  very  heavy  fire. 

By  this  time  the  main  body  of  the  Arawa  had  arrived  from 
the  lakes,  and  some  three  hundred  of  their  best  men  pursued 
the  Tai-Rawhiti  along  the  beach  toward  Matata,  while  the 
"Falcon"  and  the  "  Sandfly,"  steaming  along  close  to  the 
coast,  shelled  the  retreating  force.  A  heavy  shell  from  the 
"  Falcon  "  killed  several  men  of  the  Whakatohea  in  a  group  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Waeheke  Stream,  near  Pukehina.  At  this  place 
the  Arawa  skirmished  with  their  foes,  and  drove  them  toward 
Otamarakau.  Next  day  the  invaders  attempted  to  launch  their 
fleet  of  about  twenty  war-canoes  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Waitahanui.  While  so  engaged  the  Arawa  came  upon  them, 
drove  them  off,  and  seized  the  canoes;  some  of  the  long  waka- 
taua  had  broached  to  in  the  surf  and  were  smashed. 

Next  day  (28th  April)  the  pursuit  was  continued  along  the 
wide  sandy  beach  called  the  Kaokaoroa  ("  Long  Rib  "),  extending 
from  Otamarakau  to  the  mouth  of  the  Awa-a-te-Atua  River  at 
Matata.  The  fight,  lasting  all  day,  raged  over  the  sandhills  and 
the  kumara  and  taro  plantations  between  the  sea  and  the  high 
sandstone  cliffs.  The  principal  Arawa  chiefs  engaged,  beside  the 
energetic  Pokiha  Taranui,  were  the  old  warrior  Tohi  te  Ururangi 
(also  called  Winiata  Pekama,  or  "  Wynyard  Beckham  "),  Matene 
te  Auheke,  Te  Waata  Taranui,  Te  Mapu,  Rota  Rangihoro, 
Henare  te  Pukuatua,  Te  Araki  te  Pohu,  Te  Kohai  Tarahina, 
Paora  Pahupahu,  and  Kepa  te  Rangipuawhe  :  these  men  repre- 
sented all  sections  of  the  Arawa  people.  The  arms  used  were 
chiefly  old  Tower  muskets,  flint-locks,  and  double-  and  single- 
barrel  shot-guns.  The  porera  bullets — twelve  to  the  pound- 
fired  from  the  Tower  muskets  inflicted  smashing  wounds.  The 
Arawa  had  not  at  this  time  received  Enfield  rifles. 

The  spot  where  the  Tai-Rawhiti  warriors  made  their  final 
stand  is  near  Pua-kowhai  Stream,  about  two  miles  west  of 
Matata.  They  took  cover  under  the  bank  of  a  small  water- 
course trending  down  through  the  cultivations  of  kumara  and 
maize.  About  four  hundred  of  the  enemy  resisted  the  Arawa 
here,  with  others  in  reserve.  The  Ngati-Awa  and  Whakatohea 
fired  heavy  volleys  from  their  double-barrel  guns,  but  the  Arawa, 
advancing  in  quick  rushes  after  the  volleys,  got  up  within  30  feet 
of  them.  Then  a  daring  chief,  Paora  Pahupahu,  armed  only 
with  a  taiaha,  dashed  at  the  enemy's  line  and  cut  his  way 
through,  followed  by  the  advance-party  of  his  tribe.  Meanwhile 
Tohi  te  Ururangi,  standing  on  a  low  sandhill  nearer  the  sea,  was 
directing  the  movements  of  his  warriors,  shouting  and  pointing 
with  his  taiaha,  when  a  volley  laid  him  low.  The  enemy  broke 


410  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

and  fled.  Most  of  them  retreated  along  the  beach  ;  Hira  te 
Popo,  of  Ngati-Ira,  from  Waioeka,  Opotiki,  and  his  detachment 
of  the  war-party  escaped  up  a  gully  on  the  cliff-side.  About 
fifty  of  the  rebels  were  killed  in  this  fight.  The  Arawa 
closely  pursued  the  fugitives,  and  killed  Te  Ringa-matoru  and 
several  other  chiefs  of  the  Whakatohea  on  the  sandhills  near 
the  place  where  the  Matata  Railway-station  now  stands.  Te 
Arawa  carried  their  wounded  chief  Tohi  to  the  Pua-kowhai 
Stream,  and  he  died  there  that  evening.  In  revenge  for  his 
death  his  widow  shot  Te  Aporotanga,  a  chief  of  the  Whakatohea, 
who  had  been  taken  prisoner. 

The  pursuit  ended  at  Matata.  The  invaders  retreated  in 
canoes  to  Whakatane  along  the  Orini  River,  running  parallel 
with  the  coast  and  connecting  the  Awa-a-te-Atua  with  the 
Whakatane.  The  Orini,  then  a  fine  deep  waterway,  is  no  longer 
navigable.  About  half  the  flotilla  of  canoes  in  which  the  Tai- 
Rawhiti  warriors  came  had  been  left  at  Matata  in  readiness  for 
return.  The  Ngati-Rangitihi,  the  present  owners  of  Matata,  give 
the  names  of  some  of  the  war-canoes  :  the  "  Tu-mata-uenga,"  a 
very  large  waka-taua  belonging  to  Ngati-Porou  ;  the  "  Uekaha," 
"  Whanga-paraoa,"  '  Tararo,"  and  "  Urunga-Kahawai."  All  the 
canoes  were  decorated  in  warlike  fashion  and  bore  carved  figure- 
heads. 

Te  Kauru  Moko,  a  venerable  fighting-man  of  the  Urewera  or 
Tuhoe,  of  Te  Rewarewa  Village,  Ruatoki,  stated  (January,  1921) 
that  the  Tuhoe  and  Ngai-Tama  company  of  the  Kingite  con- 
tingent numbered  sixty.  Te  Kaura  and  Netana  Whakaari,  of 
Waimana  —  both  tattooed  warriors  of  the  almost  extinct  type 
— are  two  of  the  very  few  survivors  of  this  war-party  ;  both 
fought  at  Maketu  and  the  Kaokaoroa.  The  late  Tamaikowha, 
of  Waimana,  was  also  in  the  company ;  others  were  Hira  Tauaki 
(Te  Kauru's  brother),  Paora  Whenuwhenu,  Te  Whakaunua,  and 
Turoa  Tuhua.  The  Urewera  joined  the  contingent  contrary  to 
the  counsel  of  their  tohunga,  Te  Kaho  (father  of  Te  Tupara  Kaho, 
of  Ruatoki),  who  prophesied  their  defeat  if  they  attacked  the 
Arawa. 


CHAPTER   XLII. 


THE    GATE    PA    AND    TE    RANGA. 

In  January,  1864,  the  Government  decided  upon  the  despatch 
of  a  military  force  to  Tauranga.  The  reason  which  prompted 
this  measure  was  the  knowledge  that  Tauranga  was  the  route 
for  the  Kingites  from  the  East  Coast  to  the  Waikato,  that  the 
Ngai-te-Rangi  and  other  local  tribes  were  hostile  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  had  sent  men  to  engage  in  the  South  Auckland 
fighting,  that  the  principal  native  store  of  gunpowder  was  in 
rear  of  Tauranga,  and  that  the  district  was  an  important  source 
of  supply  of  both  food  and  munitions  of  war  to  the  people  of 
Waikato.  Captain  Jenkins,  of  H.M.S.  "  Miranda/'  was  requested 
to  institute  a  blockade  of  Tauranga  in  order  to  prevent  traffic 
with  the  tribes  of  that  part  of  the  coast  ;  and  a  body  of  troops 
commanded  by  Colonel  Greer  was  landed  at  Te  Papa,  near  the 
mission  station  on  Tauranga  Harbour.  Two  redoubts  were  built ; 
one  of  these,  the  Monmouth  Redoubt,  stands  on  the  Taumata- 
Kahawai  cliff  on  the  Tauranga  waterfront.  When  the  force  was 
landed  most  of  the  Ngai-te-Rangi  were  away  with  Tamehana  in 
the  pa  Te  Tiki  o  te  Ihingarangi,  on  the  Upper  Waikato,  and 
were  awaiting  an  attack  there  when  the  news  arrived  that  their 
home-country  had  been  invaded.  Hurrying  back,  they  began  the 
erection  of  fortifications  to  withstand  the  British.  The  majority 
of  the  Ngai-te-Rangi  selected  a  strong  position  at  Waoku  ("  The 
Silent  Woods"),  on  the  edge  of  the  great  forest  which  extends 
from  the  hinterland  of  Tauranga  towards  Rotorua.  The  site 
was  close  to  the  Waimapu  River,  and  a  short  distance  to  the 
east  of  the  present  Rotorua-Tauranga  main  road  on  the  table- 
land overlooking  the  Bay  of  Plenty.  Waoku  was  an  ancient 
earthwork  renovated  and  palisaded.  Other  sections  of  the  tribe 
and  the  Piri-Rakau  ("  The  People  who  Cling  to  the  Bush  ")  took 
up  positions  at  Kaimai,  Poripori,  Wairoa,  and  Tawbiti-nui.  The 
last-named  place  was  a  palisaded  pa  on  a  steep  hill  above  the  track 
from  Te  Puna,  on  the  inner  part  of  Tauranga,  up  to  the  forest 
at  Whakamarama  and  Irihanga  ;  the  hill  is  immediately  over 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  present  road  going  inland.  This  was 
the  stronghold  of  the  chief  Te  Moana-nui.  The  top  of  the  hill 
was  levelled  and  enclosed  by  a  scarped  rampart  and  a  double 


412 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


timber  stockade.  Te  Moana-nui,  who  had  come  from  Matakana 
Island,  had  constructed  the  fort  in  the  hope  that  the  soldiers 
would  come  out  and  attack  him,  but  his  labour  was  for  nothing. 
Besides  about  seventy  Ngai-te-Rangi,  there  were  thirty  of  the 
Koheriki  at  Tawhiti-nui ;  these  were  the  roving  warriors,  with 
one  or  two  women,  who  had  fought  the  Forest  Rangers  in  the 
Wairoa  hills  the  previous  year. 

When  the  main  stronghold  at  Waoku  had  been  completed  the 
chief  Rawiri  Tuaia  (otherwise  Puhirake),  who  afterwards  fell  at 
Te  Ranga,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  British  General  at  Tauranga, 
informing  him  that  he  and  his  people  had  built  a  pa  and  had 
made  a  road  up  to  it  from  the  harbour — the  distance  was  ten 
or  eleven  miles — so  that  the  soldiers  would  not  be  too  weary 
to  fight  ("  kei  ngenge  te  hoia  ")  when  they  reached  it.  To  this 
knightly  challenge  Rawiri,  to  his  disappointment,  received  no 
reply.  Becoming  weary  of  waiting,  Ngai-te-Rangi  decided  to 
move  nearer  to  the  troops  and  to  take  the  aggressive.  A  pa 

Tauranga    Harbour. 


Cross -sect  ion. 


Sketch-plan,  J.  C.,  1920.] 

THE  MONMOUTH  REDOUBT,  TAURANGA. 


was  fortified  at  Poteriwhi,  on  the  Wairoa,  and  a  letter  equivalent 
to  a  challenge  was  also  sent  from  there.  The  chiefs — among 
whom  was  Henare  Taratoa  (Ngati-Raukawa),  who  had  been  the 
teacher  in  charge  of  the  mission  school  at  Otaki — drew  up  a  code 
of  regulations  for  the  conduct  of  the  fighting.  It  was  agreed 
that  barbarous  customs  should  not  be  practised,  that  the  wounded 
should  be  spared,  and  the  dead  not  mutilated  ;  also  that  non- 
combatants  or  unarmed  persons  should  not  be  harmed.  These 
regulations  were  put  into  writing  ;  the  document  was  found  by 
the  troops  a  few  weeks  later  in  the  trenches  at  Te  Ranga. 

As  there  was  no  sign  of  the  British  accepting  the  challenge 
to  march  inland,  the  Ngai-te-Rangi,  after  some  of  their  advance 
skirmishers  had  exchanged  shots  with  the  soldiers  near  Te  Papa, 
decided  to  move  down  closer  to  the  troops.  In  April,  1864,  they 
occupied  and  fortified  a  position  on  the  Puke-hinahina  ridge, 
two  miles  from  the  Tauranga  Landing.  The  place  was  called 
'  The  Gate  "  by  the  Europeans  at  Tauranga,  because  on  this 


THE    GATE    PA   AND    TE    RANGA.  413 

spot,  the  crown  of  the  ridge,  there  was  a  gateway  through  a  post- 
and-rail  fence  and  ditch  and  bank  which  ran  across  the  hill  from 
swamp  to  swamp.  The  fence  was  on  the  boundary-line  between 
the  European  and  Native  land,  and  had  originally  been  built 
by  the  Maoris  to  block  the  way  against  pakeha  trespassers.  The 
Church  Mission  authorities  had  then  arranged  with  the  Maoris 
that  a  gateway  should  be  made  where  the  track  passed  along  the 
spur,  so  that  carts  could  go  in  and  out,  and  it  was  from  the 
circumstance  of  Rawiri's  fort  being  built  at  this  spot  that  it  came 
to  be  called  the  "  Gate  Pa." 

The  trench  and  bank  of  the  fence-line  were  enlarged,  and  on 
the  summit — where  the  little  memorial  church  stands  to-day,  by 
the  roadside — the  Ngai-te-Rangi  built  their  redoubt.  The  land 
sloped  quickly  on  either  side  to  the  sw^amps  that  run  up  from 
the  tidal  arms  of  Tauranga  Harbour,  the  Waimapu  and  the 
Waikareao.  Timber  was  scarce  there,  and  so  the  palisading 
was  of  the  frailest — manuka  stakes,  tupakihi,  and  even  korari  or 
flax-sticks,  with  some  posts  and  rails  from  a  settler's  stockyard 
and  fences  near  the  British  camp.  Trenches  were  dug  and 
traversed  against  enfilading  fire,  underground  ruas  were  made 
for  shelter  against  shell-fire,  and  covered  ways  connected  inner 
and  outer  trenches  and  rifle-pits.  The  main  redoubt,  in  the 
form  of  a  rough  oblong,  was  on  the  highest  part  of  the  neck 
of  land  ;  on  its  left  flank  (the  western  side)  the  defences  were 
continued  by  the  construction  of  a  smaller  pa,  which  was  not 
completed  when  the  attack  was  delivered.  The  irregular  line 
of  fence  along  the  whole  front  gave  a  fictitious  appearance  of 
strength  to  the  position.  The  main  pa,  separated  from  the  lower 
one  by  a  ditch  and  parapet,  was  garrisoned  by  about  two  hundred 
warriors  of  Ngai-te-Rangi  with  a  few  men  of  the  Piri-Rakau 
and  other  tribes.  The  small  pa  was  occupied  by  the  partv  of 
Koheriki,  under  Wi  Koka,  of  Maraetai,  who  had  been  in  Tawhiti- 
nui  after  leaving  the  Waikato.  With  them  were  about  ten  men 
of  various  tribes,  chiefly  Piri-Rakau.  This  wing  of  the  Gate  Pa 
was  defended  by  not  more  than  forty  men,  besides  a  brave  young 
half-caste  woman,  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu  (Heni  Pore),  already  men- 
tioned as  having  shared  in  the  bush  adventures  of  the  Koheriki 
in  the  Wairoa  Ranges  ;  so  that  the  total  garrison  of  Puke-hina- 
hiiia  did  not  exceed  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

Women  as  well  as  men  toiled  in  the  building  of  the  fort, 
but  the  women  were  sent  safely  away  to  the  villages  in  rear, 
by  Rawiri's  order,  before  the  fighting  began.  The  only  excep- 
tion made  was  in  the  case  of  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu.  She  refused 
to  leave  her  brother  Neri,  whom  she  had  accompanied  all 
through  the  war ;  moreover,  she  could  use  a  gun  and  was 
re(  ognized  as  a  fighting- woman,  so  she  was  permitted  to  remain 
by  her  brother's  side. 


414 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


PLAN  OF  THE  ATTACK  ON  THE  GATE  PA. 
(2gth  April,  1864.) 


THE  GATE  PA  AND  TE  RANGA.  415 

A  demand  had  been  made  by  Colonel  Greer  that  the  Ngai- 
te-Rangi  should  cease  their  hostilities  and  give  up  their  guns. 
To  this  demand  Rawiri  replied,  "  E  kore  au.  e  whakaae  kia  hoatu 
akn  pu  ;  engari  ka  aea  atu  koe  a  ka  parakuhi  au  ki  Te  Papa  ' ' 
("  I  cannot  consent  to  give  up  my  guns,  but  if  you  so  wish  I 
shall  take  breakfast  with  you  in  Te  Papa").  It  was  Rawiri's 
half-jocular  way  of  announcing  his  intention  of  attacking  the 
British  camp. 

The  Maoris  soon  discovered  the  reason  for  the  apparent 
reluctance  of  the  British  commander  to  attack.  He  had  been 
awaiting  reinforcements  from  Auckland.  General  Cameron 
arrived  at  Tauranga  on  the  2ist  April  in  H.M.S.  "  Esk,"  and 
established  his  headquarters  at  Te  Papa.  H.M.S.  "  Falcon,"  as 
well  as  the  "  Esk,"  brought  reinforcements,  and  towards  the 
end  of  April  the  General  considered  he  had  sufficient  forces  to 
march  against  the  fortification  challenging  his  front.  On  the 
27th  and  28th  April  General  Cameron  moved  his  troops  and 
guns  forward  to  Pukereia  Hill,  about  1,200  yards  from  the  pa. 
On  the  night  of  the  28th  Colonel  Greer,  with  the  68th  Regiment, 
numbering  about  seven  hundred,  moved  across  the  swamp  below 
the  pa  on  the  east  side,  and  under  cover  of  the  darkness  and 
rain  took  up  a  position  well  in  rear  of  the  native  lines.  A 
detachment  of  the  Naval  Brigade  from  the  warships  "  Miranda," 
"  Esk,"  and  "  Falcon,"  under  Lieutenant  Hotham  (afterwards 
Admiral),  joined  the  68th  ;  and  the  forces  in  rear  were  disposed 
so  as  to  cut  off  the  Maoris'  retreat.  In  order  to  divert  the 
natives'  attention  from  the  rear  a  feigned  attack  had  been  made 
on  the  front  on  the  28th. 

The  troops  employed  in  the  attack  on  the  following  day 
totalled  about  1,650  officers  and  men,  made  up  of  a  Naval 
Brigade  of  about  420,  fifty  Royal  Artillery,  300  of  the  43rd 
Regiment,  and  700  of  the  68th,  besides  180  of  a  movable 
column  consisting  of  detachments  of  the  I2th,  I4th,  4Oth,  and 
65 tli  Regiments. 

Soon  after  daybreak  on  the  morning  of  the  2Qth  the  guns 
and  mortars  assembled  at  Pukereia  opened  fire  on  the  entrench- 
ment. The  batteries  were  the  heaviest  used  in  the  war  of 
1863-64  —  extraordinarily  heavy,  indeed,  when  the  really  weak 
character  of  the  defences  is  considered.  The  artillery  employed 
consisted  of  a  no-pounder  Armstrong  gun,  two  4O-pounder  and 
two  6-pounder  Armstrongs,  two  24-pounder  howitzers,  two  8-inch 
mortars,  and  six  Coehorn  mortars.  The  fire  was  directed  chiefly 
against  the  left  angle  of  the  main  redoubt,  in  order  to  make  a 
breach  for  an  assaulting-party.  About  noon  a  6-pounder  Arm- 
strong was  taken  across  an  arm  of  the  Kopurererua  Swamp  by 
means  of  laying  down  fascines  and  planks,  and  was  hauled  up 
to  a  position  on  the  hill  above.  This  enabled  an  enfilading  fire 


416  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

to  be  delivered  on  the  Maoris'  left  flank.  The  frail  stockade 
soon  began  to  vanish  before  the  storm  of  projectiles,  and  the 
earth  of  the  parapet.s  -was  sent  flying  in  showers.  In  rear  of 
the  main  pa  the  Kingite  flag  was  displayed  on  a  tall  flagstaff. 
Many  shots  were  directed  at  it  by  the  gunners,  and  some  of  the 
shells,  passing  over  the  fort,  fell  close  to  the  68th  lines  in  the 
rear. 

Rawiri  strode  fearlessly  up  and  down  the  parapets  encourag- 
ing his  people.  "  Kia  u,  kia  n,"  he  cried  ;  "  kaore  e  tae  mai 
te  pakeha  I  "  ("  Stand  fast,  stand  fast  ;  the  white  men  will  not 
reach  us !  ")  When  the  big  guns  opened  fire  on  the  pa  he 
called,  addressing  the  artillery,"  Tena,  tena,  e  mahi  i  to  mahi!  " 
("  Go  on,  go  on,  with  your  work  !  ").  To  his  tribesmen  he  cried 
reassuringly,  in  the  height  of  the  cannonade,  "  Ko  te  manawa- 
rere,  ko  te  manawa-rere,  kia  u,  kia  u!"  ("Trembling  hearts,  be 
firm,  be  firm  !  ") 

"  The  very  first  cannon-shot,"  narrated  the  warrior  woman. 
Heni  Pore,  "  killed  two  of  our  people.  Before  the  shot  was  fired 
we  had  begun  our  morning  service — we  had  prayer  according  to 
the  ritual  of  the  Church  of  England  morning  and  night  —  and 
our  lay  reader,  Hori,  was  in  the  act  of  pronouncing  the  final 
blessing  when  the  shell  was  sent  into  us.  I  was  standing  by 
the  side  of  the  trench,  with  Hori  on  one  side  of  me  and  another 
native  minister  named  Iraihia  te  Patu-witi  ('Elijah  the  Wheat- 
thresher  ')  on  the  other  side.  Just  below  me  in  the  trench 
crouched  Timoti  te  Amopo,  our  old  tohunga  ;  he  was  not  joining 
in  the  prayers,  but  was  intently  watching  the  big  gun.  Hori 
was  uttering-  the  final  words  of  the  prayer,  '  Kia  tau  iho  ki 
runga  ki  a  tatou  katoa  '  (asking  that  the  blessing  of  Christ  might 
rest  upon  all  of  us),  when  suddenly  old  Timoti  caught  hold  of 
my  dress  and  pulled  me  down  into  the  trench.  Next  moment  the 
two  men  with  whom  I  had  been  standing  were  killed  by  the 
shell  from  the  big  gun.  Timoti  had  dragged  me  down  instantly 
he  saw  the  flash.  Our  chaplain,  Hori,  was  terribly  mutilated; 
he  was  unrecognizable.  Iraihia  te  Patu-witi,  too,  was  killed  on 
the  instant.  But  the  shell  did  not  burst  on  striking  them.  It 
went  right  into  our  hangi,  about  10  yards  in  the  rear,  and  the 
next  moment  we  saw  the  potatoes  we  had  scraped  flying  high 
in  the  air,  all  over  the  place.  We  heard  the  soldiers  laughing 
and  cheering  at  the  sight.  They  had  all  been  watching  the 
effect  of  the  first  shot,  and  when  they  saw  the  potatoes  flying 
in  the  air  they  thought  it  was  white  feathers  that  this  bursting 
shell  had  scattered.  Only  by  an  instant  had  I  escaped  death. 

