Aerial View of Key Battle in the NZ Wars

Early on the morning of 27 June 1860, on the West Coast of the North Island, Major Thomas Nelson of the British colonial forces and 350 men, set out to attack the fortified pā at Puketakaurere. They suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of chief Hapurona and around 150 men who lay waiting in rifle pits on their flanks.

Aerial View of Key Battle in the NZ Wars

At daybreak on 29 April 1864, British Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron ordered an attack on Pukehinahina (Gate Pā, Tauranga) which began with an artillery barrage followed by an infantry assault however Rāwiri Tuaia Puhirake had gathered 250 Māori at Pukehinahina to resist the British encroachment. They defended the pā from a network of underground anti-artillery bunkers and concealed trenches, causing heavy casualties for the British.

The British retreated leaving their dead and wounded behind. Overnight, wounded British soldiers were tended to by Māori, and most of the defenders escaped. The next day, the British found the pā abandoned. Thirty-five British regulars died during the engagement and 75 were wounded.

Aerial View of Key Battle in the NZ Wars

The Prussian soldier of fortune Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky’s exploits during the battles of the 1860s had made him a folk hero for many European settlers. On 7 September 1868, as part of the Armed Constabulary commanded by Thomas McDonnell, he attacked Tītokowaru’s forest stronghold, Te Ngutu-o-te-manu. The troops out numbered Tītokowaru’s force six to one but were severely beaten with around twenty troops killed. McDonnell ordered a retreat but Von Tempsky was killed outside the pā before he received this order.

Aerial View of Key Battle in the NZ Wars

On 7 November 1868, a group consisting of 250 Armed Constabulary and 300 Whanganui Māori set out towards Moturoa. Although the pā appeared to be only partially constructed, the site had concealed firing trenches and low towers made of packed earth.

Tītokowaru's force waited until the last possible moment before unleashing a devastating attack on the exposed party. The ambush resulted in heavy casualties, with most of the attacking force lying dead or wounded within just a few minutes. The defenders then moved into hidden rifle pits on the flanks, maintaining a heavy fire that forced the attackers to retreat.

The casualties were significant; the attacking force lost 19 men killed and 20 wounded, while Tītokowaru's force lost only one.

Aerial View of Key Battle in the NZ Wars

Te Kooti was one of hundreds who were exiled to the remote Chatham Islands. During his time in exile, his land at Matawhero in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa (Poverty Bay) had been occupied by Major Reginald Biggs and the prominent trader George Read had also taken land in the settlement.

On 9 November 1868, shortly before midnight, Te Kooti and approximately 100 men launched an attack on Matawhero. By dawn, nearly 60 people had been killed, including roughly equal numbers of Māori and Pākehā from Matawhero and the adjacent kāinga (village). While some were shot, most were killed with bayonets, tomahawks, or patu to avoid alerting their neighbours.

Aerial View of Key Battle in the NZ Wars

Parihaka, established in the mid-1860s, became a sanctuary for Māori who had been dispossessed of their land. Te Whiti-o-Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi, both from the Taranaki and Te Āti Awa iwi, were the main leaders. In May 1879, the colonial government tried to occupy confiscated land on the Waimate Plains. Te Whiti and Tohu developed non-violent resistance tactics, and ploughmen from Parihaka spread across Taranaki to claim Māori ownership of the land. The government passed laws targeting the protesters and imprisoned hundreds of ploughmen without trial.

On 5 November 1881, around 1600 troops marched on Parihaka, which had become a symbol of peaceful resistance to the confiscation of Māori land. Native Minister John Bryce led the force, and as they arrived, several thousand Māori sat quietly on the marae while singing children welcomed them. Bryce saw Parihaka as a "headquarters of fanaticism and disaffection" and ordered the leaders' arrest, destroyed much of the village, and forced most of its inhabitants to disperse.