THE ENGAGEMENT AT WAIREKA.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 187, 19 April 1860, Page 4

THE ENGAGEMENT AT WAIREKA.

7’he action that took place ou JUednesday, the 28thv March, was fought near the mouth of the Waireka, a small stream which enters the sea about six miles south-west of Taranaki. On our side were engaged : Of the 65th regiment—Lieut. Colonel Murray, Lieutenants Urquhart and Whitbread, and 100 rank and file.

Royal Artillery—Lieut. McNaughten and 10 men, with a rocket tube. Naval Brigade—Lieut. Blake, Dr. Lawrenson, Mr. Theobald, and 25 sailors. Naval Brigade—a separate detachment which eame out later, and took the pa a little before sunset—Capt. Cracroft, Lieut. Villiers, Dr Patrick, Mr. Smith, Mr. Gassiot, Mr. Karslake, and 54 sailors and marines. Militia—Senior Capt. C. Brown, Capt. and Adjt. Stapp, Lieuts. McKechney, McKellar, and Armstrong, JSnsign A/essenger, and 50 men.

Volunteer Rifles; No. 1 Company—First Lieut. Hirst, Second Lieutenant Webster, and 50 men; No. 2 Company—Capt. 11. A. Atkinson, First Lieut. C. Hammerton, Second Lieut. Jonas, and 50 men.

In a 11—361 officers and men. There were supposed te be about 500 of tlie natives engaged.

Information was obtained on Saturday the 17th inst., that Manalii, a troublesome chief near the Omata stockade, who had hitherto professed friendliness, and had lately taken the oath of allegiance, bad collected a body of men, and was plundering in his neighbourhood; and that several hundreds of Taranaki and Ngatiruanui natives (tribes of the south) were on their way to join him. An expedition was sent against him next day, which would have given a good account of ..him, had not Lieut. Col. Murray been afraid to allow his men to enter the bush—and it was fruitless. On the

afternoon of Tuesday the 27th March, intelligence was received of the murder of three settlers at Omata; and on Wednesday morning of the murder of two boys. About thirty-five settlers had assembled at the house of the Rev. Mr. Brown, Episcopalian clergyman, nearly two miles on the north side of the Omata stockade, and on Wednesday the force just mentioned sent to their relief. Mr. Brown’s house is about 8 miles from town and mile from the sea, and can be reached either by the road which runs along the coast about amile from the shore, or by the beach. The ground where the action took place, and indeed almost the whole line of the coast from Taranaki,

rises abruptly from the shore to a height of above- 200- feet, and is broken up by gullies running down to the sea, having ‘their skies and bottom for the most part covered with flax bushes and fern, with occasionally small patches of bush. The Maories had lately constructed a fortified pa oil .the side of the high road, about six miles from town and a mile from the shore. The flat upland around it consists] chiefly of grass paddocks fenced with furze or posts and rails. 'About half a mile hearer the town than the! pa the road passes the Waireka, a small stream flowing through a deep gully covered with bush at that place, and for about half, a mile towards the sea, the bush then giving place to fern and grass. Near its mouth there is an isolated sand hill, past one side, of which it flows, the other side being protected by a gully, down which the stream may at one time have passed. About a quarter of a mile nearer Taranaki another gully runs down to the sea, like the Waireka covered with bush at its head and open near the sea, the bottom being considerably broader than that of the JTaireka ravine. This we may call the northern gully. It was in these ravines and on the flats above that the engagement'took place.

The volunteers and militia proceeded along the beach, with the view of turning the flank of the Maories supposed to be at this pa v . and reaching Mr. Brown’s house without coming in contact with them. The military and sailors went out by the road, in order we suppose to distract the attention of the Maories and to support the homeward movement of the volunteers. But before these reached the mouth of the Waireka about 3 p.m. they were observed from their pa by the Maories, who immediately came out in beautifully extended order towards the shore, and attacked the. second company of the volunteers under Captains Atkinson and Stapp, who took up a position on the flat upland to the south of the Waireka, and remained there till their exposure to a fire from thena*. lives in the bush in the upper part of the ai - reka gully compelled them to withdraw to the sand hill at the mouth of that stream. Meanwhile, the other company of volunteers, under Lieut Hirst, with the reserve under Capt. Brown, had, from the high ground between the

two gullios, opened a file on the enemy in the Waireka bush, to relieve their companions on the south side, and this fire they continued until the Naval brigade, which had been sent on in advance oame up, and opened fire on the same natives, who were driven back towards their pa. Here Lieut. Blake was wounded. Lieut. Hirst was then withdrawn to the edge of the open part of the gully, from which some of the enemy, covered by clumps of fern and flax, were firing at the positions on either side of them. After maintaining this post for some time he went over to a farm house (Jury’s) cn the south side of the Waireka, to which Captain Stapp had taken the wounded. The militia under Capt. Brown, armed only with muskets, being thus left alone between the two gullies, were harassed by a heavy fire from the rifles and fowlingpieces of the Maories. Capt. Atkinson’s riflemen were put in requisition to keep the communication open between Jury’s house and the militia; and Lieut. Col. Murray, whose troops halted a little to the northern side of che north gully, sent over Lieut. Ur* quhart with a section of the light company of the 65tb, to Capt. Brown’s relief. These soldiers did good service, but were very soon recalled, by the commander to the north side of the ravine, in order to defeat a movement of the natives, who came down the gully in great force in order to cut off the communication with the main body under Lieut. Colonel

Murray. They had a fire poured into them from both sides, and met with a heavy loss; but this advantage had scarcely been gained when Lieut. Urquhart was withdrawn, on account it is said of a want of ammunition, and the whole of the military retired from the scene of action and marched back to town. The Maories then came down the gully a second time, and the militia having retired to Jury’s house, they attacked the small party of about 30 volunteers, under Capt. Atkinson, who, with 8 men of the 65th under Corporal Kelly were exposed till it became dark, or for about an hour and a half, to a sharp fire from three side 3of their position on the sand hill. Capt. Stapp and Capt. Brown immediately began to protect Jury’s'house by breast works.made of ' stacks and furze fences, intending, if retreat proved impossible, to remain there all n : ght. Just before the withdrawal of the military, Captain Cracroft came up along the road with his sailors and marines, and immediately attacking the Maories near their pa, drove them back into it in greatdisorder, entered it along with them, and cut down all opponents, among whom was an Englishman who had once belonged to the 58th regt. Capt. Cracroft’s reward of £lO to the man who should pull down the flag was gained by Wm. Ogden, who with some others climbed over the palisades. After taking the pa Captain Cracroft went back to town, not being aware that the volunteers had not returned with the military. The occupants of Jury’s house remained there till the moon set, when, having come out with their founded, they joined Captain Atkinson’s party, aU d the whole returned by the road to town, which they reached about midnight, or about s ; x hours after the return of the military, a mile from the town they were met by a body of militia, volunteers, and sailors, who had set out for their relief, but fortunately did not require to proceed further. The flags taken at the pa have as their devices—the one the m ountains Tongariro, Ruapahu, and Taranakb with the letters M N (Maori Nation); and the other, a bloody heart and a single star on a red ground. On our side there were two killed and fourteen wounded. It is supposed that from fifty to sixty of the Maories were killed.