1.
New Zealand Wars
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The New Zealand Wars were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand government and the Māori. The colonial government summoned thousands of British troops to mount major campaigns to overpower the Māori King Movement and also acquire farming, guerilla-style tactics were used by both sides in later campaigns, often fought in dense bush. Over the course of the Taranaki and Waikato campaigns the lives of about 1800 Māori and 800 Europeans were lost, historians, however, have debated whether Māori signatories fully understood this last point, due to the possible mistranslation of the word sovereignty in the treaty copies. The majority of Māori wanted to sign in order to consolidate peace and they also wished to acquire the technological culture of the British. All pre-treaty colonial land-sale deals had taken place directly between two parties, in the early period of contact Māori generally sought trade with Europeans. The British and the French established mission stations, and missionaries received land from iwi for houses, schools, churches, as part of the Treaty of Waitangi, colonial authorities decreed that Māori could sell land only to the Crown. The various conflicts of the New Zealand wars span a period. The earliest conflicts in the 1840s happened at a time when Māori were still the predominant power, the first armed conflict between Māori and the European settlers took place on 17 June 1843 in the Wairau Valley, in the north of the South Island. The clash was sparked when settlers led by a representative of the New Zealand Company—which held a title deed to a block of land—attempted to clear Māori off the land ready for surveying. The party also attempted to arrest Ngāti Toa chiefs Te Rauparaha, fighting broke out and 22 Europeans were killed, as well as four to six Māori. Several Europeans were slain after being captured, in early 1844, the new Governor, Robert FitzRoy, investigated the incident and declared the settlers were at fault. The Wairau Affray—described as the Wairau Massacre in early texts—was the only armed conflict of the New Zealand Wars to take place in the South Island. The Flagstaff War took place in the far north of New Zealand, around the Bay of Islands, in 1845 George Grey arrived in New Zealand to take up his appointment as governor. At this time Hone Heke challenged the authority of the British, there were many causes of the Flagstaff War and Heke had a number of grievances in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi. Despite the fact that Tāmati Wāka Nene and most of Ngāpuhi sided with the government, after the Battle of Ruapekapeka Heke and Kawiti were ready for peace. It was Tāmati Wāka Nene they approached to act as the intermediary to negotiate with Governor Grey, the fighting in the north ended and there was no punitive confiscation of Ngāpuhi land. The Hutt Valley campaign of 1846 came as a sequel to the Wairau Affray, Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha was also taken into custody during the campaign, he was detained without charge in Auckland for two years. The bloodshed heightened settlers fears in nearby Wanganui, which was given a military force to guard against attack
2.
Taranaki
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Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealands North Island, administered by the Taranaki Regional Council. It is named for its main feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth, the New Plymouth District has over 65% of the population of Taranaki. New Plymouth is in North Taranaki along with Inglewood and Waitara, South Taranaki towns include Hawera, Stratford and Etham. Since 2005, Taranaki has used the promotional brand Like no other, Taranaki is on the west coast of the North Island, surrounding the volcanic peak. The region has an area of 7258 km², the large bays north-west and south-west of Cape Egmont are the prosaically named North Taranaki Bight and South Taranaki Bight. Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont, the second highest mountain in the North Island, is the dominant feature of the region. A Māori legend says that Taranaki previously lived with the Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu mountains of the central North Island, a near-perfect cone, it last erupted in the mid-18th century. The mountain and its immediate surrounds form Egmont National Park, the mountain has two alternative official names, Mount Taranaki and Mount Egmont. The region is fertile, thanks to generous rainfall and the rich volcanic soil. Dairy farming predominates, with Fonterras Whareroa milk factory just outside of Hawera producing the largest volume of dairy ingredients from a single anywhere in the world. There are also oil and gas deposits in the region, both on- and off-shore, the Maui gas field off the south-west coast has provided most of New Zealands gas supply as well as, at one time supporting two methanol plants at Motunui. More fuel and fertiliser is produced from a well-complex at Kapuni, the way the land mass projects into the Tasman Sea with northerly, westerly and southerly exposures results in many excellent surfing and windsurfing locations, some of them considered world-class. Taranaki has a population of 116,600 as of Statistics New Zealands June 2016,2.5 percent of New Zealands population and it is the tenth most populous region of New Zealand. The median age of Taranakis population is 39.9 years, around 16.2 percent of the population is aged 65 or over while 21.1 percent is aged under 15. There are 95.7 males for every hundred females in Taranaki, just under half the residents live in New Plymouth, with Hawera being the only other town in the region with a population over 10,000. The region has had a strong Māori presence for centuries, the local iwi include Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Ruanui, Taranaki, Te Āti Awa, Nga Rauru, Ngāruahinerangi and Ngāti Tama. Around 50.2 percent of Taranakis population affiliate with Christianity and 2.7 percent affiliate with non-Christian religions, catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in Taranaki with 15.5 percent affiliating, while Anglicanism is the second-largest with 13.5 percent affiliating
3.
Duncan Cameron (British Army officer)
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Cameron was an officer of the 42nd Regiment of Foot. In 1860, he became Commander-in-Chief, Scotland, north Island Māori were becoming increasingly reluctant to sell land and the rise of the King Movement in the Waikato was considered to be a challenge to British sovereignty. He pointed to the theft of large amounts of gunpowder from Kawau Island in 1856, to meet the danger, the British Government sent out 14,000 troops, commanded by Cameron. Cameron arrived in New Plymouth early in 1861, newly promoted major general to lieutenant general. He was delighted to find that Browne was determined to crush any continuing Maori insurrection and he approved of the plan to impose sovereignty on the Kingitanga and to punish tribes which had aided Te Ati Awa in Taranaki. On 24 June 1863, Dometts Government agreed to Camerons battle plans and his strategy was to use a river flotilla to move troops and supplies up the Waikato River to bypass the vast swamps between Maramaru and Meremere. His gun boat flotilla, prefabricated in Britain, was due to arrive in spring, hopes of the politicians for peace faded. Greys dream of racial amalgamation, Maori education and missionary endeavour faded, even the head of the Anglican Church in New Zealand, Bishop Selwyn, declared his support for the war against King Tāwhiao and Rewi Maniapoto. Grey also had 18 letters, apparently written by Tamihana, as evidence of a Māori plot against Auckland, the Waikato invasion began in July 1863. However, after a short advance, Cameron, whose Crimean experience had taught him the importance of a sound supply line. He spent three months securing his rear from attacks and he sent recruiting officers Dillon Bell and John Gorst to Australia to raise volunteer forces, which were largely formed into company-based units from the individual states. In all,2400 Australians volunteered to fight in a variety of units against the Māori forces, a public dispute broke out between Grey and Cameron, who were both strong-willed. Grey wished to crush the Kingite rebellion quickly, but Cameron was adamant that he would not start operations until his line was in place. Grey argued that he understood the mentality of the Māori rebels, relations between Grey and Cameron were strained from this point on, as Cameron wrote directly to the Secretary of War in Britain, criticising Greys war policy. Grey was faced with more and more criticism from the New Zealand press and public, the Meremere Kingitanga position was virtually a pā on an island surrounded on three sides by swamp. It had been prepared by Ngati Haua leader Wirimu Tamihana, who had 1000 to 1500 warriors, from this ridge, he had a clear view of the defenders pā2 kilometres to the south. The gunboat Pioneer was used to bombard the Meremere site, the defenders abandoned the pā without a fight, abandoning their cannon after realising they were outflanked, resulting in a shattering blow to Maori morale. Rewi, Tamihana and King Matuaera now favoured abandoning the Rangiriri site, Cameron was able to safely reconnoitre the Rangiriri position from the Pioneer
4.
Thomas McDonnell
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Thomas McDonnell NZC was a 19th-century New Zealand public servant, military leader and writer. Thomas McDonnell, Jnr was born to Thomas McDonnell, Snr. an early British merchant and speculator who served a term as Additional British Resident. He was raised first in Sydney, then Horeke, Northland, there he learned to speak Māori and how to use the traditional taiaha weapon. He tried his luck on the Victorian goldfields from 1853 to 1855, after being paid eight months late, McDonnell resigned from that job and went sheepfarming in the Hawkes Bay with his brother William, only to be defrauded by a third party. He returned to Auckland in 1862, and was appointed interpreter to the resident magistrate at Thames, on 9 April 1870, McDonnell married Henrietta Elise Lomax, in Wellington. He acquired £690 in government grants and £1,400 worth of property at Wanganui. He received the New Zealand Cross on 31 March 1886, and published fragmented memoirs, Thomas McDonnell died on 8 November 1899. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007
5.
