PAGES FROM THE PAST.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 November 1921, Page 10

PAGES FROM THE PAST.

TARANAKI’S GREAT WAN. STR HARRY ATKINSON. (By “Juvenis.”) Surveying the history of Taranakisinee the advent of the European, no figure stands out so prominently as that, of the late Sir Harry Atkinson. He. typified the province and those who subdued it. He was pidneer, soldier, statesman, and had all those' qualities which make for greatness in the truest meaning of the word. In each respect he was faced with tremendous problems, but he never shirked them; rather did they act as a spur to him to conquer them. Let us examine his career, which should be an example and an inspiration to young Taranaki to-day.

Sir Harry was born in Cheshire in 388*1, and came to the colony in 1855, landing on the beach opposite the Sugar Loaves, . close to the then struggling little town Tyf New Plymouth. With his brothers Decinj us and William he struck straight into the heart of the) bush, and began carving out for himself a house, Hurworth (some four miles out of the town on the Carrington Road). At first all west well. The Maoris were friendly ahd helpful, 'the- etimabe splendid, the world young to the study young colonists, homesteads were soon scattered about within a few miles of each other, the settlers led an idyllic life.

Soon -there oame xlifikulties. Ihaia’s the murder of Rawiri, and the Vvaitara trouble, all gave grave disquiet to, thinking people. Before the last : named, public opinion in the district had come to the conclusion men, would, have to defend their hearths ajid homes. An old soldier. Major Lloyd, of -the Indian Army, was among the settlers, having just arrived from Canada. He counselled discipline, and the young mon of the. district set to work to learu military drill from him. The drill ground was. about a quarter of a mile from Marsland Hill, where stood the barracks of the regulars at a later time. It commanded a magnificent view of the, mountain, with all the forest-clad country sloping away from its picturesque siaes down to the plain which comes, gently to the seashore. A cordon of smoke wreaths at intervals marked the, settlers’ cottages standing in the midst, of their clearings. From each of these, came the young men to the drill ground, walking miles to and fro daily. Most noticeable among them was young i Harry Atkinson, who did the four miles frotn Hurworth with unfailing punctuality. Asthmatic he was in those days, but somehow he managed with that spirit which the whole Colony afterwards learned to admire and respect, to be toi even terms with the most robust. As the drilling progressed the settlers improved in "bush craft also, and the troubles came nearer and nearer. Captain fStapp succeeded Major Lloyd, and presently it became evident that these drillings mpst have a definite result. A -volunteer corps was accordingly formed, and the militia was called out. In the .former Harry Atkinson was elected as captain. His punctuality, resource, practical sense and innate military ,talent had already brought him to the front.

WAIREKA. Very soon there was work for the new troops. After the outbreak of the Waitara trouble the Ngatiruanuis and the Taianakis mustered then 4 ' fighting men, and swooped down on the settlement. They were met on a bright day in Marcli, 1800, by Colonel Murray with a detachment of the 65th, and about 120 men of the Militia and Volunteers, the latter under command of their new captain. The enemy had a strong pah, and were in line along a ridge. The colonists attacked, the Sixty Filth were in support, and the action lasted till late in the afternoon. At this point Colonel Murray withdrew the regulars, and marched back to New Plymouth, arriving at sunset, leaving the colonial contingent in a gully, where things were getting hotter and hotter every , The enemy promptly surrounded them, and the fight became extremely critical Captain Atkinson held the .a ore advanced and exposed part of the position, and his courage, coolness and skill in fight, this the first time of coming under fire, were conspicuous from the first.