"  We  did  not  pull  trigger  for  some  time  after  this,"  con- 
tinued Heni.  "When  some  of  the  infantry  had  advanced  within 
range  we  all  fired  a  volley  together,  at  Rawiri 's  order  '  Puhia.' 
I  fired  several  shots.  It  took  some  time  to  load,  as  the  trench 


THE  GATE  PA  AND  TE  RANGA. 


417 


was  not   deep  and  we  had  to   crouch  down   to   ram  home   the 
charge,    so    that    we    should    not    be    exposed." 

At  4  o'clock  in   the   afternoon   the   breach   at   the  left   angle 
of  the  main  work  was  considered  large  enough  for  the  entrance 


S?    w 
K      H 

*      < 


w 

I    H 

as 

« 


of  a  storming-party,  and  General  Cameron  ordered  an  assault. 
The  storming-party  consisted  of  150  seamen  and  marines,  under 
Commander  Hay,  of  H.M.S.  "  Harrier/'  and  an  equal  number 
of  the  43rd  Regiment,  under  Lieut. -Colonel  H.  G.  Booth.  The 
14— N.Z.  Wars. 


418  NEW    ZEALAND    WARS. 

stormers  advanced  four  abreast — two  sailors  and  two  soldiers. 
Major  Ryan's  movable  column  was  extended  close  to  the  front 
of  the  pa  to  keep  down  the  fire  from  the  rifle-pits,  with 
orders  to  follow  the  assaulting  column.  The  rest  of  the  Naval 
Brigade  and  the  43rd  Regiment,  totalling  about  three  hundred 
men,  followed  as  a  reserve.  At  the  same  time  the  68th  Regi- 
ment, warned  by  a  rocket  sent  up  as  a  signal  for  the  assault, 
moved  up  closer  to  the  rear  of  the  pa  and  opened  a  heavy  fire. 

The  venerable  Heni  now  tells  the  story  of  the  assault  : — 

"  Some  soldiers,"  she  said,  "attempted  to  storm  our  wing  of 
the  pa,  while  the  bluejackets  attacked  the  central  redoubt. 
Colonel  Booth  was  the  officer  wrho  commanded  the  attack  on 
our  defences  ;  of  course  we  did  not  know  who  it  was  until  long 
afterwards.  The  top  rail  of  our  fence  had  been  smashed  by 
the  shells,  and  the  officer  leading  came  over  this,  and  leaped 
the  trench,  sword  in  hand.  He  was  thrusting  at  our  men  with 
his  sword.  We  all  j.umped  out  of  our  trenches  to  meet  the 
assault,  and  then  there  was  a  terrible  combat  hand  to  hand. 
Some  of  our  men  were  firing,  some  were  using  their  tomahawks, 
others  the  butt  ends  of  their  guns.  My  brother  and  I  were 
side  by  side.  Not  many  soldiers  got  into  the  section  of  trench 
where  we  fought.  I  did  not  club  my  gun,  but  jumped  into  the 
trench  again  and  was  loading  when  the  troops  were  driven  out, 
leaving  their  leader  and  several  men  lying  wounded  within  our 
lines.  The  Maoris  rushed  out  of  the  pa  and  fired  upon  the 
soldiers  and  bluejackets,  who  fell  back  in  disorder.  Wi  Koka, 
leading  us,  was  using  a  long-handled  tomahawk.  The  officer, 
whom  we  afterwards  learned  was  Colonel  Booth,  was  felled  by 
a  young  man  named  Piha,  one  of  our  Koheriki.  When  the 
Colonel  fell,  8  or  10  yards  in  rear  of  our  front  trench,  Piha 
stooped  down  over  him  and  took  the  sword  which  the  officer 
held  out  to  him,  and  also  took  a  watch  from  him.  He 
afterwards  said  he  wanted  a  watch  or  a  ring  as  a  trophy, 
and  he  intended  to  kill  the  Colonel,  but  before  he  could  do  so 
the  order  was  given  to  man  the  trenches  again. 

"  We  had  all  gone  outside  the  fence  in  the  excitement  of  the 
battle,  following  the  retreating  soldiers,  when  we  were  recalled, 
and  firing  began  again.  I  fired  several  shots  after  we  re-entered 
the  ditch.  All  this  time  there  was  a  cloud  of  gunpowder- 
smoke  over  the  pa,  and  a  small  drizzly  rain  began  to  fall.  It 
seemed  to  be  almost  dark." 

In  the  meantime  the  greater  number  of  the  storming-party 
had  rushed  cheering  into  the  left  angle  of  the  main  redoubt, 
and  a  desperate  combat  was  waged.  Navy  cutlass  met  long- 
handled  tomahawk — tupara  was  clubbed  to  counter  bayonet 
and  rifle.  Skulls  wrere  cloven — Maoris  were  bayoneted — Ngai- 
te-Rangi  tomahawks  bit  into  pakeha  limbs.  The  defenders, 
forced  back  by  the  first  rush  of  the  Naval  Brigade,  were 


THE  GATE  PA  AND  TE  RANGA.  419 

temporarily  dispossessed  of  the  greater, part  of  the  pa,  but  at 
the  rear  they  were  driven  back  again  by  the  heavy  fire  of  the 
68th  Regiment,  a  fire  which  probably  was  fatal  to  some  of  the 
troops  as  well  as  the  Maoris  themselves. 

This  was  the  critical  moment  that  decided  the  battle.  The 
Maoris,  driven  back  in  the  rear,  met  the  sailors  and  soldiers, 
who  were  confused  by  the  intricate  character  of  the  works  with 
their  crooked  trenches  and  roofed  -  over  pits.  Many  of  the 
officers  had  been  shot  down  in  the  first  charge,  arid  sailors 
and  soldiers  were  crowded  together,  striking  at  their  foes,  but 
hampered  by  the  restricted  space  and  the  maze  of  entrenchment. 
It  was  terrible  work,  but  soon  over.  The  stormers  fell  back  in 
confusion  before  the  bullets  and  the  tomahawks  of  the  garrison. 
The  Naval  reserves,  under  Captain  Hamilton,  of  the  "  Esk," 
made  an  heroic  effort  to  stay  the  panic,  but  the  commander 
was  shot  on  the  top  of  the  outer  parapet  when  calling  on  his 
men  to  advance,  and  the  whole  force  rushed  down  the  glacis. 

Commander  Hay  was  mortally  wounded,  and  nearly  every 
other  officer  fell.  Four  captains  of  the  43rd  lay  close  to  each 
other  just  within  the  pa.  Lieutenant  Hill,  of  H.M.S.  "  Curacoa  " 
—the  senior  officer  saved  from  the  wreck  of  H.M.S.  "  Orpheus  " 
at  the  Manukau  in  1863 — was  shot  when  he  had  reached  the 
centre  of  the  fort.  More  than  a  hundred  of  the  assaulting 
column  were  casualties,  and  the  glacis  and  the  interior  of  the 
pa  were  strewn  with  dead  or  dying.  The  Maoris  suffered  too, 
but  not  so  severely. 

The  defenders  of  Puke-hinahina  treated  the  wounded  British 
with  a  humanity  and  chivalry  that  surprised  their  foes.  With 
few  exceptions,  they  did  not  despoil  them  of  anything  but 
their  arms  and  such  articles  as  naval  officers'  telescopes  ;  they 
did  not  tomahawk  them  after  they  had  fallen,  and  they  gave 
water  to  the  wounded  lying  in  their  lines.  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu, 
a  blend  of  Amazon  and  vivandiere,  was  as  compassionate  as  she 
was  brave.  It  was  she  who  under  fire  gave  water  to  Colonel 
Booth,  a  deed  that  has  wrongly  been  attributed  to  a  man 
named  Te  Ipu.  Asked  for  her  narrative  of  this  incident,  Heni 
said  :— 

' '  I  was  in  the  firing-trench  when  I  heard  the  wounded  officer 
lying  in  our  lines  calling  for  water.  There  were  other  wounded 
soldiers  distressed  for  want  of  water.  When  I  heard  these  cries 
I  could  not  resist  them.  The  sight  of  the  foe  with  their  life- 
blood  flowing  from  them  seemed  to  elate  some  of  our  warriors, 
but  I  felt  a  great  pity  for  them,  and  I  remembered  also  a  rule 
that  had  been  made  amongst  us  that  if  any  person  asked  for 
any  service  to  be  performed  the  request  must  not  be  refused  ; 
it  would  be  an  aitua  to  ignore  it — that  is,  neglect  to  comply 
would  bring  misfortune.  So  I  rose  up  from  the  trench,  slung 


420 


NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 


II 


THE  GATE  PA  AND  TE  RANG  A.  421 

my  gun,  and  was  about  to  run  back  to  the  cooking-place  where 
we  kept  our  water  when  my  brother  asked  me  where  I  was  going. 
I  told  him  that  I  heard  the  dying  men  crying  for  water  and  I 
could  not  disobey  the  call.  He  said  not  a  word,  but  stood  with 
his  gun-butt  planted  on  the  ground  and  his  hands  gripping  the 
muzzle,  and  watched  me  earnestly  while  I  ran  to  fetch  the  water. 
I  had  to  go  about  10  yards  to  the  rear  of  the  trench,  and  as 
our  fence  was  almost  demolished  I  was  in  view  of  the  troops. 
I  found  that  a  small  tin  in  which  I  had  some  water  had  been 
capsized,  but  that  there  was  still  the  iron  nail-can  full.  It  was 
so  heavy  that  I  had  to  spill  about  half  of  it  before  I  could 
conveniently  carry  it  to  the  soldiers.  I  carried  it  in  my  arms 
to  where  the  Colonel  was  lying.  I  did  not  know  then  that  he 
was  a  colonel,  but  I  could  tell  by  his  uniform  that  he  was  a 
senior  officer.  He  was  the  nearest  of  the  soldiers  to  me.  I 
went  down  by  his  side,  took  his  head  on  my  knees,  and  said 
'  Here's  water  '  in  English.  I  poured  some  of  the  water  in  one 
hand  which  I  held  close  to  his  lips  so  that  he  could  drink.  He 
said  '  God  bless  you/  and  drank  again  from  my  hand.  I  went 
to  the  three  other  soldiers  and  gave  them  water  one  by  one 
in  the  same  way.  Then,  placing  the  nail-can  so  that  it  would 
not  spill,  I  ran  back  to  the  trench."* 

Evening  had  now  descended  on  the  battlefield.  The  Kohe- 
riki  discovered  that  Ngai-te-Rangi,  after  repulsing  the  bluejackets, 
had  abandoned  their  pa,  having  exhausted  their  ammunition. 
The  left-wing  defenders  concluded,  therefore,  that  the  wisest 
course  for  them  also  was  to  retire.  Their  position  was  a  very 
weak  one,  and  was  sure  to  be  stormed  next  day,  as  there  were 
so  Jew  to  hold  it,  and  the  artillery  had  so  thoroughly  battered 
the  defences.  So  that  night,  under  cover  of  the  darkness, 
they  took  to  the  Kopurererua  Swamp  on  their  left.  Before 
leaving,  Heni  gave  another  drink  to  the  mortally  wounded 
officer,  and  left  the  water-can  by  his  side.  As  for  Ngai-te- 
Rarigi,  they  had  retreated  in  good  spirits,  after  collecting  arms 
and  accoutrements  from  the  British  dead  and  wounded.  They 
broke  into  small  parties  and  made  their  way  skilfully  through 

*  It  was  not  until  the  year  1867,  when  Heni  and  her  husband  were 
keeping  the  Travellers'  Rest  Hotel  at  Maketu,  that  she  learned  the 
identity  of  the  officer  to  whom  she  had  given  water.  "  Colonel  St.  John 
carm  to  the  hotel  one.  day,"  said  Heni,  "  and  asked  to  see  me.  Seizing 
my  hand  he  said,  '  I  did  not  know  until  lately  that  it  was  you  who  gave 
water  to  my  dear  friend  Colonel  Booth  at  the  Gate  Pa.'  Then  he  told  me 
that  Colonel  Booth,  when  dying  in  the  hospital  at  Te  Papa,  informed  the 
surge  on,  Dr.  Manley,  that  it  was  a  Maori  woman  who  spoke  English  that 
gave  him  water.  Long  after  the  war  a  friend  sent  me  a  picture  by  a  New 
Zealand  artist  showing  a  man  with  a  calabash  carrying  water  to  Colonel 
Boot;i.  It.  amused  me,  for  besides  the  mistake  about  the  man  there  was 
no  c;  labash,  but  an  old  iron  nail-can." 

15— N.Z.  Wars. 


422  NEW   ZEALAND    WARS. 

the  lines  of  the  68th.  The  soldiers  fired  on  them,  but  the 
garrison  escaped  with  only  a  few  wounded.  They  travelled 
inland  to  the  Waoku  pa,  and  thence  dispersed  to  their  various 
stations  along  the  edge  of  the  forest  ;  and  the  Koheriki,  after 
many  adventures,  made  their  way  inland  to  Poripori. 

The  British  casualties  numbered  more  than  one-third  of  the 
total  force  composing  the  storming  -  party .  Ten  officers  were 
killed  or  died  from  wounds,  and  four  were  wounded  ;  of  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates  twenty-one  were  killed  and 


HORI  NGATAI,  OF  TAURANGA. 
(Died  1912.) 

Hori  Ngatai,  head  of  the  Ngai-te-Rangi  Tribe,  was  an  excellent  type 
of  the  Maori  chief  and  warrior  of  the  past  generation.  In  1863  he  and  some 
of  his  tribe  fought  at  Meremere,  on  the  Waikato  River,  and  at  Otau,  Wairoa 
South.  He  was  one  of  the  defenders  of  the  Gate  Pa,  and  in  1901  described 
the  battle  to  the  writer  of  this  History.  In  his  later  years  Hori  Ngatai 
worthily  led  his  tribe  in  the  farming  industry  at  Whareroa,  Tauranga 
Harbour.  At  one  time  he  was  the  largest  grower  of  wheat  and  maize  at 
Tauranga. 

seventy-six    wounded ;     total    killed    and   wounded,    in    officers 
and  men. 

The  43rd  Regiment  lost  their  colonel,  four  captains,  and  one 
lieutenant  killed,  and  a  lieutenant  and  two  ensigns  severely 
wounded.  Among  the  killed  were  two  brothers,  Captain  and 


THE  GATE  PA  AND  TE  RANGA.  423 

Lieutenant  Glover.  Nearly  all  the  Naval  Brigade  officers  were 
killed  or  wounded.  The  official  return  of  officers  killed  and 
wounded  was  as  follows  : — 

Naval  Brigade  :  Killed— Captain  Hamilton,  H.M.S.  "  Esk  "  ; 
Lieutenant  Hill  (late  of  "  Orpheus  "),  H.M.S.  "  Cura9oa  "  ;  Mr. 
Witts,  gunner  H.M.S.  "  Miranda."  Wounded — Commander  Hay 
(abdomen,  mortally),  H.M.S.  "  Harrier  "  ;  Lieutenant  Hammick 
(shoulder,  severe),  H.M.S.  "  Miranda  "  ;  Lieutenant  Duff  (back, 
two  places,  severe),  H.M.S.  "  Esk." 

43rd  Regiment  :  Killed  —  Captain  R.  C.  Glover  (head)  ; 
Captain  C.  R.  Muir  (or  Mure)  (tomahawk,  right  axilla)  ;  Captain 
R.  T.  Hamilton  (head)  ;  Captain  A.  E.  Utterton  (neck)  ; 
Lieutenant  C.  ].  Langlands  (chest).  Wounded — Lieut.- Colonel 
Booth  (spine  and  right  arm,  mortally)  ;  Lieutenant  T.  G.  E. 
Glover  (abdomen,  mortally)  ;  Ensign  W.  Clark  (right  arm,  severe)  ; 
Ensign  S.  P.  T.  Nicholl  (scalp,  slight). 

A  bluejacket  named  Samuel  Mitchell,  captain  of  the  foretop 
of  H.M.S.  "  Harrier,"  was  recommended  for  the  Victoria  Cross 
for  carrying  Commander  Hay,  who  was  mortally  wounded,  out 
of  the  pa. 

The  Maori  losses  in  killed  totalled  about  twenty-five, 
including  the  Ngai-te-Rangi  chiefs  Te  Reweti,  Eru  Puhirake, 
Tikitu,  Te  Kani,  Te  Rangihau,  and  Te  Wharepouri.  Te  Moana-nui 
received  three  gunshot-wounds.  Te  Ipu  was  another  warrior 
badly  wounded.  Te  Reweti  received  six  or  seven  bullet-wounds 
and  had  his  legs  broken. 

THE  TRENCHES  AT  TE  RANGA. 

During  May  the  troops,  with  Captain  Pye's  Colonial  Defence 
Force  Cavalry  in  advance,  took  possession  of  the  Maoris'  aban- 
doned rifle-pits  and  settlements  on  the  Wairoa  Stream.  A  portion 
of  the  British  force,  with  the  warships  (excepting  the  "  Harrier  ") 
returned  to  Auckland.  The  Ngai  -  te  -  Rangi  meanwhile  had 
received  reinforcements  from  Rotorua,  including  some  of  the 
Ngati-Rangiwewehi,  of  Puhirua  and  Awahou  villages — a  sept  of 
the  Arawa  who  declined  to  fall  in  line  with  the  rest  of  the  tribe 
and  espouse  the  British  cause — and  also  a  party  of  fifty  warriors 
of  the  Ngati-Hinekura  and  Ngati-Tamatea-tutahi  hapus  of  Ngati- 
Pikiao,  from  Rotoiti.  In  addition,  there  was  a  war-party 
of  Ngati-Porou,  chiefly  the  Whanau  -  ia  -  Hinerupe  hapu,  from 
Pukemaire,  in  the  Waiapu  Valley,  East  Cape.  These  determined 
warriors  were  headed  by  Hoera  te  Mataatai.  In  June  the 
Kingites  resolved  to  force  another  trial  of  strength  with  the 
Queen's  troops,  and  a  position  was  taken  up  on  the  prolonga- 
tion of  the  Puke-hinahina  ridge,  about  three  miles  inland  from 
the  Gate  Pa.  At  this  place,  Te  Ranga,  the  natives  entrenched 
themselves,  but  were  observed  by  a  British  reconnoitring-party 
before  they  had  completed  the  fortifications.  The  main  track 


424 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


P* 

I 

o 

I 


THE  TRENCHES  AT  TE  RANGA.  425 

inland  to  Oropi  passed  along  this  long  leading  ridge — the  present 
ro£  d  from  Tauranga  via  Pye's  Pa  follows  the  same  route — and 
Ngai-te-Rangi  selected  the  narrowest  part  for  their  entrench- 
ments. On  either  side  of  this  strategic  highway  to  the  interior 
the  ground  fell  steeply  to  undulating  partly  wooded  valleys  and 
swamps  with  watercourses  ;  the  descent  on  the  east,  the  natives' 
right  flank,  was  very  abrupt.  Across  this  narrow  neck  the 
Kingites  constructed  their  line  of  trench,  with  some  flanking 
rifle-pits  on  the  right  front  on  the  edge  of  the  gully.  The  ridge- 
top  was  level  of  surface.  The  advance  from  the  coast  was  along 
a  gentle  inclined  plane. 