Wairau Affray
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Fighting broke out and 22 British settlers were killed, several after their surrender. Four Māori were killed, including the wife of Te Rangihaeata, the incident heightened fears among settlers of an armed Māori insurrection. It created the first major challenge for Governor Robert FitzRoy, who took up his posting in New Zealand six months later, FitzRoy investigated the incident and exonerated Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, for which he was strongly criticised by settlers and the New Zealand Company. In 1844 a land claims commission investigation determined that the Wairau Valley had not been legally sold, the government was to pay compensation to the Rangitane iwi, determined to be the original owners. The New Zealand Company had built a settlement around Nelson in the north of the South Island in 1840, the settlers began to purchase large areas of land directly from Māori, without consulting the newly established colonial government and often without establishing vendors rights to sell the land. The situation led to tension and caused disputes between the two parties, in January 1843 Captain Arthur Wakefield had been dispatched by the New Zealand Company to lead the first group of settlers to Nelson. He was the brother of Colonel Edward Gibbon Wakefield, one of the principal officers of the company. Arthur wrote to Edward that he had located the required amount of land at Wairau, a distance of about 25 km from Nelson. He said he held a deed to the land, having bought it in 1839 from the widow of a whaling Captain John Blenkinsopp, Wakefield wrote to the company in March 1843, I rather anticipate some difficulty with the natives. The source of the difficulty was simple, the chiefs Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, along with their kinsmen of Ngāti Toa. But similar disputes had been settled through negotiation, and Te Rauparaha was willing to negotiate on the Wairau land. In January 1843 Nohorua, the brother of Te Rauparaha. Two months later Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata arrived in Nelson, based in Wellington, he had begun investigating all the claimed purchases of the New Zealand Company. Spain later wrote that during that visit, Arthur Wakefield wished to make them a payment for the Wairau, but they refused to sell it. Arthur Wakefield rejected the request to wait for Spains enquiry, informing Te Rauparaha that if local Māori interfered with company surveyors on the land, Wakefield duly despatched three parties of surveyors to the land. They were promptly warned off by local Māori, who damaged the surveyors tools, Te Rauparaha and Nohorua wrote to Spain on 12 May, urgently asking him to travel to the South Island to settle the companys claim to Wairau. Spain replied that he would do so when his business in Wellington was complete. A month later, with no sign of Spain, Te Rauparaha led a party to Wairau
6.
Flagstaff War
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The Flagstaff War – also known as Hōne Hekes Rebellion, the Northern War and the First Māori War – was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hōne Heke who challenged the authority of the British by cutting down the flagstaff on Flagstaff Hill at Kororāreka, the flagstaff had been a gift from Hōne Heke to James Busby, the first British Resident. The signing of the Treaty of Waitangi started on 6 February 1840, ostensibly, the treaty established the legal basis for the British presence in New Zealand. On 21 May 1840, New Zealand was formally annexed to the British Crown, in the Bay of Islands, Hōne Heke, one of the original signatories to the treaty, started to become increasingly unhappy with the outcome of the treaty. Heke and his cousin Titore also collected and divided a levy of £5 on each ship entering the Bay, Pōmare II complained that he no longer collected payment from American ships that called at Otuihu across from Opua. Heke and the Ngāpuhi chief Pōmare II had listened to Captain William Mayhew, Heke obtained an American ensign from Henry Green Smith, a storekeeper at Wahapu who had succeeded Mayhew as Acting-Consul. After the flagstaff was cut down for a time, the Stars. Hōne Heke and Te Ruki Kawiti worked out the plan to draw the colonial forces into battle, in July 1844, Kotiro, a former slave of Heke, openly insulted the Ngāpuhi chief. Kotiro had been captured from a southern tribe 15 years earlier, and was now living with her English husband, there are differing stories as to the specific insult or the circumstances in which it was delivered. Carleton used the presence of Kotiro, and her status, as pretext for a taua — a raid upon Kororāreka. The Auckland Chronicle reported the incident as such, On 8 July 1844 the flagstaff on Maiki Hill at the end of Kororāreka was cut down for the first time. Heke had set out to cut down the flagstaff, but was persuaded by Archdeacon William Williams not to do so, on 24 August 1844 Governor FitzRoy arrived in the bay from Auckland upon HMS Hazard. The Government brig Victoria arrived in company with HMS Hazard, with a detachment of the 96th Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel William Hulme, Governor FitzRoy summoned the Ngāpuhi chiefs to a conference at Te Waimate mission on 2 September and apparently defused the situation. Tāmati Wāka Nene and the other Ngāpuhi chiefs undertook to keep Heke in check, Hōne Heke did not attend, but sent a conciliatory letter and offered to replace the flagstaff. The soldiers were returned to Sydney, but the accord did not last, the Ngāpuhi warriors led by Te Ruki Kawiti and Hōne Heke decided to challenge the Europeans at Kororāreka. On 10 January 1845, the flagstaff was cut down a second time, on 17 January, a small detachment of a subaltern and 30 men of the 96th Regiment were landed. A new and stronger flagstaff sheathed in iron was erected on 18 January 1845, Nene and his men provided guards for the flagstaff, but the next morning the flagstaff was felled for the third time. Governor FitzRoy sent over to New South Wales for reinforcements, early in February 1845 Kawitis warriors begun to plunder the settlers a mile or two from Kororāreka
7.
Hutt Valley Campaign
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The Hutt Valley Campaign was a brief round of hostilities in the lower North Island of New Zealand between indigenous Māori and British settlers and military forces in 1846. The campaign was among the earliest of the 19th century New Zealand wars that were fought over issues of land, the three conflicts also shared many of the same combatants. Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha was taken into custody during the campaign, tensions rose in the mid-1840s as settlers and Māori were left to deal with the consequences of haphazard and often dubious land purchases by the New Zealand Company. The boundaries of purchased land and Māori reserves were only vaguely indicated, creating confusion. Among the recipients was Ngāti Tama chief Te Kaeaea, then living at Kaiwharawhara in subservience to Te Rauparaha, Ngāti Rangatahi, although it had been in the Heretaunga district seasonally since the early 1830s, was offered nothing, although its territory was included in the purchase. Te Rauparaha, who saw himself as the owner by right of conquest. Spain arrived in Auckland in December and began his hearings into the Port Nicholson dealings in May 1842, an abortive bid by settlers and company representatives to arrest the two chiefs for impeding them resulted in the bloody Wairau Affray. The deeds indicated acceptance of a surrender of all our title to all our claims in all our lands which are written in the Document except pā, cultivations. Te Aro Māori demanded further payment, but relented four days later when Ngāti Mutunga chief Pōmare—visiting the area from his new home in the Chatham Islands—advised them to accept the offer. Te Aro gave a third of their payment to Pōmare. Another ₤530 was distributed to Māori of Kumutoto, Pipitea and Tiakiwai pā the same day, Te Rauparaha said he considered Port Nicholson to mean all the land seaward of the Rotokakahi Stream, about 2 km up the Heretaunga River. Spain raised his offer, offering Te Rauparaha another £100 to compensate for lost crops if he ensured Taringa Kuri left the valley immediately. On 12 November Clarke wrote a document acknowledging the receipt by Te Rauparaha, the Waitangi Tribunal noted that the document did not define the boundaries of the land that had been surrendered and gave Ngāti Toa no guarantee of reserves. It said the document was not signed by Te Rangihaeata, who received no share of the money until March 1845. The tribunal said there was no indication Ngāti Tama received any of the compensation for their crops. Government officials now began to suggest that force might be required to them to make way for European settlers. A series of redoubts and stockades were built in the Wellington area, including Fort Richmond beside the Hutt River, with further small outposts at Boulcotts Farm, all were manned by militia until the steady arrival of almost 800 British troops from Auckland and the Bay of Islands. Governor George Grey arrived in New Zealand in November 1845 and began to adopt an aggressive approach than his predecessor, Robert Fitzroy
8.
Wanganui Campaign
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The Wanganui Campaign was a brief round of hostilities in the North Island of New Zealand as indigenous Māori fought British settlers and military forces in 1847. The Wanganui settlement had established by the New Zealand Company in 1840 on land supposedly bought by William Wakefield in November 1839. By 1845 the settlement had grown to about 200 people and about 60 houses, another 100 soldiers from the Grenadier Company of the 65th Regiment arrived the following May. The establishment of the garrison heightened Te Mamakus expectations of government intervention, on 16 April 1847 a minor chief of the Wanganui people was accidentally shot by a junior army officer, suffering a head injury. Five of the six killers were captured by lower Wanganui Māori, four were court-martialled in Wanganui, the execution prompted a further revenge attack. About 500 or 600 heavily-armed Māori formed a taua that swept down the Wanganui River in a procession of war canoes in early May, initially plundering and burning settlers houses, the warriors also killed and mutilated a soldier from the 58th Regiment who ventured out of the town. The towns residents abandoned their homes at night to begin sleeping in a group of fortified houses. On 19 May Te Mamakus warriors made their first attack on the town, approaching from the west and north, in June reconnaissance missions were mounted up the valley of the Wanganui River from the garrison—which now contained 500 to 600 soldiers—resulting in some minor skirmishes. On 20 July about 400 Māori fighters approached the town from the low hills inland, occupying a ridge at St Johns Wood where they had dug trenches and rifle-pits and thrown up breastworks. About 400 imperial soldiers commanded by William Anson McCleverty became involved in a series of skirmishes along a pathway through swampy ground. After being bombarded with artillery fire, Māori forces charged on the troops, Māori withdrew to the trenches and breastworks, maintaining fire on the British troops until nightfall. Three British soldiers died and one was wounded in the clash, on 23 July Te Mamakus forces appeared again, exchanging fire with British forces before retiring upriver to their stronghold near Pipiriki. In February 1848 Grey negotiated a settlement with Te Mamaku. Twelve years of cooperation and development followed, with the gradual alienation of yet more Māori land which led to more conflict
9.