In New Plymouth itself the indignation at the peril of their people blazed high as soon as it became known what the Colonel had done. Public opinion insisted upon sending help, and a strong detachment of Blue-jackets from H.M.S. Niger, who were ashore in their famous redoubt, marched from Waireka. They found the Militia and Volunteers almost at their last cartridge. Captain Atkinson and the other officers had just gone round examining the pouches and equalising the ammunition. No man had at that moment more than two rounds in his pouch, and the enemy was closing in all round. W 1 a cheer, the gallant Blue-jack-et-. had been piloted by two of the Voi; rushed the pah, and found then < . ■• . at grips with the defenders hiddm away in the galleries underground. For a short time they maintained a desperate struggle against the invisible enemy firing from below, and using his tomahawks with deadly effect on their ankles. Some twenty men were in hospital after the affair, badly wounded, in this fashion. The ' Maoris, alarmed by the attack on their pah. rushed off to the rescue. That eased the tension on the beleaguered men, who, promptly seizing the opportunity, retreated after their all night fight, Captain Atkinson commanding the rearguard with great coolness and gallantry. The Nigers presently joined them, the whole force made good its retreat in excellent order and grand spirits. From that light Captain Atkinson’s reputation was made. Colonel Murray had given him and his comrades up as lost—“apparently surrounded” the Colonel explained at a later date. But ■they were brave and resolute and well led. They held out till timely relief came. A MAORI CHALLENGE. His next exploit was on the Waitara Road at the Mahoetahi, a spot where a single, mahoe tree formerly rose out of Hie hillside bordering a swamp. The chief, Wetene-te-Porutu, had come down with a select war party from the Bay of Plenty to Waitara, where General Pratt was approaching the Maori position by sap. On his arrival he sent a ■'..•allenge to 1 he General to leave off burrowing like a rat and come out to light him in the open like a man. An expedition was sent off at daylight to neat up Wetene's quarters. H consisted of a company of the (i5Pi. a company of the 40th. a company of Volunteers under Captain Atkinson, and a detachment of the Native comingent under the Captain’s brother William. Very soon the force came in sight of Wetene’s people camped in a strong position on the ridge at Mahoetahi, protected by some old fortification-., principally ditches and banks of an aiuTent pah. Thu

enemy .were preparing breakfast when our people cafight sight of him. Forthwith the lina was formed, and two companies were sent at the hostile position. They were the company of the ’6sth, ami the Volunteers, whose captain had insisted on the right of his men to form part of the attacking line. The two coanpaßjes'- raced for -opposite corners of tlie position, striking it each at the same moment, each...suffering the same loss, and both rushing in together. A. DESPERATE STAND. - The enemy rushed out before the im- . pefittous advance - info' the swamp, and - th one made a -desperate stand in good cover. The •first- was -remarkably Cltfee and contiHuous, and eventually the Maoris • were- driven out and chased into the Mataitawa pah. Our people -buried 35 of their dead after the action, and the, Maoris- were seen to carry away large numbers of wounded. Among the dead was the chief Wetene, who is said to have refused to move, though warned repeatedly that the Pakeha was coming swiftly on. “Wetene eannot be disturbed. He is at his breakfast.” ' When he condescended to -.move it was too late, and Wetene died bravely at thehead of his men. .... • - The burial place...Jias since -been enclosed, and a cross erected to the memory of. the Maoris who fell in the action. . The cross may .be sppn from the roadside on the way to Waitara. Captain Atkinson's conduct in the attack was such that every colonist in arms felt that he would trust himself tinder his orders anywhere und.er any ; cirC-umstahcCs. _ .. After tliis the Volunteers were in much request, and they did great, service. The Kaihihi action was fought in October, a number of small pahs fell befof-e their dashing valor; the forest ■ as explored and ranged from end to end, thanks To their bush craft.

