The New Zealand Wars

There are a number of reasons why the situation of the Maoris in New Zealand is different than the Aborigines in Australia or Native Americans in the United States.  I am not an expert on the subject, but at least one of the reasons may be in the history of English/European settlement in New Zealand.

In 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi was signed between the British crown and many Maori chiefs.  After the Treaty was signed, things did not go as planned.  (Do they ever?)  The English and Maori versions of the Treaty could be interpreted differently.  Also, the Maori leaders thought they would be able to control the Pakeha.  (“Pakeha” is the Maori word for people of European descent.  Until recently, the Pakeha were mostly British.)  But lots of British immigrants came, and they wanted land.  While some Maoris were willing to sell, many were not.  Disputes arose and fighting broke out. 

Maoris (or at least some of them) fought the Pakeha settlers and British troops, and their Maori allies, for almost 30 years, starting in 1843, in what are now called the New Zealand Wars.  (See James Belich’s 1986 classic history, The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict.)  The Pakeha and the British ultimately “won,” but mostly because they overwhelmed the Maoris with numbers, as opposed to decisively defeating them on the battlefield. 

The New Zealand Wars are particularly interesting because of how good the Maoris were at fighting and how seldom they were truly defeated.  The Maoris had fought each other for hundreds of years before the Pakeha arrived.  The key, however, to the Maoris’ success in fighting the Pakeha and the British was that the Maoris had acquired firearms, and began using them in their own battles, twenty years before they started fighting the British.  This gave the Maori the chance to learn how to fight with guns before they had to use them against the Pakeha.  The Maoris even figured out about trench warfare 50 years before World War I.

Most of the sites from the New Zealand Wars are on the North Island.  Among the best is Ruapekapeka, near the Bay of Islands, the last battle of the Northern War (1845-46), which I talked about in my post on Northland.   

Further south, south of Hamilton, are a number of sites from the Waikato Wars (1863-64).  We first stopped at Meremere.  There is not much there anymore, but it does give you good views of the surrounding area.

Better is Rangiriri, a little south of Meremere.  This was the key battle in the Waikato Wars.  Much of the site was destroyed when State Highway 1 was built through one side of the battlefield in the 1960s.  However, enough of the site remains, and there are enough markers, that you can appreciate the battle.

You can also see a cemetery for those killed in the battle in Rangiriri village, not far from the battlefield.  We tried to go to the Heritage Centre in the town, but it was closed by the time we got here.

While it was technically not part of the New Zealand Wars, the Alexandra redoubt in Pirongia is one of the best surviving colonial redoubts in New Zealand.  It was built shortly after the New Zealand Wars were substantially over, but while Pakehas were still worried about attacks by Maoris.  It is definitely worth a visit.

 

For information on other sites on the Waikato Wars, see “The Waikato War of 1863-64” by Neville Ritchie.  It is online here: http://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/conservation/historic/by-region/waikato/waikato-war-of-1863-64.pdf.

For information on sites from other parts of the New Zealand Wars, see Landscapes of Conflict: A Field Guide to the New Zealand Wars, by Nigel Prickett.  It is only available used, and unfortunately, it is difficult to find.

Another excellent book on the New Zealand Wars is Maori Fortifications by Ian Knight.  It is an overview and focuses, as the title indicates on Maori fortifications, but it is a very good introduction to the New Zealand Wars.