First Taranaki War
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The war was sparked by a dispute between the government and Māori landowners over the sale of a property at Waitara, but spread throughout the region. It was fought by more than 3,500 imperial troops brought in from Australia, as well as soldiers and militia. Total losses among the imperial, volunteer and militia troops are estimated to have been 238, while Māori casualties totalled about 200, the war ended in a ceasefire, with neither side explicitly accepting the peace terms of the other. Although there were claims by the British that they had won the war, there were widely held views at the time they had suffered an unfavourable, historians have also been divided on the result. Historian James Belich has claimed that the Māori succeeded in thwarting the British bid to sovereignty over them. But he said the Māori victory was a one, leading to the invasion of the Waikato. An opinion sought by the tribunal from a constitutional lawyer stated that the Governor, Thomas Gore Browne. The term First Taranaki War is opposed by some historians, who refer only to the Taranaki Wars, the 1927 Royal Commission on Confiscated Land also referred to the hostilities between 1864 and 1866 as a continuation of the initial Taranaki war. The catalyst for the war was the sale of 600 acres of land known as the Pekapeka block, or Teiras block. Browne accepted the purchase with full knowledge of the circumstances and tried to occupy the land, one commentator observed, with reference to Waitara, We seem to be fast approaching a settlement of that point, whether Her Fair Majesty or His Dark Majesty shall reign in New Zealand. The British were convinced that their system represented the best that civilization had to offer, however, in the 20 years since the signing of the Treaty, the Māori had made significant political advances. One of the principles of the King Movement was their opposition to the sale of Māori land. Teira was paid a deposit for the land in December 1859. When Māori obstructed surveyors as they work on the block. Two days later a deed for the sale of the disputed Pekapeka block was executed, four hundred men landed at Waitara the next day to fortify a position and the survey of the land began on 13 March without resistance. On the night of 15 March, however, Kingi and about 80 men built an L-shaped pā, or defensive strong point, at Te Kohia, at the south-west extremity of the block, commanding the road access. The next day, they uprooted the surveyors boundary markers and when ordered the day,17 March, to surrender. Golds troops opened fire and the Taranaki wars had begun, golds troops, by then numbering almost 500, poured in heavy fire all day from as near as 50 metres, firing 200 rounds from two 24-pound howitzers as well as small arms fire
10.
Invasion of the Waikato
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The Waikato is a territorial region with a northern boundary somewhat south of the city of Auckland. Hostilities lasted for nine months, from July 1863 to April 1864, the campaign was fought by a peak of about 14,000 Imperial and colonial troops and about 4,000 Māori warriors drawn from more than half the major North Island tribal groups. Grey reactivated the invasion plans in June 1863 amid mounting tension between Kingites and the government and fears of a violent raid on Auckland by Kingite Māori. Troops crossed into Waikato territory three days later and launched their first attack on 17 July at Koheroa, but were unable to advance for another 14 weeks. The campaign ended with the retreat of the Kingitanga Māori into the interior of the North Island. The Governor-General normally gives Royal Assent to legislation by signing on her behalf, the First Taranaki War had ended in March 1861 as an uneasy truce between government and Māori forces, with both sides recognising they had reached a stalemate. Browne concluded that members of the Kingite movement would have to be compelled to submit to British rule, in response to Brownes belligerence, Kingite leaders formed plans to launch a raid on Auckland on 1 September and burn the town and slaughter most of its residents. Brownes invasion plan was suspended when he was replaced by Sir George Grey in September that year, the so-called Great South Road would provide quick access to troops in the event of an invasion. In November 1862 he ordered a gunboat steamer from Sydney and purchased another in Lyttelton to supplement the supply system, by early 1863 the imperial government had provided Grey with 3000 men for the expected war. Events in early 1863 brought tensions to a head, the raiders, led by Rewi Maniapoto and Wiremu Kīngi, sent a message to Gorst—who was absent at the time—to quit the property or risk death, Grey recalled Gorst to Auckland soon after. On 4 April Grey arranged for a 300-strong Imperial force to evict Māori from the contested Tataramaika block in Taranaki and reoccupy it. The ambush, ordered by Rewi, may have been planned as an attempt on Grey. Concerned by the aggression, some Kingites began resurrecting their plan to raid Auckland. But in correspondence to London Grey cited that incident as proof of the imminent danger to New Zealand settlers. On 9 July 1863 Grey issued a new ultimatum, ordering that all Māori living between Auckland and the Waikato take an oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria or be expelled south of the river. As many young men retreated into the bush with their weapons, officials began seizing others—including the ill and aged—who declined to swear the oath, by the instigation of some of you, officers and soldiers were murdered at Taranaki. Others of you have expressed approval of these murders. You are now assembling in armed bands, you are threatening to come down the river to ravage the Settlement of Auckland
11.
Tauranga Campaign
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The Tauranga Campaign was a six-month-long armed conflict in New Zealands Bay of Plenty in early 1864, and part of the New Zealand wars that were fought over issues of land ownership and sovereignty. The campaign was a sequel to the invasion of Waikato, which aimed to crush the Māori King Movement that was viewed by the government as a challenge to the supremacy of the British monarchy. The new fortification, which known as the Gate Pā, was built just 5 km from imperial troops. Puhirake, finding it difficult to keep his force together without a battle in prospect. Meanwhile, fighting had broken out nearby. A large contingent of East Coast Māori, possibly as many as 700 warriors, were making their way towards the conflict at Waikato and their route took them through the territory of another tribe which saw themselves as allies of the Pākehā, the Arawa tribe based around Rotorua. Forewarned of this, the Arawa chiefs called back their tribesmen, pausing in Tauranga to borrow guns from the British, they hastened onward to Rotorua. Four hundred warriors of the tribe were mobilised and they met, while the main redoubt was garrisoned by Ngāi Te Rangi, the smaller one was manned by about 30 members of the Ngāti Koheriki hapu and another 10 men from Piri-Rikau and other hapu. The total garrison of Gate Pā was about 230, on 5 April Cameron abandoned hope of pursuing Ngāti Hauā leader and prominent Kingite Wiremu Tamihana after his foe evacuated the besieged Te Tiki o te Ihingarangi pā near Lake Karapiro. He switched his attention to Tauranga, arriving there on 21 April in HMS Esk, on the afternoon of 28 April, Cameron launched an hour-long attack on the front of Gate Pā with four batteries of artillery placed at a range of between 350 and 800 metres. Those forces were joined by a detachment of the Naval Brigade from the warships Esk, Falcon, at first light on 29 April the assembled guns and mortars opened fire again, this time maintained for more than eight hours, destroying the palisade and completely suppressing Māori gunfire. An estimated 30 tonnes of shell and shot were dropped on or near the Māori position, another 300 men followed at a distance as a reserve. Some in the initial British assault force were shot as they entered the main pā, a lull of about five minutes occurred, during which time Captain G. R. Greaves, who was with the files of the assault party, left the pā and reported to Cameron that the redoubt had been captured. But minutes later, as the rear of the pā was breached by the 68th Regiment, in a sequence of events that is still unclear, fierce fighting erupted, taking a heavy toll on the invaders and panicked British forces began streaming out of the pā. Historian James Cowan wrote, More than a hundred of the column were casualties, and the glacis. The Maoris suffered too, but not severely, thirty-one of the British force died, including 10 officers, while 80 were wounded. Several theories exist to explain the British stampede from the pā, a contemporary report by a seaman in the pā suggested that the flood of soldiers from the 68th Regiment at the rear was mistaken for Māori reinforcements
12.
East Cape War
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At least five separate campaigns were fought in the area during a period of relative peace in the long-running 19th century New Zealand wars. Pai Mārire arrived on the east coast from Taranaki about 1865, in 2013 the Crown paid $23 million in financial redress and expressed profound regret over the unjust attacks in Hawkes Bay in 1866 and apologised for subsequent land confiscations. In 1863 the government enacted laws to confiscate the land of Māori deemed to have been in rebellion against the government in the land wars. The laws were aimed at punishing Māori for their aggression and also establishing law, order, from early 1865 the government began confiscating wide areas of Taranaki and Waikato, depriving Māori of their food sources and livelihood. In many parts of the North Island the resultant resentment and anger found expression in the radical, nationalistic elements of Pai Mārire. In early 1865 Pai Mārire leader Te Ua Haumēne sent two prophets, Kereopa Te Rau and Patara Raukatauri, to convert East Coast tribes, Kereopa, an ageing veteran of the Waikato wars, carried with him the head of Captain P. W. J. Lloyd, who had killed in the Ahuahu attack of April 1864 in Taranaki. Ignoring warnings that his life was in danger, Volkner sailed back to Opotiki, the schooner was looted and Volkner and another missionary, Thomas Grace, were taken captive. The following day Volkner was hanged, then beheaded, Grace remained captive for two weeks before escaping. A poorly-armed Māori party led by chiefs including Ropata Wahawaha mounted a raid on Pai Mārire adherents at Mangaone, near Pukemaire. McLean immediately supplied Mokena with weapons and ammunition, then dispatched about 100 Colonial Defence Force troops under Major James Fraser. The HMS Eclipse landed the troops at Hicks Bay and at the mouth of the Waiapu River on 5 July 1865 in a bid to capture Kereopa and Patara, shelling their Hauhau enemy the next day. Fulloon and two of its crew were shot and killed and the vessels mast was taken ashore and erected as a niu or sacred pole for Pai Mārire rites. In Auckland, fears grew that the spread of Pai Mārire could unite tribes against settlers in a tide of religious fanaticism, the captured stockade was then burned. Though outnumbered 500 to 200, Ropata captured the positions, then used a revolver to execute prisoners from his own tribe who had converted to the religion. On 18 August at a pā between Tokomaru and Tolaga Bay a heavily outnumbered force of 36 men under Henare Potae was reinforced by another 90 under Ropata in a sharp and bloody engagement. Twelve of the Pai Mārire were killed, prompting survivors to abandon the East Cape region, eight Whakatohea Māori were killed in the two-day clash. On 4 October McDonnell led a force to Te Tarata, a new pā about 6 km from Opotiki, when the force came under heavy fire, McDonnell sent for cavalry and artillery reinforcement, who surrounded the pā on three sides and began shelling it
13.