On  the  2ist  June  a  strong  reconnoitring  column,  under 
Colonel  Greer,  advancing  along  the  leading  ridge  from  the  Gate 
Pa,  found  the  Maoris  hard  at  work  on  their  entrenchments. 
They  were  not  given  time  to  complete  the  formidable  pa 
contemplated.  Colonel  Greer  decided  to  attack  at  once.  He 
had  a  force  of  about  six  hundred  men,  composed  of  detachments 
of  the  43rd  Regiment,  under  Major  Synge,  the  68th,  under 
Major  Shuttleworth,  and  the  ist  Waikato  Militia,  under  Captain 
Moore.  Sending  back  to  the  camp  for  reinforcements  and  an 
Armstrong  gun,  the  British  commander  threw  out  skirmishers 
and  engaged  the  native  outposts,  then  opened  a  heavy  fire  on 
the  defenders  of  the  trenches.  The  43rd  and  a  portion  of  the 
68th  were  sent  out  on  either  side,  and  kept  up  a  flanking  fire. 
After  about  two  hours  of  this  fighting  from  cover  the  gun  and 
the  infantry  reinforcements  arrived  in  support.  Colonel  Greer 
then  ordered  an  assault.  At  the  bugle-sound  of  the  "  Charge  " 
the  43rd,  68th,  and  ist  Waikatos  advanced  cheering,  and  in  a 
very  few  minutes  had  cleared  the  trenches  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet.  Colonel  Greer  in  his  report  said  they  carried  the  rifle- 
pits  "  in  the  most  dashing  manner."  They  charged  over  the 
level  glacis  under  a  very  heavy  fire  from  the  Kingite  double-barrel 
guns,  but  the  casualties  were  comparatively  small,  as  most  of 
the  Maoris  fired  too  high.  The  Ngai-te-Rangi  and  their  allies 
f ought  like  old  heroes.  They  stood  up  to  meet  the  bayonet 
charge  unflinchingly,  and  as  they  had  no  time  to  reload  they 
used  gun-butt  and  tomahawk  with  desperate  bravery.  There  were 
many  hand-to-hand  encounters.  Even  after  being  bayoneted 
some  of  the  Maoris  felled  their  foemen  with  their  tomahawks. 
But  the  Kingite  valour  was  of  no  avail  before  that  rush  with  the 
bayonet.  Scores  of  warriors  went  down  under  the  steel,  and 
the  survivors  broke  for  the  cover  of  the  gullies  and  swamps  in 
the  rear.  The  Colonial  Defence  Force  Cavalry  followed  them  for 
several  miles,  but  the  country  was  difficult  for  mounted  work. 

The  British  casualties  in  this  short  and  sharp  affair,  the  final 
battle  of  the  campaign,  were  thirteen  privates  of  the  43rd  and 
68th  killed,  and  six  officers  and  thirty-three  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates  wounded.  The  43rd  and  their  comrades 


NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 


exacted   a  terrible  vengeance   for  their  defeat   at  the   Gate   Pa. 
Quite  120  Maoris  were  killed,  more  than  half  of  them  with  the 


Te  Ranqa. 


H 

\* 


Ambulance      v^ 


PLAN  OF  THE  ATTACK  ON  TE  RANGA  ENTRENCHMENTS. 
(aist  June,  1864.) 

bayonet ;  the  rest  were  shot  as  they  fell  back  gallantly  righting. 
Rawiri  Puhirake,  the  commander  at  the  Gate  Pa,  and  Henare 
Taratoa,  the  Otaki  mission  teacher  who  had  helped  to  frame 


THE   TRENCHES   AT  TE    RANGA. 


427 


the  chivalrous  fighting  code,  were  among  the  killed.  On  Henare's 
body  was  found  the  "  order  of  the  day  "  for  combat,  beginning 
with  a  prayer  and  ending  with  the  words  in  Maori,  from 
Romans  xii,  20  :  "If  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst, 
give  him  to  drink."  The  small  Ngati-Porou  contingent  resisted 
to  the  death;  thirty  of  the  party  were  killed.  The  contingent 
of  fifty  of  Ngati  -  Pikiao  from  the  Lake  Rotoiti  settlements 
fell  almost  to  a  man.  The  Ngati-Rangiwewehi  war-party  also 
suffered  very  severely,  and  their  losses  at  Te  Ranga  that  day 
greatly  influenced  the  survivors  of  the  clan  towards  Pai-marire 


From  a  photo  about  1860.] 

HENARE  TARATOA. 
(Killed  at  Te  Ranga.) 

when  that  fanatic  faith  reached  the  lakes  country  and  the  East 
Coast. 

Two  British  soldiers  were  recommended  for  the  Victoria  Cross 
for  their  valour  in  the  charge  at  Te  Ranga.  One  was  Captain 
Smith,  of  the  43rd,  who  led  the  right  of  the  advance  and 
recoived  two  wounds ;  the  other  was  Sergeant  Murray,  of  the 
68th,  who  killed  a  Maori  about  to  tomahawk  a  corporal  who  had 
just  run  him  through  with  his  bayonet. 

A  number  of  the  Maori  wounded  died  in  hospital  at  Te 
Papa.  The  natives  killed  on  the  field  were  laid  out  in  three 


428 


NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 


THE  TRENCHES  AT  TE  RANGA.  429 

long  rows  —  thirty  in  one  row,  thirty -three  in  another,  and 
thirty-four  in  another.  They  were  buried  in  the  rifle-pits,  their 
self -dug  graves.  Others  were  buried  where  they  fell  when  re- 
treating. Several  years  later  the  remains  of  the  gallant  patriot 
Rawiri  Puhirake  were  reint erred  in  the  military  cemetery  at 
T.mranga,  by  the  side  of  his  adversary  Lieut. -Colonel  Booth, 
killed  at  the  Gate  Pa.  This  tribute  to  an  heroic  and  knightly 
foe  was  a  measure  of  the  general  admiration  exhibited  by  the 
British  for  their  Ngai-te-Rangi  antagonists.  The  Tauranga  tribes 
surrendered  soon  after  Te  Ranga,  and  the  friendliest  relations 
wore  established  between  the  fighters  of  the  two  races,  who 
esteemed  each  other  for  the  courage  and  the  humanity  which 
hcid  distinguished  the  whole  conduct  of  the  brief  campaign. 


NOTES. 

Possibly  it  was  the  finding  of  the  Maori  "  order  of  the  day  "  on  Henare 
Tciratoa's  body  that  gave  rise  to  the  report,  so  widely  published,  that  it  was 
he  who  gave  water  to  Lieut. -Colonel  Booth  and  other  wounded  soldiers  on  the 
repulse  of  the  British  attack  on  the  Gate  Pa.  Heni  Pore  says  she  was  not 
a\*  are  at  that  time  of  the  code  framed  by  Taratoa  and  his  fellow-chiefs. 
In  the  private  chapel  of  the  Bishop's  palace  in  Lichfield,  England,  there  is 
a  painted  window  (placed  there  by  the  first  Bishop  Selwyn)  commemorating 
the  Gate  Pa  incident  attributed  to  Henare  Taratoa.  There  is  no  doubt  of 
Htnare's  chivalry  and  high-mindedness,  but  it  is  Heni  Pore  who  rightly 
deserves  the  credit  of  this  specific  deed  of  humanity  in  the  lines  at  Puke- 
hinahina.  The  episode  offers  an  inspiring  historical  subject  for  some  of 
our  New  Zealand  artists. 

The  present  main  road  from  Tauranga  to  Rotorua  cuts  through  the 
centre  of  the  Gate  Pa  works,  at  a  distance  of  two  miles  from  the  town  ;  and 
th<  road  inland  via  Pye's  Pa — the  most  direct  route  to  Oropi  and  Rotorua 
— also  traverses  the  centre  of  the  entrenchments  at  Te  Ranga.  A  little 
memorial  church  stands  by  the  roadside  on  the  spot  once  occupied  by  the 
trenches  of  Ngai-te-Rangi  at  the  Gate  Pa,  but  there  is  nothing  to  inform 
the  passer-by  as  to  the  site  of  the  defences.  On  the  crown  of  the  Puke- 
hinahina  Hill  behind  the  church  the  lines  of  the  British  redoubt  erected  in 
1804  on  the  remains  of  the  Maori  pa  are  still  well  marked.  The  trench  and 
fence  on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  above  the  Kopurererua  Swamp,  indicate 
th(  position  of  the  left  wing  held  by  the  small  Koheriki  party. 

At  Te  Ranga,  alongside  the  road,  there  are  the  remains  of  the  trenches 
in  which  more  than  a  hundred  Maoris  were  buried.  The  road  passes 
through  the  levelled  lines ;  on  each  hand,  but  chiefly  on  the  left,  going 
inland,  are  the  depressicns  indicating  the  rifle-pits  and  ditches  of  the  works. 
In  a  paddock  on  the  edge  of  the  sudden  descent  to  the  valley,  a  few  yards 
east  of  the  road,  there  are  trenches  overgrown  with  gorse  and  fern ;  these 
formed  the  Maori  right  flank.  A  Maori  monument  is  to  be  erected  to  mark 
the  sacred  spot  where  so  many  gallant  warriors  fell. 


END  OF  VOLUME  I. 
1 6— N.Z.  Wars. 


APPENDICES. 


SUPPLEMENTARY  NOTES  TO  CHAPTERS. 

(Chapter  I.) 
EARLY  MILITARY  OPERATIONS  IN  NEW  ZEALAND. 

THE  first  occasion  on  which  British  forces  came  into  conflict  with  Maori 
warriors  (leaving  out  of  consideration  Captain  Cook's  trifling  encounters) 
was  the  punitive  expedition  to  the  Taranaki  coast  in  1834,  when  H.M.S. 
"  Alligator  "  and  the  schooner  "  Isabella,"  from  Sydney,  landed  bodies  of 
sailors  and  soldiers  who  had  been  sent  to  rescue  Mrs.  Guard  and  her 
two  children  captured  when  the  barque  "  Harriet  "  was  wrecked  near 
Cape  Egmdnt.  The  troops  employed  (besides  the  sailors)  were  sixty- 
five  men  of  the  5oth  Regiment,  under  Captain  Johnson.  On  the  8th 
October  the  forces  landed  on  the  beach  near  Waimate  pa,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Kapuni  River,  and  fired  heavily  on  the  Maoris  after  securing 
the  remaining  child,  little  Jack  Guard.  A  British  flag  of  truce  was  flying  at 
the  time,  but  the  troops  got  out  of  hand.  After  the  sharp  skirmishing  the 
force  escaladed  the  evacuated  hill-fort  Waimate,  which  had  been  shelled  on  the 
ist  October,  and  also  captured  the  pa  Orangi-tuapeka,  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  Kapuni.  On  the  nth  October  both  fortified  villages  were  destroyed. 

The  first  British  troops  stationed  in  New  Zealand  were  100  men  of 
the  8oth  Regiment,  under  Major  Bunbury,  who  arrived  at  Auckland  from 
Sydney  in  1840. 

In  1842,  as  the  result  of  an  outbreak  of  war  between  the  Ngai-te-Rangi 
and  Arawa  Tribes  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty — an  aftermath,  by  a  curious  chain 
of  circumstances,  of  Taraia's  cannibal  raid  on  Ongare,  Whanake's  pa  on 
Katikati  Harbour — a  military  expedition  was  despatched  from  Auckland  to 
Tauranga.  Two  traders'  boats  had  been  seized,  and  as  one  of  these  was 
retained  by  the  Arawa,  of  Maketu,  it  was  proposed  to  attack  that  pa. 
Major  Bunbury  took  fifty  of  his  men,  and  was  given  three  guns  from  H.M.S. 
"  Tortoise,"  a  store-ship  loading  kauri  spars  at  the  Great  Barrier.  The 
Government  brig  "Victoria"  landed  the  small  force  at  the  entrance  to 
Tauranga  Harbour,  and  Bunbury  encamped  at  Hopu-kiore,  a  short  distance 
east  of  Mount  Maunganui.  Several  weeks  were  spent  there  quietly,  and 
then  the  expedition  was  withdrawn,  after  serving  as  a  kind  of  buffer  between 
the  two  tribes,  which  presently  made  peace.  Lieutenant  Bennett,  R.E., 
tiad  shortly  before  this  examined  and  reported  on  a  number  of  the  Maori 
"ortified  positions  at  and  around  Tauranga. 


(Chapter  IV.) 
THE  FALL  OF  KORORAREKA. 

The  authorities  in  Kororareka  had  timely  warning  of  Heke's  intended 
attack,  but  failed  to  profit  by  it.  On  the  evening  of  the  loth  March  Mr. 
Gilbert  Mair  came  across  from  Wahapu  to  Kororareka  in  his  boat  and 
earned  the  Police  Magistrate  (Mr.  Beckham)  that  Heke  intended  attack- 
mg  the  town  and  the  flagstaff  next  morning  with  four  or  five  divisions. 
?vlr.  Mair's  information  was  based  upon  an  announcement  made  by  Heke 
]  dmself  ;  the  Ngapuhi  warriors  had  been  assembling  near  Mair's  place  at 
Wahapu  for  three  or  four  days  previously.  Heke  invariably  let  his  inten- 
tions be  known,  and  invariably  carried  them  out.  Archdeacon  Williams 
wrote  to  the  Magistrate  on  the  same  day,  saying,  "  I  understand  that  the 
natives  intend  to  make  their  attack  in  four  divisions."  In  spite  of  these 
warnings,  however,  the  surprise  of  the  flagstaff  blockhouse  was  complete. 

1 6* 


432  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

(Chapter  IX.) 
THE  CAPTURE  OF  RUA-PEKAPEKA. 

It  is  said  that  the  principal  damage  to  the  smashed  carronade  (sketch, 
p.  75)  mounted  by  Kawiti  in  Rua-pekapeka  pa  was  caused  many  years  after 
the  war  by  some  Europeans  who  amused  themselves  by  exploding  a  charge 
of  blasting-powder  in  it. 

(Chapter  X.) 
THE  NEW  ZEALAND  COMPANY'S  PURCHASES,  WELLINGTON. 

In  the  Land  Claims  Court  held  at  Wellington  in  1842  by  Mr.  Spain, 
the  Imperial  Government's  Commissioner,  Colonel  Wakefield  was  asked, 
"  Was  it  explained  to  the  natives  before  they  signed  the  deed  that  they 
were  selling  their  pas,  burying-grounds,  and  cultivated  lands  contained 
within  the  boundaries  specified  in  the  deed  ?  " 

The  answer  was  :  "  The  expression  made  use  of  was  that  they  were 
selling  all  the  land  within  those  boundaries,  but  that  reserves  would  be 
made  for  them  ;  there  was  no  special  mention  made  as  to  their  pas,  burial- 
grounds,  and  cultivated  lands." 

Mr.  Spain,  in  his  report  on  the  Port  Nicholson  lands  (ist  March,  1845), 
criticized  the  manner  in  which  the  deed  had  been  interpreted  to  the  Maoris 
by  Richard  Barrett.  Spain  asked  Barrett  to  give  exactly  the  terms  in 
which  he  had  explained  to  the  natives  the  deed  of  purchase  by  the  Company. 
He  did  so  in  Maori,  which  was  translated  literally  into  English  by  the  Court 
interpreter,  as  follows  : — 

"  Listen,  natives,  all  the  people  of  Port  Nicholson.  This  is  a  paper 
respecting  the  purchase  of  land  of  yours.  This  paper  has  the  names  of  all 
the  places  of  Port  Nicholson.  Understand,  this  is  a  good  book.  Listen, 
the  whole  of  you  natives  to  write  your  names  in  this  book  ;  and  the  names 
of  the  places  are  Tararua  [continuing  on  to  the  other  side  of  Port  Nicholson, 
to  the  name  Parangarahu].  This  is  a  book  of  the  names  of  the  channels 
and  the  woods,  and  the  whole  of  them  to  write  in  this  book,  people  and 
children,  the  land  to  '  Wideawake.'  When  people  arrive  from  England 
it  will  show  you  your  part,  the  whole  of  you." 

Barrett  was  afterwards  asked,  "  Did  you  tell  the  natives  who  signed 
the  deed  that  one-tenth  of  the  land  described  should  be  reserved  for  the 
use  of  themselves  and  their  families,  or  simply  that  the  Europeans  should 
have  one  portion  of  the  land  and  the  natives  the  other  portion  ?  "  His 
answer  was,  "  No,  I  did  not  tell  them  that  they  would  get  one-tenth  ;  I 
said  they  were  to  get  a  certain  portion  of  the  land  described,  without 
describing  what  that  portion  was." 

"  It  appears  to  me,"  wrote  Mr.  Spain,  "  that  this  interpretation  in 
explanation  was  not  calculated  to  explain  to  the  natives  who  were  parties 
to  the  purchase-deed  a  correct  idea  of  what  lands  that  instrument  purported 
to  convey,  or  of  the  nature  or  extent  of  the  reserves  that  had  been  made 
for  their  benefit,  and  this  will  in  a  great  measure  account  for  the  very 
determined  manner  in  which  the  natives  generally  in  the  district  opposed 
the  occupation  of  the  lands  by  the  Europeans,  and  denied  the  sale  to 
Colonel  Wakefield  from  the  earliest  period  to  the  arrival  of  the  settlers." 

THE  KARORI  SETTLEMENT,  WELLINGTON. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Judge  H.  S. 
Chapman,  Wellington,  24th  July,  1846,  to  his  father  in  England  : — 

"  The  attack  on  the  camp  at  the  Hutt  produced  a  good  deal  of  alarm 
among  the  settlers,  even  in  the  town  and  elsewhere,  and  for  several  days 
even  our  quite  neighbourhood  [KaroriJ  was  agitated.  A  body  of  thirty- 
two  Militia  was  enrolled  ;  twelve  armed  police  were  sent  up,  and  other 


APPENDICES.  433 

preparations  made  to  prevent  surprise  and  repel  attack.  This  was  some- 
thing, though  not  so  well  done  as  it  might  have  been.  Some  of  the  settlers 
went  into  town,  but  we  did  not  see  any  reason  for  so  doing  until  a6th  May, 
when  I  received  an  especial  warning  from  Moturoa,  a  friendly  chief  of  the 
Mgati-Awa,  and  from  Hemi,  another  of  the  same  tribe,  that  I  had  better 
,*o  into  town,  as  it  had  certainly  been  determined  in  Rangihaeata's  pa 
to  attack  Karori.  I  have  since  learned  that  this  was  true — that  it  was 
discussed  whether  the  attacks  should  be  confined  to  the  Hutt  or  be  extended 
elsewhere,  and  Rangihaeata  said  it  should  be  at  Karori.  I  believe  his 
policy  was  to  send  out  parties  of  ten  or  twelve  to  plunder  and  murder  in 
different  directions,  but  I  believe  he  has  been  restrained  by  the  weakness 
of  his  own  force,  by  the  preparations  everywhere  made,  and  by  the  opposi- 
tion of  his  own  followers.  This  last  may  be  attributed  to  native  custom 
being  in  favour  of  attacks  on  the  Hutt,  where  he  had  a  real  quarrel  and  a 
real  claim  for  satisfaction  (utu),  whereas  he  has  no  such  claim  elsewhere . 
Rauparaha  claimed  the  merit  of  this,  and  I  think  it  not  unlikely  that  he 
may  have  used  his  influence  in  that  direction,  but  I  believe  the  chief  opposi- 
tion was  within  the  pa  Wai-taingi-nui  [Paua-taha-nui] .  I  know  for  certain 
that  there  is  an  old  chief  of  the  Ngati-Toa  called  Te  Ra-ka-herea  who  joined 
his  relation  Rangihaeata  from  what  the  Natives  called  whakama — "  cause 
(to  be)  white,"  or  shame — that  is,  because  all  his  relations  being  with  Rangi, 
he  felt  whakama  at  not  being  with  them  ;  but  being  at  the  same  time  not 
ill-disposed  towards  the  pakehas,  he  has  acted  as  a  bridle  on  Rangi's  angry 
passions. 

"  Karori  is  certainly  the  least  likely  place  for  an  attack.  It  is  far  from 
Rangi's  pa — the  military  station  is  between  it  and  Karori  in  one  direction, 
and  other  difficulties  intervene  ;  still,  I  thought  a  diversion  might  be  made 
here  simultaneously  with  an  attack  on  the  Hutt.  Then,  all  the  settlers  rely 
on  me,  and  as  I  could  not  be  sure  that  we  were  secure  I  could  not  feel 
j  ustified  in  lulling  the  people  into  a  feeling  of  security  which  might  be 
fallacious.  I  therefore  told  all  the  settlers  to  send  the  women  and  children 
into  town,  which  was  done,  and  we  followed  in  the  evening." 

A  party  of  sailors  from  H.M.S.  "  Calliope  "  went  out  to  Karori  to 
protect  the  property  of  Judge  Chapman  and  other  settlers. 


(Chapter  XII.) 
FORT  PAREMATA,  PORIRUA. 

The  stone  barracks,  two-storeyed,  at  Paremata,  near  the  entrance  to 
I'orirua  Harbour,  were  built  1846-47,  and  were  enclosed  in  a  stockade 
extending  to  the  waterfront.  The  earthquakes  of  1848  and  1855  reduced 
tile  building  to  a  ruinous  condition.  It  originally  had  one  or  more  small 
cannon  mounted  for  a  time  on  its  turrets  or  flanking  works.  The  remains 
of  the  lower  walls  are  to  be  seen  from  the  railway-line  at  the  Paremata 
Bridge  over  the  entrance  to  Paua-taha-nui  Inlet. 


(Chapter  XIV.) 
THE  NAME  "  WANGANUI." 

"  Whanganui,"  meaning  the  great  bay  or  estuary,  referring  to  the 
irouth  of  the  river,  is  the  correct  spelling  of  the  name  usually  now  written 
"  Wanganui."  An  alternative  traditional  meaning  is  "  the  place  of  long- 
waiting,"  in  allusion  to  the  necessity  of  waiting  for  low  tide  before  crossing 
at  the  mouth.  The  "  h  "  has  been  dropped  in  common  usage,  and  it  has 
therefore  been  deemed  best  to  follow  in  this  History  the  modern  spelling  in 
n  spect  of  the  town  and  the  river.  The  original  form  "  Whanganui,"  however, 
has  been  retained  when  referring  to  the  Maori  tribes  of  the  district. 


434  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

(Chapter  XVI.) 
THE  MAORI  KING  MOVEMENT. 

