The First Taranaki War was an armed conflict over land ownership and
sovereignty that took place between
Māori and the
New Zealand Government in the
Taranaki district of New Zealand's
North Island from March 1860 to March 1861.
The war was fought by more than 3,500 imperial troops brought in from
Australia, as well as volunteer soldiers and militia, against Māori forces that fluctuated between a few hundred and about 1,500.
[1]
Total losses among the imperial, volunteer and militia troops are
estimated to have been 238, while Māori casualties totalled about 200,
although the proportion of Māori casualties was higher.
Wiremu Kingi,
who led the Taranaki Māori warriors, made a move which was to their
advantage by gifting the disputed land to the Māori King at a time when
local Māori forces were hard pressed by the British soldiers. The war
ended in a ceasefire, with neither side explicitly accepting the peace
terms of the other. Though 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 and humiliating result. Historians have also
been divided on the result.
[2] Historian
James Belich
has claimed that Māori succeeded in thwarting the British bid to impose
sovereignty over them, and had therefore been victorious. But he said
the Māori victory was a hollow one, leading to the invasion of the
Waikato.
In its 1996 report to the Government on Taranaki land claims, the
Waitangi Tribunal
observed that the war was begun by the Government, which had been the
aggressor and unlawful in its actions in launching an attack by its
armed forces. An opinion sought by the tribunal from a senior
constitutional lawyer stated that the Governor,
Thomas Gore Browne, and certain officers were liable for criminal and civil charges for their actions.
[3] The term "First Taranaki War" is opposed by some historians, who refer only to the
Taranaki Wars, rejecting suggestions that post-1861 conflict was a
second war.
[4]
The 1927 Royal Commission on Confiscated Land also referred to the
hostilities between 1864 and 1866 as a continuation of the initial
Taranaki war.
[5]
Background
The catalyst for the war was the disputed sale of 600
acres (2.4 km²) of land known as the Pekapeka block at
Waitara. Pokikake Te Teira, a minor chief of the
Te Atiawa iwi, sold the land to the
British despite a veto by the paramount chief of the tribe,
Wiremu Kingi and a "solemn contract" by local Māori not to sell.
[3]
Governor Browne accepted the purchase with full knowledge of the
circumstances and tried to occupy the land, anticipating it would lead
to armed conflict. A year earlier Browne had written to the Colonial
Office in England, advising: "I have, however, little fear that William
King (Kingi) will venture to resort to violence to maintain his assumed
right, but I have made every preparation to enforce obedience should he
presume to do so."
[3][6]
Although the pressure for the sale of the block resulted from the
colonists' hunger for land in Taranaki, the greater issue fuelling the
conflict was the Government's desire to impose British administration,
law and civilisation on the Māori as a demonstration of the substantive
sovereignty the British believed they had gained in the 1840
Treaty of Waitangi.
[2] The hastily written
Māori
translation, however, had given Māori chiefs an opposing view that the
English had gained only nominal sovereignty, or "governorship" of the
country as a whole while Māori retained "chieftainship" over their
lands, villages and treasures.
[1]
By 1860, it was tacitly recognised that British law prevailed in the
settlements and Māori custom elsewhere, though the British, who by then
outnumbered Māori, were finding this fact increasingly irksome.
[1][2]
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."
[3]
The British were convinced that their system represented the best that
civilization had to offer and saw it as both their duty and their right
to impose it on other peoples.
[2]
However, in the 20 years since the signing of the Treaty, the Māori
had made significant political advances. They had moved from being a
collection of independent tribes to an effective confederation. This was
called the
Māori King Movement and was largely centred on the
Waikato
region, but had influence over large areas of the North Island. One of
the uniting principles of the King Movement was their opposition to the
sale of Māori land and the concomitant spread of British sovereignty.
