HEKE'S WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 66, 14 April 1909, Page 4

HEKE'S WAR.

AN m'KUES'mu ACCOUNT. At Tinnuu recently Dr. T. JI. Hueken, of Dunedin, delivered a lecture on tho subject of the rebellion of Hone lleke, which broke out iu 1815, and occupied tho Uritish forces, who were sent to quell it, until the coinmoe.coincnl of 111--; following .year. The lecture given by Dr. Hoeken will ultimately form a chapter of a history of New Zealand uijon 'which he is engaged, and although the story written for publication v necessarily to be condensed considerably in order to bring | it within the space of a single evening,!' the lecture occupied a coupl of hours, |! and the wealth of detail embodied in it ' made the address a most interesting one. Accounts of the rebellion, the lecturer j stated, differed very much in the details 11 of the various incidents, but his information had been gathered from persons ' who were actually participants jn the ' war, or whose, evidence was equally reliable. Dr. Iloekcn brought with nun four paintings by ColomxScrgeant .f. j Williams, of the 08th Regiment, whicn he stated were very faithful representations of tho engagements portrayed, fought through the war, anil afterwards deserted, leaving these pictures at the house of an old half-caste Maori, where as the latter expressed it, they were afterwards discovered "kicking about the house" by Dr. llocken. fie had also » sketch plan of the count vy which formed the scene of the rebellion, and I another of Kororareka. The war was : confined to a very s..ial .uea between I the Bay of islands on the east coast and Ilokianga Harbour on the west coast, and the primary cause of the subsequent hostilities was tho dissatisfaction of tin 1 .Maoris at the payments they received for their lands, and lleke's attempts to draw attention to their grievance by cutting down the llagstalV erected by the colonists at Kororareka, or as it is now named, Russell. Twice this was cut down by the rebellious natives, led by Hone' rieKe, tor whose capture a reward was then offered. Heke ( however, was quite contemptuous of British authority, and replied by offering a reward himself of 1000 acres for the "nead of the governor. Captain Fit/.rov. Matters then assumed a more so.--

ions aspect, anil despatches were sent to New South Wales asking for military and naval assistance in cpiclling the recalcitrant natives. Captain Robertson.

who displayed much heroism throughout the. war. was then ordered to return immediately to New Zealand, and early in February, 1845, the Victoria arrived at Kororareka with SO men, accompanied by the Colonial Secretary, Dr. AndrewWilson. A temporary flagstaff was creeled, and its defence entrusted to a portion of the detachment and some of the followers of Tamata Walca, who was then and remained a staunch ally of the pakcha throughout. On February 18th, however, Heke, leaving 'nis followers below, walked up to the flagstaff, and brushing aside the. native who was on guard, once more cut it down. He and his men then took to their canoes, and paddling right under the stem of the Victoria, fired a volley from their

muskets in evidence! v,i then- derision. ; fl. M. Hazard iii-rived shortly after this . incident, and tlie work of rc-crecting tlie flagstaff with a protective blockhouse was at once commenced, and shortly completed, lleke, however, was not yet satisfied, and in the darkness of the night he crept up with liis men so close to the fortilicalions that ho could observe the niovemenls of the British soldiers within. He lay there till dawn, wlien the morning broke thick and misty, and having secured the renioval of all but four men by an attack on another part of the town, lleke and his men dashed in and at once gained possession. A dose and furious eontest ensued, in which tlie gallant Captain Kobertson was seriously wounded, and rendered lwrs de combat for the remainder of the-mar. Once' more flic stays of the flagstaff were hacked away, ami the pole fell crashing to tlie ground, there to lie for nine years, until replaced by a curious irony of fate by Tamata's own sou. Tlie next pitched contest was at Ohaoawiic, where Hoke's pah stood twenty miles inland, and the preparations for its assault having boon of the most paltry and inefficient character, the advance over the hills, through ravines, anil through swamps was one of terrible privation. It was another instance of the under-rating of an enemy, and when it was a savage enemy, and when the English officers reconnoitred the position, they found that instead of a pah, presenting no obstacle to their attack, it was an almost impregnable fortification. It was surrounded by three rows of palisading formed of young trees, from six to twenty inches in diameter, and as subsequent, events proved, it was impossible wilh the inadequate means at their disposal, to force a breach in the wall. The first expedition against the Ohaeawae pah entirely failed to dislodge lleke and his adherents, and a second expedition comprising in all OJO men under the charge of Colonel Henry Bospnrd, was sent in subdue the rebellion. Tliev were provided wilh fnnv gmis, two six-pounders and two brass twelveponder carronades. and in addition rockets and bombs were provided with a view to throwing the natives into a panic. Colonel Despard seems to have been a very impulsive man, and after several days of ineffectual work, he was roused to' fury by the capture of a Union -lack by the enemy, who hung the trophv upside down beneath theiown (lag within the pah. The rockets had been ineffectual in terrorising the Maoris, the cannon baits had stuck in lire pallisading like mud thrown against a wall and it was at lust decided to storm the enemy's position. A forlorn hope of twenty men and two sergeants, under the leadership of Lieut. Health', who had pleaded for the position, set out bv a round-about route to gain a favourable position fo- the onslaught. They were closely followed by Colonel MVPhor»on with 130 men. who'was supported bv Colonel Bridges witli 11)0 men, and Colonel Tl-iilm with a third hundred formed the reserve. From the outset it was apparent that the gallant band could not achieve their object, and they were at last recalled leaving fully onethird on the Held of'battle, while only a dozen natives fell and a score were wounded. Practically the whole of the ammunition was expended, so that the leader of the expedition' was in an embarrassing position. The wounded were removed within the following week to the mission station at Waimate, anil (lieu Captain Fitzroy was suddenly superseded by Captain' (afterwards Sir) (leorge (trey. Then came the liual engagement at j'uapekapoka, where lleke and his ally were dislodged from tae "Mat's Nest''' ou the hill by a clever hit of strategy and within two months of the arrival of the new Governor, peace was restored.