Bishop  G.  A.  Selwyn  strongly  sympathized  with  the  Maori  aspirations 
for  self-government,  which  he  considered  were  an  indication  of  a  desire 
for  a  better  kind  of  government  than  that  which  they  had.  He  thought 
the  Maoris'  desires  might  have  been  directed  into  lawful  channels.  "  I 
never  knew  or  read  of  any  people/'  he  told  a  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  1863,  "  so  entirely  desirous  of  law  as  the  New-Zealanders." 
In  1860  Selwyn  had  sent  Governor  Gore  Browne  a  memorandum  in  which 
he  made  the  following  important  suggestions  embodying  a  large  measure 
of  home  rule  for  the  Maoris  : — 

"  If  the  central  district  of  the  northern  Island,  including  Waikato, 
Taupo,  Rotorua,  Opotiki,  Waiapu,  and  Poverty  Bay,  were  formed  into 
one  or  more  provinces,  a  simple  system  of  elective  and  representative 
government,  under  immediate  sanction  of  the  Governor,  might  probably 
be  brought  into  operation.  The  form  of  government,  as  in  the  Swiss 
cantons,  need  not  be  in  all  parts  exactly  the  same,  but  might  be  adapted 
to  the  wishes  and  customs  of  particular  tribes,  provided  that  in  all  cases 
two  fundamental  points  were  adhered  to — that  the  chief  magistrates  and 
councillors  should  be  recommended  by  the  tribe  and  confirmed  by  the 
Governor,  and  that  all  regulations  made  by  them  should  require  the 
Governor's  assent.  It  would  probably  be  found  possible  to  bring  these 
chief  magistrates  together  in  a  general  council,  and  many  regulations 
made  at  such  a  meeting  and  assented  to  by  the  Governor  might  be  held 
to  be  binding  upon  all  the  tribes.  This  system  ought  to  rest  at  first  upon 
voluntary  compact,  and  rather  to  be  offered  as  a  boon  than  enforced 
by  authority,  because  while  the  native  people  are  thirsting  for  better 
government  they  are  not  without  fear  of  oppression.  The  tone  of  some 
of  the  English  newspapers  has  given  them  sufficient  reason  to  expect  the 
usual  fate  of  a  race  assumed  to  be  inferior." 

Selwyn,  reviewing  this  proposal  after  three  years,  considered  that  such 
a  scheme  of  government  might  either  have  absorbed  the  King  move- 
ment or  have  allowed  it  to  remain  standing  by  itself  in  the  midst  of  other 
and  better  systems  carried  on  under  the  direction  of  the  Government. 
He  thought  the  Maori  could  have  been  moulded  easily  into  any  system 
that  would  elevate  the  race  and  tend  to  union  and  social  amalgamation 
with  the  Europeans.  It  was  most  essential  that  there  should  be  tribunals 
for  land  ;  without  them  no  system  of  government  would  be  useful. 

Sir  George  Grey  accepted  some  of  Selwyn's  ideas,  and  on  his  last 
visit  to  Ngaruawahia  before  the  war,  when  he  met  the  principal  Kingite 
chiefs,  with  the  exception  of  Tawhiao  and  Rewi,  propounded  a  scheme  of 
self-government  in  a  last  effort  to  reconcile  the  two  races.  Grey  sum- 
marized the  proposals  in  these  words  in  a  despatch  some  years  after  the 
war  (ayth  October,  1869)  to  Earl  Granville,  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies  : — 

"  Whilst  large  bodies  of  troops  were  in  the  country,  and  before  the 
war  commenced,  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Waikato  tribes,  who  I  believed  were 
resolved  upon  a  formidable  outbreak.  The  whole  of  their  principal  chiefs 
met  me,  with  the  exception  of  the  Maori  King,  who  was  ill ;  and  I,  to 
those  chiefs,  with  the  full  consent  of  my  responsible  advisers,  offered  to 
constitute  all  the  Waikato  and  Ngati-Maniapoto  country  a  separate  pro- 
vince, which  would  have  the  right  of  electing  its  own  Superintendent,  its 
own  Legislature,  and  of  choosing  its  own  Executive  Government — and, 
in  fact,  would  have  had  practically  the  same  powers  and  rights  as  any 
State  of  the  United  States  has  now.  There  could  hardly  have  been  a  more 
ample  and  complete  recognition  of  Maori  authority,  as  the  W7aikato 
tribes  would  within  their  own  district — a  very  large  one — have  had  the 
exclusive  control  and  management  of  their  own  affairs.  This  offer  was. 


APPENDICES.  435 

nowever,  after  full  discussion  and  consideration,  refused,  on  the  ground 
:hey  would  accept  no  offer  that  did  not  involve  an  absolute  recognition 
of  the  Maori  King  and  his  and  their  entire  independence  from  the  Crown 
of  England — terms  which  no  subject  had  power  to  grant,  and  which  could 
lot  have  been  granted  without  creating  worse  evils  than  those  which  their 
refusal  involved." 

THE  CHOOSING  OF  THE  MAORI  KING. 

The  following  is  an  account  from  native  sources  describing  the  efforts 
of  the  Maori  kingmakers  to  find  a  chief  willing  to  take  the  office  of  head 
of  the  confederation  of  tribes.  It  differs  in  some  details  from  and  amplifies 
the  narrative  in  Chapter  XVI  ;  it  is  interesting  also  for  its  picturesque 
Maori  idioms  and  proverbial  expressions. 

Tamehana  te  Rauparaha,  after  his  voyage  to  England,  pondered  over 
•the  question  of  the  good  government  of  the  Maori  people,  and  formed  the 
belief  that  they  would  be  benefited  by  the  setting-up  of  a  King.  He  sug- 
gested to  his  cousin,  Matene  te  Whiwhi,  that  they  should  search  for  a 
King  for  the  tribes.  This  was  in  1851  52.  They  went  to  the  Whanganui 
and  made  their  proposal  to  the  chief  Te  Anaua,  but  he  was  unwilling 
lo  take  the  kingship,  and  said,  "  Inland  yonder  is  Ruapehu  the  mountain; 
there  is  Turoa  the  man."  So  the  delegates  went  up  the  river  and  placed 
1heir  request  before  Pehi  Turoa,  the  high  chief  of  the  Upper  Whanganui 
tribes.  Turoa  in  his  turn  indicated  the  ariki  of  the  Ngati-Tuwharetoa 
Tribe,  of  Taupo,  by  quoting  the  proverbial  saying,  "  Ko  Tongariro  te 
Maunga,  ko  Taupo  "te  Moana,  ko  Te  Heuheu  te  Tangata "  ("  Tongariro 
is  the  Mountain,  Taupo  is  the  Sea,  Te  Heuheu  is  the  Man  ").  Tamehana 
and  Matene  therefore  travelled  to  the  south  end  of  Lake  Taupo  and 
interviewed  Te  Heuheu  Iwikau.  He,  too,  declined,  saying  it  was  impos- 
sible for  him  to  be  King ;  he  had  only  a  small  tribe.  He  suggested 
the  great  East  Coast  chief  Te  Kani-a-Takirau  as  a  suitable  King.  The 
request  was  made  to  Te  Kani,  who  replied  to  the  purport  that  he  did  not 
•\vant  any  foreign  titles ;  he  was  ariki  in  his  own  domains. 

Next  the  offer  was  made  to  Te  Amohau^  of  the  Arawa,  but  the  chief 
Moko-nui-a-rangi  of  that  tribe  objected,  saying,  "  If  Te  Amohau  is  a  king, 
then  I  am  a  king  too." 

The  delegates  had  also  been  to  Taranaki.  and  had  met  with  a  refusal 
from  Te  Hanataua,  chief  of  Ngati-Ruanui.  So  they  were  in  a  dilemma  ; 
ro  one  wanted  to  be  King. 

At  length  (1856)  a  large  meeting  was  held  at  Taupo,  and  was  attended 
by  representatives  of  all  the  tribes.  Matene  te  Whiwhi  in  an  oration 
unfolded  his  final  proposal  in  the  eloquent  and  figurative  manner  of  the 
Maori.  "  I  look  far  over  the  sea  to  the  south,"  he  said,  "  and  what  do  I 
see  ?  Mountains  covered  with  snow  and  ice.  I  turn  and  gaze  across  the 
land  to  the  east  and  what  do  I  behold  but  cabbage-trees  ?  [An  allusion  to 
the  Kaingaroa  Plain.]  I  turn  my  eyes  to  the  belly  of  the  Fish  of  Maui 
[TaupoJ  ;  I  see  nought  but  the  little  kokopu  fish  and  the  crayfish  that 
\valks  backwards  (te  koura  hoki  whakamuri) .  I  turn  to  the  west  and  look 
over  the  forests  to  Taranaki.  I  see  there  but  broken  ropes  (taura  motu- 
r.iotu) .  [Meaning,  the  tribes  of  that  district  were  suffering  from  wars  and 
disunion.]  I  look  far  northward  ;  I  see  there  a  leaking  house.  Now," 
cieclared  Matene,  making  his  point  and  climax,  "  I  turn  my  eyes  to  Waikato. 
I  behold  Waikato  Taniwha-rau,  Waikato  of  whose  river  it  is  said,  '  He  piko 
he  taniwha;  he  piko  he  taniwha  '  ('Waikato  of  a  hundred  dragons;  Waikato 
•whose  every  bend  holds  a  water  monster — i.e.,  a  strong  and  numerous  tribe, 
vdth  many  great  chiefs').  Yonder  is  the  man  who  should  be  King  of  the 
Maori  people." 

Such  was  the  manner  in  which  Matene  directed  the  attention  of  the 
tdbes  to  Potatau  te  Wherowhero,  the  warrior  chief  of  Waikato,  and  soon 
thereafter  Potatau  was  chosen  as  King. 


436  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

At  the  great  ceremonial  meeting  at  Ngaruawahia  (1858)  for  the  pur- 
pose of  installing  Potatau  as  King,  Iwikau  te  Heuheu  and  Wiremu  Tame- 
hana  Tarapipipi  te  Waharoa  were  the  inducting  high  chiefs.  The  solemn  rite 
of  making  the  old  warrior  King  of  the  Maori  Kotahitanga  took  this  form  :  — 

Iwikau  said  :  "  Potatau,  this  day  I  create  you  King  of  the  Maori 
people.  You  and  Queen  Victoria  shall  be  bound  together  to  be  one  (pai- 
heretia  kia  kotaki).  The  religion  of  Christ  shall  be  the  mantle  of  your 
protection ;  the  law  shall  be  the  whariki  mat  for  your  feet,  for  ever  and 
ever  onward  "  (ake,  ake  tonu  atu). 

"  Ae,"  replied  Potatau.  *'  Yes,  I  agree,  for  ever  and  ever  onward." 
And  the  aged  warrior  King  continued  :  "  Koiahi  te  kohao  o  te  ngira  e 
kuhuna  ai  te  miro  ma,  te  miro  pango,  te  miro  whero  "  ("  There  is  but  one  eye 
of  the  needle,  through  which  the  white,  the  black,  and  the  red  threads  must 
pass  "). 

This  declaration  was  succeeded  by  the  anointing  after  the  Scriptural 
manner.  Wiremu  Tamehana  poured  the  oil  on  Potatau 's  head,  and  all 
the  people  bowed  their  heads  three  times  in  obeisance  at  the  call,  "  Whaka- 
honare  ki  te  Kingi  "  ("  Do  honour  to  the  King"). 

This  narrative  attests  the  altruistic  aims  of  the  kingmakers.  They 
sought  a  head  to  bind  the  tribes  together  for  the  national  betterment,  in 
amity  with  the  white  Queen,  and  Potatau  himself  was  anxious  to  continue 
his  long  friendship  with  the  pakeha  people. 


(Chapter  XVII.) 
THE  WAITARA  PURCHASE. 

Sir  George  Grey,  Governor,  in  his  despatches  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  the  Colonies,  strongly  criticized  the  methods  of  a  previous  Administra- 
tion in  forcibly  dispossessing  Wiremu  Kingi  and  other  owners  of  the  disputed 
Pekapeka  Block,  Waitara,  and  detailed  the  reasons  for  the  renunciation  of  the 
attempted  purchase.  Writing  on  the  24th  April,  1863,  he  said  :  "  My  settled 
conviction  is  that  the  natives  of  the  Waitara  are  in  the  main  right  in  their 
allegations  regarding  the  Waitara  purchase,  and  that  it  ought  not  to  be  gone 
on  with.  ...  It  does  not  involve  any  new  acquisition  of  territory 
for  Her  Majesty  and  the  Empire."  The  Queen  had  no  legal  title  to  the 
land,  and  it  seemed  more  than  doubtful  if  such  a  title  could  ever  be  given 
to  her;  and  the  block  had  never  been  paid  for.  Teira  Manuka  had  only 
received  a  deposit  of  ^100,  and  this  the  Government  decided  to  relinquish. 

In  further  despatches  and  minutes  the  Governor  said  that  Wiremu 
Kingi's  own  home  at  Te  Kuikui  pa  and  the  homes  of  two  hundred  of  his 
people  were  destroyed  by  the  troops  in  1860  ;  the  houses  and  the  surrounding 
cultivations  were  burned.  The  Waitara  owners  thereupon  retaliated  by 
burning  an  exactly  corresponding  number  of  European  settlers'  houses. 

"  Ought  Her  Majesty,"  Sir  George  Grey  asked  in  a  memorandum,  "  to 
make  such  a  purchase  in  which  she  gained  for  an  inconsiderable  sum  a 
property  worth  much  more,  and  acquired  against  their  will  and  consent 
the  homes  of  more  than  two  hundred  of  her  subjects,  which  they  had 
occupied  in  peace  and  happiness  for  years,  and  who  were  not  even  accused 
of  any  crime  against  Her  Majesty  or  her  laws,  but  some  of  whom  had,  on 
the  contrary,  risked  their  lives  in  rendering  her  service  in  former  wars  ? 

The  Governor  further  showed  that  the  forcible  occupation  of  the 
Pekapeka  Block  in  1860  had  convinced  the  Maoris  that  a  new  system  of 
obtaining  lands  was  to  be  established,  and  that  they  would  all  be  despoiled 
like  Waitara  if  they  did  not  make  general  resistance.  They  became  con- 
vinced that  their  destruction  was  decided  upon,  and  thus  there  arose  an 
almost  universal  belief  that  the  struggle  was  one  for  house  and  home. 
Hence  the  wrong  done  the  natives  by  the  seizure  of  the  Waitara  land  was 
the  cause  of  other  wars. 


APPENDICES.  437 

Chapter  XXVI. 
THE  GOVERNMENT'S  APPEAL  TO  THE  NGATI-WHATUA  TRIBE  (1860). 

A  hitherto  unchronicled  incident  in  the  early  stages  of  the  Government's 
quarrel  with  the  Waikato  tribes  was  the  despatch  of  Mr.  S.  Percy  Smith 
(afterwards  Surveyor-General)  to  the  Kaipara  district  in  order  to  enlist 
i.he  assistance  of  the  Ngati-Whatua  Tribe.  Mr.  Smith  was  well  acquainted 
\vith  these  people,  having  been  surveying  in  the  Kaipara  and  Northern 
Wairoa  districts  in  1859-60.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  MS. 
journal  of  reminiscences  (furnished  by  his  son,  Mr.  M.  Crompton  Smith,  Chief 
Draughtsman,  Survey  Department)  : — 

"  At  the  time  of  my  return  to  town  (from  survey  work  at  the  Kaipara) 
rhere  was  considerable  anxiety  in  Auckland  on  account  of  the  Waikato 
tribes,  which,  it  had  been  reported,  were  about  to  make  a  descent  on  the 
city  and  drive  the  white  people  into  the  sea.  Most  of  the  troops  were  in 
Taranaki,  and  the  forces  to  oppose  such  a  raid  were  composed  of  the 
Volunteers  and  Militia,  only  partially  trained.  It  was  therefore  decided 
10  send  for  the  Orakei  and  Kaipara  people  (Ngati-Whatua)  to  come  to  the 
defence  of  the  city.  As  I  knew  the  people  well  by  this  time,  it  was  thought 
J  was  the  best  messenger  to  fetch  them.  On  the  4th  April,  1860,  therefore, 
1  received  instructions  to  return  to  Kaipara  with  all  possible  speed  and 
bring  the  people  in  at  once.  They  were  then  assembled  at  Northern  Wairoa, 
engaged  in  peacemaking  with  Nga-Puhi.  An  hour  after  receiving  my 
instructions  I  was  away  up  the  Wai-te-mata  with  three  Maoris  on  this 
business.  We  travelled  on  over  the  portage  through  the  night,  arriving 
«-.t  Kapoai,  a  native  village  on  the  upper  Kaipara,  at  3  a.m.,  and,  as  soon 
as  the  tide  served,  started  down  the  river  for  the  Wairoa.  I  remember 
we  all  fell  asleep  on  the  way,  but  there  was  only  a  slight  breeze,  so  no 
harm  befell  us.  When  we  arrived  at  Tauhara  we  found  all  the  natives  had 
{..one  on  to  Te  Kopuru,  some  forty  miles  up  the  river,  where  I  found  them 
<  ncamped,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Kopuru  sawmills.  In  addition  to 
i  bout  four  hundred  Ngati-Whatua,  there  were  some  two  hundred  Nga- 
Puhi,  and  they  had  built  a  square  of  temporary  huts  and  tents  with  a 
large  open  space  in  the  centre  for  speeches  and  war- dances. 

"  As  soon  as  I  arrived  I  was  seated  on  a  stool  in  the  centre  of  this 
square,  where  the  letter  from  the  Government  was  read  and  I  had  to  explain 
the  necessity  for  the  Auckland  tribes  returning  at  once  to  assist  in  the 
(  efence  of  the  city.  But  they  did  not  appear  in  any  hurry,  and  declared 
that  they  could  not  leave  till  they  had  concluded  the  peace  with  Nga-Puhi, 
i  11  of  which  was  very  annoying  to  me,  as  I  had  to  impress  them  to  make 
ill  haste  back.  Otherwise  this  great  meeting  was  very  interesting  to  me, 
i3r  it  was  held  with  all  the  formality  of  ancient  times — long  speeches,  war- 
c  ances,  and  all  kinds  of  old  ceremonies,  not  the  least  interesting  of  which 
v/ere  the  hari-tuku-kai,  or  songs  and  dances  of  the  women  and  young  men 
ss  they  advanced  into  the  square,  bringing  the  baskets  of  food  held  in 
their  hands  above  their  heads.  My  tent  was  pitched  in  the  square,  and 
generally  one  of  the  chiefs  sat  with  me  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the 
\arious  speeches  and  ceremonies.  It  was  not  until  the  nth  that  peace  was 
made*  and  we  all  left,  the  Nga-Puhi  going  up  the  river,  and  the  rest  of  us 
clown  stream  to  Tauhara  ;  and  a  very  fine  sight  it  was  to  see  our  flotilla 
of  about  thirty  boats  and  several  fine  war-canoes  under  sail.  We  were 
cietained  there  by  bad  weather  until  the  i8th,  for  the  crossing  inside 
Kaipara  Heads  is  only  to  be  undertaken  in  fine  weather  ;  it  is  so  dangerous 
a  place  owing  to  the  heavy  seas  which  get  up.  It  was  not  till  the  2oth 
tliat  we  arrived  in  town,  and  then  most  of  my  relieving  force  had  melted 
away.  Luckily  the  Waikato  tribes  had  changed  their  minds  and  gone 
home,  and  so  ended  my  urgent  trip  to  fetch  help  to  Auckland. 

"  Had  the  necessity  arisen  there  is  no  doubt  the  Ngati-Whatua  Tribe 
vould  willingly  have  fought  against  their  old  enemies  the  Waikato.  And. 


438  NEW  ZEALAND  WARS. 

moreover,  this  tribe  felt  a  kind  of  responsibility  for  the  safety  of  the 
pakeha,  for  after  a  great  meeting  at  Okahu  (Orakei,  on  Auckland  Harbour) 
they  had  sent  an  emissary  to  the  Bay  of  Islands,  to  Governor  Hobson, 
inviting  him  to  occupy  their  country  on  the  Isthmus  of  Auckland,  and  form 
his  seat  of  Government  there.  [This  was  in  the  beginning  of  1841  ;  the 
Auckland  Settlement  had  already  been  established,  but  the  seat  of  Govern- 
ment was  still  at  the  Bay  of  Islands.]  It  was  not  entirely  an  unselfish 
offer  on  their  part,  for  the  Tamaki  Isthmus  had  been  the  constant  highway 
of  hostile  war-parties  both  from  north  and  south  for  ages  past,  and  they 
thought  that  if  they  could  get  the  white  man  to  settle  there  these  hostile 
incursions  would  cease,  which  in  fact  they  did,  for  ever.  In  these  raids 
Ngati-Whatua  always  suffered." 

(Chapter  XXVII.) 
THE  WELLINGTON  DISTRICT  AND  DEFENCES  (1863). 

Just  before  the  British  troops  crossed  the  Waikato  border  river,  the 
Manga-tawhiri  (July,  1863),  a  letter  was  sent  by  Taati  te  Waru  and 
Porokoru  Titipa,  two  of  the  leading  chiefs  of  Upper  Waikato  (at  Rangiao- 
whia  and  Te  Awamutu),  to  the  tribes  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  Island 
inviting  them  to  join  in  the  general  war  against  the  Europeans.  The  tiibes 
addressed  were  Ngati-Kahungunu,  Te  Atiawa,  and  Ngati-Raukawa,  inhabit- 
ing the  districts  from  the  Wairarapa  and  Manawatu  to  Otaki  and  Waikanae  ; 
the  chiefs  named  included  Ngairo,  of  the  Wairarapa,  and  Wi  Tako  Ngatata, 
an  erstwhile  supporter  of  the  Government,  at  Waikanae.  The  letter,  which 
had  been  discussed  at  a  meeting  of  the  runanga  in  the  Ngati-Maniapoto 
meeting-house  "  Hui-te-Rangiora,"  at  Kihikihi,  invited  the  southern  Maoris 
to  consider  whether  they  should  not  follow  Waikato' s  example  and  "  sweep 
clean  the  fronts  of  your  houses  " — in  other  words,  rise  against  the  pakeha. 
The  writers  quoted  Rewi's  favourite  war-song,  which  he  either  chanted  or 
sent  in  writing  on  his  Kingite  recruiting  missions,  the  ancient  ngeri  begin- 
ning "  Puhi  kura,  puhi  kura,  puhi  kaka  "  ("Red  plumes,  red  plumes,  plumes 
of  the  kaka  "),  and  ending  with  an  injunction  to  "  grasp  firm  your  weapons — 
strike."  The  "  red  plumes "  were  now  interpreted  as  referring  to  the 
uniforms  of  the  soldiers.  , 

The  call  to  arms  excited  sympathy  among  some  of  the  Ngati-Kahungunu, 
and  a  critical  situation  existed  in  the  Wairarapa  until  Dr.  Featherston, 
Superintendent  of  the  Province  of  Wellington,  assisted  by  Major  Gorton, 
commanding  the  Militia,  took  measures  to  arm  the  white  residents. 
Volunteer  Rifle  Corps  were  quickly  sworn  in  at  Greytown,  Carterton,  and 
Masterton,  and  stockades  were  begun  at  Masterton  and  Carterton. 

