These are a few selected documents from the 1870
Waikaremoana campaign.
All of the documents from the campaign can be downloaded
here - 12MB.pdf
The
Hon. the Defence Minister to Major Ropata Wahawaha.
— Auckland, 19th February, 1870.
Friend Major
Ropata,
Salutations. This is my word to you: You are to go by
the " Sturt," to make arrangements
with your tribe,
the Ngati Porou, about going to hunt for Te Kooti and
Kereopa, at Waikare-Moana.
You alone are to
have the managementand to give orders to your tribe; there
will be no European
over you. If you
should succeed in catching that bad man. five thousand
pounds (£5,000) will be
given to you and
your tribe; if you do not, there will be no payment. It will
be for you to explain
these words to
your soldiers. (Footnote
- £5,000 in 1870 was the equivalent of $2,500,000 today)
There are provisions on board the "
Sturt" for your soldiers.
Should fighting
actually take place, remember to save the women and
children.
There is no other
word to you, because you know the objects of the fighting:
that evil is to be
exterminated, so
that peace may be in our places.
If you are agreeable that a European
should accompany you, very well; speak to Mr. Locke and
Major Westrup.
Show this letter to them both.
From your
friend,
To Major Eopata
Wahawaha, Auckland. Donald McLean.
No.
5.
Heta Tauranga to the Hon. the Defence Minister.
— Okania, 24th February, 1870
To Mr. McLean,
My parent, salutations to you, you
who saw our departed friend. Notwithstanding that he
has gone, his doings are still within my breast, and hence
it is that our love remains the same towards
you. Notwithstanding that the sky is sometimes overcast,
there are winds to clear away the gloom,
and allow the sun to shine upon the earth.
This then corresponds with the way
in which the Governor and yourself are seeking to dispel
the
troubles which are now hanging over us and our children.
My heart was gladdened on the arrival of
Tana te Waharoa with your joint message. Enough of this. I
accompanied Colonel McDonnell as
far as Tauranga and Te Papa, and having done so I then
returned to see where the Ngati Raukawa
were, and I found them in the forest ranges, Te Kooti
having left them because they were determined
not to join him. They have returned with me to Patetere—to
their own settlement. They number about 100
persons, including women and children, and the two Chiefs
Wiremu Haurui and Maihi Te Mata. I
saw no other people strangers during this time. This is
the end of my address.
Na Heta Taueanga.
No. 6.
The Hon. the Defence Minister to Majors Kemp and
Topia.
— Auckland, 3rd March, 1870.
To Kemp and to Topia,
Friends, salutations to you both
and to all of you. In my letters of the 19th Eebruary I
informed you that I had given up to you the conduct of the
pursuit after Te Kooti, the man who
continues to do evil in our Island ; for, according to
what the Maori chiefs say, the reason why Te
Kooti has not been caught is the complication caused by
European officers.
Te Pokiha has come here to inquire
as to the thoughts of the Government. The arrangement for
this work is a lump sum of money. If Te Kooti is caught or
killed, five thousand pounds (£5,000)
given. It matters not if another tribe should catch him;
this money will still be paid, for all
who will have taken part in the work.
All that the Government are
considering about is food for the road.
Your friend,
Donald McLean.
Enclosure 1 in No. 87.
To Arama, to Tukehu,
— Ruatahuna, 16th May, 1870.
Friends, salutations to you both.
We have received your letter in which you say that we
are to go to Te Karamuramu to make peace. Friends, I have
become a Government man through
Te Keepa and through your letters. Well, I will always be
a Government mau at my own place.
This is a word from us to you : Cease slaying the land and
the people ; let your sword and my sword
be laid aside. Te Kooti is not here. Should you come in
here we will all be in trouble again, for Te
Kooti is not here. Let us cease writing one to another.
Cease; it is stopped with the stopper of Houmea.
From Paerau,
Te Whenuanui,
To George Preece, Captain. From all the Chiefs of Tuhoe.
Friend, send Hiria and Ihimaera here. That is all.—From
all Tuhoe.
Enclosure 2 in No. 87.
To Mr. Preece, that is to say, to all your
Runanga,
—Ruatahuna, 16th May, 1870.
