FIFTY YEARS AGO.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 776, 28 March 1910, Page 8

FIFTY YEARS AGO.

THE FIGHT AT WAIREKA, j ' NEW ZEALAND VOLUNTEERS. ! THEIR BAPTISM OF FTRE. . To-day, March 28, 1910, is the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Waireka, memorable for the fact that it was the first occasion on which New Zealand volunteers went into action and won the battle. The. heroes of that engagement are few in number now, but there are still sufficient left to celebrate the occasion. At New Plymouth the old fellows who took part in that fight will to-day foregather, and every honour will be shown them by the people of Taranaki. The Battle of Waireka saved New I'lymcuth. The fight itself was the. outcome of rumours and reports that _ were far from being correct ; BtilL it saved New Plymouth from attack. It is necessary to give the history of events which led up to the war in Taranaki, if one is to appreciate the effect of the fight at Waireka. Te Tefra Soils His Hand. In the beginning of March, 1859, Te Teira offered for sale his interest in a block of 600 acres of land at Waitara, and in the presence of Wiremu Kingi and a large assemblage of Natives placed his mat before the Governor's feet in token of its surrender. Wiremu Kingi immediately declared to the Governor: "Notwithstanding Teira's offer I will not permit the sale of Waitara to the pakeha. Waitara is in my hands. I will not give it up. I will not! I will not! I will notf I have spoken." Teira!s title was accepted ■as indisputable by the Governor (Colonel T. Gore Browne),-and a part of the purchase money (£100) was paid by Mr. Parris,- Assistant Land Commissioner, to Teira on.November 29, 1859, in the presence of Wiremu Kingi, who then stated: "The land is theirs, but I will not let them sell it." In January, 1860, Mr. Parris received instructions to set about the necessary survey, but in case of any resistance the surveyors were to retire and report to LieutenantColonel Murray at New Plymouth, who had received instructions to take military possession, of the land, and to have the survey made under the protection of the troops. The surveyors were opposed, but no violence was used.. After taking further pacific measures, Colonel Murray, in accordance with his instructions, issued_ a proclamation of martial law. At this period the force under Colonel Murray consisted of 200 of the 65th and 110 Taranaki Volunteer Rifles, and this force being considered insufficient the whole of the militia was embodied ,for active service;

'The settlers of the Hua and; Bell Block set to work and built an entrenched blockhouse, and the settlers on the Omata side constructed a large stockade with flanking angles, the site chosen being a rounded hill about four miles from New Plymouth. On Thursday, March 1, 1860, the Airedale arrived from Auckland with .Governor Browne and suite, accompanied by Colonel Gpld, an extensive military staff, and 200 rank and file of the 65th. The same day H.M.S.S. Niger dropped anchor in the_ roadstead.' The Governor immediately .issued a proclamation in Maori, the' concluding paragraph of which read as follows:—

■' "The Governor .desires peace. 'It de? ponds upon 'Wiremu Kingi whether there shall be peace or not. If he ceases to interfere with'what is not his own he will.be treated as a friend, and there will be peacei" , A meeting took place between the Maoris and the Governor, but Wiremu Kingi was not present.

A Brush With the Enomy. Oh>Monday, March 5,. Colonel Gold, at the: head of a strong force, -marched to the disputed ground at Waitara. On Saturday, March 17, Wiremu Kingi and his followers' were' driven from tne_pa, which was on the disputed land. Private Corbett, of the 65th, and Mounted Volunteer Saiten were killed in this affair. ■ A Native, who was in the' pa during the" attack, stated that of: the seventy defenders some few we're wounded but none' killed.