It  had  been  reported  that  the  Ngati-Kahungunu  intended  to  march 
over  the  Rimutaka  Range  and  attack  the  Hutt  settlements.  The  prompt 
defence  arrangements  overawed  the  Kingite  section  of  the  Wairarapa 
natives.  The  Kingites  had  urged  Wi  Tako  Ngatata,  of  Waikanae,  to 
attack  the  settlement  at  Paua-taha-nui,  but  he  gave  information  to  the 
Government  side,  and  declined  to  fall  in  with  the  war-party's  scheme, 
although  he  was  a  sympathiser  with  the  King  movement.  A  detachment 
of  mounted  troops  (Colonial  Defence  Force)  was  stationed  at  Paua-taha-nui. 

The  Upper  Hutt  had  been  provided  with  a  fortified  post  in  the 
beginning  of  1861.  This  was  a  stockade  and  ditch,  with  a  two-storeyed 
timber  blockhouse  forming  one  of  the  angle  bastions.  The  stockade  was 
constructed  on  McHardy's  Clearing,  between  the  present  sites  of  Wallace- 
ville  and  Trentham.  The  old  blockhouse  is  still  standing  ;  it  is  loopholed 
for  rifle-fire,  and  made  bullet-proof  in  the  usual  way  with  a  filling  of  gravel 
between  the  outside  wall  and  the  lining.  The  blockhouse  was  garrisoned 
on  occasions  in  the  "  sixties  "  by  the  Upper  Hutt  Militia,  who  were  chiefly 
bushmen  and  sawmill  workers.  A  similar  defensive  work  was  built,  at  the 
end  of  1860,  at  1he  Lower  Hutt,  near  the  bridge,  but  was  never  required. 


APPENDICES.  439 

(Chapter  XXVIII.) 
THE  NGATI-PAOA  INVASION  OF  AUCKLAND. 

Hori  Ngakapa  te  Whanaunga  (p.  249)  was  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
war-canoe  expedition  of  the  Ngati-Paoa  Tribe  to  Auckland  Town  in  1851 
in  order  to  exact  redress  for  the  wrongful  arrest  of  the  chief  Hoera,  due  to 
a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  police  when  he  went  to  inquire  into  the 
arrest  of  a  man  named  Ngawiki  for  theft.  The  Ngati-Paoa  settlements 
were  up  in  arms,  and  a  fleet  of  five  large  canoes  assembled  at  Te 
Huruhi,  Waiheke  Island.  This  fleet  consisted  of  canoes  from  Pukorokoro 
(Miranda),  Taupo  (Sandspit),  Waiari,  Wharekawa,  and  Te  Umu-puia  (Te 
Wairoa).  The  crews  were  composed  of  the  Tau-iwi,  Pakahorahora,  Ngati-Tai, 
and  Ngati- Whanaunga,  numbering  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
men.  Te  Puhata  commanded  the  Ngati-Paoa  hapus,  whilst  Ngati- Wha- 
naunga were  directed  by  young  Hori  Ngakapa  in  a  great  war-canoe 
called  "  Te  Waikohaere."  Haora  Tipa  came  in  command  of  the  "  Marama- 
rua,"  a  decorated  canoe  manned  by  fifty  paddlers.  Another  chief  was 
Aperahama  Pokai,  of  Pukorokoro.  The  flotilla,  augmented  by  several 
Waiheke  canoes,  swept  up  into  the  Waitemata  on  the  morning  of  the 
23rd  April,  1851,  and  the  crews  leaped  ashore  on  the  beach  at  Waipapa 
(Mechanics  Bay)  and  performed  a  great  war-dance  preparatory  to  demand- 
ing redress  for  the  insult  to  their  chief  (who  was  temporarily  under  the 
sacred  ban  of  tapu  when  he  was  roughly  handled  by  a  native  policeman). 
Warning,  however,  had  reached  Governor  Grey,  and  the  warriors  found 
themselves  faced  by  the  local  troops — the  58th  Regiment,  with  four  guns, 
and  the  Royal  New  Zealand  Fencibles — who  lined  Constitution  Hill  and 
the  Parnell  slopes  commanding  the  bay,  while  a  British  frigate,  H.M.S. 
"  Fly,"  dropped  down  the  harbour  and  anchored  off  Waipapa,  with  her 
guns  trained  on  the  beached  fleet  of  canoes. 

After  much  angry  argument  the  Maoris  obeyed  the  Governor's 
ultimatum,  and  with  heavy  labour  dragged  their  canoes  to  the  water — 
it  was  now  low  tide — and  paddled  down  the  harbour  for  Orakei  and  their 
homes.  Their  chiefs  later  made  formal  submission  to  the  Governor  and 
presented  him  with  several  greenstone  meres. 

Mr.  George  Graham  writes  that  this  incident  is  spoken  of  among  the 
Ngati-Paoa  as  "  Te  Toanga-roa "  ("The  Long  Hauling"),  in  reference  to 
the  dragging  of  the  canoes  from  high-water  mark  to  low  water  over  the 
mud-flats  of  Mechanics  Bay. 

THE  ROYAL  NEW  ZEALAND  FENCIBLES. 

The  corps  known  as  the  Royal  New  Zealand  Fencibles,  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing  note,  was  a  body  of  veteran  soldiers  converted  into  military 
settlers,  established  through  Governor  Grey's  efforts  as  a  protection  for 
the  southern  frontier  of  the  Auckland  Settlement.  It  consisted  of 
discharged  British  soldiers,  about  three-fourths  of  them  pensioners,  and 
all  men  of  approved  character  and  physique.  The  corps  was  enrolled  in 
England  in  1847.  The  term  of  service  in  New  Zealand  was  to  be  seven 
years  (most  of  the  soldiers  became  permanent  settlers)  ;  the  pay  was 
is.  3d.  per  day  in  addition  to  any  pension  ;  free  passages  were  granted 
to  New  Zealand  for  the  soldiers  and  their  wives  and  families ;  and  on 
arrival  in  the  colony  each  Fencible  was  given  possession  of  a  two-roomed 
cottage  and  an  acre  of  land,  already  partly  cleared  and  made  ready  for 
cultivation  ;  he  also  received  an  advance  for  furniture  and  stock.  The 
members  of  the  corps  were  required  to  attend  six  days'  drill  in  the  spring 
and  six  in  the  autumn,  and  to  attend  church  parade  every  Sunday,  fully 
armed,  for  inspection.  The  Commandant  (Major  Kenny)  was  paid  ^600 
per  annum,  and  two  captains  ^300  ;  each  officer  was  given  a  house  and 
50  acres  of  land.  The  discipline  and  drill  of  these  old  soldiers  were 


440  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

excellent.  The  Fencibles  included  veterans  of  the  wars  in  China  and 
Afghanistan  and  the  great  battles  in  India,  and  several  had  served  in  the 
British  Legion  enlisted  for  the  Carlist  War  in  Spain  in  1836.  The  settle- 
ments in  which  the  pensioners  were  established  were  Onehunga,  Otahuhu, 
Panmure,  and  Howick  ;  these  places  were  practically  founded  as  villages 
by  the  Fencibles.  Three  companies  were  given  land  at  Onehunga,  three 
at  Howick,  one  at  Otahuhu,  and  one  at  Panmure.  Not  only  did  they 
form  a  strong  wall  of  defence  for  Auckland  on  the  south,  covering  the 
routes  by  the  Tamaki  River  and  Manukau  Harbour,  but  they  provided 
a  much-needed  source  of  labour  for  the  farmers  on  the  outskirts. 


(Chapter  XXIX.) 
THE  FOREST  RANGERS  AND  THE  BOWIE-KNIFE. 

The  knife  with  which  Von  Tempsky's  (No.  2)  Company  of  the  Forest 
Rangers  was  armed,  1863-64  (pages  258-259),  was  somewhat  after  the 
pattern  of  the  bowie-knife  of  Texan  fame.  Many  stories  have  been  related 
as  to  the  origin  of  the  knife,  and  it  has  often  been  accredited  to  Colonel 
James  Bowie,  a  man  of  mark  on  the  old  Texas  and  Arkansas  frontier, 
U.S.A.  The  facts,  however,  as  related  recently  in  the  Arkansas  Gazette 
centennial  number  (quoted  in  the  Adventure  Magazine)  by  the  Hon.  D.  \V. 
Jones,  ex-Governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  show  that  James  Bowie  was 
not  the  inventor,  although  he  was  the  man  who  made  the  weapon  famous. 
The  first  maker  of  this  kind  of  knife  was  James  Black,  a  blacksmith,  gun- 
smith, and  cutler  in  the  frontier  town  of  Washington,  Arkansas.  He  was 
a  most  skilful  maker  of  hunting-knives,  and  his  weapons  were  celebrated 
for  their  fine  temper.  Black  appears  to  have  discovered  by  experiment 
the  secret  of  Damascus  steel.  About  1831  James  Bowie  gave  Black  an 
order  for  a  fighting-knife,  and  the  artificer  made  one  after  his  own  matured 
taste  in  point  of  size  and  shape.  Shortly  afterwards  Bowie  was  attacked 
by  three  desperadoes,  all  of  whom  he  killed  with  the  knife.  Black  there- 
after was  in  great  demand  as  a  maker  of  "  Bowie-knives." 

Colonel  J.  M.  Roberts,  N.Z.C.,  of  Rotorua,  states  that  the  knives 
were  made  in  Auckland  from  a  pattern  supplied  by  Von  Tempsky.  They 
were  rather  roughly  finished,  but  the  steel  was  good.  In  shape  the  weapon 
was  very  like  a  sheep-shears  blade ;  length  of  blade  about  9  inches,  width 
at  the  handle  end  about  2^  inches.  The  back  for  part  of  the  length  was 
about  J  inch  thick,  and  was  gradually  ground  to  a  fine  edge. 


(Chapter  XXXI.) 

ESCAPE    OF    THE    KOHERIKI    FROM    THE    WTAIROA    RANGES. 

The  venerable  Arawa  half-caste  woman  Heni  te  Kiri-karamu  (Heni 
Pore,  or  Jane  Foley),  of  Rotorua,  gave  the  writer  the  following  narrative 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  small  party  of  Kohoriki  with  whom  she  fought 
in  the  war  eluded  the  troops  in  the  redoubts  and  camps  forming  a  chain 
from  the  Thames  Gulf  to  the  Waikato  River  at  the  end  of  1863  : — 

"  After  the  surprise  and  defeat  of  some  of  our  people  by  Jackson's 
Forest  Rangers  in  the  Upper  Wairoa  bush  (i4th  December,  1863)  we  became 
very  cautious  in  our  movements,  and  anxious  to  make  our  way  to  the  main 
body  of  the  Kingites  in  the  Waikato.  The  soldiers  had  camps  and  redoubts 
in  the  Wairoa  Valley  and  along  the  western  side  of  the  ranges,  from 


APPENDICES.  441 

Papakura  southward,  and  a  chain  of  military  posts  was  established  from 
Pukorokoro  (the  Miranda),  on  the  Thames  Gulf,  across  to  the  Waikato 
River.  We  were  thus  hemmed  in  on  all  sides.  We  camped  for  some  time 
in  a  deep  valley  between  the  Mangatawhiri  and  the  Mangatangi  Streams, 
in  the  mountains  south-east  of  the  Wairoa.  We  were  afraid  even  to  light 
fires  for  cooking  or  to  warm  ourselves,  and  afraid,  too,  to  shoot  wild  pigs 
or  birds  for  food,  lest  the  sound  of  the  shots  would  bring  the  Rangers 
down  on  us.  We  scouted  cautiously  out  to  the  edge  of  the  forest  in  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Mangatawhiri,  and  there,  peering  through  the  trees, 
we  saw  the  white  tents  and  the  sentry  cordon  of  the  troops  barring  our 
way.  We  were  in  a  bad  way  now  for  food,  and  for  three  weeks  we  lived 
almost  entirely  on  wild  honey  and  cold  water.  Besides  my  mother  and 
my  children,  my  sister  Hera  (Sarah)  was  with  me  at  this  time  ;  we  had 
got  her  up  from  Taupo  village  (at  the  Sandspit)  to  help  me  with  the 
children.  One  of  the  Piri-Rakau  men  (there  were  two  or  three  with  us) 
also  assisted  us  in  carrying  the  little  ones  through  the  forest. 

"  It  was  now  decided  that  we  should  break  through  the  chain  of 
troops.  Two  of  our  best  men  were  sent  out  to  the  open  land  as  scouts, 
and  they  let  us  know  the  most  propitious  time  for  making  our  dash  through 
and  across  the  river  ahead  of  us  (the  Mangatangi).  There  was  a  log 
bridge  by  which  we  hoped  to  cross,  a  place  where  the  river  was  very 
deep  ;  it  consisted  of  two  or  three  trees  sawn  down,  squared,  and  thrown 
across  the  river.  Our  little  rearguard — the  two  men  who  had  gone  out 
scouting,  and  who  were  instructed  to  cut  down  the  bridge  after  we  had 
passed — had  a  perilous  post,  but  we  were  all  in  a  most  desperate  position. 
Once  we  crossed  the  river,  however,  we  would  be  safe.  We  made  our  escape 
in  the  night.  The  troops  lit  fires  in  the  fern  in  order  to  deter  us  from  passing 
through,  but  the  smoke  from  these  fires  screened  us  and  helped  our  safe 
passage.  We  passed  so  close  to  the  tents  that  we  could  hear  some  of  the 
soldiers  playing  an  accordion  and  laughing  and  talking.  [This  was  near 
the  Surrey  Redoubt.]  After  a  very  anxious  time,  during  which  we  kept 
strict  silence,  we  passed  the  sentry  lines  and  crossed  the  river  by  the  log 
bridge,  which  our  axemen  then  chopped  through.  By  this  time  it  was 
daylight,  and  the  white  sentinel  reported  the  track  of  our  march.  A  force 
wras  immediately  sent  in  pursuit  of  us  ;  we  could  see  dust  rising  and  the 
bayonets  shining  in  the  sun.  Some  of  the  troops  were  mounted  men. 
[The  troops  were  Waikato  Militia  and  C.D.F.  Cavalry.]  Their  advance 
was  stopped  by  the  destruction  of  the  bridge,  and  we  were  safe  away  for 
the  Waikato  country.  We  travelled  southward  a  long  way  inland  from 
the  Waikato  River,  in  the  direction  of  the  Piako.  Soon  after  crossing  the 
river  we  had  to  wade  through  a  deep,  boggy  swamp,  a  very  exhausting 
journey.  At  last  we  reached  solid  land  on  its  south  side,  practically  an 
island,  and  there  we  rested  for  a  day  or  two  recruiting  our  energies  and 
revelling  in  the  abundant  supply  of  food— bush-pigeons,  eels,  pork,  and 
potatoes. 

"  After  a  good  rest,"  continued  Heni,  "  we  embarked  in  canoes,  which 
we  found  on  the  shore  of  this  island  in  the  lagoon  ;  it  was  the  northern 
part  of  Lake  Waikare.  We  crossed  the  lake,  and  continued  our  journey 
to  the  country  of  our  friends  the  Ngati-Haua,  William  Thompson's  tribe. 
We  crossed  over  some  low  hills  into  the  swampy  valley  of  the  Piako,  and 
from  there  we  went  on  to  Matamata,  on  the  Upper  Thames,  where  Te  Raihi, 
the  Ngati-Haua  Oueenite  chief,  was  living.  He  befriended  us,  and  we  had 
a  rest,  then  he  advised  us  to  go  on  to  Peria,  close  to  the  river.  Peria  was 
a  large  village,  the  great  gathering-place  of  many  Kingite  tribes,  from  the 
Waikato  valley  and  the  Hauraki  to  Rotorua  and  as  far  away  as  the  East 
Cape.  All  were  there  —  Ngati-Haua,  Ngati-Raukawa,  Ngati-Rangiwewehi, 
of  the  Arawa  nation,  and  Ngati-Porou  from  the  East  Cape.  At  Peria  I 
met  Pokai  and  Hori  Ngakapa  and  their  tribe  the  Ngati-Paoa.  We  made 
this  our  home  for  a  season.  We  had  fields  of  maize,  wheat,  and  potatoes 


442  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

which  grew  abundantly,  and  we  ground  the  wheat  and  maize  into  flour 
in  steel  hand-mills,  and  made  bread  and  maize  cakes,  and  we  were 
supplied  with  plenty  of  other  food— sheep,  bullocks,  and  pigs.  It  was  a 
land  of  abundance,  Peria,  in  William  Thompson's  day.  This  was  the 
summer  of  1863-64.  From  Peria  we  all  went  farther  inland  again,  carrying 
our  arms  and  provisions,  and  joined  the  main  body  of  Waikato  in  a  very 
fine  strong  pa  called  Te  Tiki  o  te  Ihingarangi.  It  stood  on  a  cliff -top 
above  the  Waikato  River,  on  the  left  or  western  side  of  the  river,  between 
Pukerimu — then  a  camp  of  the  soldiers — and  the  Maunga-tautari  Ranges. 
It  was  strongly  palisaded  and  trenched.  It  was  an  ancient  fighting  pa, 
which  Waikato  had  greatly  strengthened.  When  we  abandoned  it  we  crossed 
over  to  the  eastern  ranges,  and  thence  to  Okauia  and  Tauranga." 

OPERATIONS  ON  THE  WAIROA. 

Lieut. -Colonel  Arthur  Morrow,  V.D.  (Staff,  retired),  supplies  the  follow- 
ing narrative  of  the  expedition  of  the  Auckland  Rifle  Volunteers  to  Wairoa 
South  in  1863  :— 

"  It  was  on  a  raw,  dreary  morning  in  the  early  spring  of  1863  that 
the  detachments  of  the  Auckland  Rifle  Volunteers  intended  to  relieve  the 
Militia  garrison  doing  duty  in  the  Galloway  Redoubt  in  the  Wairoa  district 
embarked  on  the  Government  steamer  '  Sandfly,'  then  commanded  by 
Captain  Marks.  We  landed  at  the  farm  owned  by  the  late  Captain  Salmon, 
and  made  all  possible  speed  by  a  bush  track  to  the  redoubt.  The  site  on 
which  the  camp  was  situated  commanded  the  bridge  and  approaches  to 
the  river  some  300  or  400  yards  distant  to  the  east ;  farther  on  in 
that  direction,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  was  the  stockade,  a  heavily 
timbered  loopholed  structure.  Near-by  was  the  store  and  district  post- 
office.  The  ground  on  the  north  and  west  faces  of  the  redoubt — an  earth- 
work of  rectangular  shape,  with  salient  angles,  and  later  enclosed  with  a 
strong  palisade — was  covered  with  dense  bush.  The  parish  church  stood  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  north.  The  ground  to  the  east  and  south  had  been 
cleared  of  bush  and  was  under  grass,  whilst  that  to  the  south-eastward  of 
the  stockade  still  contained  a  good  deal  of  standing  timber  faced  by  a 
thorn  hedge.  We  took  up  the  quarters  allotted  to  us  within  the  quadrangle 
in  company  with  a  detachment  of  the  65th  Regiment,  under  Lieutenant 
Chevalier,  later  relieved  by  a  detachment  of  the  i8th  (Royal  Irish)  Regiment, 
under  Lieutenant  Russell. 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  12th  September  we  received  the  welcome 
intelligence  through  a  friendly  chief  (Hori  te  Whetuki),  called  by  the  settlers 
'  Long  George,'  that  the  rebels  had  decided  on  attacking  the  camp  in 
three  days.  On  the  morning  of  the  I5th,  when  some  of  the  men  were 
playing  cricket  across  the  river,  in  the  temporary  company  of  a  fatigue- 
party — told  off  to  procure  some  slab  timber  for  use  in  the  redoubt — two 
shots  were  fired  at  them  in  quick  succession  from  the  hedge  adjoining 
the  bush,  about  150  yards  from  the  stockade.  The  cricketers  ana 
fatigue-party  (who  were  unarmed)  ran  to  the  redoubt  and  stockade, 
from  which  the  fire  was  quickly  returned.  The  natives,  however,  not 
deeming  it  prudent  to  endeavour  to  carry  the  works  by  assault  in  the  face 
of  such  a  well-sustained  rifle-fire,  finally  retired.  The  only  casualty  reported 
on  our  side  was  a  slight  arm- wound  occasioned  to  Ensign  Johnson  by  a 
spent  ball.  A  young  lad  of  Mr.  Niccol's  had  a  narrow  escape,  a  ball  having 
passed  through  his  cap 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  ijih  we  were  again  thrown  into  a  state  of 
excitement  by  the  appearance  of  two  travel-stained  men  of  the  mounted 
patrol,  who  galloped  into  camp  with  the  news  that  a  large  party  of  natives 
was  plundering  the  settlers'  houses  about  three  miles  distant,  and  had 
exchanged  some  shots  with  the  patrol.  A  detachment  of  twenty  men  from 
the  stockade,  under  Lieutenant  Steele,  with  thirty  men  from  the  redoubt, 


APPENDICES.  443 

the  whole  under  the  command  of  Major  W.  C.  Lyon,  made  a  forced  march 
to  intercept  the  natives  on  their  way  to  their  settlement  at  Otau,  a  few  miles 
up  the  river.  Coming  up  with  them  in  about  an  hour,  our  party  opened  fire, 
and,  although  the  range  was  at  first  a  long  one,  it  had  the  effect  of  causing 
them  to  drop  a  considerable  number  of  their  packs  containing  loot.  As 
they  possessed  an  advantage  over  us  in  the  direct  route  they  were  taking, 
we  made  a  detour  through  a  belt  of  bush  and  fallen  timber,  and  came  up 
with  them  at  a  closer  range,  when  we  commenced  firing,  killing  three  of 
their  number.  A  deep  stream,  swollen  by  the  recent  rains,  impeded  us, 
and  some  of  the  men  who  wore  greatcoats  disappeared  one  after  the  other 
in  the  swollen  torrent,  and  only  managed  to  cross  by  great  exertion.  We 
succeeded  at  last  in  crossing,  but  our  advance  was  finally  checked  by  the 
Wairoa  River,  and  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  by  extending  in 
skirmishing  order  across  the  face  of  a  hill  commanding  their  village,  and 
kept  up  a  well-sustained  fire  on  them,  to  which  they  replied  vigorously  by 
independent  firing,  as  well  as  in  volleys  from  numbers  of  men  formed  into 
large  squares.  There  was  very  heavy  firing,  but  we  sustained  no  casualties. 
As  it  was  now  approaching  dusk  we  retired,  maintaining  six  paces  intervals, 
as  they  had  commenced  an  outflanking  movement  to  cut  us  off. 