[1][2]
At the start of the war New Zealand's military and naval forces were
tiny following the withdrawal of the British 58th regiment in 1858,
leaving only one regiment in New Zealand. The New Zealand and Australian
governments were aware of an increase in French forces in New Caledonia
following the uproar going on in Europe. The New Zealand government was
determined that there should be no excuse for French interference in
New Zealand and was keen to increase the number of British troops as
security against any external threat. In 1859 there were only 1,000
soldiers in New Zealand with only 192 in New Plymouth, the nearest town
to the disputed land at Waitara. This was built up to 360 in February
1860 and by July this rose to 1,700, of which only 1,100 were
professional soldiers.
Because New Plymouth had been threatened many of the troops were used
to guard against a surprise attack and only 331 soldiers were used in
the first concerted attack on 27 June against a
pā.
The attacking forces were divided into 3 groups. This attack resulted
in a complete defeat with heavy loses of 30 killed or missing and 32
wounded. Following this disaster dispatches were sent to Australia which
resulted in a rapid rise in troops. By August 1860 there were 2,320
troops in Taranaki of which 860 were local militia or volunteers.
Because of the nature of the threat the forces were divide to protect
the settlers scattered around the "blocks "i.e. Waitara 467, Bell Block
165, Omata 49, Waireka 246 and New Plymouth 1,403.
However, effectives
were much lower than this, e.g. the militia force—on paper 425—had only
100 active soldiers. One of the main concerns for the government was the
1,700 women and children at New Plymouth. On the plus side many Māori
actively helped the settlers. Also missionaries in the Waikato kept up a
regular correspondence with the government as to the mood and
intentions of the Kingites in the Waikato. In this way the government
became aware of the increasing support in the form of material (lead
shot, powder, blankets) and food (potatoes were planted in fall back
positions in the hinterland). Settler families left their farms leading
to a shortage of food but this was offset by plantings close to
settlements guarded and patrolled by troops. A Māori gardening corps was
set up to clear the land for the farmers. One ongoing problem, faced by
the settlers and soldiers alike, was the exposed Taranaki coastline
without a protected harbour. Goods could only be unloaded at New
Plymouth in good weather, which meant that partly unloaded ships often
had to stand out to sea for a week or more until settled weather
returned. During one storm, the ship
George Henderson was
wrecked. By 9 October 1860, the field force available for active
operations in New Plymouth was 837 men plus 150 loyal Māori who fought
under the leadership of Mr Parris, assistant Native Secretary.
Battle at Te Kohia
On 22 February 1860, Browne declared
martial law
in Taranaki and two days later executed a deed for the sale of the
disputed Pekapeka block at Waitara, with 20 Māori signatories of Te
Teira's family being accepted as representing all owners of the land.
[3]
On 4 March, Browne ordered Colonel Charles Emilius Gold, commanding the
65th Regiment,
the Taranaki Militia and the Taranaki Rifle Volunteers, to occupy the
disputed block of land at Waitara in preparation for a survey. 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.
[3]
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 next day, 17 March, to
surrender, they refused. Gold's troops opened fire and the Taranaki wars
had begun.
Gold's 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.
[2]
Despite the firepower, the Māori suffered no casualties and abandoned
the pā that night. Though it was small – about 650 square yards – the pā
had been situated so that it was difficult to surround completely and
had also been built with covered trenches and 10 anti-artillery bunkers,
roofed with timber and earth, that protected its garrison.
The British objective at Waitara had been a rapid and decisive
victory that would destroy the main enemy warrior force, checking and
crippling Māori independence and asserting British sovereignty.
[2]
That mission failed and the Te Kohia clash ended as little more than a
minor skirmish with a result that disappointed English settlers.
[2]
Yet for Māori, too, the engagement had strong symbolic importance.
Outnumbered and outgunned, Kingi needed to draw allies from several
places, but by Māori
tikanga,
or protocol, support would not be offered to an aggressor. Te Kohia pa,
hastily built and just as quickly abandoned, appeared to have been
built for one purpose: to provide plain evidence of the Governor's
"wrong". The aggressor having been identified, others were then free to
launch reprisals under
utu laws.
[3]
Within days, Māori war parties began plundering the farms south of
New Plymouth, killing six settlers who had not taken refuge in the town.
