CAPT. CRACROFT AT WAIREKA

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 87, 8 May 1909, Page 6

CAPT. CRACROFT AT WAIREKA

j a sutvivoirs sroitv. 1 TOUl) LtY A BLUEJACKET FROM I JI.M.S. XIGEK. A Daily Xews reporter was fortunate on Wednesday in being introduced to Mr U. R Craven, who \va- mit 1 of tin* crow of 11.M.5. Xiger for live and a half years I in the late liities ami early sixties, and f who' formed one of the party who landel . on tiie Xew Plymouth beach under CupI tain Cracroft, and advanced on Waireka, I eventually defeating the natives' aud rei leasing tlie volunteers and militia from 1 a situation that was desperate in the i* extreme. Mr Craven said that this was the lir*t time that he had set foot in Xi;w I'lymmith since 1 SOU. and naturally he found it hurd to locate the land-marks of 451 years ago. He had u'hurning desire to go up Marsland Hill, ami would bi- found there, he thought, that same i! afternoon. *JJut" of that, more anon, r "Yes," he said, '•"! was one of the ;• party that landed under Captain Cracroft. i remember it well enough. Bill lk>dges, who got the Victoria Cross lor e gallantry on that day, was a chum of t mine. And t can remember well t'aat Captain Craeroft gave us t!lO to spend y for taking dawn the llag? and a great time when we .gotrflo AudKJuud. tiome of us got our jiliotos bakdnt" ■ is mine." And he >hP we d pliotograph of two . "Me and my chum," lie said. " Alv chum j was willi Lieutenant Blake when he was wounded."

Then he returned to the story of th Waireka engagement, which lie told dis liuclly enough except that a mind full of a long lifetime's reminiscences liad a letidcucv to strike off now and again at -i tangent." We were an emergency parly. When we landed on the beach We mane off along the beach. We captured some fellow on the way— commandeered, '. . suppose you would call it now—and we made him a guide." " That was Captain .Mace," chimed in Lieut. IJavics, who was present, "lb' wasn't a captain then, though, but a corporal, I think, in the Omata stockade." "At anyrate," saiil Mr Craven, "he was our guide and he took us out to attack the pali. It was like a spree to us fellows. We had been doing a hit of that sort of lighting in China just then, i was up thc Canton river in the Niger when we sailed into the Chows. Ther ; you are. There's my China medal, with two bars for Canton and Fanshaii. Here's one ,for the Indian Mutiny. So you see, we had got pretty well used to killing natives by that lime. And here's my New Zealand war medal. My wife had it made into a brooch, bless her heart (and sure enough the clasp wie still on the reverse side of the medal.) But when Lord Kanfurly came out we had to hunt up our medals and wear them. Here is ttne Veterans' Association badge." " When we got to the pah at Waireka there was a lot of filing going on. A young fellow near me, a West Country man—let's see what's his name—l'll remember in a minute— Powser, that's ithe was shot in the leg and had to go home. Some of us got into the pan. There were plenty of .Maoris there, but most of them were getting out. Every beggar that didn't clear out was shot pretty quick, I can tell -you. We knew the Maoris had turned tile position, and were closing in on your local boys like the two points of a half-moon. And we were told tliey had practically no ammunition left. We drove one of those encircling cuds hack. Captain Cracroft, pointed lo the pall and its Hag, ami said, ' We've got to lake it boys,' and we did. I wish we'd killed three limes as many of the beggars. "The volunteers," he added, "were jolly good men, and tliey -stuck to it well."

" Here's a curio," he said, producing n paper from his pocket, yellow and frayed with age. 11 proved to be a copy of the "Taramiki News" printed and published on Thursday. March 20th, the dataller the light to'which we hail been referring. This paper he hail procured anil posted Home to his mother, who had treasured it, Upon her death il returned to his own possession.

In the course of further conversation. .Mr Craven referred to the fad thai Captain Cracroft had declined to allow his men to remain on shore on the night of the engagement, although the shore folk were very anxious to show them how much their promptness and gallantry was appreciated. The men veiiiriied to their ship as early as possible, Captain Cracroft, giving as a reason that he had left his vessel very much under-man-ned, and in an open .roadstead. There was a further reason, and a fnrtiier action on the purl of the captain, that had never been chronicled, as far as the narrator knew. In the middle of the night the ship's cutlers and pinnaces were tuaiined,"almost to double-banking, and were well provisioned. A course was steered for the beach away beyond the Sugarloaves just beyond the scene of the dav's lllict, tiie idea being to fall upon the Maoris unawares and cut tiicin to pieces. Captain Cracroft evidently being of opinion that the time was opportune for a crushing blmv. But the punitive expedition failed to land, owing to the high sea running. Had a landing 1 n effected, there is mi doii'bt that the war would have been more qiiiel.lv ended, fo,- each man had with him sixty rounds of am munition.

Talking of the light at Waireka. Mr Craven quoted (he opinion of Hodges » seaman who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry-that "It was glorious ; but. just as we were getting our hand in, the beggars scooted.''