Te Kooti's War
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Te Kootis War was among the last of the New Zealand wars, the series of 19th century conflicts between the Māori and the colonising European settlers. The conflict was sparked by Te Kootis return to New Zealand after two years of internment on the Chatham Islands, from where he had escaped with almost 200 Māori prisoners of war and their families. Te Kooti, who had been held without trial on the island for two years, told the government he and his followers wished to be left in peace and would fight only if pursued and attacked. But two weeks after their return to New Zealand, members of Te Kootis party found themselves being pursued by a force of militia, government troops, Te Kootis force routed them in an ambush, seizing arms, ammunition, food and horses. The engagement was the first in what became a guerrilla war, involving more than 30 expeditions by colonial. Te Kooti was finally granted sanctuary by the Māori king in 1872 and moved to the King Country and he was formally pardoned by the government in February 1883 and died in 1893. Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki was born about 1832 into the Ngati Maru sub-tribe of the Māori people in Poverty Bay on the shore of East Cape. The protests were part of a movement to recover occupied land, despite his involvement in land politics, Te Kooti stayed clear of the Pai Mārire religion when it spread to the East Coast in early 1865. He fought with kūpapa Māori and government troops against Pai Mārire men, women and children in the siege of Waerenga-a-Hika in October 1865. Te Kooi claimed to have killed two Pai Mārire fighters in the battle, but was accused of being a spy and was arrested after the siege ended. His repeated pleas to be told of what offence he had accused of. Prisoners were kept in conditions with minimal health care and forced to build roads and barracks. In April 1867, a year after their arrival, prisoners were told they would not be repatriated until East Coast land confiscations had been determined, by 1868 the mood of the exiles darkened as they realised there were no plans to return them to New Zealand. A total of 298 people—163 men,64 women and 71 children—sailed out of the Chatham Islands, arriving at a cove at Whareongaonga, south of Turanga. The letter also asked that they be left in peace and not be pursued as they made their way to the interior of the North Island, while in the Chathams Te Kooti also learned of the sale of disputed Poverty Bay land in which he held an interest. The transactions involved many of those, both Māori and European settler, whom he killed in his Poverty Bay campaigns. Te Kooti rejected the demand, declaring he would fight if he was pursued and attacked. Te Kooti intended to settle in the village of Tauranga
14.
Waikato
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Waikato is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District and it is governed by the Waikato Regional Council. It is usually referred to by using the definite article, the Waikato, broadly, the extent of the region is the Waikato River catchment. Other major catchments are those of the Waihou, Piako, Awakino, the region is bounded by Auckland on the north, Bay of Plenty on the east, Hawkes Bay on the south-east, and Manawatu-Wanganui and Taranaki on the south. Waikato Region is the fourth largest region in the country in area and population, It has an area of 25,000 km², the region encompasses all or part of eleven territorial authorities, the most of any region of New Zealand. It is centred on the Waikato which consists of Waikato District, Matamata-Piako District, Waipa District, South Waikato District, the name for the region is taken from the Waikato River, waikato is a Māori word traditionally translated as flowing water. To the west, the region is bounded by the Tasman Sea, the coastal region is largely rough hill country, known locally as the Hakarimata Range, though it is more gently undulating in the north, closer to the mouth of the Waikato River. The coast is punctured by three natural harbours, Raglan Harbour, Aotea Harbour, and Kawhia Harbour. The area around Raglan is noted for its black sand beaches and for its fine surfing conditions at Manu Bay. To the east of the hills lies the broad floodplain of the Waikato River. The area around Cambridge has many thoroughbred stables, the north of the region around Te Kauwhata produces some of New Zealands best wines. Dozens of small lakes lie in this area, the largest of which is Lake Waikare. To the east, the land rises towards the slopes of the Kaimai. The upper reaches of the Waikato River are used for hydroelectricity, the lowest and earliest-created such lake is Lake Karapiro, now developed as a world-class rowing centre, where the world championships were held in 2010. The climate is mild and temperate with rainfall of 1200–1600mm per annum. Summers are drier with maximum temperatures of 25–28 degrees Celsius, summer droughts occur one year in ten. Winter maxima are 12–15 degrees Celsius, the lower areas experience regular morning fog, under anticyclonic conditions, which burns off by late morning to produce many still, clear sunny days. Morning frosts are common during winter anticyclones
15.
Tauranga
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Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century and by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963, Tauranga City is the centre of the fifth largest urban area in New Zealand, with an urban population of 134,400. The city lies in the corner of the Bay of Plenty. Tauranga is one of New Zealands main centres for business, international trade, culture, fashion, the Port of Tauranga is New Zealands largest port in terms of gross export tonnage and efficiency. This sudden population growth has made Tauranga New Zealands 5th largest city, the earliest known settlers were Māori who arrived at Tauranga in the Takitimu and the Mataatua waka in the 13th century. At 9 am on Friday 23 June 1826 the Herald was the first European ship to enter Tauranga Harbour, henry Williams conducted a Christian service at Otamataha Pā. In December 1826 and again on March 2007 the Herald travelled to Tauranga from the Bay of Islands to obtain supplies of potatoes, pigs, in 1835 a Church Missionary Society mission station was established at Tauranga by William Wade. Rev. Alfred N. Brown arrived at the CMS mission station in 1838, john Morgan also visited the mission in 1838. Europeans trading in flax were active in the Bay of Plenty during the 1830s, some were transient, others married local women and settled permanently. The first permanent non-Maori trader was James Farrow, who travelled to Tauranga in 1829, obtaining flax fibre for Australian merchants in exchange for muskets and gunpowder. Farrow acquired an area of 2,000 square metres on 10 January 1838 at Otumoetai Pā from the chiefs Tupaea, Tangimoana and Te Omanu. In 1840, a Catholic mission station was established, bishop Pompallier was given land within the palisades of Otumoetai Pā for a church and a presbytery. The mission station closed in 1863 due to wars in the Waikato district. The Tauranga Campaign took place in and around Tauranga from 21 January to 21 June 1864, the Battle of Gate Pa is the best known. The battle of Gate Pā was an attack on the well fortified Pā and its Māori defenders on 29 April 1864 by British forces made up of approximately 300 men of the 43rd Regiment and a naval brigade. It was the single most devastating loss of life suffered by the British military in the whole of the Māori Wars, the British casualties were 31 dead including 10 officers and 80 wounded. The Māori defenders abandoned the Pā during the night with casualties estimated at 25 dead, under the Local Government Order 2003, Tauranga became legally a city for a second time, from 1 March 2004. In August 2011, Tauranga received Ultra-Fast Broadband as part of the New Zealand Governments rollout, Tauranga is located around a large harbour that extends along the western Bay of Plenty, and is protected by Matakana Island and the extinct volcano of Mauao
16.
New Zealand land confiscations
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The confiscation law targeted Kingitanga Māori against whom the government had waged war to restore the rule of British law. More than 1,200,000 hectares or 4.4 percent of land were confiscated, mainly in Waikato, Taranaki and the Bay of Plenty, but also in South Auckland, Hauraki, Te Urewera, Hawkes Bay and the East Coast. Land not used by for military settlers would be surveyed and laid out as towns and rural allotments and then sold, much of the land that was never occupied by settlers was later sold by the Crown. Some land was returned to Māori, although not always to its original owners. Some returned areas were purchased by the Crown. Several claims have been lodged with both the Waitangi Tribunal and the New Zealand Government since the 1990s seeking compensation for confiscations enacted under the Land Settlement Act, premier Alfred Dometts ministry immediately began expanding their plans for mass confiscations. The proposal was to place 5000 military settlers on the Waikato and Taranaki frontiers and he proposed making roads throughout the land to link the military settlements and towns and estimated the entire cost to be £3.5 million. The funds would be raised with a loan from the Bank of New Zealand, which Defence Minister Russell had founded, security for the loan would be provided by the profits expected from the sale of confiscated land to new immigrants. By October the scheme had grown again, with the number of settlers in Taranaki, Waikato and other areas now pegged at 20,000. In Taranaki alone,8000 military settlers would be spread across 40 settlements stretching across 80,000 hectares from Waitara to Waitotara, the Bill was introduced by the Native Minister, Sir William Fox, who said its primary purpose was to suppress the present rebellion. The word confiscation did not appear in the legislation, the minister conceded that land of Māori who were not in rebellion could also be confiscated, but said they would be entitled to compensation through a Compensation Court. The Governor could then set apart any land within these districts for settlements for colonisation, all such land was automatically deemed to be discharged from all title interest or claim of any person. Claims for compensation would be considered by Compensation Courts established under the Act, money raised from the sale of land would be directed towards the repayment of the expenses of suppressing the present insurrection as well as providing any compensation awarded. Despite Māori making up a third of New Zealands population, the Parliament had no Māori members, in the House of Representatives, only two MPs spoke in the debate on the Bill. G. be they friends or be they foes, former Attorney-General William Swainson opposed the legislation, claiming it was in breach of both the treaty and the New Zealand Constitution Act. He said the Crown could not, with honour and good faith and he described the legislation as immoral, claiming it was in fact a Bill for the confiscation of Native lands of the province, that object being veiled by a specious form of words. He predicted that confiscation and military settlement would lead to a war of extermination, confiscation was promoted by the press and many settlers because of its potential to provide cheap land and repay the cost of fighting the land wars. The Southern Cross newspaper condemned the conduct of the blood-thirsty murderers in the Waikato and declared, There is only one way of meeting this, and that is by confiscation, the natives have forced it upon us
17.