"  Our  firing  having  been  heard  at  the  camp,  we  soon  heard  the  bugle 
sounding  the  'Advance'  as  a  party  of  men  of  the  i8th  Regiment,  under 
Lieutenant  Russell,  came  to  our  relief.  We  now  gave  the  natives  a  parting 
volley,  and  returned  to  camp.  On  the  following  morning  a  party  of  fifty 
men  from  our  camp,  with  twenty  Wairoa  Rifles  from  the  stockade,  under 
Lieutenant  Steele,  left  at  4  o'clock,  arriving  within  300  yards  of  the  native 
village  (Otau)  shortly  before  daylight.  We  fired  heavily  into  the  whares, 
but  as  the  river  was  still  in  flood  we  were  unable  to  approach  their  position 
to  a  close  range,  and  drew  off  without  sustaining  any  casualties.  On  our 
way  back  to  camp  we  buried  the  men  killed  on  the  previous  evening.  Later 
on  in  the  day  another  expedition  was  organized,  and  twenty  men  of  the 
1 8th  were  despatched  to  occupy  the  pcsition  in  front  of  the  village,  whilst 
Major  Lyon,  with  seventy-five  of  all  ranks,  marched  by  a  track  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river  to  take  the  settlement  in  the  rear.  We  found,  however, 
that  the  natives  had  gone.  It  was  unfortunate  that  this  course  was  not 
decided  upon  in  the  morning  attack,  when  it  would  have  assured  success. 
We  made  a  search  through  the  village  and  secured  much  of  the  goods  taken 
from  the  settlers  (which  we  were  enabled  to  return).  The  7?<hares  were 
riddled  with  bullets,  and  the  profusion  of  blood-stains,  both  inside  and  out, 
testified  to  the  native  losses.  We  got  several  guns  and  tomahawks,  and 
returned  to  camp. 

'*  Matters  now  remained  quiescent  for  a  little  time  ;  then  we  ascer- 
tained that  a  large  native  force  had  assembled  in  the  settlement  of  Urunga- 
heuheu,  some  four  miles  distant  across  the  river  from  our  camp.  An 
expedition  was  again  organized,  consisting  of  the  i8th  men  with  as  many 
of  the  Rifle  Volunteers  as  could  be  spared — having  regard  to  the  efficient 
protection  of  the  redoubt.  We  arrived  in  the  settlement  early  in  the  fore- 
noon, only  to  find  that  the  natives  had  made  a  hurried  departure,  leaving 
an  old  woman  as  the  sole  occupant.  After  a  brief  halt  we  pushed  on  again 
in  the  direction  taken  by  the  natives,  and  discovered  that  they  were 
erecting  a  pa  some  miles  distant  in  the  ranges.  Not  being  possessed  of 
artillery  or  even  sufficient  supplies  for  such  an  expedition,  we  were  obliged 
to  return,  picking  up  some  fresh  supplies  for  the  camp  in  the  way  of  pigs 
and  poultry,  in  addition  to  which  we  recovered  some  watches  and  other 
valuables  belonging  to  the  settlers,  together  with  guns  and  tomahawks. 
Our  campaign  was  now  brought  to  a  close  for  the  present,  as  we  received 
orders  to  return  to  Auckland  by  the  '  Sandfly,'  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Hunt  (H.M.S.  '  Harrier  ').  A  relief  detachment  of  Militia  took 
our  place  in  the  redoubt." 


444  NEW  ZEALAND  WARS. 

(Chapter  XXXII.) 
THE  TITI  HILL  FIGHT,  MAUKU,   1863. 

With  reference  to  the  late  Volunteer  Heywood  Crispe's  fast  ride  from 
Mauku  to  Drury  for  reinforcements  (Titi  Hill  fight,  1863)  (page  296),  Mrs. 
Crispe,  of  "  Te  Mahoe,"  Mauku,  states  that  her  husband  rode  the  distance 
(13^  miles)  in  less  than  an  hour.  "  He  had  a  powerful  mount,  and  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  to  go  full  gallop  at  all  times,  as  the  Maoris  often 
ambushed  and  fired  at  messengers  on  the  route  Mauku  to  Drury.  On 
the  morning  of  the  Titi  Hill  fight,  as  there  was  a  strong  body  of  Maoris 
in  the  neighbourhood,  it  was  important  in  more  ways  than  one  to  secure 
immediate  reinforcements,  and  with  a  good  horse  and  rider  there  is  no 
doubt  that  a  record  was  put  up." 


(Chapter  XXXVII.) 
THE  FOREST  RANGERS  AND  A  SCOUTING  EXPEDITION. 

Shortly  before  the  operations  at  Orakau  (1864)  some  of  the  Forest 
Rangers  distinguished  themselves — though  unofficially — by  a  daring  expe- 
dition into  the  Maori  country  south  of  the  Puniu  River.  They  found  camp 
life  under  Imperial  control  very  irksome  and  slow  after  the  freedom  they 
had  enjoyed  in  their  active  and  useful  campaigning,  and  parties  of  them 
relieved  the  comparative  monotony  by  scouting  along  the  frontier,  occasionally 
skirmishing  at  long  range  with  the  Maoris.  During  March  a  small  party 
from  the  two  companies,  under  Lieutenants  Roberts  and  Westrupp  (Jackson 
and  Von  Tempsky  were  on  leave),  made  an  expedition  from  Kihikihi  into 
the  unknown  enemy  country  across  the  Puniu.  Keeping  the  Tokanui 
hills  (the  "  Three  Sisters  ")  on  their  right,  they  penetrated  a  considerable 
distance  to  the  south-east,  and  after  crossing  some  streams  (the  Mangatu.u 
and  Waikeria  were  two  of  these  small  rivers)  they  bivouacked  on  a  wooded 
hill  above  the  large  settlement  called  Wharepapa,  where  there  was  a 
gathering  of  fugitives  from  the  occupied  country.  The  smoke  was  rising 
from  the  cooking  hawgis  in  the  early  morning  as  the  Rangers  descended 
the  hill.  The  Maoris  abandoned  their  breakfast  and  their  village  when 
the  dreaded  "  Mirihia  "  ("  Militia,"  as  they  distinguished  the  carbineers) 
came  doubling  down  upon  them,  and  retreated  so  speedily  that  Roberts 
and  his  comrades  found  it  useless  to  follow  them,  and  contented  themselves 
with  the  captured  pork  and  potatoes.  It  was  not  until  long  afcerwards 
that  Roberts  ascertained  the  name  of  the  village.  This  is  one  of  the 
venturesome  expedi  ions  of  the  Rangers  which  did  not  figure  in  despatches. 
In  fact,  it  was  not  appreciated  by  the  Imperial  officers.  When  Roberts 
and  Westrupp  reported  to  the  officer  in  command  at  Kihikihi  Redoubt 
the  result  of  their  scouting  enterprise  he  had  them  and  their  Rangers 
transferred  to  Te  Awamutu  Camp  for  their  "  wholly  unauthorized  "  zeal. 


APPENDICES.  445 


FOREST  FIGHTING. 
THE  SKIRMISH  AT  THE  BIG  CLEARING,  PATUMAHOE. 

Major  Von  Tempsky,  in  his  MS.  journal  (now  in  the  Turnbull 
Library,  Wellington),  gave  the  following  animated  description  of  the  first 
skirmish  of  the  Mauku  Forest  Rifles  and  the  Forest  Rangers  (8th  September, 


"  We  mustered  about  fifty  men,  including  fifteen  Mauku  Rifles,  under 
L  eutenant  Lusk.  From  the  Lower  Mauku,  where  the  stockade  of  the  settle- 
ment was  erected,  the  houses  of  the  settlers  straggle  along  a  wooded  ridge 
ri  nning  south  ;  at  about  a  mile  and  a  half  another  ridge  joins  the  former 
a1  a  right  angle,  dotted  with  another  set  of  settlers'  houses,  amongst  them 
a  little  church  with  a  white  steeple,  now  made  bullet-proof  and  garrisoned 
by  settlers  and  Militia.  At  the  eastern  end  of  that  settlement  the  native 
village  of  Patumahoe  commences  ;  it  had  been  abandoned  long  ago  by  the 
natives  who  had  joined  the  cause  of  the  fighting  tribes.  South  of  this  about 
a  mile  or  two  lies  the  farm  of  Messrs.  Lusk  and  Hill.  We  visited  the  house, 
and  there  at  last  we  found  fresh  tracks.  We  followed  them  like  sleuth- 
hounds.  They  led  through  the  corner  of  a  large  paddock,  then  entered  the 
bush  by  a  well-beaten  path.  We  were  about  a  mile  from  the  paddock  when 
we  heard  three,  four,  five,  six  shots  fired,  evidently  in  the  paddock.  We 
turned  and  hastened  back.  It  was  reported  from  the  rear  that  Maoris  could 
b<;  heard  shouting  to  one  another.  Jackson  and  Lusk  decided  that  the  party 
should  divide,  a  process  I  did  not  believe  in  but  had  to  assent  to.  One 
p;irty,  under  our  ensign,  Hay,  and  guided  by  Mr.  Hill,  were  to  look  up  the 
Maoris  in  our  rear,  as  it  was  thought  that  there  would  be  found  the  strongest 
number  of  enemies  ;  thirty  men,  all  Forest  Rangers,  were  allotted  to  that 
purty.  The  remaining  twenty,  under  Jackson,  Lusk,  and  myself,  proceeded 
to  wards  the  paddock. 

"  Cautiously  we  sallied  from  the  bush,  reconnoitring  the  paddock. 
We  saw  no  enemy.  At  last  we  saw  a  beast  lying  dead,  evidently.  That 
si^n  at  least  was  satisfactory.  We  rushed  up  to  it,  found  it  warm  yet,  and 
with  six  bullet-holes  in  it.  We  looked  around  ;  nothing  else  was  visible. 
Tue  paddock  was  of  great  length,  about  half  a  mile  square,  covered  with 
burnt  stumps  and  logs.  The  settlers  set  to  skinning  the  beast  while  it  was 
warm,  and  I  reflected  on  the  probabilities  of  our  case  and  kept  the  men 
from  lumping  together,  as  I  did  not  believe  in  the  apparent  serenity  of  the 
bush. 

"  We  had  just  scattered  a  bit  when  another  shot  was  fired,  towards 
the  south-west  corner  of  the  paddock.  There  was  no  mistake  in  this  ;  there 
were  the  Maoris,  and  thus  they  intended  to  draw  us  on.  We  pleased  them 
to  a  certain  extent,  but  not  exactly  the  way  they  wanted  us  to  go  —  across 
the  open  paddock  right  on  to  the  dense  bush  where  the  shot  was  fired.  We 
made  for  the  bush  immediately  opposite  to  us  and  followed  its  cover  along 
the  edge  towards  the  direction  of  the  shot.  We  knew  that  at  every  step 
now  we  might  come  upon  the  Maoris,  and  I  can  assure  you  we  kept  a  sharp 
lo  Dkout  all  around  us  ;  but  we  saw  nothing  ;  nothing  moved  except  what 
w  3  moved. 

"  Thus  we  marched  on.  Where  the  deuce  are  the  Maoris  ?  Down  comes 
a  volley  with  a  vengeance.  The  powder-smoke  is  blown  into  our  faces  ; 
I  rub  my  eyes  —  I  can  hardly  see  for  the  saltpetre-fumes  in  them.  '  Give 
it  to  them,  boys,  right  and  left  !  '  and  away  crack  our  carbines  and  rifles. 
O/er  the  din,  the  clatter  and  spatter  of  shots,  you  can  hear  the  high-pitched 


446     .  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

voice  of  a  Maori  chanting  an  incantation.  Our  carbines  answer.  Ah,  you 
hear  a  change  of  key  now — you  hear  those  two  or  three  fellows  singing 
'  Miserere  Domine  ' — and  such  a  Miserere  ! — that  one  fellow  in  particular 
must  have  been  hit  in  the  spine,  for  his  yells  are  abominable.  Are  none 
of  our  men  hit  ?  I  cannot  see  one  down  yet — they  are  all  behind  the  trees, 
and  blazing  away  for  the  very  life  of  them.  What  they  can  see,  however, 
is  an  enigma  to  me,  for  all  that  I  have  seen,  and  see,  are  blue  puffs  of  smoke 
from  the  green  undergrowth.  Once  I  saw  a  black  head — had  it  on  the  bead 
of  my  revolver  nearly,  but  it  ducked.  I  have  not  fired  a  shot  yet.  Hang 
firing — I  will  try  my  old  Mexican  blade.  A  perfect  labyrinth  of  fallen  trees 
from  the  clearing,  interlaced  with  a  new  green  growth  of  creepers  and  old 
supplejack,  is  the  accidental  breastwork  our  friends  have  chosen  as  their 
fortress.  I  struggle  into  it,  get  hopelessly  caught,  and  struggle  out  again.  No 
advance  that  way,  certainly.  I  join  once  more  the  skirmishers. 

"  Jackson  has  fallen  in  with  a  new  idea.  He  has  drawn  five  Rangers 
into  the  paddock  behind  some  logs,  and  shouts  to  us  to  come  to  him.  Of 
course  it  is  a  mistake  ;  we  remain  where  we  are  ;  but  the  Rangers  commence 
blazing  away,  and  we  might  get  a  friendly  bullet  by  mistake,  so  we  have 
to  form  in  the  paddock  also,  losing  every  chance  of  cutting  off  the  retreat 
of  the  Maoris. 

"  There  behind  good  cover,  stumps  and  logs,  a  harmless  exchange  of 
shots  is  carried  on  for  a  while.  Our  thirty  Rangers  appear  on  our  left 
wing,  panting  ;  they  have  found  no  Maoris,  and,  hearing  our  firing,  have 
joined  us. 

"  I  urge  a  charge.  Not  yet.  Very  well.  I  can  see  nothing  to  fire  at, 
so  I  lie  behind  my  stump  and  look  at  Lusk,  who  is  in  the  same  predicament. 
I  have  a  dog  with  me  who  won't  go  under  cover,  and  gets  hit  in  the  head 
— only  a  graze  though,  as  I  found  out  afterwards. 

"  At  last,  while  the  fire  of  our  opponents  had  grown  slacker,  for  very 
good  reasons,  a  party  was  sent  from  our  right  flank  to  cut  them  off.  We 
were  to  charge  when  the  cheer  of  this  party  was  heard.  We  rushed  with 
frantic  valour  into  the  bush.  The  bush  was  calmer  than  ever.  We  traverse 
and  jump  from  tree  to  tree.  Strange  is  this  bush  fighting — mysterious  : 
blue  smoke,  green  leaves,  perhaps  a  black  head  :  cries,  defiant,  soul- 
rending,  you  hear  perhaps — yes,  you  can  hear  them  talking  next  door  to 
you,  coolly,  familiarly,  but  you  see  nothing — nothing  tangible  to  grasp,  to 
wrestle  with. 

"  Our  circumventive  force  still  continued  cheering  in  the  depths  of 
the  wood,  so  that  I  began  to  think  they  had  made  a  find  of  some  of  our 
game,  but  there  they  were  dancing  around  a  dozen  extempore  huts,  the 
Maori  encampment,  revelling  in  retaken  plunder  and  eating  the  Maori  dinner 
cooking  on  the  Maori  fire.  There  was  no  sign  of  a  body  anywhere.  Yet 
there  could  be  no  doubt  that  several  of  them  must  have  been  hit,  judging 
from  the  painful  climax  of  howls  they  set  up  after  our  first  meeting  at 
20  yards,  where  several  of  our  men  on  the  left  flank  must  have  seen  the 
backs  of  several  Maoris  lying  behind  the  stumps.  We  now  know  that  five 
were  killed,  and  that  one  hundred  Maoris  were  opposed  to  us,  mostly  Patu- 
mahoe  natives  then  engaged  in  plundering  and  destroying  settlers'  property 
in  the  neighbourhood.  I  believe  that  after  our  first  close  encounter  no  one 
on  our  side  made  any  hits  excepting  perhaps  Jackson  and  Hay,  as  both  of 
them  were  crack  shots  and  don't  fire  at  the  smoke,  as  the  general  run  of 
excited  combatants  do. 

"  We  returned  to  Mauku  laden  with  spoil  and  intoxicated  with  our 
victory.  The  Forest  Rangers  and  Mauku  Rifles  had  fleshed  their  arms  at 
last,  and  that  is  no  small  matter  with  young  soldiers.  In  casualties  Alfred 
Speedy,  son  of  Major  Speedy,  was  shot  through  the  cap,  W.  Worthington 
through  the  trousers,  and  Mr.  Wheeler  through  the  coat.  This  from  a  volley 
at  20  or  15  yards.  Too  much  powder,  ye  Maoris  !  " 


APPENDICES.  447 


THE  WRECK  OF  H.M.S.   -ORPHEUS." 

H.M.S.  "  Orpheus,"  a  2i-gun  steam-corvette,  manned  by  a  crew  of 
256  officers  and  men,  was  totally  wrecked  on  the  Manukau  bar  on  the  yth 
February,  1863,  when  bound  to  Onehunga  from  Sydney  to  take  up  duty 
ori  the  New  Zealand  Station. 

The  pilot-station  at  the  heads  showed  the  signal  to  take  the  bar,  and  the 
"  Orpheus  "  came  in  under  steam  and  sail  before  a  good  westerly  breeze. 
The  ship  was  carrying  all  plain  sail,  and  her  starboard  foretopmast  studding- 
sail  was  set.  She  was  drawing  21  feet.  She  struck  heavily  on  the  western 
end  of  the  middle  bank,  which  afterwards  was  proved  to  have  shifted  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  from  where  it  was  laid  down  on  Drury's  chart ;  the  naviga- 
tion officers  of  the  "  Orpheus,"  however,  had  also  the  "  Niger  "  navigator's 
sailing-directions.  The  pilot-station  watcher,  seeing  the  ship  running  into 
drnger,  semaphored  to  her  to  stand  more  out  to  sea,  but  the  warning  signal 
w.is  observed  too  late. 

The  ship  struck  twice,  and  the  engines  were  ordered  full  speed  astern, 
but  the  screw  did  not  work;  the  way  the  ship  had  on  sent  her  firmly  into 
the  sand. 

The  topsails  were  lowered,  and  the  other  sails  were  clewed  up.  Great 
seas  were  now  breaking  over  the  ship,  and,  after  one  boat  had  with  difficulty 
got  clear,  the  crew  all  took  to  the  yards  and  rigging.  The  steamer  "  Wonga 
Wonga,"  bound  south  from  Onehunga,  went  to  the  rescue,  and  approached 
the  wreck  as  closely  as  she  could.  Some  of  the  bluejackets,  sliding  down 
the  foretopmast-stay,  jumped  into  the  sea  and  were  picked  up  ;  others  who 
attempted  it  were  drowned. 

The  one  boat  which  got  clear  took  the  news  to  the  pilot-station,  but  it 
was  night  before  the  tragic  story  reached  H.M.S.  "  Harrier,"  lying  at  One- 
hunga, twenty  miles  away,  and  by  that  time  all  was  over. 

The  rollers  breaking  on  the  bar  burst  continually  over  the  hull  and 
lower  masts.  The  yards  and  shrouds  were  thick  with  sailors  despairingly 
looking  for  rescue.  About  6  o'clock  in  the  evening  Commodore  Burnett, 
who  was  in  the  mizzen-rigging,  hailed  the  men,  asked  them  to  pray  to  God, 
and  said  he  would  be  the  last  to  leave  the  ship. 

The  mainmast  was  the  first  to  go  over  the  side.  As  it  was  falling  the 
men  clinging  to  the  yards  and  rigging  gave  three  heart-rending  farewell 
cheers,  which  were  answered  by  the  men  on  the  other  masts,  and  next 
moment  the  gallant  sailors  were  vainly  struggling  for  their  lives.  The 
foremast  soon  followed,  and  then  the  mizzenmast  gave  way  and  crashed  into 
the  surf.  The  mizzentop  fell  on  Commodore  Burnett  and  partly  stunned 
him,  and  he  was  drowned. 

Out  of  the  crew  of  256  all  told,  only  sixty-nine  (including  eight  officers) 
were  saved. 

