HERO OF MILL FARM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 11, 15 May 1939, Page 6

HERO OF MILL FARM

HOW GUERRIN DIED

WHEN TE KOOTI RAIDED WHAKATAXi: On tlie Whakatane.Tancatua road past the old Arawa factory, just a mile or two out of Whakatane. stands the Mill Farm. The mill I'vom which the farm took its name is no mere and its foundations and thosj of the small redoubt which stood beside it show only as uneven mounds on the turf. Higher up between the road anil the river the faint traces of trenches and rifle pits show where in 18(59 Te Kooti's men dug themselves in to escape the straight shoot ing of Jean Guerrin, the .French miller, Avho for two days and nights stood ofT the Hauhau raiders. The story has been told often enough before but it bears repeat, ing. The defencc of the mill was almost hopeless from the first, but it was carried on with resolute gallantry, and probably provided sufficient diversion to save the lives of many Maoris and settlers. Worked for the Maoris Jean short and sturdy and about 4.1 years' of age, an excellent mechanic and flourmiller, lived with his Maori wife at the mill on the Poronu Stream. The mill and the house were models of efficiency and neatness, it is said. There was a small flower garden and a little vine yard from which Jean made wine. In those day s the Maoris were industrious growers of wheat and the mill had been built for the Ngfiti-j Pukcko by the Frenchman. .lust across the river from the redoubt and mill stood the large entrenched pa of Rauporoa, but when the raid came with shattering suddenness Guerrin and his mill garrison of seven or eight did not enter the pa. The attack on Rauporoa opened with Te Kooti's favourite manoeuvre With the Ngati-Pukeko crying ihem welcome the Hauhau advance guard approached the entrance to the pa. When close to their victims thev nr. Ed a volley into them killing, among others, the chief Hori Tunui. However, the Ngati-Pukeko tumbled back into their pa and held the Hauhaus off. There was not a great number of men in the fort at the time, the bulk of the lighters, it is said, being awav on the coast. However, when they hoard the firing these men ran the gauntlet of the Hauhau fire and entered the pa. A Good Shot While Te Kooti's main body was engaged at Rauporoa the mill and 'redoubt were hotly attacked by a detachment of a hundred men. Gucrnn had a. good double-barrel gun and plenty of ammunition,. He sent his Avife and sister-in-law into the redoubt while he remained alone in the mill, firing from the upper window, killing or wounding several Jlauiiaus His lire was supported frn-n tlv ivdoubt by a young man named Tautari and the others, with the wo-Tien loading guns for the inen ? the little garrison kept up a hot fire and h.dd the Hauhaus oil for two days and nights. So well sustained was the defence that the Hauhaus believed that there was a considerable number of men in the mill and refrained from attempting to rush it. They dug trenches and rifle pits two or three hundred yards away and sheltered there. At last the obvious thought occurred to them, and scouts were sent up the hills above the road. From that vantage spot the interior of the redoubt could be seen and the Hauhaus realised that only a handful were; holding the position. They reported this to the main body and the attack was pressed on with vigour. Last Stand Woik'ng up in skirmishing order the Hauhaus got close to the »valls and while some tried to set fire to a large raupo hut in the middle of the redoubt others tried to scale the para pet. Guerrin had been blazing away from the mill, but when he saw the plight tiie redoubt he left his post and t! : p. to join his people, taking up a position in tiij narrow gateway on ..he ca.-t side of the redoubt 'i■'iiig ngMt ;Mid left. At last a buiiet pierced h;s brain, but before he b 11 lie killed the leader of the war party Ririhana Koikoi, and another chief, Faoia Taituha. With Guerrin's death the resista.nce collapse, 1 .. Swinging their tomahawks the Hauhaus burst through the gateway over his body and swarmed over the walls, and the only two men in the pa jumped the rear parapet and ran across the flat to the river and Rauporoa. Mrs Guerrin and her sister were seized a lew moments after Guerrin killed. The elder woman threw herself down