Scorched earth
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A scorched earth policy is a military strategy that targets anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. Specifically, all of the assets that are used or can be used by the enemy are targeted, such as sources, transportation, communications, industrial resources. The practice can be carried out by the military in enemy territory and it may overlap with, but is not the same as, punitive destruction of the enemys resources, which is done for purely strategic/political reasons rather than strategic/operational reasons. The strategy of destroying the food and water supply of the population in an area of conflict has been banned under Article 54 of Protocol I of the 1977 Geneva Conventions. The Scythians used scorched earth methods against King Darius the Great of Persia, the Scythians, who were nomadic herders, retreated into the depths of the Steppes, destroying food supplies and poisoning wells. Many of Darius troops died from starvation and dehydration, the Greek general Xenophon records in his Anabasis that the Armenians burned their crops and food supplies as they withdrew before the advance of the Ten Thousand. The Greek mercenary general Memnon suggested to the Persian Satraps the use of the scorched earth policy against Alexander as he moved into Asia Minor, the system of punitive destruction of property and subjugation of people when accompanying a military campaign was known as vastatio. Two of the first uses of scorched earth recorded both happened in the Gallic Wars, after the Helvetii were defeated by a combined Roman-Gallic force, the Helvetii were forced to rebuild themselves on the shattered German and Swiss plains they themselves had destroyed. The second case shows actual military value, during the Great Gallic War the Gauls under Vercingetorix planned to lure the Roman armies into Gaul and then trap, to this end, they ravaged the countryside of what are now the Benelux countries and France. This did cause problems for the Romans, but Roman military triumphs over the Gallic alliance showed that this alone was not enough to save Gaul from subjugation by Rome. During the Second Punic War in 218–202 BC, the Carthaginians used this method selectively while storming through Italy, after the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC, the Roman Senate also elected to use this method to permanently destroy the Carthaginian capital city, Carthage. The buildings were torn down, their stones scattered so not even rubble remained, however, the story that they salted the earth is apocryphal. Julian might expect, that a conqueror, who possessed the two instruments of persuasion, steel and gold, would easily procure a plentiful subsistence from the fears or avarice of the natives. But, on the approach of the Romans, the rich, the Danes left Chester next year and marched into Wales. In the Harrying of the North, William the Conquerors solution to stop a rebellion in 1069 was the brutal conquest, williams men burnt whole villages from the Humber to Tees, and slaughtered the inhabitants. Food stores and livestock were destroyed so that surviving the initial massacre would soon succumb to starvation over the winter. The destruction is depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry, the survivors were reduced to cannibalism, with one report stating that the skulls of the dead were cracked open so that the brains could be eaten. Between 100,000 and 150,000 perished and the area took centuries to recover from the damage, during the Hundred Years War, both the English and the French conducted chevauchée raids over the enemy territory to damage its infrastructure
18.
George Grey
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Sir George Grey, KCB was a British soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony, the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer. By political philosophy a Gladstonian liberal and Georgist, Grey eschewed the class system for the life of Aucklands new governance he helped to establish. Grey was born in Lisbon, Portugal, the son of Bvt. Lieutenant-Colonel George Grey, of the 30th Regiment of Foot, who was killed at the Battle of Badajoz in Spain just a few days before. His mother, Elizabeth Anne née Vignoles, on the balcony of her hotel in Lisbon and she was the daughter of a retired soldier turned Irish clergyman, Major later Rev. John Vignoles. Greys grandfather was Owen Wynne Gray, Greys uncle was John Gray, who was Owen Wynne Grays son from his second marriage. Grey was sent to the Royal Grammar School, Guildford in Surrey, early in 1830, he was gazetted ensign in the 83rd Regiment of Foot. In 1830, his regiment having been sent to Ireland, he developed much sympathy with the Irish peasantry whose misery made an impression on him. He was promoted lieutenant in 1833 and obtained a certificate at the examinations of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. In 1837, at the age of 25, Grey led a catastrophically ill-prepared expedition of exploration of north-west Australia – only one man of his party had seen northern Australia before. It was at that time believed that a great river entered the Indian Ocean from the north-west of Australia, others joined the party at Cape Town, and early in December they landed at Hanover Bay. Wrecked, almost drowned, and completely lost, with Grey speared in the hip in a skirmish with Aborigines and they were picked up by the Beagle and Lynher and taken to Mauritius to recover. At about this time, Grey became one of the few Europeans to learn the Noongar language of south-west Western Australia, on 2 November 1839 at King George Sound, Grey married Eliza Lucy Spencer, daughter of the late Government Resident. Their only child, born in 1841 in South Australia, died aged 5 months and it was not a happy marriage. She lived a life of misery until old age brought a formal reunion, Grey adopted Annie Maria Matthews in 1861, following the death of her father, his half-brother, Sir Godfrey Thomas. She married Seymour Thorne George on 3 December 1872 on Kawau Island, Grey was the third Governor of South Australia, from 1841 to 1845, as a replacement for George Gawler, under whose stewardship the colony had become bankrupt. Gawler was also responsible for the illegal retribution exacted by Major OHalloran on an Aboriginal tribe. Grey served as Governor of New Zealand twice, from 1845 to 1853 and he was arguably the most influential figure during the European settlement of New Zealand during much of the 19th century
19.
Waitara, New Zealand
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Waitara is a town in the northern part of the Taranaki region of the North Island of New Zealand. Waitara is located just off State Highway 3,15 kilometres northeast of New Plymouth and its population was 6312 in the 2013 census, an increase of 24 from 2006. Waitara was the site of the outbreak of the Taranaki Wars in 1860 following the purchase of land for English settlers from its Māori owners. Disputes over land that was confiscated by the Government continue to this day. The commonly accepted meaning of the name Waitara is mountain stream, in 1867 the settlement was named Raleigh, after Sir Walter Raleigh. It reverted to its name with the establishment of the borough of Waitara in 1904. Prior to European colonisation, Waitara lay on the overland route between the Waikato and Taranaki districts. Vestiges of numerous pā on all strategic heights in the district indicate close settlement and closely contested possession, just before and in early European times, by various tribes. Some Te Atiawa were taken to Waikato as prisoners and slaves, pākehā settlers who came to New Plymouth in the 1840s and 1850s viewed nearby Waitara as the most valuable of Taranakis coastal lands because of its fertile soil and superior harbour. The company claimed that Te Atiawa had either abandoned the land or lost possession of it, tensions between settlers and local Māori began as early as July 1842, when settlers who had taken up land north of the Waitara River were driven from their farms. A year later 100 men, women and children sat in a path to disrupt the surveying of land for sale. They established substantial cultivations of wheat, oats, maize and potatoes, selling it to settlers and also for export, the Waitangi Tribunal noted that the group allegedly eventually owned 150 horses and up to 300 head of cattle. In 1857 the issue came to a head with the offer for sale of land at Waitara and at Turangi, further to the north, by two individuals, Ihaia Te Kirikumara and a minor chief, Pokikake Te Teira. The dispute ultimately led to the outbreak of war in Waitara on 17 March 1860, the war, in which 2300 Imperial troops fought about 1400 Māori, ran for 12 months before a ceasefire was negotiated. Later campaigns during the war included the major British defeat in the Battle of Puketakauere, close to Te Kohia pā, on 27 June 1860 which cost the lives of 32 Imperial troops and of five Māori. A major British sapping operation at the strongly defended Te Arei pā up the Waitara River began in February 1861, as a result of this operation, Colour Sergeant John Lucas was awarded the Victoria Cross. For further information see First Taranaki War In May 1863 war resumed in Taranaki, in 1884 the Government returned as Native reserves 103,000 hectares of the 526,000 hectares of Taranaki land it had confiscated, although the land remained in government control. By 1990 half of the reserves had been sold to Pakeha settlers by the Native Trustee without reference to Maori, the remainder was leased to settlers with Maori receiving only a peppercorn rental return
20.