The  bar  which  proved  fatal  to  the  beautiful  corvette  "  Orpheus  "  and 
the  greater  number  of  her  crew  is  called  by  the  Maoris  "  Te  Kupenga  o  Tara- 
mai-nuku  "  ("  Tara's  Fishing-net  "),  a  reference  to  an  ancestral  chief  whose 
n;ume  is  associated  with  several  places  on  the  Auckland  coast.  Another 
native  name  for  it  is  "  Te  Whare  o  te  Atua  "  ("  The  Dwelling  of  the  God  "). 
The  sandbanks  are  the  northern  remnant  of  a  strip  of  low-lying  land  called 
P aorae,  which  anciently  extended  outside  the  present  coast-line  from  the 
Manukau  southward  to  Waikato  Heads. 


448  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 


MILITIA  DUTY   IN  THE   WAIKATO  WAR. 
REDOUBT-BUILDING  AND  ESCORT  WORK. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  diary  kept  (1863-64)  by  Captain  James 
Stichbury,  of  Ponsonby,  Auckland,  when  a  private  in  the  ist  Battalion 
of  Auckland  Militia  ;  they  are  interesting  for  the  glimpses  they  give  of  the 
tribulations  and  humours  of  the  citizen  soldier's  life  on  active  service  : — 

4th  July,  1863. — Commenced  drill,  but  being  the  first  time  made  rather 
a  mess  of  it.  Continued  drill  every  morning  until  the  gth,  when  we  had 
a  summons  for  actual  service  at  2s.  6d.  per  day.  Drill  every  morning 
until  the  i8th,  when  we  marched  to  Otahuhu  in  a  very  hot  sun.  We  all 
thought  it  was  a  tremendous  long  walk  with  our  sixty  rounds  of  ammunition 
and  rifle.  Nothing  to  eat  the  first  night. 

aist  July. — At  9  o'clock  came  off  guard.  At  10  marched  from  the  camp 
to  our  destination,  Papatoetoe,  to  build  a  redoubt.  Reached  it  at  2  o'clock  ; 
took  our  tent  and  bread  and  raw  meat  with  us.  As  soon  as  we  had  got 
our  tents  pitched — we  had  not  time  to  dig  the  trenches  round — it  came 
on  to  rain.  We  had  nothing  to  eat  this  night,  for  the  rain  would  not 
let  the  fires  burn  ;  and,  what  made  it  worse,  we  had  no  blankets  for  two 
days  after  we  arrived  here.  We  had  to  lie  on  the  wet  ground  with  only 
our  greatcoats  and  no  fern.  Dreadful  night. 

22nd  July. — Very  cold  and  miserable  this  morning,  having  to  lie  in 
the  wet  all  night.  Rain  never  ceased  all  day.  Had  to  build  some  cook- 
houses as  well  as  we  could.  Had  no  grog  to-day,  although  we  were 
entitled  to  it  as  soon  as  we  started  from  Otahuhu.  All  the  men  were 
half-dead  and  laid  up  with  the  cold.  Another  night  in  our  wet  clothes 
and  no  fern. 

23rd  July. — Got  served  out  to  us  a  blanket  and  piece  of  oilskin,  which 
came  in  very  acceptable.  Rain  left  off  in  the  afternoon,  which  enabled 
us  to  get  some  of  our  things  dry,  and  got  some  fern  and  had  a  comfortable 
night's  rest. 

24th  July. — Served  out  with  regimental  clothes.  They  were  forage 
cap  with  topknot,  blue-serge  shirt,  trousers  with  red  stripe  down  the  side, 
blucher  boots,  short  leggings  ;  also  tin  plate,  pannikin,  knife,  fork,  spoon, 
haversack,  &c.  We  get,  per  day,  i  gill  of  rum,  i  Ib.  of  meat,  i^lb.  of 
bread,  ^  oz.  of  tea,  £  oz.  of  coffee,  ^  oz.  of  sugar,  and  a  grain  of  pepper  and 
salt. 

4th  August. — At  9  o'clock  fatigue  parade.  I  was  told  off  to  work  in 
the  trenches.  I  got  my  shovel,  but  I  did  not  do  any  work  until  I  saw 
the  captain  ;  so  I  went  up  to  him  and  told  him  I  could  not  work  in  the 
trenches  without  my  grog,  for  it  is  hard  work  digging  on  dry  bread  and 
hot  coffee  ;  besides,  the  grog  is  the  only  thing  which  keeps  us  alive  this 
wet  weather.  [The  diarist  the  previous  day  had  been  sentenced  to  "  three 
days  grog  stopped  "  for  absence  without  leave.] 

5th  August. — We  have  to  get  up  an  hour  and  a  half  before  daylight. 
No  matter  what  weather  it  is,  there  we  have  to  stand,  wet  through  and 
frozen  with  the  cold,  till  we  are  dismissed.  Have  to  clean  our  arms  and 
belts.  Had  breakfast — very  nice  dry  bread,  as  stale  as  a  brick,  and  coffee 
without  milk  and  very  little  sugar.  After  breakfast  told  off  to  dig  in  the 
trenches.  Weather  showery. 

6th  August. — We  have  to  furnish  our  outer  guards  and  picquets.  The 
guard  consists  of  a  sergeant,  a  corporal,  and  nine  men.  The  picquet  consists 
of  twenty-four  men.  They  all  go  out  of  nights  in  the  bush  to  look  for 
Maoris,  and  their  orders  are  to  shoot  every  one  they  come  across. 


APPENDICES.  449 

7th  August. — Soldiering  is  very  nice  in  dry  weather,  but  in  wet,  and 
s  eeping  on  the  ground  and  under  canvas,  it  is  dreadful.  Half  the  men 
in  the  camp  are  laid  up  with  cold  and  rheumatism.  I  am  on  guard  for 
four  and  twenty  hours,  and  have  rather  a  dismal  post.  We  are  stationed 
about  half  a  mile  from  each  other,  and  have  two  hours  on  and  four  hours 
off. 

8th  August. — The  men  that  were  confined  last  night  [some  of  No.  5 
Company  had  been  put  in  the  guard-tent  for  grumbling  at  their  meat]  were 
all  let  off  with  a  reprimand.  At  9  o'clock  we  were  all  paraded  to  have  the 
Articles  of  War  read  to  us  on  account  of  No.  5  Company's  goings-on  last 
night.  As  soon  as  we  were  marched  into  the  hollow  of  the  hill,  so  that 
ye  should  be  out  of  the  wind,  it  came  down  to  rain  in  torrents,  and  there 
ve  had  to  stand  until  the  Colonel  had  done  reading.  He  did  not  care, 
because  he  had  an  oilskin  coat  on,  and  we  were  in  our  blue  shirts.  After 
standing  there  in  the  rain  for  about  twenty  minutes  we  were  dismissed,, 
and  away  we  went  into  our  tents  like  a  lot  of  drowned  rats. 

zoth  August. — At  work  in  the  bush  to-day,  under  Lieutenant  Tole, 
cutting  trees  down  to  make  a  new  road  to  the  Wairoa. 

2ist  August. — (Papatoetoe.)  Fine  day.  Told  off  for  the  trenches 
again.  At  a  quarter  to  9,  as  soon  as  we  all  got  into  bed  nice  and  snug 
and  the  lights  were  out,  two  shots  were  fired  by  the  sentry,  and  out  we  all 
vent  with  only  our  pouch-belts  on  and  our  rifles.  The  order  was  given 
to  load.  We  were  all  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  loaded  that  some  put  three 
cartridges  in  at  once.  Others  left  their  ramrods  in  their  rifles,  and  some 
went  flying  over  the  redoubt.  Young  B.  and  several  others  ran  as  hard 
as  they  could  to  Otahuhu,  for  they  thought  the  Maoris  were  coming.  A 
great  many  fired  two  or  three  shots  each.  As  soon  as  it  was  a  little  quiet 
the  Colonel  and  some  other  officers  went  to  see  if  there  was  anybody 
sbout,  and  they  found  it  was  the  grindstone  that  we  were  fighting. 

22nd  August. — Fine  day.  Everybody  went  to  look  at  the  poor  grind- 
stone, as  they  thought  it  would  have  been  shattered  to  pieces.  There  was 
rot  a  mark  to  be  seen,  although  there  were  about  a  hundred  shots  fired 
at  it.  Went  into  the  bush  and  found  some  bee-hives  in  the  trees.  Got. 
two  buckets  of  honey — quite  a  treat. 


2  p.m. 
cff,  an< 


Second  Expedition. 

2oth  October,  1863. — Started  from  Albert  Barracks,  Auckland,  at 
Volunteer  band  played  us  as  far  as  Parnell  and  then  dropped 

and  we  went  on.  Arrived  at  Otahuhu  Camp  at  7  o'clock.  Had  no 
blankets,  and  nothing  to  eat. 

2ist  October. — Got  up  at  7,  and  tried  to  get  some  meat  for  breakfast 
l>ut  could  not.  Had  dry  bread  and  a  little  drop  of  milk  we  managed  to  buy 
between  us.  Formed  up  at  9  to  march  to  Drury.  Very  hot  on  the  road", 
i  nd  dust  very  troublesome.  Arrived  at  the  camp  at  half-past  4  after  a 
march  of  fifteen  miles,  with  sixty  rounds  of  ammunition,  greatcoat,  haver- 
sack full  of  different  things,  and  rifle,  weighing  altogether  about  30  Ib. 

24th  October. — (Drury.)  They  have  shifted  us  from  where  we  first 
( ame  to,  and  a  dreadful  place  they  have  put  us.  When  we  were  out 
before  we  built  a  splendid  redoubt  at  Papatoetoe,  the  best  and  most  corn- 
Jortable  in  New  Zealand.  As  soon  as  we  got  it  finished  we  were  sent  to 
Auckland  for  a  little  while,  and  then  sent  to  Drury — but  I  think  a  better 
name  for  it  would  be  Dreary — to  build  another  redoubt. 

29th  October.  —  Escort.  Came  back  from  Mauku  ;  very  miserable 
walking  over  the  wet  clay  and  a  heavy  load  to  carry,  and  forced  to  keep 
a  sharp  lookout. 


45O  NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 

3oth  October. — Forty  men  told  off  on  engineers'  fatigue  to  build  a 
redoubt  for  the  Artillery.  The  men  all  marched  off  the  parade-ground, 
and  when  they  got  to  the  redoubt  they  all  sat  down  and  would  not  work, 
because  this  looks  as  if  they  bring  us  out  to  build  redoubts  for  soldiers. 
(Saturday  afternoon.)  Went  to  the  i8th  (Royal  Irish)  camp  and  saw 
two  men  flogged  for  getting  drunk.  Sat  in  the  tent  singing  songs  until 
lights  were  out. 

3ist  October  (Sunday). — Dry  bread  and  coffee  for  breakfast.  Twenty- 
five  men  told  off  to  unload  cargo-boats  of  coal  and  flour.  Seven  of  them 
[men  who  would  not  work]  were  tried  and  sentenced  to  seven  days'  pack- 
drill  and  grog  stopped  for  the  same  period,  and  seven  men  were  sent  to  the 
stockade  at  Otahuhu  for  seven  days'  hard  labour  and  had  their  hair  cut 
quite  short.  That  is  war-time.  We  must  work  on  Sunday  or  go  to 
prison. 

ist  November. — Warned  for  escort.  After  I  got  my  breakfast  one 
hundred  men  started  at  7  from  our  camp,  and  some  Regulars  from  the 
1 8th  camp.  The  distance  is  nine  miles.  The  first  redoubt  we  arrived 
at  was  Sheppard's  Bush.  We  were  strengthened  there  by  forty  men. 
The  second  redoubt  was  Martin's  Farm.  There  we  were  strengthened 
by  sixty  men.  'Then  we  marched  through  the  bush  to  our  destination, 
called  Williamson's  Clearing  Redoubt.  Halted  here  for  half  an  hour  until 
the  down  convoy  came,  and  off  we  started  for  Drury  again.  Reached 
our  camp  about  3  o'clock,  very  hungry  and  tired.  Warned  for  commis- 
sariat fatigue  for  to-morrow  to  unload  cargo-boats. 

4th  November. — (After  coming  off  guard.)  Sat  in  the  tent  on  our 
pannikins,  but  could  not  lie  down,  for  the  floor  was  all  in  a  flood  and  the 
rain  coming  through  the  tent.  Not  a  wink  of  sleep  all  night.  Went  on 
my  next  relief.  Thunder  and  lightning  all  night. 

gth  November. — Mud  up  to  our  knees  and  more  than  that.  Have  to 
lie  in  our  tent  in  a  frightful  state,  not  being  able  to  get  dry  fern,  the 
weather  being  so  unsettled.  Went  to  see  three  soldiers  belonging  to  the 
1 8th  Regiment  flogged.  In  war-time  they  do  not  imprison  them,  because 
they  cannot  spare  them. 

I4th  November. — Escort  started  for  the  front  at  7.  Came  back  at  3, 
one  man  missing.  Sergeant  put  under  arrest  for  not  looking  after  him 
and  for  reporting  him  present.  We  expect  he  straggled  away  from  the 
main  body  and  the  natives  have  got  him.  Picquet  sent  out  for  him,  but 
they  came  back  without  any  signs  of  him. 

aist  November. — All  the  soldiers  here  are  warned  for  the  front,  and 
we  have  to  find  all  the  duties  until  some  more  soldiers  come  to  help  us. 
The  duties  take  about  two  hundred  men  every  night.  On  regimental 
picquet  to-night — that  is,  to  go  to  the  village  and  pick  up  the  drunken 
men  and  bring  them  to  camp. 

26th  November. — Hospital  fatigue.  Told  off  to  build  a  house,  but 
I  wanted  to  get  some  of  my  clothes  washed,  so  I  would  not  go,  and  Ensign 
Hoben  put  me  in  the  guard-room.  I  had  to  remain  there  until  Sunday 
morning  at  n  o'clock.  Tried  by  Captain  Britton,  and  he  was  going  to 
give  me  a  week  in  the  stockade  and  to  have  my  hair  cut  short.  Then  he 
asked  the  officers  of  my  company  what  sort  of  character  I  had,  and  they 
gave  me  a  good  one,  so  he  only  gave  me  two  days'  pack-drill  and  grog 
stopped.  I  went  as  cook  and  got  off. 

28th  November. — Fine  day.  A  very  strong  escort  up  to  Williamson's 
Clearing — about  120  horses,  and  112  on  the  up  and  down  convoy.  The 
down  convoy  brought  three  corpses — a  midshipman  and  two  officers  of 
the  Army,  and  five  wounded  men  (from  Rangiriri). 

3oth  November. — About  a  hundred  Maoris  came  down  from  the 
Queen's  Redoubt  under  an  escort  of  four  hundred  soldiers  ;  passed  through 
here,  and  were  taken  on  by  a  relief  to  Otahuhu. 


APPENDICES.  451 

and  December. — No  convoy  to-day  in  consequence  of  the  remainder 
of  the  Maori  prisoners  (from  Rangiriri)  coming  down.  There  are  about 
eighty  under  a  very  strong  escort. 

loth  December. — (Orders  for  Otahuhu.)  Got  up  at  daylight,  being 
lalf  past  3.  Got  everything  packed  up  and  breakfast  at  7.  The  dinner 
vvas  cooked  overnight  ready  for  us.  Struck  the  tents  at  8.  As  soon  as 
the  bugle  sounded  down  came  all  of  them — all  but  one — and  all  the  rest 
jegan  hissing  them  that  stopped  -in  it.  There  were  about  thirty  tents  : 
ill  went  down  in  a  minute..  Got  all  the  tents  and  different  things  into 
the  drays  and  the  camp  cleared.  Then  had  to  sit  in  the  hot  sun  till  the 
relief  came.  We  waited  until  i,  and  no  relief,  so  we  went  on,  after  getting 
orders  not  to  sing  on  the  road  as  we  did  before.  The  Major  [Tighe]  is  a 
regular  old  soldier  and  very  strict.  We  got  grog  at  i — two  glasses  each. 
Formed  up  in  close  column,  and  then  the  word  was  given,  "  Form  fours — 
Right — Left  wheel — Quick  march,"  and  off  we  went  in  first-rate  style. 
Very  hot  on  the  road.  Reached  the  camp  at  Otahuhu  at  4,  like  negroes 
with  the  dust,  after  a  march  of  fifteen  miles.  No  tea  for  us,  as  the  men 
could  not  get  it  till  7.  Had  some  sardines  and  bread,  and  went  to  bed 
in  a  hut  full  of  fleas.  Being  tired,  we  were  glad  to  sleep  anywhere. 

4th  February,  1864. — (At  Otahuhu  Camp.)  Got  up  at  5,  gave  our 
blankets  up,  had  a  wash  and  our  breakfast,  then  tidied  up  our  things 
ready  for  starting.  At  9  o'clock  we  paraded,  and  shortly  afterwards 
started  for  Drury.  Rather  hot  and  dusty  on  the  road.  Stopped  at 
Burton's  (Papatoetoe)  to  have  a  drink  and  a  piece  of  lunch  for  twenty 
minutes  ;  then  we  started  again,  and  stopped  at  two  springs,  and  then 
at  Papakura  to  have  a  drink.  We  were  pretty  jolly  on  the  road,  singing 
all  the  way,  and  one  or  two  of  the  men  had  concertinas  and  played  some 
very  lively  tunes.  On  the  road  we  marched  too  fast  for  the  other  com- 
panies, so  the  captain  commanding  put  our  company  right  behind.  Then 
we  would  not  march  at  all,  so  we  dropped  behind  a  long  way,  and  he  made 
us  double.  Then  we  dropped  behind  again,  and  when  we  marched  into 
camp  he  gave  us  one  hour's  drill  after  walking  sixteen  miles  with  a  load. 
We  did  it,  but  we  all  felt  it  very  much.  The  commanding  officer  then  was 
Captain  Taylor,  of  No.  i  Company.  After  we  had  done  drill  we  gave  him 
three  growls. 

igth  February. — Beautiful  morning.  At  7  started  on  convoy  to- 
Williamson's  Clearing,  escorting  three  Armstrong  guns  and  about  sixty 
carts  loaded  with  ammunition,  provisions,  and  other  things.  Very  hot 
on  the  march,  and  the  roads  are  being  fresh  metalled,  and  very  miserable 
to  walk  on.  Got  to  our  destination  at  12  and  watered  the  horses,  and 
then  met  the  down  convoy,  about  seventy  carts,  all  empty.  The  officers 
would  not  let  one  of  us  ride.  We  all  got  into  the  carts,  but  were  soon 
turned  out  again.  (At  night.)  Large  fires  to  be  seen  in  the  bush. 

?3rd  February.  —  Got  up  at  5,  cleaned  my  rifle  and  belts,  had 
breakfast,  and  at  7  started  for  Williamson's  Clearing.  The  day  was 
beautifully  fine,  but  the  sun  very  hot.  We  were  strengthened  at  every 
redoubt  on  the  road,  as  usual.  Got  to  the  redoubt  at  Williamson's 
Clearing  at  12.  Was  given  charge  of  a  prisoner  belonging  to  the  i8th 
Regiment  (for  Drury).  He  had  fifty  lashes  and  three  months'  hard  labour. 


452 


NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 


LIST  OF  ENGAGEMENTS  AND  CASUALTIES  (1845-64). 

In  the  following  chronological  list  of  the  principal  engagements  and 
skirmishes  during  the  period  ending  with  the  Kingite  wars,  1864,  the 
Maori  losses  are  in  many  cases  only  approximate.  The  natives  whenever 
possible  carried  off  their  dead  and  wounded,  and  it  was  difficult  to  obtain 
exact  information  as  to  their  losses.  The  Maori  figures  in  numerous 
instances  are  probably  an  underestimate  ;  the  number  of  wounded  is 
unknown. 


British. 

Maori. 

Date. 

Engagement. 

i 

1 

1 

1 

3 

O 

2 

D 
0 

1845. 

Mar.   ii 

Kororareka.  . 

15 

21 

34 

68 

May     8 

Puketutu  (Omapere).  . 

14 

40 

30 

50 

June  30 
July      i 

t  Ohaeawai 

4i 

73 

10 

1846. 

Jan.   ii 

Rua-pekapeka 

12 

30 

20 

30 

May   1  6 

Boulcott's  Farm  (Hutt)             .  . 

8 

3 

10 

Aug.    6 

Horokiri 

3 

8 

•• 

1847. 

May   19      Wanganui 

.  . 

2 

July  19 

„ 

3 

ii 

3 

10 

1860. 

Mar.  17 

Te  Kohia  (L  pa),  Waitara 

2 

2 

.  . 

Mar.  28 

Waireka 

2 

12 

5° 

June  27 

Puke-ta-kauere 

3° 

34 

Sept.    7 

Huirangi 

I 

2 

Oct.    12 

Kaihihi  River  positions 

.  . 

Nov.    6 

Mahoetahi 

4 

lj 

50 

60 

Dec.  30 

Mata-rikoriko 

3 

20 

6 

1861. 

Jan.   23 

No.  3  Redoubt,  Huirangi 

5 

II 

50 

4° 

Feb.   10 

No.  7  Redoubt,  Huirangi 

2 

28 

Mar.     3 

Brooklands  (New  Plymouth) 

I 

I 

Mar.     5 

Sap  at  Te  Arei 

I 

4 

.  . 

Mar.  17 

,, 

I 

•• 

•• 

1863. 

May     4 

Wairau,  Taranaki 

9 

June    4 

Katikara,  Taranaki    .  .               .  .     ' 

3 

40 

July   17 

(  Koheroa,  Waikato   .  . 
|  Martin's  Farm,  Great  South  Road 

i 
5 

12 
II 

30 

July   22 

Kirikiri  (Papakura) 

2 

4 

July  24 

Wairoa  Road 

I 

APPENDICES.  453 

LIST  OF  ENGAGEMENTS  AND  CASUALTIES  (1845  64) — continued. 


Date. 

Engagement. 

British. 

Maori. 

| 

s 

Wounded. 

| 

« 

Wounded. 

1863. 

Aug.  25 

Williamson's  Clearing  (Pukewhau) 

2 

I 

3 

.  . 