THE FOREST RANGERS. a corps was at length formed out of this material, the Taranaki For 1 - . est Rangers. Its uniform was a blue jumper, broad-brimmed felt had, and leatlier leggings: it was armed with Enfield rifles and bayonet; every man carried a tomahawk, anti some revolvers. The quality of the men was shown by , an. incident just before the siege of the Kkitaki. Colonel VVarre was wondering if there were any Maoris behind the_ . works, for not a sign of occupation was to be seen. Captain Mstce, of the Tara- 1 . naki Cavalry (the fine old man is still , with us), offered to go .and see, and his' offer being accepted he went off at a ' swinging canter with a detachment of his troopers. They rode right up to the ; palisading,, the Captain tapped With with the flat of his sabre. Instantly, a- volley of musketry blazed from tne whole side of the work. Mace and his men cantered leisurely back again, bullets raining after them, but not a trooper was hit. When they got back the Captain, touching his cap, reported, “there arfc some Maoris. there, sir,” to which the Colonel answered dryly, “§o I see.” Of Captain Mace, General Carey, familiarly called “Cock Robin’ by the troops, on account of his always wearing a red waistcoat, said he was the bravest man he had ever met. He was afterwards awarded the Military Cross for his bravery. The same srtainp of men were in the Rangers which Atkinson commanded. Their system of tactics was carefully thought out by their Captain, who aimed at giving them the greatfist freedom of individual movement compatible with military cohesion. At the word they Would scatter in sections through the forest to meet hours, perhaps days, afterwards at a named rendezvous. When an alarm was raised in any part of the district the Rangers were. Sent for. If an attack was delivered, or a settler’s house burnt, the Rangers were out at once. £Jiey scoured the bush, they covered vast distances, they were always on the spot when they were wanted; if a scattered section in one of these expeditions was attacked, the' whole force came quickly to the sound : of th ing. They were perhaps the worst i dressed corps, and certainly the most efficient the Colony had ever seen up to that time. Better soldiers could not be. and every man of them worshipped his Commander, with whom he was ready to do anything and go anywhere. On one occasion, as a colleague said, who got the story from Sir Harry himself —he was taking his men out of action when he was hit by a bullet in the leg and struck down. The line moving on soon missed his voice, and in a moment halted, faced about, and doubled back on its tracks, just in time to prevent the enemy from pouncing on him. In describing the joy with which the men got him away, Sir Harry had tears in his eyes. It was the only occasion on which he had ever heard Sir Harry speak of his soldier days. THEIR COMMANDER. He was not a showy soldier; far from it. Many are the stories told of his battered uniform, and of the fearful and wonderful head gear in which he would appear on parade. Neither did he care that his men should be showy. The work they had to do in forest and fern did not admit of smartness of the barrack ground order. But woe to the man who had not bright arms and clean accoutrements. Like a famous Marshal, the commander of the Forest Rangers believed in “a ragged soldier with a bright musket.” Brave to a high degree all his men knew him to be. But ho was never foolhardy; he never exposed his men or himself unnecessarily; he took every precaution, but pressed on ever to the object he bad in view. And he was tenacious, skilful in expedients, quick to perceive advantages, prudent at every turn. A story- is told us of one of the raids through the forest, by an old comrade. The two companies of the Rangers took the lead in turn, the .leading company giving way after a skirmish. Captain Atkinson’s • own company having skirmished some of the enemy but of a favorite lair, was behind, but its commander was’ on the look-out with the leading company, as beseemed the corps' commander. He was continually wanting to know where the clearings were ' in the forest, and before reaching every one he insisted on reconnoitring.’ Presently the reconnoitring party returned with the information that in one clearing they had spied an ambuscade of , Maoris waiting for the wood party of the Bell Block stockade. All disposi- • tions were silently taken at once, and ■ that ambuscading detachment got a les- ; son which was Jong talked of in the tribe. < .Sot a rigid disciplinarian was the, ■ commander of the Rangers, but he never allowed important things to be omitted, J and when lie said he wanted a thing done, the corps used to declare that “you might bet your bottom dollar it would be done.” When, he was with them his presence was electric, so great « was his power of imparting to all under ( his command his own spirit of stead- j fastness and self-reliance. The bugle used to sound in these days, and the < alarm was raised at all hours, of the . night. Wherever they were the men : mauaced to hear the call; not one (

thought 'of the risk of being cut off in the mile or miles between him and the muster ground; every man made it a point of honor to be with his commander, who never was known to be absent.

(To be Continued.)