Thomas Gore Browne
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Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne KCMG CB was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda. In 1824 he purchased an Ensigncy in the 44th Foot, in 1829 he purchased a Captaincy. In 1836, as a Major, he exchanged into the 41st Foot, in 1842 he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army, in 1845 he purchased the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 41st Foot, and in 1849 he exchanged into the 21st Foot. He was Governor of St Helena from July 1851 to December 1854 and he was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army in 1854, by which time he was back in his original regiment, the 44th Foot. In 1857, he exchanged from the 14th Foot to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 43rd Foot, in September 1855, he was appointed Governor of New Zealand, replacing temporary Administrator Robert Wynyard. On 5 March 1860, Browne ordered the occupation of the land. The town of Gore, New Zealand was named after him, from 1861 until 1868 he was Governor of Tasmania. He was promoted Colonel in the Army in 1864, from September 1870 to April 1871, he was Administrator of Bermuda. He died in London on 17 April 1887 and he married Harriet, daughter of James Campbell of Craigie, Ayrshire, who survived him. The eldest son, Harold, commanded the first battalion kings royal rifle corps in the Boer war of 1899-1900 and his daughter Ethel married Hugh Locke King, they built the Brooklands motor racing circuit on estate they farmed. His youngest son, Wilfrid was the first Bishop of Kimberley, first Taranaki War New Zealand wars Waitara, New Zealand History of New Plymouth DNZB World statesmen – St. Helena
21.
New Plymouth
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New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the British city of Plymouth from where the first English settlers migrated, the New Plymouth District includes New Plymouth City and several smaller towns. The New Plymouth District is the 10th largest district in New Zealand, the district has a population of 74,184 – about two-thirds of the total population of the Taranaki Region. This includes New Plymouth City, Waitara, Inglewood, Oakura, Okato, the city itself is a service centre for the regions principal economic activities including intensive pastoral activities as well as oil, natural gas and petrochemical exploration and production. It is also the financial centre as the home of the TSB Bank. As described under awards, New Plymouth won multiple awards in 2008, the city was in 2010 chosen as one of two walking & cycling Model Communities by the government. Based on New Plymouths already positive attitude towards cyclists and pedestrians and it is also noted for being a coastal city with a mountain within 30 minutes drive, where residents and visitors to New Plymouth can snowboard, ski, water ski and surf all in the same day. In 1828 Richard Dicky Barrett set up a trading post at Ngamotu after arriving on the trading vessel Adventure, Barrett traded with the local Māori and helped negotiate the purchase of land from them on behalf of the New Zealand Company. Settlers were selected by the Plymouth Company, which was set up to attract emigrants from the West Country of England, the first of the towns settlers arrived on the William Bryan, which anchored off the coast on 31 March 1841. The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 created the New Plymouth Province, with a Provincial Council given jurisdiction over an area of 400, five years later the name of the province changed to Taranaki Province. The province was abolished in 1876, a Town Board was formed in 1863 and in August 1876 the town was constituted as a borough. Its new status did little to overcome some outside perceptions, however, I find a great liking for this slow, old hole. It is a quiet, unassuming place and has not done so much to attract immigrants and settlers by exaggerating reports, as some districts have done. The Fitzroy Town District was merged with New Plymouth borough in August 1911, Vogeltown, Frankleigh Park and Westown were added a year later, by 1913 the town had a population of 7538. New Plymouth was declared a city in 1949, every three years the Mayor,14 councillors and 16 community board members are elected by the New Plymouth Districts enrolled voters. The full council, sub-committees and standing committees meet on a six-weekly cycle, the Policy and Monitoring standing committees have delegated authority from the council to make final decisions on certain matters, and they make recommendations to the council on all others. The four community boards–Clifton, Waitara, Inglewood and Kaitake–as well as the subcommittees, New Plymouth District Councils annual operating revenue for 2008/2009 is more than $188 million. The current Mayor of New Plymouth is Andrew Judd, in May 2016 Judd announced that he will not run for mayor again in the upcoming local government elections
22.
57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot
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The 57th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of line infantry in the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 77th Regiment of Foot to form the Middlesex Regiment in 1881, the regiment was raised in Somerset and Gloucester by Colonel John Arabin as the 59th Regiment of Foot in 1755 for service in the Seven Years War. It was re-ranked as the 57th Regiment of Foot, following the disbandment of the existing 50th and 51st regiments, the regiment, which originally operated as marines, was deployed to Gibraltar in 1757, to Minorca in 1763 and to Ireland in 1767. It was dispatched to Charleston, South Carolina in February 1776 for service in the American Revolutionary War, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776 and stormed Fort Montgomery at the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery in October 1777. The regiments light company then served under General Lord Cornwallis and was taken prisoner at the Siege of Yorktown in October 1781 and it adopted a county designation as the 57th Regiment of Foot in August 1782. After this it moved to Nova Scotia in October 1783 and returned to England in November 1790, in 1793 the regiment embarked for the Low Countries for service in the Flanders Campaign and re-enforced the garrison at Nieuwpoort for some months before returning home later in the year. The regiment returned to Flanders in 1794 before returning again in 1795. It embarked for the West Indies in spring 1796 and took part in the capture of Saint Lucia in May 1796 before embarking for Trinidad in 1797, a second battalion was raised in 1803 to increase the strength of the regiment but spent most of the war in Jersey. The 1st battalion embarked for the Mediterranean Sea in November 1805 and, after four years at Gibraltar, the battalion fell back to the Lines of Torres Vedras in October 1810. The battalion earned the regiment its nickname of the Die Hards after their participation in the Battle of Albuera, one of the bloodiest battles of the war, in May 1811. The commanding officer of the battalion, Colonel William Inglis, was struck down by a charge of shot which hit him in the neck. He refused to be carried to the rear for treatment, but lay in front of his men calling on them to hold their position, the casualties of the battalion were 422 out of the 570 men in the ranks and 20 out of the 30 officers. The battalion also fought at the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813 and it then pursued the French Army into France and saw further action at the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813, the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813 and the Battle of the Nive in December 1813. The battalion embarked for North America in May 1814 for service in the War of 1812 but, without seeing any action, the regiment traveled to New South Wales in detachments as escorts to prisoners in 1824. It moved on to India in 1830 and, while there, the regiment did not embark for home until April 1846. In September 1854 the regiment embarked for service in the Crimean War, it fought at the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and it moved to Malta in June 1856 and then sailed for India to help suppress the Indian Rebellion in May 1858. It then sailed for Auckland in New Zealand in November 1860 for service in the New Zealand Wars, the regiment returned to England in 1867 and then moved to Ceylon in 1873. From Ceylon it sailed to South Africa in 1879 for service in the Anglo-Zulu War, on 1 July 1881 the Childers Reforms came into effect and the regiment amalgamated with the 77th Regiment of Foot to form the Middlesex Regiment
23.
Waitangi Tribunal
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The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. The Tribunal is not a court of law, therefore, the Tribunals recommendations and they are sometimes ignored, for instance in the foreshore and seabed dispute. Abuse included murder, rape, physical and psychological torture and long-term enslavement, the inquiry process contributes to the resolution of Treaty claims and to the reconciliation of outstanding issues between Māori and Pākehā. In 2014 the Tribunal found that the Maori had never intended to give up their sovereignty when they signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, the Honourable Matiu Rata was Minister of Māori Affairs in the early 1970s and the politician most responsible for the Tribunals creation. Originally the Tribunal could investigate grievances only since 1975, but in 1985 a law meant the Tribunals jurisdiction was extended back to 1840. The subsequent findings of many Treaty breaches by the Crown in various inquiries led to a backlash against the Tribunal. The Tribunal has often been an issue in the 1990s and 2000s. Originally a Tribunal investigation and report was a prerequisite for a Treaty settlement with the New Zealand Government and this was an increasingly popular short-cut to settlement in the face of the slow Tribunal process. The deadline for submitting claims was 1 September 2008. As a consequence, the Māori people would be denied their claims for radio frequencies, in June 1990 claim Wai 150 was lodged by Sir Graham Latimer on behalf of the New Zealand Māori Council. The Waitangi Tribunal amalgamated the Wai 26 with the Wai 150 claim, the final report of the Tribunal recommended that the Crown suspend the radio frequency tender process and proceed to negotiate with the Iwi. The Ngāi Tahu Maori Trust Board filed the claim with the Waitangi Tribunal in 1986, the claim covered nine different areas and was heard over two years from 1987. The Tribunal released its report in 1991 – at that time it was the tribunals most comprehensive inquiry. It found that the Crown acted unconscionably and in repeated breach of the Treaty of Waitangi in its dealings with the tribe. Ngāi Tahu also filed a claim in regards to commercial fisheries, Ngāi Tahu settled with the Crown in 1998, and received $170 million in compensation, an apology, and the return of its sacred mountain Aoraki/Mount Cook. On 2 July 2011 the Tribunal released its report into the Wai 262 claim. The Wai 262 claim concerns the ownership of, and rights to, mātauranga Māori in respect of indigenous flora and fauna. The Wai 262 claim, and the subsequent Ko Aotearoa Tēnei report, is unusual in Tribunal terms because of its wide scope and the contemporary nature of the issues being grappled with
24.