Sept.    2 

Pokeno         .  .               .  . 

.  . 

.  . 

.  . 

.  . 

Sept.    7 

Camerontown  (Lower  Waikato) 

8 

I 

7 

20 

Sept.    8 

(  Kakaramea  (Razorback) 
^  Hill's  Clearing,  Mauku 

i 

$ 

Sept.  14 

(  Pukekohe  East         .  .               .  .               .  .  ' 
^  Burtt's  Farm,  Paerata 

3 

2 

*8 

40 

Sept.  15, 

Wairoa  South  stockade  and  Otau 

1 

*8 

17,  18 

Oct.      2 

Allen's  Hill,  Taranaki 

2 

6 

. 

Oct.    23 

Titi  Hill,  Mauku 

8 

4        20 

Oct.   30 

Meremere  shelled 

. 

.  . 

Nov.  20 

Rangiriri 

47 

85        50 

Dec.   14 

Wairoa  Ranges 

.. 

8 

1864. 

Feb.  — 

Waipa  River  (near  Whatawhata) 

i 

.  . 

.  .  . 

Feb.   ii 

Waiari  (Mangapiko) 

6 

5 

40 

3» 

Feb.  21 
Feb.  22 

Rangiaowhia 
Hairini 

3 

3 
15 

12 

25 

Mar.  ii   i  Kaitake 

i 

6 

Mar.  24 

4 

. 

Mar.  31   n 

April    i 

J>Orakau 

J7 

51 

1  60 

50 

April    2 

J                                                  ^>^ 

April  — 

Taurua  (Rotoiti) 

3* 

4 

2O 

April  21 

Maketu 

.  . 

to  26 

April  27 

Kaokaoroa 

i* 

50 

April  29 

Gate  Pa,  Tauranga 

3i 

80 

20 

June  21 

Te  Ranga 

13 

39 

I2O 

27 

Totals 

313 

653 

924 

3«3t 

Arawa. 


t  Incomplete ;   total  unknown. 


CORRECTIONS. 

Page  326. — For  "old  sulphur- workings,"  Kawau  Island,  read  "copper- 
workings." 

Page  403.  —  Plan  of  Waiari,  Mangapiko  River :  It  is  considered  most 
probable  that  the  bathing-place  where  the  troops  were  attacked 
was  at  the  northern  end  of  the  Waiari  pa  peninsula,  instead  of  at 
the  point  shown  on  plan. 


INDEX. 


Ahumai  at  Orakau,  381,  383,  392,  393. 

Akaroa  blockhouses,  92- 

Albert  Barracks,  Auckland,  238. 

Alexandra  Redoubt,  256. 

Alexandra  Township,  401,  402. 

Allen,  Bugler,  103,  105. 

Arawa  defeat  East  Coast  tribes,  404-410. 

Arei,  Te,  196-197  ;    approached  by  sap,  206  214. 

Armitage,  James,  killed,  255. 

Aro,  Te,  Wellington,  defences  at,  89. 

Artillery,   Maori,   at  Ohaeawai,   52,   63,   67  ;    at  Rua-pekapeka,    75,   78  ;    at 

Meremere,  308-312  ;    at  Paterangi,  335,  336. 
Artillery,  Royal  Field,  arrives  in  New  Zealand,  212-213. 
Atkinson,  Major,  155,  167,  168,  169,  173,  190,  222-223. 
Auckland  defences,  33,  236,  237,  238. 
"  Avon,"  gunboat,  300,  301,  310,  313. 
Awamutu,  Te,  230,  231,  232,  341-353,  369,  391,  392,  397,  399. 

Barrett,  Richard,  85,  432. 

Bates,  Colonel  H.  S.,  201,  202,  328. 

Bates,  H.  D.,  202. 

Beckham,  Thomas,  19,  29. 

"  Bee,"  brig,  96. 

Bell  Block,  Taranaki,  140,  141,  144,  160,  161,  162,  222. 

Bell,  Sir  Dillon,  140,  236,  245. 

Booth,  Lieut. -Colonel,  417-423. 

Boulcott's  Farm,  Hutt,  99,  101-107. 

Bowie-knife,  Forest  Rangers',  258,  259,  440. 

Bridge,  Colonel  Cyprian,  32,  45,  57,  59,  62,  64. 

Brooke,  Captain  E.,  324,  332. 

Brooke,  lieutenant  C.  F.,  183. 

Bunbury,  Major,  32,  431. 

Burtt's  Farm,  Paerata,  275-280. 

Busby,  Mr.,  4. 

Bush  Ra'ngers,  Taranaki,  218,  219,  222. 

Cabbage  Bay,  241,  242. 

Calvert,  Captain,  253. 

Cameron,  Lieut. -General,   215,   216,  219,   220,   242,   243,   253,   246,  310,    311, 

312,  313,  378,  379. 
Cambridge,  Township  of,  401,  402. 
Carbine,  Terry  and  Calisher,  258. 
Carey,  Lieut.-Colonel,  184,  185,  191,  313,  369. 
"  Castor,"  H.M.S.,  70,  71,  81,  82,  83. 
Casualties,  list  of,  452. 
Cavalry  charges  in  Maori  wars,  350. 
Chapman,  Judge  H.  S.,  89,  95,  432. 


INDEX.  455 

Chapman,  Mr.  Justice,  95,  142. 

Churches  fortified,  239,  240. 

Cipher  code,  Maori,  235. 

('lay  Point,  Wellington,  90. 

Colvile,  Major,  408. 

Confiscation  of  Waikato,  399,  402. 

Cowan,  W.  A.,  357,  396. 

Cracroft,  Captain  P.,  157,  173,  174,  175. 

Crispe,  Hey  wood,  293,  296,  444. 

Cudby,  John,  92,  105. 

Customs  duties,  first,  15. 

Daldy,  Captain  W.  C.,  313,  316. 

Davis,  Rev.  R.,  36. 

Deighton,  Richard,  112-116. 

Despard,  Colonel,  arrival  of,  47. 

Devon  Road,  New  Plymouth,  155,  159,  195. 

"  Die-Hards  "  (57th  Regiment),  211. 

"  Driver,"  H.M.S.,  96,  97,  98,  99,  100,  113,  115,  116. 

Drury,  215,  227,  240,  241,  242,  243,  249,  316,  317. 

Easton,  J.  and  G.,  269,  272. 
"  Eclipse,"  H.M.S.,  219,  221,  302,  306,  322. 
<  Elphinstone,"  H.E.I.C.S.,  70,  71. 
Engagements,  list  of,  452. 
Epiha  Tokohihi,  179,  189,  200. 
•'  Esk,"  H.M.S.,  306,  307,  313,  415. 
Esk  Redoubt,  314. 

'  Falcon,"  H.M.S.,  408,  409,  415. 

Fencibles,  Royal  New  Zealand,  439. 

First  British  march  inland,  35. 

First  British  troops  in  New  Zealand,  431. 

First  engagement,  Taranaki  War,  159. 

First  engagement,  Waikato  War,  246. 

First  shots  in  Heke's  War,  20. 

First  steamer  on  Waikato  River,  300-301. 

First  steamship  in  New  Zealand,  96,  97-98. 

Fitzroy,  Governor,  4,  16,  18,  19,  20,  31,  47,  70. 

Flagstaff,  Kororareka,  first  cut  down,  17  ;    again,  18,  20,  25. 

"  Fly,"  H.M.S..  439. 

Forest  Rangers  formed,  258. 

Fort  Arthur,  Nelson,  91. 

Fort  Britomart,  Auckland,  32,  237,  238. 

Fort  Richmond,  Lower  Hutt,  92,  93,  96. 

Fortresses,  Maori  and  others  compared,  52. 

Free,  W.  H.,  61,  62,  63,  65,  67,  68,  81,  169,  193. 

Gage,  John,  341,  369. 
Galloway,  Major- General,  237,  243. 
Galloway  Redoubt,  Wairoa,  281,  282. 
Gate  Pa,  Tauranga,  411-423  ;   site  of,  429. 
Gilfillan,  J.  A.,  132. 
Gold,  Colonel,  arrives  Taranaki,  157. 
Gorst,  Sit  John,  227,  229,  230,  231,  232,  237,  245. 
"  Governor  Grey,"  schooner,  136. 

Grey,  Sir  George,  70,  78,  84,  98,  99,  109,  113,  115,  131,  136,  141,   149,  215, 
216,  327,  228,  229,  230,  231,  326. 


456  NEW   ZEALAND   WARS. 

Hairini,  Battle  of,  347-351. 

Hamilton,  Captain  J.,  R.N.,  419. 

Hamilton,  Township  of,  founded,  401. 

Hand-grenades  used  at  Rangiriri,  324  ;    at  Orakau,  378,  379. 

Harris,  Major  B.,  274,  284. 

Hauraki  Tonganui,  382,  383. 

Haurua  pa,  398. 

Hay,  Commander,  R.N.,  419. 

"  Hazard,"  H.M.S.,  18-31,  56. 

Heaphy,  Major  C.,  V.C.,  340. 

Hector,  C.,  22,  28,  29. 

Heke,  Hone,  his  history,  13,  14,  15  ;  raid  on  Kororareka,  16,  17  ;  hoists 
American  flag,  18-19  ;  captures  Flagstaff  Hill,  Kororareka,  and  cuts 
down  mast  for  fourth  time,  25  ;  fighting  at  Omapere,  44  ;  wounded,  47  ; 
taken  to  Tautoro,  53  ;  at  Rua-pekapeka,  80  ;  his  death,  84. 

Heuheu,  Iwikau  te,  147,  148. 

Heuheu,  Horonuku  te,  376. 

Heuheu  Tukino,  147. 

Heuheu,  Piripi  te,  348,  359,  392,  393. 

Hine-i-turama,  killed  at  Orakau,  390,  391. 

"  Hokioi,  Te,"  Maori  newspaper,  230,  232. 

Horokiri  (Horokiwi),  attack  on,  123-127  ;    site  of,  127-129. 

Huirangi,  Waitara,  196-208. 

"  Hui-te-Rangiora,"  council-house,  179,  352. 

Hulme,  Lieut. -Colonel,  32,  35-36,  40-45. 

Hursthouse,  C.  W.,  154,  169,  170. 

Hutt  Valley  land  disputes  and  war,  85-108. 

"  Inflexible,"  H.M.S.,  118,  134,  136,  137. 
"  Iris,"  H.M.S.,  156,  185. 

Jackson,  Major  W.,  258,  259,  285,  289,  290,  298,  338,  378,  391. 
Johns,  William,  260,  286. 

Kaihihi  (Taranaki)  forts  taken,  187. 

Kairau  (Waitara)  occupied,  196,  197. 

Kaitake  pa  taken,  223,  224. 

Kaokaoroa,  Battle  of,  409-410. 

Katikara  (Tataraimaka)  stormed,  219-221. 

Kawau  Island,  Maoris  escape  from,  326. 

Kay,  Andrew,  229,  232,  369.    * 

Kereopa  te  Rau,  348,  350. 

Kihikihi  occupied,  352. 

Kingi,  Wiremu  (Te  Rangitaake),  113,  150-153. 

Kiri-karamu,  Ihaia  te  (Taranaki),  143,  152. 

Kiri-karamu,  Heni  te  for  Heni  Pore),  252,  286;  at  Gate  Pa,  413,  416,  418-421. 

Kirikiri-roa  (Hamilton),  351,  401. 

Koheriki  hapu,  252,  284,  287  ;    at  Gate  Pa,  413. 

Koheroa,  engagement  at,  246-248. 

Kooti,  Te,  5. 

Kororareka,  the  beach  at,  6-12  ;    capture  of,  23-31. 

Kou,  Rihara,  50,  55,  64,  80. 

Land  League,  Maori,  140-144. 
Last,  Major,  TOO,  106,  109,  123-127. 
Leslie,  Colonel,  200,  385. 
Lyon,  Major,  281-283. 


INDEX.  457 

McDonnell,  Thomas,  263,  264,  344,  345,  352,  408,  409. 

MrKenna,  Ensign,  V.C.,  255,  256. 

Macpherson,  Major,  64. 

Mahoetahi,  Battle  of,  188-195  >   lament  for,  194. 

Mair,  Captain  Gilbert,  35,  391,  407. 

Mair,  Gilbert,  sen.,  431. 

Mair,  Major  W.  G.,  344,  345,  380-383,  390,  391,  397,  399,  402,  405. 

Maketu,  404,  405,  408. 

Mamaku,  Topine  te,  101-106,  135,  398. 

Manawapou,  142. 

Manga-tawhiri  River,  229,  232,  242  ;    crossed  by  troops,  245. 

Maning,  F.  E.,  38,  58. 

Marsland  Hill,  155,  157,  158. 

Martin's  Farm,  ambush  at,  248-250. 

Mauku,  church  stockaded,  288  ;    defence  and  engagements,  288-298 

Meremere,  308-313. 

Messenger,  A.  H.,  143. 

Messenger,  Captain,  180,  182,  183. 

Messenger,  Colonel  W.  B.,  160,  167,  172,  173,  190. 

Messenger,  E.,  killed,  199. 

Messenger,  Private  W.,  wounded,  173. 

"  Miranda,"  H.M.S.,  305,  313. 

Miranda  expedition,  313-314. 

Morrow,  Lieut. -Colonel  A.,  442. 

Murray,  Lieut. -Colonel,  167-176,  185. 

IN  aval  Brigade  at  New  Plymouth,  157  ;   at  Puke-ta-kauere,  180  ;   at  Rangi- 

riri,  319-324  ;    at  Gate  Pa,  415. 
Naval  Volunteers,  Auckland,  313-317. 
Nelson,  Major,  179-185. 
Nene,  Tamati  Waka,  17,  18,  33,  34,  35  ;    at  Omapere,  36  ;    at  Ohaeawai,  58  ; 

at  Rua-pekapeka,  71,  76,  80. 

New  Plymouth  fortifications,  156,  157,  158,  176. 
Ngakapa,  Hori,  248,  249,  252,  439. 
Ngaruawahia,  226,  327-329. 
"  Niger,"  H.M.S.,  157,  173-176. 
Nixon,  Colonel  M.,  345. 

Ohaeiwai,  attack  on,  47-69. 

Okaihau,  36,  38,  39. 

Omapere,  33,  36.;    fighting  at,  37-46. 

Omata  Stockade  (Taranaki),  162-164. 

Onehunga,  315,  316,  317. 

Onuku-kaitara,  178,  179,  180,  186,  197. 

Orakau,  Village  of,  355-357;    first  expedition  to,  358;    fortified,   360-367; 

siege  of  pa,  369-397. 
"  Orpheus,"  H.M.S.,  wrecked,  447. 
Otau,  engagement  at,  282-283. 

Paerata,  Ahumai  te,  381,  383,  392,  393. 
Paerata,  Hitiri  te,  366,  ^86,  391. 
Paerata,  Hone  Teri  te,  366,  388. 
Paerata,  Te,  366. 
Page,  Lieutenant  G.  H.,  101-105. 
Papakura,  defences  at,  239. 
Paparata,  262,  263,  264. 
Papatoetoe  Redoubt,  239,  448,  449. 
Paratui  pa,  398. 


458 


NEW  ZEALAND   WARS. 


Patara  te  Tuhi,  225,  232,  233. 

Paterangi,  fortifications  at,  328-337. 

Patumahoe,  fight  at  (Big  Clearing),   289-292  ;    origin  of  name,   298  ;    Von 

Tempsky's  account  of  fight,  445. 
Paua-tahanui,  operations  at,  109-122. 
Pekapeka  Block,  Waitara,  151,  436. 
Pekehawani  (Puniu  River),  180. 
Pene  Taui,  34,  35,  48. 
Perry,  Sergeant,  266-275. 
Phillpotts,  Lieutenant  G.,  at  Kororareka,   28-31  ;    killed  at  Ohaeawai,  57, 

63,  68,  69. 

"  Pihoihoi,  Te/'  230,  231,  232. 
Pikopiko,  fortifications  at,  328,  330,  334,  335. 
Pitt,  Colonel,  236. 
Pitt,  Major-General  Dean-,  237. 
Plimmerton,  114. 
Pokai,  R.,  23,  29,  43,  44,  46. 
Pokeno,  241,  242,  243,  254. 
Pokiha  Taranui  (Major  Fox),  407,  409. 
Pomare,  Bay  of  Islands  chief,  15,  16,  22,  33. 
Pomare,  Sir  Maui,  102,  108. 
Porirua,  operations  at,  109-119. 
Poroutawhao  Pa,  130. 

Potatau  te  Wherowhero,  147,  148,  225,  226,  227,  435,  436. 
Pou-patate  Huihi,  193  ;    at  Orakau,  378,  385,  386. 

Pratt,  Major-General,  arrived,  185  ;   his  sap  towards  Te  Arei,  206-213. 
Pukekohe  East,  fight  at  church  stockade,  265-275. 
Puke-ta-kauere,  engagement  at,  178-184. 
Puketutu  pa,  attack  on,  36,  39-46. 
Pukorokoro  (Miranda),  313-314. 
Puni,  Te,  86,  106,  107. 
Pye,  Captain,  348,  350. 


Ranga,  Te,  Battle  of,  423-429. 

Rangiaowhia  invaded'by  British,  341-351. 

Rangihaeata,  Te,  86,  88,  100,  101,  102,  109-129  ;    death  of,  130, 

Rangiriri,  Battle  of,  318-326. 

Rauparaha,  Tamehana  te,  118,  145. 

Rauparaha,  Te,  his  capture,  113-119. 

Raureti  Paiaka,  179,  271,  274  ;    at  Orakau,  377-386. 

Raureti,  Te  Huia,  179,  193,  194,  269,  271,  274,  334  ;    at  Orakau,  367-396. 


Razorback  Redoubt  (Kakaramea)  attacked,  254. 

Rewi  Maniapoto    (Manga),    179-180,    200,    231,    232,    352,    354  ;     at   Orakau, 

358-388. 

Rhodes,  H.,  Paterangi,  334,  340. 
Rhodes's  Clearing,  Razorback,  243. 
Ring,  Captain,  248-251,  370. 

Roberts,  Colonel  J.  M.,  259,  263,  369,  370,  371,  389,  391. 
Robertson,  Captain,  R.N.,  26. 
Rore,  Te,  occupied  by  British,  329. 
Rotoiti,  Lake,  fighting  at,  405-408. 
Roto-marama  pa,  398. 
Russell,  Captain,  100. 

Russell  (Kororareka),  6-12  ;   English  church  at,  27. 
Rutland  Stockade,  Wanganui,  132-134. 


INDEX.  459 

"  Sandfly,"  armed  steamer,  304,  313,  408,  409. 

Sap  at  Kaihihi  River,  187  ;  at  Te  Are'i,  197,  206-214  ;  at  Orakau,  371-384,  396. 

Scott,  Captain  Joseph,  269,  272,  273. 

Selwyn,  Bishop  G.  A.,  30,  341,  434. 

Smith,  S.  Percy,  143,  437. 

Stanley,  Captain,  R.N.,  no,  115,  116,  123. 

Stichbury,  Captain  J.,  448. 

Taiamai,  Bay  of  Islands,  34,  37,  68. 

"  Taiporohenui."  council-house,  142. 

Tai-Rawhiti  tribes  invade  Arawa  country,  404-410. 

Tamehana,  Wiremu,  founds  Maori  kingdom,  146,  147,  148  ;  makes  peace 
with  Brigadier-General  Carey,  399. 

Taranaki  settlement,  140  ;    type  of  settlers,  154-155  ;   first  shots  in  war,  159. 

Taratoa,  Henare,  412,  427. 

Tawhiao,  King,  227,  230. 

Teira,  Hori,  215,  216,  217,  218. 

Tempsky,  Von,  joins  Forest  Rangers,  261-262;  scouting  at  Paparata, 
262-264  ;  fight  at  Patumahoe,  289-292  ;  at  Paterangi,  329-330  ;  at 
Waiari,  339-340  ;  at  Rangiaowhia,  341-346  ;  at  Orakau,  369-391. 

Thorndon  fortifications,  Wellington,  89,  90. 

Tiki-o-te-Ihingarangi,  fortifications  at,  329,  399. 

Titi  Hill  fight,  Mauku,  292-297. 

Tupotahi  at  Orakau,  366-394. 

Urewera  Tribe,  war-party  at  Hairini,  348  ;  at  Orakau,  358-394  ;  con- 
tingent at  Kaokaoroa,  410. 

"  Victoria,"  Government  brig,  18,  22,  28,  96,  132. 
"  Victoria,"  Australian  warship,  176-177. 

Waiari,  engagement  at,  337-340. 

Waikato,  military  road  to,  242,  243  ;    first  engagement,  246  ;    first  steamer 

on  river,   300-301  ;    gunboat  flotilla,   300-303  ;    end  of  war,   398-402  ; 

confiscation  of  land,  402. 
Waikato  War,  causes  of,  225-235. 
Waipa  country  invaded,  329. 
Wairarapa  defences,  438. 
Waireka,  Battle  of,  166-176. 
Waitara,  attempted  purchase  of,   150-153  ;    war  begins  at,   158  ;    war  ends, 

214. 

Wanganui,  war  at,  131-139. 
Wellington  settlements,  land  disputes  and  war  of  1846,  85-130  ;    defences  of, 

88-96. 

Whakaari,  Netana,  410. 
Whaleships  at  Kororareka,  6-12. 
Wharepapa,  Forest  Rangers'  expedition  to,  444. 


By  Authority:    W.  A.  G.  SKINNER,  Government  Printer,  Wellington. — 1922. 

[1,000/7/21 — 10399 


University  of  Toronto 
library 


DO  NOT 

REMOVE 

THE 

CARD 

FROM 

THIS 

POCKET 


Acme  Library  Card  Pocket 
Under  Pat.  "Ref.  Index  File" 

Made  by  LIBRARY  BUREAU