Friend we have received your
letter in which you say that we are to go out. Give heed,
we
have sent our mouth-piece to you. That is all. As for us
we will not go out. Lot us alone here, and
do you remain yonder at your place, for Te Kooti is not
here; Don't urge to come. Don't come this
way, go as you are going ; if you come here the law will
have been broken by you and by me also. l am
afraid because the peace made with Eru has been covered
with blood by you yourself. What matters
Is if you say that that peace was made by Te Kepa only;
no, that law which you yourself have broken
was made by the Governor.
Now, I will not go out; leave me
alone here. My occupation is to sleep, but it is for you
to awake
me out of my sleep ; if you come here I will wake up.
This is another word to you : send
Hiria and her companion here. Be quick.
That is all,
From Tuhoe-potiki,
That is to say from all the Tribe.
Enclosure 3 in No. 87.
To Hoani,
Friend, salutations to you, that is to say, to all of you.
This is a word to you; Do not let
any person go to Whakarae, for all that district belongs
to me, by day and by night, and in the months.
That
is all.
This is another word to you; send
the bad men from out of your presence, that good and evil
may
be known. That is all. Te Erueti,
That is to say from your ancestor, all Tuhoe.
Those
are a few selected documents from the 1870 Waikaremoana
campaign.
All of the documents from the campaign can be downloaded
here - 12MB.pdf
THE
NEW ZEALAND WARS: A HISTORY OF THE MAORI CAMPAIGNS AND THE
PIONEERING PERIOD:
VOLUME II: THE HAUHAU WARS, (1864–72)
CHAPTER
36: OPERATIONS AT WAIKARE-MOANA
Author: James
Cowan, F.R.G.S.
THE SECOND MILITARY expedition to Lake Waikare-moana (May
and June 1870) was a purely native one, a contingent of
about three hundred strong with a few white officers. Major J.
T. Large, then a young volunteer, was one of the most
energetic spirits in the contingent. Another member of the
native force was young James
Carroll (now Sir James
Carroll); he was a boy of only thirteen, but he
carried a Terry carbine and played a manful part in the
campaign. The expedition consisted of hapus of
the Ngati-Kahungunu Tribe inhabiting the Wairoa district
from Te Mahia to Mohaka. They were under the command of Mr.
Edward Hamlin, Government interpreter, of Napier, while each hapu had
its own chief. Maj. Large joined it as a volunteer with the
Ngaietu hapu, which
took a leading part in the operations. The force was
encamped on the border of a small lake named Kiri-o-Pukai,
separated from Waikare-moana by a narrow ridge.
The Maoris raised a small boat buried by Colonel Herrick at
Onepoto, which had escaped the search of the Hauhaus, but the
other one—a whaleboat sunk near Onepoto—the Hauhaus had found,
and daily paraded before their foes on the lake. In order to
provide additional means of transport Hamlin's force made two
canoes out of large white-pine trees, and these were hauled
over the ridge and launched on Waikare-moana, with the object
of crossing the north-east arm, Whanganui-a-Parua. The chiefs
Paora Apatu, Hamana Tiakiwai, and Toha were opposed to any
forward movement of that kind, and urged the natives to go
back to Wairoa, and not court disaster by attempting to cross
the lake in winter. Mr. Hamlin, who was a forcible Maori
speaker, always silenced these croakers. Nevertheless, i PAGE
4
I\n the face of their
opposition, no openly organized advance was practicable. The
heavy westerly winter gales blowing right across the
Waikare-moana made weird sounds amongst the trees and rocks,
which the superstitious natives declared were the wailings of
Haumapuhia, the deity of the lake, warning them to return.
One
day the Hauhaus in their flotilla of canoes and the whaleboat
sallied out from the beach below Matuahu pa and
made for the middle of the lake. Mr. J.
T. Large and a party of the best men
in the Native force manned the two Government canoes and the
dinghy and went out to meet the Hauhaus. As soon as the two
miniature war-fleets came within range of each other sharp
firing commenced. The accurate fire of Large's canoe-men and
dinghy crew proved too much for the enemy, who were forced to
return to their stronghold on the north side of the lake. The
Government force suffered no casualties.