and clasped the knees of the man who had seized her, a chief named Te Rangihiroa. and begged him to save her and her sister. He protected her but the three or four other women were tomahawked. Girl Tomahawked The mill was sacked and burned and the captives taken across the river to Te Kooti's camp. There the ruthless leader ordered Te Rangihiroa to take Mrs Guerrin as his wife and to kill her sister, who had refused to tell the Hauhaus where Guerrin. had hidden his reserve stock of gunIt had been buried in the redoubt). He obeyed the command and the 16 year old girl' died swiftly under the axe. After the raid the chief took the other sister to Taiawera and she lived there as his wife until her death. Captain Gilbert Mair with 80 men of the Armed Constabulary had been despatched from Ta.uranga on the news of the ra,id and Major Mair followed with the same number of 'Yha katane and Ngai.Tai natives., \\ hen they reached Whakatane thej* found that the people from Rauporoa had evacuated the pa and retired towards Matata. Whakatane Sacked Several Europeans who were living at Whakatane had narrowly escaped with their lives. They included George Cambridge, Mr and Mrs George Simpkins, the Melbourne family, Cumberlege and ethers. They left the settlement and crossed to an island in the river, subsequently moving to Matata. le Kooti s men, occupied Whakatane and hooted and burned the stores of Simpkins and Melbourne. Red shirts were a popu- , lar article of dress at that time and t these were eagerly seized by the Hauhaus. When the Government troops came [ up they skirmished at long range . with the Hauhaus. Next morning a , number of mounted Hauhaus appear- [ ed on the flat, driving off horses and cattle, but when the cavalry turned out they retired. In the evening ; Mair found that Te having ' burned Rauporoa and some 30 or 1" . stacks of wheat had retired up the . valley.

; PUBLISHING OF OLD NEWS-

, —o 1 PAPER ADVERTISEMENTS 1 IN 1860 THE N.Z. "SPECTATOR" 1 _ I " It is not always in the news col--1 umns of old newspapers thrtt we can * learn most about bygone times ami s manners. The advertisement columns " of such a paper as the "New Zealand " Spectator*' are full of interesting ' sidelights. The issue of 11th J.sly, * 1860 gives us the information lhat toitara timber was selling for 14s per hundred feet, that a dentist's hour-; 1 were 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and that * desirable building sites were for sale 1 in the town of Beaver the old name * for Blenheim. "It possesses a newspaper and a Customs House 7 ' are 2 mentioned as attractions. Old Dr. c Jacob Townsend's Sarsaparilla, "to 1 purify the blood,'' vies with Hollo. - way's Ointment, "The Cure for the s Million/' for the privilege of keeping 1 the public healthy. Importing lirms L specially advertised the miscellane- ' ous stocks, including furniture, just 2 arrived by the last boat. The "Spec- " tator" itself was in business selling c books and charts. "Carlyle's "French Revolution" and the latest by Vnae. - Ueray, Tennyson and Dickens could 5 be bought by readers who wished to *be right up to 'the nvnute. The Wellington Grammar School warshortly to open under the headmastership of 11. Becchy to teach i^atin^ c Greek, Mathematics, French, Ger--0 man Pianoforte with the usual bran 1 clies of a sound commercial educa. " tion as well. There is a rcmim'e" 3 that the Maori War was in progress ' in the advertisement of Captain ,lern ingham akeficld (son of ohc g'oat Edward Gibbon) calling for volunteers for the Wellington Yeomnnrv ' Cavalry, to provide their own mounts' " and accoutrements. But an insurance company had a cold douche to ap- [ ply to all but this moderate martial ardour, rather underlining that the * volunteers were only for homo defence. Tt extended its ordinary life " cover to men in the volunteers but - any policy-holder enlisted in the mill 1 tia, at grips with the Maoris\ would 1 have to pay an extra two and a half per cent on their premiums.