The - escape. of. the insurgents gave such confidence to the southern and other tribles as at once to expedite their decision to ' co-operate with Wiremu ; Kingi. The chief Hanahi,- who but a short time before had solemnly signed his allegiance to the Queen, with the greater part of his people, joined the rebels at Ratapihipihi Pa, situated about a mile from the Omata stockade. The Rev. Thomas Gilbert, in his history, says: "The "Wednesday following the : commencement of hostilities at Waitara I was rather startled, just about dusk in the afternoon, by a Native walking without ceremony into my room. This was- Epiah, the nephew of Parate'na, a great chief of the Taranaki tribe. He was very much excited, and said in almost breathlesß haste, 'Don't you go town. The Maoris are all coming up from the south. They will kill all wno are armed. There are 400 all armed as the Maoris reckon; 800 as you count. One Maori is as good as a hundred soldiers I'" On Tuesday, Marrih 27, Ford, Shaw, and Passmore, three settlers, wandered into the bush arid while returning by the village of Omata were cruelly murdered. Two boys who bad gone out in search of some milch cows were also done to death. The excuse offered for the slaughter of these-inno-cent people was that it was. done to bring on the fight. The Southern Maoris had no real grievance against the pakeha,.. but according to Epiah, "it was the too-frequent and all-absorb-ing topic of the Maoris, that of the increasing number and power of the white man, and the future probability that he would not leave a home for •the children of the Maori." There were about thirty-five whites temporarily housed at Brookwood, the property of the Rev. H. Brown, and these were assured by the Maoris that they' and all belonging to tbean were tapu, and the pakeha men were invited to the pa, and were all told to wear white scarfs j they were also told to look every Maori full in the face, so that the, whites may be known in case of confusion.

The Challenge to Combat. On Wednesday morning, March' 28, >large bodies "of Natives were visible from the Omata. Stockade busily engaged in erecting palisading and in forming entrenchments; whilst several Ted flags, indicative of their desire to fight, were planted in the neighbourhood. About the middle of the day the Ngatiruami tribe, about 400 Strong, after a warlike speech by their rebel chief, Manahi, danced a wardance, and rushed down, -the hill towards the stockade, fired off a volley in defiance, performed the war-danco and returned to their pa. ' In the meanwhile there was great excitement in Now Plymouth over these occurrences. Rumours were afloat,that more murders wero committed and grave anxiety was felt for the safety of the Rev. H. Brown' and those with him.. So intense' was the feeling of suspense that towards noon the preconcerted Bignal-guns were fired from Marsland HilL, when the whole of the militia and volunteers mustered for duty. A force was immediately organised for the rescue of the settlors. No. 10 Company of the 65th, with some bluejackets from 'H.M.S.S. Niger, and 125 of the volunteers and militia, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Murray, inarched out of the town. The volunteers and militia were each served with thirty rounds of ball ammunition, and no man was allowed a round more. This section of the expedition took the beach road, while the soldiers and sailors, under the immediate command of Colonel Murray, took the inland

road. _ The farmer were commanded by Captains Browne, H. Atkinson, and Stapp. The arrangement appears to have been 'that the civilians should, if possible, pass by the beach round the Native force, and take charge of the families supposed to be in danger; the regular troops, Ka.lt.ing at the- crossroad, called the Whaler's Gate, about three-quarters of 'a mile nearer tho town than the stockade, and about two miles from Mr. .Brown's house. The pa on the Waireka Hill, which is a lofty hill commanding the main road for a considerable distance, could be seen by the naked eye most of the way on the road to it; the Maoris also could see over the country and along the beach to town; so that no movement could be made without its being at once seen and known to the insurgents. Parties of Natives were out on the rocks, and along the beach, and about the pa, completely intercepting communication by way of the road. The Battle. The volunteers and militia made their way over the loose iron-sand at a smart pace, and on. arriving at a.point about a mile from the great Sugar-loaf Bock, the Maoris were seen pouring down towards the beach', along the edge of the gully below John Jury's house. Captain Atkinson was sent .forward with fifty men, in skirmishing order, and his men were the first to receive the .fire. It. was some minutes before the main body joined them, and in the interval the advanced party were hard pressed and young Rawson, the son of Dr. Rawson, fell badly wounded- in .the thigh. The main body arriving, the whole held their ground, although surrounded .and greatly outnumbered. After some time a party was detached :to command the beach, and preserve, as far.as possible, the line of retreat. The fight began about 2<p.m. and was maintained vigorously for the whole afternoon 'until dark. As soon as Captain Atkinson's men showed above the sandhills and flax cover, the Maoris immediately opened fire, but the untried force of civilians succeeded in fighting its way towards the pa. The -volunteers were under the impression that they had to deal with 200 to 300 of the enemy, but as they neared the. pa, between 600 and 700 Maoris came down in splendid order, and when within about 50 yards of the whites, closed in, forming a compact; mass for the final rush ; it was at this psychological moment that the attacking' white troops poured in a volley, 1 fixed bayonets and prepared to charge. The Maoris broke away and took to. the gullies on the right .ind left, with, the intention of cutting off the whites. '.' ■

