THE HOSTILITIES AT TAURANGA

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 173, 21 February 1867, Page 3

THE HOSTILITIES AT TAURANGA

The following appears in the New Zealand Herald of the 7th inst. :^— : Friday, Februjiry 1. Yesterday for en/ o 1 forty -of the Ngaetirangis volunteered, with Mi* H. Graham at their head, to proceed, under Lieutenant Gundiy, to act against the enemy, for which service they demanded 2s 6d per diem. The Defence Minister offered 2a, and after considerable haggling they departed in disgust- Too much jiraise cannot be awarded to Mr; " Graham, whose endeavors to raise a Maori corps from the tribe in question have been indefatigable. In the afternoon 150Arawas arrived from Maketu, suul Just night forty others left the same place under .Mr G. "Mair, and .proceeded .towards; . Canaan, and encamped ,on the opposite side of the river until daylight this morning, and burnt the village to the •gi'onnd. • Notice "having been <?i ven to the enemy secrelly during tlier.i^ht by one of. the" frieridlies," it is needless to state, that. tlie jjlacc was found without an occupant.- :••;■_ On Wednesday despatches wore forwarded to Omanawa, to tlie effect that the whole force there and 'adjacent- post 3 should retrace its steps tq Judea, en route for. Pai's pa— General Chute and Colonel Hamilton .haying reconnoitred this lastnamed locality previously. This was done, and the force reached Teßanga at night, where they slept iiii! the fern, all being in a very wearied condition. Next lnoriiing, at daybreak j niarched to Pai's' pa, and •encamped tliere. 100 1 st Waikato Ilegiment, with a portion. cf the Engineers under the command of Captain Goldsmith. and. Cap-, tain Skeetj were then told off for the purpose of making a i*oad between Te llanga and Pai's pa, to allow artillery to come up. ...■From: ■'■ Pai's'- pa ■; 'could', be seen the red flag iloating over the formidable pa Kahakaiiaroa, soane four or five miles distant. ■";.. " : •.-'■' :. ■■' : . -i ■-■; ■■'■'■. 7. : : -v. ;'■;■', ■ ■ ......-.• Saturday. Last evening, at 11 o'clock, 120 of the 12th. under ths command of Captains Sillery and Crowhall, crossed the Judea ' • ford to occupy Omanawa, and . positions of , minor import on and in the vicinity of the "Sy.viroa, recently held by the Militia. EVACUATION OF THE KAHAKAHAKOA PA. The hauhaus have shown the; white fea- \ ther, and have, in colonial parlance ' hooked it' .i froiri ?the above-nanied stronghold. This morning, at break of ;day, our active "and brave allies' entered tlie pa and found it evacuated. It is now occupied by our own people, and from its strength and position is said to be of the most formidable kind. The best judges who have inspected it declare, that a handful of men could have defended it against thousands of the best troops in the, world, but would not witlistaiid a Seige for any lengthened period, asineans could have been found of cutting the: supplies of its inmates. Ha- ; karaiah no doubt saw tliis and decamped not a bit too soon. His retreat .was no elbubt hastened by the burning of his kainga, Canaan, such an act -being tanta- , mount to a declaration of .war to the kainga on the part of the Arawas, from which there is no receding. Besides, Har karaiah, witlihi. two or three hours of the aniyal of the General and suite, with artillery, &c, would be apprised of the fact ' through his Maori spies, who infest, the" beach at Tauranga. It is really providentialthat no attack was^made, if contemplated^ on tliis pa. The loss of life on our side must have 1 been frightful, the only . assailable point" being fairly honeycombed with rifle pits ' and underground passages, displaying far greater engineering skill than that which existed at the Gate Pa. " ; . .. . Sunday. Late last eyeriing it '"was reported at Pai's pa, that a jm some distance in the bush was to be attacked in rear and in front this morning, at four o'clock a.m I now believe such attack could not have taken place, as I observe that, neither Colonel Haultain nor Mr Commissioner Clarke Have left Te Papa. Mortars arc anxiously expected at the front, the road .being nearly completed. . The convoy, saw a number of Hauhaus about three miles from camp. Captain Walker, Lieutenant ,'Eittj, aiid^Ensign .ICoates^. lef t Pai's pa to march the. Arawas lip. Tliis day- at noon another, detachment of the 12th Reginient marched across the Jxidea on their way to the Wairoa River. At lialf-past 1 p.m. torday, some 40 or 50 Hauhaus shdweiV^emselves about 800 yards from camp, and fired two volleys in its direction^ intended, it is presumed, as a challenge. Captain Stack with a force immediately went in pursuit of the enemy, who Retired to a strong pall at Te Tauniata. The party returned within an hour without performing anything of consequence. Lieutenant Gundry, at the head of liis corps, then took up a position in front of a hauliau position. . ■ The^ Te Taumata settlements and Te Akeake destroyed J three Maori women have been taken prisoners ; tliree of the i force were woimdecl/ including oiir friend James Wooley, ; of corps, who is severely wpunded: in the groin. He received his woupd whilst engaged in urging forward his cprps^ in a deep gully. It is not known what; tlie 1 loss of the enemy is. They fled before theTArawas, who behave^ bravely in the 1 extreme., 7\U Febuary4s Whe%o.ur report reached us, firing had not cease%SfeQ ne company of the 12th have-juStr^Plfid^iii'i 11 ©^"*- '