An Incident of a Maori War.

Manawatu Herald, 25 October 1892, Page 2

An Incident of a Maori War.

■♦ .■ .' "'■ .-..'■ ' ; [ The other day we had a visit trom a gonfclement who was not like -.Bret j Unite's " Aged Stranger," who t pleided "I was with Grantr-in Illinois —some three years before the . war," but who had been present, at the commencement of the first Taranaki war in iB§B. fit* Was thug „ enabled to give a local colouring and ( personal details which are necessarily I niis<*i ng in the official accounts, i ■ ; . The war bn>ke out owing ta (£o- \_ vernor Gore-Browne insisting on the purchase of an individual datives' I title against the will of the famous i. Weremu Kingi. The statement made to us shows the splendid feel- . ing exhibited by the natives to the , Europeans they believed in. -Most ' of tha settlers had wisely, at the commencement of hostilities '. retired to New Plymouth with their families, ' bat the Rev Mr "'Brown and Mr Gi berfc thought it safe enough to , remain upon their properties some tj six or 'seven miles from the t#wn-. The leading chiefs appreeiatihgffclieir , confidence affixed notices iipdn "fife- [ two properties signifying that the 5 persons and property of these two , settlers were (i tapu'd.". • There bad ' been some,- fightings, beiw^enytroops and the '" nativW, but' ftioflgo [ the latter had then retired, , they r soon returned and biiilt a pal( on , the Waireka hill, some six miies out ' of New Plymouth, and between the L property of these two detfler^anJ j the town. The troops had a small , redoubt, garrisoned with only fifty men, within a mile or a mile and a half of the pah. On the 29th Maroh Mr Gilbert's son Willie had occasionto ride into New Plymouth and the > • natives raised no objection to- his > going. On his return he was i stopped at the redoubt, by the officer, in command and advised to proceed 1. no further as, during -the afternoon: i shots had been heard. The lad however knowing , how anxious his a family would be, decided to push on, s and when he had ascended a rise he i knew those at home would /notice > him coming. On descending into* the hollow he oame upon the reason i of the firing as on the traok laid ■ three volunteers, who had gone for wood, shot dead. He felt it his duty ■ to carry this information to the re- » doubt, and his fears were necessarily $ great for the safety of those of Bis >■ family he had left in the "morning. . t Od reporting at the redoubt lie was • ordered to go to Naw Plymouth and • report there. The news decided Ihe t commandant that speedy ■ step's : • should be taken to rescue the families > of the Brown's and Gilbert's, so ,oa, ' March 30th eighty four ineii of the" 66th, and one hundred and sixty, i volunteers were marched but of tnY ) town. The volunteers, u.nde£ .ca^py r tain Atkinson (our.late Premier) w«r/ the first to arrive, but were obligeia--1 to seek cover after a 'hbt : eb*gttg«n^jsnt, 9 while the military elsewhere L< in danger of being jcut-bff and-, '.sue-i rounded. As evening drew vori: ihe\ military were withdrawn, it being: alleged that the .officer-- stated* [his orders wore to .have his man -in town* r before night. When., the. <iiroosC v arrived in New Plymouth great en-quiries-were made for .the volaateersj . and indignation was very great when I it was learnt that they had been lef t behind. Representations,'/ having r been made to the cbmmahclihg oiSeer* some blue-jackets from the \ f Niger," ,f were despatched to the assfstance of c of the volunteers.'and. they, went at^. v the double from the town to ttie piifli* o and with their usual impetuosity. 0 stormed it, crying " make-a-baok " c and one- after another: vaulted on •t each others backs until they 1 were able to get over the top c the palisades. Not being supported 8 by sufficient members their exploit a was only successful in taking: the natives attention off the volunteers, >' when they retired together to thai •' town, which was reached about three r o'clock in the morning. ... [. The Gilberts spent a very harrassed •! night, as they had heard firing in 3 the afternoon their son was expected c bade, and had actually " noticed l Mm !- on a ridge returning and then had i seen him no more. Thitf war^tne time he returned when he met th> '. thrae dead men. The Gilberts ' fchttr o heard the attack on the pah, saw the a rockets rising in the air, and saw* a bodies of natives passings near their b house, . but were never interferred . with. . , The morning after the fight . | many wounded natives passed them,

but the Rev. Mr Brown and Mr Gilbert were permitted by the natives to get a dray and take the bodies, found by young Gilbert, to Which two others, those of lads and which the natives pointed out, to the redoubt, under a flag of truce, but they were ordered to return to the pah i This these two brave men did j. and though very much alarmed; as the natives were preparing for the fight again, and were dancing the war dance and otherwise exciting themselves up to mischief, yet nobly obeyed the orders of the chiefs by not interfering with their two white visitors, who after a short time were permitted to return to their dwellings The natives moved further inland almost immediately and then the Rev. Mr Brown and Mr Gilbert went into New Plymouth. The excitement of the members of the two families thus seperated in those perilous times must have been extremely trying as every incident pointed to the most disastrous conclusions, and therefore like all awful tales it is pleasant to know that they were all re-united almost the following day and lived happily tor" long afterwards. •■■■■..;