Fearing an attack on New Plymouth was imminent, the British withdrew
from Waitara and concentrated around the town.
The Battle of Waireka
he military action at Waitara brought the result Kingi had been
hoping for and within 10 days of the Te Kohia battle, about 500 warriors
from the
Taranaki,
Ngati Ruanui and
Nga Rauru iwi
converged on the New Plymouth area to provide support. The warriors
built an entrenched and stockaded pā named Kaipopo on one of the hills
at Waireka, about 8 km southwest of New Plymouth and 4 km from the
Omata stockade that lay on the road to the town.
[7]
The area was scattered with some houses built by European settlers, and
on 27 March, five settlers, including two boys, were either shot or
tomahawked in the Omata district.
[8]
Tensions in New Plymouth quickly climbed and many settlers abandoned
their farms to flee for the safety of the town. Among those who remained
in the Omata area were the Rev. Henry Brown, the Rev. Thomas Gilbert
and several others who were either French or Portuguese. All felt safe:
both ministers were treated by Māori as
tapu or untouchable, while the others were confident the Māori grievance was with only the British.
[7][9]
About 1pm on 28 March, a British force of about 335 men – 28 Navy, 88 from the
British 65th Regiment, 103 members of the newly formed Taranaki Rifle Volunteers
[10] and 56 from a local militia –
[7][8]
set off in two columns to "rescue" those who had remained behind. It
would be the first occasion on which a British Volunteer corps engaged
an enemy on the battlefield.
Captain
Charles Brown,
in command of the settlers, was ordered to march down the coast until
he reached the rear of the Māori positions at Waireka. The Regulars,
under Lieut-Colonel G.F. Murray, marched down the main road to Omata,
intending to dislodge a war party reported to be at Whalers Gate, north
of Omata. Once the road was clear, it was intended they would be joined
by the Volunteers and militia, who had "rescued" the settlers, before
marching back to New Plymouth. Because of the heightened state of fear
in New Plymouth, however, Murray had been ordered to return his troops
to the town before nightfall. The Volunteers were armed with
muzzle-loading
Enfield rifles and the militia had old smooth-bore muskets from the 1840s, with each man issued with just 30 rounds of ammunition.
[8]
Murray met no resistance at Whalers Gate, but as he approached
Waireka he heard the sound of rapid firing towards the coast. He
entrenched his men and opened fire on the Kaipopo pā with a rocket tube.
The gunfire Murray heard was being exchanged between about 200 Māori
warriors
[2]
who, armed mostly with double-barrel shotguns and some rifles, were
firing from the cover of bush and flax in the river gully, and the
militia and Volunteers, who had retreated to the safety of the farmhouse
of settler John Jury.
About 5:30 pm, Murray sounded the bugle for a retreat, withdrawing
his Regulars for the march back to New Plymouth so they could arrive
before dark. His withdrawal left the settler force, which had already
suffered two killed and eight wounded, isolated at the farmhouse with
little ammunition and late in the night, carrying their casualties, they
scrambled across paddocks to the Omata stockade, arriving about 12:30
am, before returning to New Plymouth.
[8]
Late in the afternoon, meanwhile, Captain Peter Cracroft, commander of HMS
Niger,
had landed 60 bluejackets at New Plymouth and marched via Omata to
Waireka, encountering Murray as he prepared to retreat. Cracroft's
troops fired 24-pound rockets into the pā from a distance of about 700
metres and stormed it at dusk, tearing down three Māori ensigns. The
first man into the pā was leading seaman
William Odgers, who was awarded a
Victoria Cross for bravery – the first awarded in the New Zealand wars.
[8]
Cracroft's men then returned to New Plymouth, without making contact
with the settler force, who were still at the Jury farmhouse.
Cracroft was lauded as a hero for his mission, with claims of the
number of Māori killed by his troops ranging from 70 to 150. Total
European losses were 14 killed and wounded.
[8]
Historian James Belich has claimed the pā was more of a camp and all
but empty and the total Māori casualties amounted to no more than one.