' In the meantime' the; military force, with a rocket tube, after passing the Omata stockade/ and receiving a reinforcement of :18 volunteers, had been drawn up in a paddock, from whence rockets were thrown into the pa on the hills, and detachments sent to the edge of' the gullies, so' as to prevent the Maoris from surrounding the civilian force. After the conflict had lasted some time, and the sun was fast'sinking, reports reached the civilians that the soldiers had withdrawn and returned to town, and that they were left, short of ammunition, to, their- fate. Colonel Murray complied strictly with his instructions to return.at dusk. A messenger, was sent at. great risk to represent things to the colonel, and to tell him the ammunition was also running short, but Murray "The volunteers have got themselves into this; mess, let them get out of it as they best can. My orders are to return to New Plymouth at nightfall."

In Crave Peril. : . A; volunteer who was in this engage-, ment writes: "It was.about,2 p.m. when the battle commenced,, and by about 4;p.m. we had to slacken'.our..fire, as we were running short of ammunition. Colonel.Murray not only refused .to,, us away, but also retired on the town,'' leaving Us to get .out the best" way we could." Nothing daunted, the little band' collected their dead and wounded, taking possession of a small thatched house which they soon rendered sufficiently: strong to withstand at least for some'timei' the determined, onslaught. Here they stayed and fought, waiting for the setting 'of the moon, so, as to have darkness' to cover their retreat. But relief was nearer than they knew or thought. When Captain Cracroft, of the Niger; heard of- tne predicament of the civilian force, he landed with sixty sailors and marines, and immediately marched towards Omata, arriving at the stockade late in the afternoon. Here F. Mace and C. E. Messenger .joined him as guides. .Being, relieved of the ammunition, the rocket party was advantageously posted near Mr. Newsham's store, in the village, and the remainder of the party proceeded to attack the insurgents along the road to the ridge opposite the pa, into which the_ Natives were swarming. After discharging a few rockets with admirable precision, they rushed up the steep hill, and' entered the entrenchments, clearing their way with revolver and cutlass. A reward of £10 was offered the capturer of the Maori flag, and. this caused the palisades to be quickly surmounted. The sailors called to each other to make "aback," and so the'y climbed over the palisades right into the midst of the Natives. The Maoris wore taken completely by surprise, and suffered severely. The Maori flag was captured, which afterwards floated proudly on one of the masts of the Niger.

A Banner, and a Strange Dsvice. According to the Rev. Thomas Gilbert, the devices on the flag were Mount Egmont or Taranaki, and the Sugarloaf Rock, _ with the letters M. N. (Maori Nation), the figure of a heart and stajypr the sun on a red ground. The Natives explained these symbols as meaning that the land from Taranaki to the Sugar-loaf was the land of their forefathers; that the heart, of the Maori was set upon having this land; and that the sun or star was the eye of God resting upon it.

When the sailors attacked the pa the Maoris who were watching the civilian force beat a hasty retreat, and the' volunteers were prevented by their leaders from making investigations. The excitement and distress of the relatives and friends of those in the civilian force who had gone out with the expedition in the morning, when Colonel Murray with his soldiers and sailors returned to town was intense. Frantic efforts were made to send out a relief expedition, and about eleven at night another volunteer force was dispatched in search of the absent. They had not proceeded far when the two forces met and marched into town to be welcomed by all. • The casualties were three soldiers, three sailors, and nine civilians. The Maori losses were never known'. Gilbert says: "It is supposed that about twelve chiefs and sixty Maoris. were killed, but the certainty of this has never been ascertained—the Natives at all hazards taking care of their dead and wounded." The Maoris vacated the neighbourhood, taking with them plunder and property belonging to the unfortunate settlers. The Maoris were taught a salutary lesson, and as the Rev. Gilbert observes in his history, "I think this vjsry unexpected encounter with the Natives prevented the dire calamity of an attack on the town, by about one thousand well-armed, desperate Natives, which I had reason to believe was planned, and would doubtless have been attempted, had not this taken place."