THE TARANAKI WAR. LECTURE BY REV. J. WARD.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 359, 13 April 1889, Page 3

THE TARANAKI WAR. LECTURE BY REV. J. WARD.

Auckland, Apvil 9. Last evening, in the Pibb-sbreet Wesleyan lower schoolroom, the Rev. J. Ward, of Gisborne, delivered an infceresfcing address on his "Reminiscences of the Tarauaki War."' There was a good attendance, and Mr T. McM aster presided. The mooting opened with religious exorcises, and Mr Ward then, prior to dealing with the incidents of the war, explained that Taranaki was very dear to him, for there his father landed in August 29th, 1844, from Home as a missionary, and it was in Taranaki that ho himself "was born and spent his eaily days. He described in glowing terms the beauty of the province and its pride, glorious snow-capped Egmont, or Taranaki, as the Maoris call it ; and then briefly sketched the founding of New Plymouth in 1840 by the Plymouth Colonising Company, and the troubles and hardships contingent upon "roughing it" in the early days of New Zealand colonisation. Taranaki grew apace in prosperity and population until the Waitara war broke out in 1860. This Tarauaki war was one of great importance in the history of the colony. The immediate cause of the war was a dispute in connection with the put chase of some 600 acres of land near the Waitara, from a native chief named Teira and his kapu. This sale of land, which was made in defiance of the Kingices' resolution to allow no more disposal of territory to the imkeha, was opposed by the Ngabiawa chief, Wireniu Kingi, who claimed a share in the land with his tribe. Opinions differed as to who had, according to Maori custom, the best . title to the YVaitara, and it is generally thought now that Wi Kingi's claim should have been fairly weighed, but Governor Gore Brown persisted in completing the purchase from Teira. Previous to this dispute, an inter-tribal war had ragei for some time amongst the Taranaki natives regarding land sales to Europeans, and in these ambuscade skirmishes Rawiri, Katatoro, and many other Maoris were killed. In 1860, as war was imminent, two companies of the 65th Regiment were despatched from Wellington for New Plymouth in command of Major Turner, and in March the war commenced. The settlers in outlying parts of the country removed to the tonn, with their wives and children, for shelter, leaving with sad hearts all their worldly possessions and the result of years' labour to the tender mercies ol the enemy. The first shot in the war was iired on March 17th, 1860, when the " L "' pa was attacked by the militia and regulars. The fight was hastened by the action of the Governor in sending out surveyors to suney the disputed block. Their pegs were pulled up by the natives, who constructed in the neighbourhood the "L" pa, so called from its shape. The lecturer was ab the time of the assault ab a place many miles away, but he heard distinctly the distant boom of British cannon bombarding the pa. On the 27th March the natives murdered at Omata three European men and two boys, who had remained on their homesteads* rather than come inco the fortified town of New Plymouth, and in order to ascertain the fate of a number of other outlying settlers and their families, Lieut. - Col. Murray left for Omata -with 300 troops. For some reason Col. Murray retired to town again soon after coming under the Maoris' fire at Omata, with his poition of the force. They were met returning by Captain Cracrofb, of H.M.s. Niger, with sixty bluejackets and marines, who ab once marched to the assistance of Captain Siapp's body of settler?, who had marched oub under Col. Murray and had nob retreated. Cominu in sight of the Waireka pa occupied by the enemy, Captain Cracroft determined to take it. He charged with his biave little body of men and they took the pa by storm, scaling the trenches and palisades by mounting on each other's shoulders. They soon cleared the place of natives after a brisk fi^ht, leaving none inside the tienches but dead or dying Maoris. A perfecb ovation was accorded bhe gallant bluejackets on their return to town, and to Captain Stapp's company, who also reached New Plymouth with bhe loss ot a few men. The excitement in New Plymouth was at the time intense, for none of the women and children there could say that their defenders would ever return again. The lecturer described the fortifying ot Marsland Hill by the settlers, as a protection for the inhabitants in case of a Maori descent on the town. For a long time the town was blockaded by the natives, who made a practice of cutting off stragglers within a very short disbanco of Kew Plymouth. Mr Ward described how a lad was tomahawked only a mile from town, and how his brother had a very narrow escape from falling into a Maori ambuscade laid for him in a karaka grove through which he was expected to pass. During this period nearly 200 deserted homesteads were sacked and burnt by the natives, in retaliation for the destruction of their Jcainyas and cultivations by the troops. The lecturer read " The Taranaki Mother's Lament," a poem composed at the time, expressing the grief of many a Taranaki setters at the destruction of their once cherished homes. In consequence of the crowding together of the whole of the settlers and families within the narrow limits of the town, the Governor resolved to send the women and children off to Nelson, but the outcry and lOai&tance this cleberminabion evoked would nob be soon forgotten. The women said bhey would nob go and leave their husbands and brothers, and one woman in particular, finding it was intended to remove her on the transport vessel, took her husband's rifle and ammunition, and shutting herself up in a house defied themall to come and take her. Many of those women who did go to Nelson never saw -their loved ones again. Still amidst all the war troubles New Plymouth had no lack of amusements, and a comic illustrated paper called the " Taranaki Punch" served to beguile the tedium of the blockade. The lecturer paid a tribute to the bravery of the Maori enemy throughout the war, instancing the gallant manner in which they charged and assaulted redoubts and fought against overwhelming odds, ' as in the battle of Mahoetahi. The Mahoetahi pa was taken by assault by the troops, and the surviving Maoris fled into an adjoining raupo swamp, where many severe hand-to-hand fights took place. In this assault, the lecturer's brother was wounded. The sap of Te Arei pa was described, and the manner in which Lieut. McNaughton, R.A., who soon afterwards met his death, prevented the Maoris from carrying off the sap-roller at night, as they had heretofore done. He had a ten-inch loaded shell placed near the roller, where ib would be certain to have the desired effect. In the dark a number of natives came as usual, an I were about to roll away the sap-roller, when one of them stepped with both feeb on the shell. In an instant the explosion blew him into space, and one of the enemy afterwards said that nob a bit of that "noble savage "did they ever see again. After referring to the British officers and men who fought in the Taranaki war, the lecturer described the part the settlers took in the fighting. At fir&t they were, as might be expected, nob very well

brained and disciplined, bub they afterwards became excellent bush skirmishors, lighting the Maoris in their own way and on their own ground. If this had been the universally adopted plan of conducting campaigns he had little doubt bub that the various little wars in M'hich the colonists had been ongaged would have been terminated much sooner. After speaking briefly to the rosumption of the war in 1563, after its first close in 1860, the lecturer described the death ot the Rev. John Whitely, an inbimato friend of hisfathcr's,abthe WhitcClift's,atthe hands of a party of Tsgatiaianiapoto in 1569. This t:agedy was the concluding event in a nineyears' intermittent war, which was estimated to have cost some seven millions sterling. However, they had now seen the last of a war of races, and a lasting peace was established between jiaU'hn and Maori. He eulogised the bravery which (ho natives showed at Rangiiir?, Oi'akau, and othoi places, and referred to ouch Maori genuino patriots as Wi Tamehana (William Thomp son), to Waharoa, and others, who fought for their soil and country with a heroic desperation which should be the emulation of every Now Zcalander \\ ho had affection for his adopted land. The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to olio lecturer for his very interesting, and in parts amusing, add test.