[2]
He described the "legend" of Waireka as a classic example of the
construction of a paper victory, with invented claims of "enormous"
losses and a great British victory.
The settlers, apparently overlooked in the fracas, watched the action
from their house and the next day made their own way to New Plymouth,
where Gilbert said: "It was no wish of ours that an armed expedition
should be set on foot on our behalf. We were perfectly safe."
[7]
Murray was widely condemned for his actions in withdrawing his troops and a court of inquiry was convened into his conduct.
[8]
The Battle of Puketakauere
On 20 April 1860 Browne ordered a suspension of hostilities against
Taranaki Māori, fearing the intervention of the King Movement and a
possible attack on Auckland. He knew he lacked the resources to defend
Auckland if troops were engaged in Taranaki.
[2] Both Kingi and the Government made repeated diplomatic approaches to King
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
seeking his allegiance, but by early May Pōtatau seemed to have decided
to offer at least token support to Taranaki Māori, sending a Kingite
war party to the district under the control of war chief Epiha Tokohihi.
Kingi seized the opportunity to spark a confrontation with the imperial
government to demonstrate the viability of resistance and draw stronger
Kingite support.
[2]
Early in June, Atiawa war chief Hapurona began building a stockaded
pā, Onukukaitara, adjacent to an ancient, and apparently unpopulated and
unfortified, pā known as Puketakauere. The two pā were sited on a pair
of low hills 800m southeast of Te Kohia and 1.6 km south of the garrison
known as Camp Waitara (site of the modern town of Waitara), which had
been established to protect the surveying of Waitara. The pā posed a
military threat to the Waitara garrison and was seen as extreme
provocation.
On 23 June, a British reconnaissance party approached the pā, in what may have been an attempt to bait the Māori,
[2]
and was fired on. Colonel Gold immediately authorised an attack. Before
dawn on 27 June, the British commander at Waitara, Major Thomas Nelson,
marched out with 350 experienced troops and two 24-pound howitzers to
storm the pā, which was defended by about 200 Atiawa.
The troops intended to encircle the two hills, cutting off a path of
retreat for the Māori, before destroying Onukukaitara, above the
flax-covered stockade of which flew a flag. The troops split into three
divisions for the march. Nelson led the main body of almost 180 men and
the two howitzers on an approach from the north, intending to bombard
the stockade from the south-west. A second division of 125 men, led by
Captain William Messenger, was given the more difficult task of
approaching the area in darkness through a swampy gully and high fern
and scrub to the east, taking possession of the apparently deserted
Puketakauere, blocking the path of any possible reinforcements and
supporting Nelson's efforts against the main target. His approach was
made more challenging by the heavy mid-winter rain that had deepened the
swamp. The remaining division, about 60 men under Captain Bowdler, was
to take up a position on a mound between the pā and Camp Waitara,
blocking an escape to the north.
About 7am, Nelson's howitzers began pounding their target, but
created only a small breach in the fort. His men then approached the pā
across open ground, but came under heavy fire from Māori concealed just
metres away in deep trenches in a small natural gully. The attack was
described by some survivors as "hotter than anything in the great Indian
battles or in the attack on the Redan in the Crimea".
[11]
As they came under fire, Messenger's division found itself the target
of other Māori who ambushed them from outlying trenches on the
fern-covered slopes. Messenger's division became disordered and was
split into groups. Many troops were tomahawked in the swamp or drowned
as they fled to the flooded Waitara River. Most of the wounded were
abandoned and many of those were hacked to death. A group of survivors
with Messenger managed to join Nelson, who sounded the retreat, while
others remained hiding in the swamp and fern and returned to camp later. Puketakauere was both the most important and most disastrous battle
of the First Taranaki War for the British, who suffered losses of 32
killed and 34 wounded, almost one in five of the force engaged.
[11] It was also one of the three most clear-cut defeats suffered by imperial troops in New Zealand.
[2]
Despite claims at the time that the British killed between 130 and 150
of the enemy, Māori casualties were estimated to be just five, including
two Maniapoto chiefs.