Otago
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Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres and its population was 219,200 in the June 2016. The name Otago is an old Māori southern dialect word, introduced to the south by Europeans in the 1840s. Otago is also the old name of the European settlement on the Otago Harbour, established by the Weller Brothers in 1831, major centres include Dunedin, Oamaru, Balclutha, Alexandra, and the major tourist centres Queenstown and Wanaka. Kaitangata in South Otago is a prominent source of coal, the Waitaki and Clutha rivers provide much of the countrys hydroelectric power. Some parts of the area covered by Otago Province are now administered by either Canterbury Regional Council or Southland Regional Council. The Central Otago wine region produces award winning wines made from such as the Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Merlot. It has a reputation as New Zealand’s leading Pinot noir region. The Otago Province was the whole of New Zealand from the Waitaki River south, including Stewart Island and it included the territory of the later Southland Province and also the much more extensive lands of the modern Southland Region. Initial settlement was concentrated on the port and city, then expanded, notably to the south-west, the 1860s saw rapid commercial expansion after Gabriel Read discovered gold at Gabriels Gully near Lawrence, and the Central Otago goldrush ensued. Further gold discoveries at Clyde and on the Arrow River around Arrowtown led to a boom, New Zealands first daily newspaper, the Otago Daily Times, originally edited by Julius Vogel, dates from this period. New Zealands first university, the University of Otago, was founded in 1869 as the university in Dunedin. The Province of Southland separated from Otago Province and set up its own Provincial Council at Invercargill in 1861, after difficulties ensued, Otago re-absorbed it in 1870. Its territory is included in the region of the old Otago Province which is named after it and is now the territory of the Southland region. The provincial governments were abolished in 1876 when the Abolition of the Provinces Act came into force on 1 November 1876, two in Otago were named after the Scottish independence heroes Wallace and Bruce. From this time the national limelight gradually shifted northwards, beginning in the west, the geography of Otago consists of high alpine mountains. The highest peak in Otago is Mount Aspiring / Tititea, which is on the Main Divide, from the high mountains the rivers discharge into large glacial lakes. In this part of Otago glacial activity - both recent and very old - dominates the landscape, with large U shaped valleys and rivers which have high sediment loads, River flows also vary dramatically, with large flood flows occurring after heavy rain
25.
Melbourne
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Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in Australia and Oceania. The name Melbourne refers to an urban agglomeration spanning 9,900 km2, the metropolis is located on the large natural bay of Port Phillip and expands into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon mountain ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley. It has a population of 4,641,636 as of 2016, and its inhabitants are called Melburnians. Founded by free settlers from the British Crown colony of Van Diemens Land on 30 August 1835, in what was then the colony of New South Wales, it was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837. It was named Melbourne by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Bourke, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. It was officially declared a city by Queen Victoria, to whom Lord Melbourne was close, in 1847, during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s, it was transformed into one of the worlds largest and wealthiest cities. After the federation of Australia in 1901, it served as the interim seat of government until 1927. It is a financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region. It is recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and a centre for street art, music. It was the host city of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the main passenger airport serving the metropolis and the state is Melbourne Airport, the second busiest in Australia. The Port of Melbourne is Australias busiest seaport for containerised and general cargo, Melbourne has an extensive transport network. The main metropolitan train terminus is Flinders Street Station, and the regional train. Melbourne is also home to Australias most extensive network and has the worlds largest urban tram network. Before the arrival of settlers, humans had occupied the area for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years. At the time of European settlement, it was inhabited by under 2000 hunter-gatherers from three indigenous tribes, the Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung and Wathaurong. The area was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and it would be 30 years before another settlement was attempted. Batman selected a site on the bank of the Yarra River. Batman then returned to Launceston in Tasmania, in early August 1835 a different group of settlers, including John Pascoe Fawkner, left Launceston on the ship Enterprize
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Oakura
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Oakura is a small township in New Plymouth District, Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 45,15 kilometres south-west of New Plymouth, okato is 12 km further south-west. The Oakura River flows past the town and into the North Taranaki Bight, to the south is the Kaitake Range, part of Egmont National Park. The population of Oakura was 1,380 in the 2013 Census, the Oakura Messenger is a monthly publication delivered to all letterboxes in the area. On 5 July 2007 the town was hit by a tornado, Oakura is well known for its beach—Oakura Beach. One of only three beaches along the west coast of New Zealand which is facing, in 2007 it became one of the first Blue Flag accredited beaches in Oceania. Only two others—Fitzroy and East End beach in nearby New Plymouth—received the same award that year, as of 2010, Oakura Beach has retained its blue flag status. The Oakura River was named after the female ancestor Akura-matapū of the Kurahaupō waka, oakura-matapu was the original name of the river, and it literally means Belonging to Akura-matapū. Ngāti Tairi hapū holds mana whenua in Oakura, Ngāti Tairi belongs to the larger descent group of Ngā Mahanga a Tairi. Ngāti Tairi and Ngā Māhanga a Tairi are a part of the tribe Taranaki, Ngāti Tairi retain their take ahi-kā through the marae Oakura Pā beside the southern side of the Oakura River. People have been living in the area of Oakura for hundreds of years, when war broke out in 1860, Ngāti Tairi as part of Nga Mahanga and Taranaki joined in the offensives against the British. The nearby Tapuae ridge was a site of conflict. On 4 May 1863 a party of about 40 Māori warriors ambushed a military party on a coastal road west of the town. The revenge attack on the party, escorting a British defaulter to New Plymouth for trial. South Road is Oakuras main street, and most local businesses and services are situated around here, other places of interest include the townships three parks – Matekai, Corbett and the Shearer Reserve. Koru Pā is a historic reserve situated 3 km south-east of Oakura township, thought to be one of the first Māori settlements in Taranaki, Māori tradition recognises that it may have been built as early as 1000AD by Nga Mahanga a Tairi, a hapū of the Taranaki iwi. Ringcraft Moana is a jewellery business with showroom, garden. The Wavehaven, on Surf Highway 45 just south of Oakura, offers accommodation, once a year Oakuras artists are opening up their studios to the public in a two weekend event
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Harry Atkinson
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Sir Harry Albert Atkinson KCMG served as the tenth Premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Colonial Treasurer for a total of ten years. He also participated in the formation of military units to fight in the New Zealand Wars. Atkinson, born in 1831 in the English village of Broxton, Cheshire, received his education in England and he was accompanied by his brother Arthur and by members of the Richmond family. On arriving in New Zealand, Harry and Arthur bought farmland in Taranaki, James and William Richmond also later entered politics. Atkinsons correspondence shows that he was satisfied with his decision to move to New Zealand. He named his small farmhouse Hurworth after a village in England where he had lived as a boy, although—as his father worked as an itinerant builder, Atkinson first became involved in politics, as a member of the Taranaki provincial council. He represented the Grey and Bell electorate from 1857 to 1865 and he was a member of the Executive Council from 1868 and again in 1874. He was Deputy Superintendent in 1861–1862 to Charles Brown, and again in 1863, of particular interest to him was policy regarding Māori-owned land, which he wished to see taken over by the British settlers. Continued Māori ownership, he believed, prevented development for the colony. Atkinson and his Richmond relations regarded the Māori as savages, when fighting broke out in Taranaki between Māori and the settlers in 1860, Atkinson helped to organise a number of volunteer units to fight the Māori. He himself fought in a number of battles, the importance of Atkinsons contribution is debated, but his endeavours earned him respect from like-minded politicians. The death of William Cutfield King in February 1861 caused a by-election in the Grey, Atkinson was elected to Parliament unopposed. In 1864, he was made Defence Minister in the government of Frederick Weld and he was highly active in this portfolio, advocating a policy of self-reliance in the conduct of the war. In 1866, however, he retired due to the death of his wife Amelia, the following year, he married his cousin Annie. He returned to parliament from 1867 to 1869 for the Town of New Plymouth electorate, in 1872, Atkinson returned to politics for the Egmont electorate, to defeat a candidate who was allied with William Fox, a prominent supporter of Māori land rights. Atkinson declared that he would not see a Foxite get in, once in parliament, Atkinson soon became involved in economic matters, opposing the policies of Julius Vogel. Vogel, who supported extensive borrowing to finance public works, was attacked by Atkinson as reckless, Vogels response was that Atkinson was overly cautious, and would delay economic progress. Atkinson and Vogel both agreed, however, that borrowing by provincial government was indeed out of control, the two also believed that provincial politicians were petty and self-interested, and that more co-operation was needed between provinces and the state
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Omata
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Omata is a locality in Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 45 just southwest of New Plymouth, the population was 474 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 27 from 2001. The area was the site of the Omata Stockade, built to house soldiers during tensions at the time of the First Taranaki War in 1860–61, Omata School is a coeducational full primary school with a decile rating of 8 and a roll of 147. In 2003, the school celebrated its 150th jubilee, Omata was an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1853 to 1870. Seven Members of Parliament represented the electorate in the 1st to 4th Parliament of New Zealand
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Victoria Cross
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The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
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Armstrong Gun