On
the 21st May an armed party of Ngaietu volunteers, under the
command of Mr. Large and accompanied by the chief Peneamine,
went out scouting in a canoe around the shore of PAGE
403the Whanganui-a-Parua arm of the lake. They
were all picked men of their tribe, practised hands with the
paddle, adepts in canoe-work, and mostly good shots. Dr. Scott
thus described the encounter which followed:—
“Cautiously
coasting along the inequalities of the shore, with their
rifles loaded and ready to hand, the canoe-men achieve the
distance to the end of the bight without incident, when
suddenly, near a small cultivation and a whare or
two, they sight two Urewera men scouting, like themselves,
in a canoe. Chase is given, but the Hauhaus paddle
frantically for the shore, and the chance of drawing the
first blood will be lost if they once gain the bush-clad
strand. Peneamine resolves upon a long shot, and with a
word, steadying the canoe, adjusts his rifle-sight and
fires. One Maori drops listlessly over the side of the canoe
and remains there; the other jumps overboard, reaches the
shore, and seeks safety in the bush, whither it would not be
prudent to follow him. A cry of triumph rises from the
perpetrators of the apparently cowardly but absolutely
necessary deed. As the first blood had been shed on the
right side, the omens are propitious, and they exultingly
shout ‘Mate rawa!’ (‘Quite
dead!) as they cautiously land and inspect the corpse and
canoe, and proceed to visit the whares, carefully,
however, leaving a sufficient guard on the canoes, and
advancing with rifles cocked, bated breath, and that
stealthy yet quick pace which was particularly noticeable in
the after-skirmishing of this sub-tribe. They do not find
much loot, however—some £2, with a beautifully bound English
prayer-book, a gun or two, and other miscellaneous articles;
only one gun, a dead man, and two paddles remain in the
canoe. Rather disappointed as to the spoils, but jubilant in
the first success, they return to camp, and that evening the
war-dance echoes and re-echoes over the lake-waters,
responded to by the firing of musketry, braying of horns,
and derisive yells from the Hauhau villages.”
The
next day (22nd May) two Hauhaus came off from Matuahu in a
canoe under a flag of truce, and, lying off the camp at
Onepoto, opened negotiations with the Government side. In
response to a demand for surrender they replied that they
would hold a consultation at their pa and
report the result next day. All this, however, was only a ruse
to gain time or to reconnoitre Hamlin's position, for shortly
afterwards the outlying scouts reported the passage of eight
canoes, four of them very large ones, and the whaleboat, all
fully manned, from Tikitiki to Matuahu, and thence to
Ohiringi, on the south side of the lake, thus menacing the
rear of the Government position and the communications with
Wairoa. Lieutenant Witty counted twenty-five men in one canoe,
and the whole detachment was probably PAGE
404about one hundred and fifty. However, the
Hauhaus made no attack, and quietly returned to hold their
main positions at Matuahu and Tikitiki.
The
principal men of the native force were very much averse to
crossing the lake and attacking the Hauhau positions. However,
the officers contrived by stratagem to get the better of the
chiefs. Major Large explained how they did it:—
“Our leaders gave out that on the morrow we were going
foraging for food amongst the plantations on the Wairoa side
of the lake; but we took care that none but the best men were
of the party, which was under the command of Lieutenant Witty.
Having launched our two canoes and the dinghy, we started
round the east side of the lake in the direction of
Whanganui-a-Parua, the north-east end. On reaching the
prominent headland Matakitaki we made a dash for the opposite
shore. It was a race and I and three Ngaietu men—Pine Pape,
Teira Morutu, and Hirini Kereru—in the dinghy were the first
to land in the enemy territory, closely followed by the others
in the canoes. By great good fortune the Hauhaus did not
anticipate that we would cross at that place, and were not
there to oppose our landing, otherwise they might have
inflicted heavy loss on us before we got to the shore. On
landing we advanced in skirmishing order through the bush with
which that side of the lake was covered, going in the
direction of Matuahu, a well-fortified pa,
on a headland. We met with no opposition till we got to an old
clearing named Taumataua, when we received a rattling volley
from the top of a cliff commanding it. However, it did little
damage, as we had cover. Lieutenant Witty soon had the Hauhaus
outflanked, and we drove them back. Here we camped, and sent
the canoes and boat across to Onepoto for reinforcements and
supplies, and our surgeon, Dr. Scott, arrived. The following
day the Hauhaus attacked us again, but we repulsed them.
Amongst their casualties was the chief Enoka, who was killed.