[2][11]
Colonel Gold came under heavy criticism for the defeat. He was
accused of cowardice and stupidity and an attempt was made to persuade
the senior militia officer to arrest him. He was subsequently replaced
by Major-General
Thomas Pratt.
[2]
The real reason for the Māori victory, however, was a combination of
tactics and engineering techniques. Hapurona had enticed the British to
fight at a place of his own choosing and then used the twin ploys of
deception and concealment. He created a false target for the British
artillery with the fortification of Onukukaitara which, despite its flag
and flax-covered stockade, was essentially an empty pā. Māori defences
were instead concentrated on the old, apparently unfortified pā, where
deep trenches concealed the well-armed warriors until the British were
almost at point-blank range.
[2]
When the British were split into two groups at the two hills, Hapurona
was also able to switch warriors from each focus of action, forcing the
British to fight two battles while the Māori fought just one.
In the wake of the demoralising loss, the central portion of New
Plymouth was entrenched and most women and children were evacuated to
Nelson, out of fear the town would be attacked. The garrison was reinforced with almost 250 soldiers from the
40th Regiment, sent from Auckland, as well as additional artillery.
[11]
Further clashes
From August to October 1860, there were numerous skirmishes close to
New Plymouth, including one on 20 August involving an estimated 200
Māori, just 800 metres from the barracks on Marsland Hill. Many
settlers' farms were burned and the village of Henui, 1.6 km from town,
was also destroyed. Several farmers and settlers, including children,
were killed by hostile Māori as they ventured beyond the town's
entrenchments, including John Hurford (tomahawked at Mahoetahi on 3
August), Joseph Sarten (shot and tomahawked, Henui, 4 December), Captain
William Cutfield King (shot, Woodleigh estate, 8 February 1861) and Edward Messenger (shot, Brooklands, 3 March).
[12]
There were frequent skirmishes around Omata and Waireka, where
extensive trenches and rifle pits were dug on the Waireka hills to
threaten a British redoubt on the site of the Kaipopo pā.
[11]
With British forces in Taranaki boosted to about 2,000 by July, the
British intensified efforts to crush resistance. Governor Browne was
particularly worried that a general uprising would occur while the bulk
of troops in the country were concentrated in Taranaki and he appealed
to Britain and Australia for more reinforcements.
[2]
Major Nelson, meanwhile, destroyed several Te Atiawa villages including
Manukorihi, Tikorangi and Ratapihipihi, Pratt launched a major attack
with 1,400 men near Waitara on 9 September, burning and looting four
entrenched villages, and in October, he marched with a force of more
than 1,000 to the Kaihihi River at
Okato to conduct an operation with
sapping and heavy artillery to destroy several more pā.
[11] On 6 November, a party of between 50 and 150 Ngati Haua Kingites were routed in a surprise attack by 1,000 troops at Mahoetahi.
There were some humiliating setbacks for the British, however, with
1,500 troops retreating from a small Māori force at Huirangi on 11
September and a force of 500 suffering casualties in an ambush while
destroying a pā on 29 September.
[2]
Kingite warriors continued to travel between Taranaki and Waikato,
providing a peak force of about 800 in January 1861, with weapons and
ammunition being bought on the black market in Auckland,
Waiuku and
Kawhia, while in Taranaki posts at Omata, the
Bell Block, Waireka and Tataramakia were garrisoned – with each of those often surrounded by a cordon of pā.
[2]
Pratt's sapping campaign
In December 1860, Major-General Pratt began operations against a
major Māori defensive line called Te Arei ("The barrier") on the west
side of the Waitara River, barring the way to the historic hill pā of
Pukewairangi. The principal defences were Kairau and Huirangi, skilfully
engineered lines of rifle-pits, trenches and covered walkways. Backed
with heavy artillery and a force of 900 men, Pratt advanced from Waitara
on 29 December towards the Matarikoriko pā, between Puketakauere and
the Waitara River, before building a
redoubt
on the old Kairau pā under heavy day-long fire from bush-covered rifle
pits 150m away. Both sides exchanged heavy fire the next day, with
British troops expending 70,000 rounds of rifle ammunition and 120
rounds of shot and shell and suffering three deaths and 20 wounded. The
pā was captured on 31 December after being abandoned, and a stockade and
blockhouses built on the site for a garrison of 60.
