BATTLE OF ORAKAU

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 64, 20 September 1939, Page 2

BATTLE OF ORAKAU

A DESPERATE RETREAT t;;iioe fights clear the second day of the iii-'ii-. was .<wn ;t pnkeha method oi iM.h-i." u;. ! ' s: ic! Paiiini \V\ Tapeka, a veto? an of tile battle of OniliAsi ! -n the Waiknto \vn<• agai iist the i>r t j.:h. >vh.!t ye;:"s ; i"lc; wards ho told Eision Best the adventures of "che Tuhoe psriy who fought there. "Mags were i'i:k-cl with earth and then placed so s in proUvt the heads of 111e sol(iicr-:. Those soldiers had become cautious and kept at a distance while filing {!t us. Th:\v had also separated more than they had on the first day. So the braves if Tuhoe pondered how this new method oi' lighting might be met. Then Kauae-roa of Tuhoe said that he could accomplish it. The chiefs asked "Hew will it be done by you?' He replied; "Wait until tho dusk ol' evening comes." It was agreed to. In the evening Kauae-roa seized his tomahawk. The soldiers were digging a ditch (sap) near the sap. Some were in front throwing out the earth. Behind them were soldiers. Now Kauue-roa sprang from his position to the head of the sap. TT'our var'ds was the distance that he leaped. AVith p. blow of his tomahawk he killed the foremost man in the ditch, and shouted in triumph. Then were heard the applauding cries of the garrison. When that leading man i" the ditch was slain we thought that the rest of the soldiers would retire but they did not. THE END. "On the third day the end came''' said Paitini. "The Europeans assembled their multitude of soldiers, they hvtd dug their ditch round a s'de of the fort until it was near our defences. It. was filled with soldiers, and many more were collected in the hollow from which they had' commenced the ditch. Then the bugles' sounded and the soldiers assaulted Orakau. Thj small outer defence was taken by them. Then we left and so fell Orakau. We were driven away from that fort just like a flock of sheep. The -•io]diey« wpi'n behind us and on both sides. They shot and stabbed us con tinually with their bayonets. Friend! We were driven for miles. The only thing that enabled a few to escape was the swamj); that swamp was our solvation. It was the cause of the ;i;i; lagging. IT"HOE KILLED. "Thirty of Tuhoe were slain at Oi'a kaiT, about twenty* cf us escaped. Of the eight Tuhoe women who wcr;» | in the pa, three were killed. One 1 or tliem was the wife of Tamarau Wainri. Tamarnu himself had a narrow cseape. A bullet struck his patu which was stuck in his belt, and glanced off it. My father was killed at Orakau but I shot three soldiers to square that account. "When we left the defences we did so in a body, chiefs, fighting men women, and young people. The soldiers almost surrounded us and many of our people were slain, and many wounded. I loaded my gun, a double barrel, while running. An old man of Tuhoe Avas in front of mc. He felJ 5 shot through the hips. As T passed him he said: "Son, this is the end. Be strenuous to save yourself." The soldiers were firing in to us all the time.

HAND TO HAND. "A fcnce_ overgrown with fern, stood in front. As we scrambled over it, we saw more soldiers before its. a long double line of them. We rushed that line. They shot us and stabbed us with bayonets. We strove to break the line. As we reached it a soldier tried to bayonet me. I parried the point a nd shot that soldier. He fell against the next man who shook him off, a,s a man from the rear line stepped forward into the vacant space. I that man with my second barrel and darted through the line. I PAITINI SHOT. "I hnd not 1 run far when I fell, shot through the th : gh. I feared that the soldiers would bayonet me, so I crawled away into cover dragging my gun with me. I lay under cover and reloaded my gun. The soldiers rushed past me in pursuit of other- but the Maori were much more active, especially m the swamp. "I kept under cover until- night fell, ttien I crawled away into the swamp. I had to drag my wounded leg along, "it had lost all he added. "I found some foul water in

a hole and drank much of it and as L proceeded I found muddy water in horse tracks and that helped me. We few survivors of Tuhoe met at Aotearoa. Tapiki cut the bullet out of my leg. . RETURN HOME. "T!u\n I got a stick and walked homo to Rua-tahuna. There were many of us wounded. Te Whenua-nui' had been shot in the knee. Another wrs shot in the breast the bullet passing through his body and coming out near the .'-boulder. We returned to Rua-tahuna by way of Te Whaiti. We had one horse also badly wounded, with us, and those most severely wounded took it in turns to ride it. That Avas how we returned home. "We were armed Avitii flint-look guns at Orakau ( and our ammunition ran, short, so Ave used peach stones for bullets. It was not until the fighting under Te Kooti occurred that avc obtained rifles (percussion locks). REPROACHES AT HOME. "When Ave arriA'cid at Rua-tahuna w e marched on to the inarae of the hamlet where avc Avcre met by the widoAA's of those aa t lio nad fallen at Orakau. They formed up in line to greet' us Avith reproaches for ha\ing been defeated and losing so many slain. The Avomcn had prepared for this function by donning ragged garments. They sang to us the following song which had been composed for the occasion. This class of song is known as a Whakatea, or a manawa Avera: — "For Avhat reason, O Te Whenua-nui Didst thou return? Better hadst thou died When fell the pride of Matatuh Stretched out in Waikatu's a alley In the sight of Maniapoto. 'Twas there pcale'.d forth the cannon That disturbed the very heavens. Prone lay my noble totara avool That grew by Mahihi-rangi stream, by Te Wai-riko. At both the two great rivers At Whakatane, at Rangitajk". Loud]A' Avail the a\ idow„Alas! My precious jewel ? Thou art gone/' WAIK A 7.0 I' F - IT"' LED. paitini quoted other laments one of which contemned belittling ic Terences to Xgati-Raukawa, on account of their being so half-hearted. They and other Waikato men thought more of their own safety than of fighting he said. "When we arrived at Waikato those tribes had become disheartened. We were defeated at Orakau because the soldiers Avere so very numerous. That Avas the reason. | Well that story is ended, how AveJ fought the pakch.a at Orakau.'' The native loss at Orakau was very .scA'ere being about 50 per cent of the 300 to 400 engaged. The Tuhoc loss Avas <50 per cent killed. Some 1700' troops Avcre engaged, a matter of four to one against the Maori, rifles and Armstrong guns against flint-lock muskets and shot guns.