The day following we advanced in force on Matuahu, the great
stronghold of the enemy, which we found evacuated.”
 “Now
we were in the enemy's country,” narrated Major Large, ”our
forward movements in force were retarded by the want of proper
means of transport, as we had still only our two canoes and
the dinghy; this small boat had been damaged. So a number of
our young bloods, weary of our somewhat long period of
inactivity, conceived the idea of making a dash to the head of
the western inlet at Mahungarerewai and capturing the big
canoes and whaleboat from the Hauhaus encamped there. So
choosing a dark night, they filled the two dugouts with as
many men as they would carry, and, without consulting the
leaders, quietly started up the inlet. I was the only white
man they took with them. We surprised the Hauhaus, who offered
no resistance, and we came back in the morning in triumph to
Matuahu with four or five large canoes and the whaleboat.
Hamlin was angry with us for undertaking this enterprise
without orders, which several of us supposed he had given. Of
course, we should not have moved without orders.
The leaders contemplated going into Ruatahuna, and they said
that our action prejudiced their project. But they could not
have moved the force without adequate means of transport, and
our capture of the enemy's canoes and boat supplied the one
thing most needed for the purpose, and gave them the command
of the lake. As to going into the heart of the Urewera Country
in winter with our small force, we could not muster more than
two hundred good reliable men for the purpose, while the enemy
were numerous, and in strong positions. We would simply have
been cut to pieces, and there would have been no morehu (remnants
of a slaughtered tribe) left to tell the tale. This I found
out afterwards when I was at Ruatahuna with Ngati-Porou.”
The force now had abundant means of transport, and made raids
to the Wairau and Marau branches of Waikare-moana. Parties
visited all the settlements round the borders of the lake,
destroying whares, canoes,
and other property of the Hauhaus, and bringing away the food,
in retaliation for the forays on the coast settlements.
The
contingent spent over a month at Matuahu, where the whole
force concentrated. A small party of the Waikare-moana
Hauhaus, under Hona te Makarini and Hori Wharerangi, came in
under a flag of truce and surrendered. They reported that some
of their people had perished in the snows of Huiarau, the
mountain-range between Waikare-moana and Ruatahuna, in
retiring from the Government force.
The following song was composed
and sung by the Ngati Kahungunu Maoris as an accompaniment
to a haka taparahi danced
at Tikitiki pa, on
the northern shore of Lake Waikare-moana, after the capture
of the Hauhau strongholds when PAGE
405Hona Te Makarini and Hori Wharerangi came
in and made submission:—
Taku
Whakatakariri
Ki nga upoko-kohua
O Ngati-Matewai
I huri atu ra
Ki te Hauhau—e!
Pehi ra waiho te Kawana
Tu ana tono atu
Kia kite ia i nga wai-ko pikopiko
O Waikare ra!
Toia tu ana! Aku haere
Ki te whakawhitianga
ki Whakaari.
Te mauri aroha tiaki
Na taku pa i Tikitiki.
Ko wai ra kai roto?
Ko koe na, Hori.
E tapu ra koe.
Ka whana atu au.
Ka haere ki te rapa
I taku hara ia Te Kooti,
Na te oma Te Waru,
I rere ai
I ora ai,
Rere hiwi
Rere pari
Rere manga tamoe
Hukarere—i—i! |
Great
is my anger
at those cursed ones
of Ngati-Matewai
who have turned them
to the Hauhaus.
Leave them to the Governor
standing there,
waiting to see the many-armed waters of the sea of
Waikaremoana.
Pull away! Here we go
crossing the lake
to Whakaari pa. (at Makuahu)
Jealously lovingly guarded
is our pa at Tikitiki.
Who is within?
‘Tis Hori!
You are sacred now,
safe from us.
We go in chase of him
who broke the peace, Te Kooti,
with whom Te Waru fled.
fleeing now
for their lives,
fleeing across ridges
fleeing over cliffs
fleeing through
deep-hidden waters,
in snow—w—w!
|
After
this short and successful campaign, conducted under winter
conditions, the native contingent returned to the Wairoa and
dispersed to their homes. Later an Armed Constabulary
station was garrisoned at Onepoto and remained an outpost of
importance until the final flight of Te
Kooti from the Urewera Mountains in
1872.
Maori
songs - Kiwi songs -
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