A second redoubt, No.2, was built in 11 hours on 14 January 500m past
the Kairau redoubt and garrisoned by 120 men with artillery. Four days
later, Pratt and a force of 1,000 moved out another 400m to build
Redoubt No.3, which was garrisoned with 300 men and made the
headquarters of the
40th Regiment.
At 3:30 am on 23 January 1861, No.3 Redoubt was stormed by a force of
140 warriors of Ngati Haua, Ngati Maniapoto, Waikato and Te Atiawa, led
by Rewi Maniopoto, Epiha Tokohihi and Hapurona. Fierce fighting at
close quarters, involving rifles, bayonets, shotgun, hand grenades and
tomahawks, took place over the newly built parapet and in the boundary
trench and lasted until daylight when British reinforcements arrived
from Redoubt No.1. British losses in the fight were five killed and 11
wounded. Māori losses were estimated at 50. From 22 January, the day before the attack on No.3 Redoubt, Pratt began employing the
Royal Engineers to systematically apply the technique of
sapping
to advance towards Te Arei. Excavating through night and day under
frequent fire, Pratt's sap extended 768 yards and crossed the rifle pits
of the Huirangi pā, prompting Māori to abandon the pā and fall back on
Pukerangiora. Despite widespread criticism for his slowness and caution,
Pratt pressed on towards Te Arei, creating the most extensive
field-engineering works ever undertaken by British troops n New Zealand.
[13]
Five more redoubts were built as the saps continued to the edge of
the cliff above the Waitara River, but ceased after the intervention of
Kingite chief
Wiremu Tamihana, who helped negotiate a truce. A
ceasefire
was formally effected on 18 March 1861, ending the first phase of the
Taranaki War. For his actions on 18 March, Colour-Sergeant
John Lucas was awarded the
Victoria Cross.
By early 1861, settler opinion was evenly divided on Browne's stance
against Māori and the fairness of the Waitara purchase and many believed
the British had little hope of wearing the enemy down with further
military campaigns. Even Pratt expressed doubts the war could be won.
[2]
The district had also suffered great economic hardship, with emigration
all but coming to a stop and the destruction of three-quarters of
farmhouses at Omata, Bell Block, Tataraimaka, and settlements nearer the
town.
[14]
References
- ^ a b c d Michael King (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-301867-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Belich, James (1986). The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict (1st ed.). Auckland: Penguin. pp. 115–116. ISBN 0-14-011162-X.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Taranaki Report: Kaupapa Tuatahi by the Waitangi Tribunal, chapter 3.
- ^ James
Belich, in "The New Zealand Wars" (1986) dismisses as "inappropriate"
the description of later conflict as a second Taranaki war (pp. 120).
- ^ The Taranaki Report: Kaupapa Tuatahi by the Waitangi Tribunal, chapter 4.
- ^ Browne's
actions were strongly criticised by his successor, Sir George Grey in
dispatches to the Colonial Office. Historian James Cowan wrote that
Grey's conclusion was that Māori felt compelled to fight the Government
to retain their homes. See NZetc.org
- ^ a b c d Hollywood comes to Waireka, Waireka article at Puke Ariki museum website
- ^ a b c d e f g Cowan, James (1922). The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period, Vol. 1, 1845-1864.
- ^ Puke Ariki museum personal records for Henry Brown
- ^ Battalion celebrates 150th, Wanganui Chronicle, 17 March 2008
- ^ a b c d e f Cowan, James (1922). The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period, Vol. 1, chapter 20, 1845-1864.
- ^ B. Wells, The History of Taranaki, 1878, chapter 22.
- ^ James Cowan, The New Zealand Wars, Volume I, Chapter 22.
- ^ Cowan, James (1922). The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period, Vol. 1, chapter 24, 1845-1864.
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