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Such guns involved a built-up gun construction system of a wrought-iron tube surrounded by multiple wrought-iron strengthening coils shrunk over the inner tube to keep it under compression. In 1854, Armstrong approached the Secretary of State for War, later increased in bore to 5-pounder, the design performed successfully with respect to both range and accuracy. Over the next three years he developed his system of construction and adapted it to guns of heavier calibre. Armstrong did not consider his system suited to heavier guns but higher authorities had him develop a 20-pounder field & naval gun, a 40-pounder siege gun, the Royal Navy used all these guns and all except the 20-pounder saw service in New Zealand. The guns rifling was on the system, the bore of the gun had 38 grooves along its length with a twist of one turn per 38 calibres. This system had just been developed by Martin von Wahrendorff and Giovanni Cavalli in Sweden, on top of each gunpowder cartridge was a lubricator consisting of tallow and linseed oil between two tin plates, backed by a felt wad coated with beeswax and finally by millboard. The Armstrong breech loaders used a sliding block, called a vent-piece. To hold both block and plug tightly in place the guns used a hollow breech screw behind the block, which the gunner rotated to tighten and seal the breech before firing. As reported by the translator Robert Swinhoe, after the British attack on the Chinese fort at Pehtang, Numbers of dead Chinese lay about the guns, the Armstrong gun—mainly the 12 pounder—was used extensively in the 1863 conflict in New Zealand between British troops and Maori in the Waikato. A well preserved 12-pounder which was used in the battle of Rangiriri is at the Te Awamutu museum, the barrel can traverse 6 degrees left or right without moving the gun carriage. The wheels are wooden with a 75 mm wide steel band, the wheel diameter is 1.7 m. The track width is 1.8 m, barrel width at the muzzle is 140 mm. Such was the confidence of the army in the accuracy of the gun that at the battle of Hairini Ridge the artillery was fired over the heads of the infantry as they stormed the ridge. The infantry took cover in a depression in the ground in front of the Maori trenches. On July 4,1868 Armstrong guns were used at the Battle of Ueno by forces supporting the Imperial government of Japan, in 1863 an Ordnance Select Committee met to consider the merits of muzzle-loading and breech-loading guns. In 1864, even before they had concluded their investigations, the Government stopped the manufacture of Armstrong breech-loaders. To allow rifling to be used with muzzle-loaders, Armstrong proposed in 1866 a new system whereby the shells had studs on the outside, which aligned with grooves in the barrel of the cannon. This was adopted by the Government for the first generation of rifled muzzle-loaders, termed RML, together with Armstrongs built-up wrought-iron construction method and it was a major supplier of modern BL guns to the Royal Navy, British Army and the world export market until the 1920s
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Mortar (weapon)
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A mortar is a device that fires projectiles at low velocities and short ranges. The mortar has traditionally used as a weapon to propel explosive mortar bombs in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. The weapon is typically muzzle-loading with a short, often smooth-bore barrel, Modern mortars are light and easily portable. They can be used for fire support with a variety of ammunition. Mortars have been used for hundreds of years, originally in siege warfare, many historians consider the first mortars to have been used at the 1453 siege of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. A European account of the 1456 siege of Belgrade by Giovanni da Tagliacozzo said that the Ottoman Turks used seven mortars that fired stone shots one Italian mile high. The time of flight of these was long enough that casualties could be avoided by posting observers to give warning of their trajectories. However, earlier mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the Wangu, the earliest version of the Wangu dates back to 1407. Choe Hae-san, the son of Choe Mu-seon, is credited with inventing the first Wangu. Early mortars, such as the Pumhart von Steyr, were large and heavy. Simply made, these weapons were no more than iron bowls reminiscent of the kitchen, an early transportable mortar was invented by Baron Menno van Coehoorn. This mortar fired a shell, which had a fuse lit by the hot gases when fired. This innovation was taken up, necessitating a new form of naval ship. Mortars played a significant role in the Venetian conquest of Morea, an early use of these more mobile mortars as field weapons was by British forces in the suppression of the 1719 Jacobite rising at the Battle of Glen Shiel. High angle trajectory mortars held an advantage over standard field guns in the rough terrain of the West Highlands of Scotland. Coehorn-type mortars of approximately 180 pounds weight were used by both sides during the American Civil War and these answered as coehorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the enemy. The mortar had fallen out of use by the Napoleonic era. The German Army studied the Siege of Port Arthur, where heavy artillery had been unable to destroy defensive structures like barbed wire, the solution they developed was a short-barrelled rifled muzzle-loading mortar called the Minenwerfer, and was built in three sizes
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Te Whiti o Rongomai
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Te Whiti o Rongomai III was a Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealands Taranaki region. Te Whiti was born in Ngamotu, Taranaki, New Zealand in 1830, educated at a mission school, he later set up a flour mill in Warea. In 1860 Te Whiti was responsible for saving the lives of the crew, when Māori threatened the survivors on the beach he came to the rescue. He had a bullock killed and fed the survivors, sending a message to New Plymouth and this was the first time the government officials knew of the existence of Te Whiti. He was believed to be about 30 at the time, in 1867, the great Māori chief established a village at Parihaka. He wanted his people to regain their land, pride and self-respect after the confiscations in other parts of the North Island and his aim seems to have been to establish a new way for Māori to resist European attempts to take what was left of Taranaki. With his close relative, Tohu Kakahi, Te Whiti led the people of Parihaka in their nonviolent resistance to the confiscation of Māori land by the New Zealand Government. He was the son of Tohukakahi, a chief of the Patukai hapu of the Ngati Tawhirikura branch, Te Ati Awa tribe. As a youngster, Te Whiti was well educated by Māori elders and it also appears preacher Minarapa Te Rangihatuake taught Te Whiti scripture and to read and write. Te Whiti also became a pupil of Lutheran missionary Johannes Riemenschneider, while the Parihaka prophet turned his back on all acts of violence, he wasnt going to give up land without a fight. And so, passive resistance was born, though some, in darkness of heart, seeing their land ravished, might wish to take arms and kill the aggressors, I say it must not be. Let not the Pakehas think to succeed by reason of their guns, I want not war, but they do. The flashes of their guns have singed our eyelashes, and yet they say they do not want war, the government come not hither to reason, but go to out-of-the-way places. They work secretly, but I speak in public so all may hear. By that time, Parihaka was a stronghold of Taranaki Māori opposition to the loss of tribal lands, the government passed the Suppression of Rebellion Act 1863 to punish Māori rebels who had fought against the government mainly in Taranaki and the Waikato. This defined Māori fighting against the government as rebels, who could be detained indefinitely, while Te Whiti and Tohu Kakahi were incarcerated, Māori ploughmen came from all over the country to assist them to re occupy their confiscated land and prevent the building of roads. Hundreds were arrested and their property confiscated, reports of the Māori Ploughmans nonviolent struggle in the British media influenced the thinking of Mohandas K. Gandhi in South Africa. Popular Dunedin artist Jeremy Callander wrote a song about Te Whiti, tim Finn has a song on his self-titled album called Parihaka about Te Whiti
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Parihaka
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Parihaka is a small community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. The village was founded about 1866 by Māori chiefs Te Whiti o Rongomai, Māori near Parihaka and the Waimate Plains rejected the payments, however, and the government responded by drawing up plans to take the land by force. In late 1878 the government began surveying the land and offering it for sale, as fears grew among white settlers that the resistance campaign was a prelude to renewed armed conflict, the Hall Government began planning a military assault at Parihaka to close it down. Pressured by Native Minister John Bryce, the government finally acted in late October 1881 while the sympathetic Governor was out of the country, led by Bryce, on horseback,1600 troops and cavalry entered the village at dawn on 5 November 1881. The soldiers were greeted with hundreds of skipping and singing children offering them food, soldiers looted and destroyed most of the buildings at Parihaka. In a major 1996 report, the Waitangi Tribunal claimed the events at Parihaka provided a display of government antagonism to any show of Māori political independence. It noted, A vibrant and productive Māori community was destroyed and total State control of all matters Māori, with full power over the Māori social order, was sought. As long as he remained at Parihaka he constituted a threat to European supremacy in that he offered his people an alternative to the way of life the European sought to impose on them, the Parihaka International Peace Festival has been held annually there since 2006. The pā was set in sight of Mt Taranaki and the sea, in a clearing ringed by low hills and he was joined by a fellow chief, Tohu Kākahi and a close kinsman, Te Whetu. Within a year the settlement had grown to more than 100 large thatched whares around two marae and by 1871 the population was reported to be 300. Taranakis Medical Officer visited in 1871 and reported food in abundance, good cookhouses and it was the cleanest, best-kept pā he had ever visited and its inhabitants the finest race of men I have ever seen in New Zealand. By the end of the 1870s it had a population of about 1500 and was being described as the most populous and prosperous Māori settlement in the country, the village was described as an enormous native town of quiet and imposing character with regular streets of houses. Te Whiti remained neutral during the war, neither helping nor hindering Titokowaru. He told a meeting there would be a new era of fighting peace with no surrender of land and he also declared that because they had remained independent during the recent war, the confiscation of their land for being rebellious British subjects was unjust, invalid and void. As a result, the Government began buying back the land, including reserves, the sales were transacted as deeds of cession, often accompanied by bribes, malpractice and cheating by land agents. As Te Whiti continued to reject the overtures and bribery of land buyers, however, European anger towards Parihaka grew, fuelling calls for his dangerous movement to be suppressed. In mid-1878, as the government pressured the Government for more land, Colonial Treasurer John Ballance advocated the survey. Cabinet members expected to raise ₤500,000 for government coffers from the sale, Māori unease mounted as the surveying progressed, with little sign of the promised reserves
