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The causes of the Taranaki Wars

The causes of the Taranaki Wars . Untitled (Omata Stockade) (circa 1869), Henry Freer Rawson, Watercolour & pencil on paper. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A65.890). Introduction.

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The causes of the Taranaki Wars

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  1. The causes of the Taranaki Wars Untitled (Omata Stockade) (circa 1869), Henry Freer Rawson, Watercolour & pencil on paper. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A65.890)

  2. Introduction It is important to understand that during this time in New Zealand’s history, there was a meeting of two races of people, one of whom had a centralised system of government which gave itself increasing authority to act with force against the other.

  3. Introduction • The war was not simply a war between Māori and Pākehā. There were Māori on both sides, and many Pākehā advocated a Māori point of view • Even some military officers were opposed to what was happening, the commander of the Imperial forces eventually resigning his office in protest. In effect, the war was about sovereignty, or tino rangatiratanga, not race. Bushrangers Redoubt and Camp at Wai-iti, Pukearuhe District (1871) Francis Hamar Arden, Watercolour & pencil on paper. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A58.490)

  4. The Europeans Arrive A musket (circa 1820s-1830s) Tower Armouries, Steel, wood, brass, Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A76.878) Some devastating battles resulted. However, Europeans introduced muskets and this added a new element to some inter iwi conflict. The first Europeans to come by Taranaki were sealers and traders. On voyages between Cook Strait and Hobart or Sydney from the 1820s they stopped and traded goods and food with Māori. This was at first usually a welcome arrangement on both sides.

  5. The Harriet Affair • Despite the trade there was early conflict as well. • In 1834 the ship the Harriet wrecked on the Taranaki coast. On board – whaler Jacky Guard, his wife Betty, and their two children. The Guards and a number of others were captured and held as ransom. • After two weeks Jacky and several other men were released on the understanding that they would return with a cask of gunpowder as ransom for the rest of the party. (Betty Guard) Silhouette; circa 1830 Cut paper silhouette with details painted in white pigment, framed and glazed Gift of the Guard family, 1984 Registration number: GH003416 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

  6. The Europeans Arrive • Māori soon had to defend their land from unscrupulous land dealers from Britain and within New Zealand. • The New Zealand Company rushed to New Zealand to stake some land claims in various parts of the country, which they then hoped to divide up and onsell to new settlers at a profit. • More and more settlers came… Image: New Zealand Company. Deed of Purchase. The Plymouth Company Charter, an example of a land title drawn up between the Plymouth Company and the New Zealand Company over land in the New Plymouth region. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth ARC2001-382

  7. The Europeans Arrive • The New Plymouth Company settlers began arriving in 1841, to find that the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed and that their claim to land was by no means certain. • By 1843 there were over 1000 settlers keen to come to New Zealand, unaware of what they were coming into. View of ‘Brooklands’ the Residence of Henry King, Esq. R.N. In the book An Account of the Settlement of New Plymouth, by Charles Hursthouse , 1849. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth TRCT993.982HUR

  8. Taranaki Māori Meanwhile, Taranaki iwi had been having their own troubles. During the 1820 -30s, in what has become known as the ‘Musket Wars’, Waikato tribes had invaded Taranaki and so many Taranaki iwi had migrated south to Kāpiti, Wellington and the top of the South Island displacing other iwi already living there. A smaller remnant remained behind to maintain the tribal ahi kā, or tribal presence in Taranaki.

  9. It’s all about land… Of the remaining iwi left at Ngāmotu, early settlers wanted their land and so drew up a charter to purchase land in the area, (the New Plymouth Charter) but all was not well with this… This shows an image of a man called William Spain who was to investigate the New Plymouth Charter. A group of Māori and Pākehā are gathered before a raupō/reed building with a canvas awning protecting two scribes at a table. Mr Spain investigating the Land Claims at New Plymouth. (Mt Eliot. June 1844) (circa 1844) Edwin Harris, Ink, pencil & Chinese White on paper, mounted on cardboard. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A75.441)

  10. It’s all about land… A new Governor – FitzRoy – didn’t agree that the Ngāmotu purchase was valid, but settlers threatened to take up arms, and he caved. In what could almost be seen as a treaty, Māori agreed to transfer the New Plymouth FitzRoy block on condition settlers expanded no further. Governor FitzRoy However, the NZ Company kept on-selling more land that they believed they had a claim to and bringing more settlers, pressuring the colonial administrators into finding more land. Many Māori were quite happy to live peacefully with settlers as long as they settled within agreed territories.

  11. It’s all about land… Frustrated settlers, anxious to start their own farms negotiated independent land sales with individual Māori who were willing to sell tribal land. But, by the late 1840s… Wiremu Kīngi te Rangitaake a high-ranking chief of Te Ātiawa, who had been part of the migration south in the 1820s, started to lead his people back up north to Taranaki in 1848. Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitaake (circa 1846-1847), unknown photographer, original photograph. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (PHO2002-442)

  12. An early settler’s cottage. Note the land being cleared and the cow already in the paddock Untitled (Merton, New Plymouth) (circa 1855), James Crowe Richmond Oil on canvas . Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (TM.2002.121)

  13. It’s all about land… • With all these land-hungry settlers, Māori began to strategise about how to deal with the increasing incursion on their land. The following events occurred: • The formation of the Māori land League and 1854 hui at Manawapou, south Taranaki. • Re-occupation of their own land in order to use and assert their rights over it, e.g. at Waitara. • A Māori King, Pōtatau, was appointedto negotiate issues directly with the Pākehā Queen. • Crown officials – and some settlers – felt threatened by these moves. • The King movement was interpreted by some Crown officials as treasonous. Their view was that Māori already had a Queen that they had signed up to in 1840 when the Treaty was signed. King Pōtatau, the first Māori king.

  14. Taihoa! Stop! It’s time to digest some of this information. Turn to your worksheet and work through the tasks next to Taiaha #1.

  15. What happened at Waitara Waitara had been cleared and developed by generations of Māori, and was also a piece of land much coveted by the settlers. By the late 1850s it had been occupied and profitably worked by its Te Ātiawa people, led by paramount chief Wiremu Kīngi te Rangitaake. Satellite image of Waitara today. Google.

  16. Enter Te Teira • In 1859, Te Teira, another local Te Ātiawa chief, offered to sell the Pekapeka Block (Waitara) to the Crown (an offer he had made on a number of earlier occasions). • Many other Māori objected to the sale, including Wiremu Kīngiwho had greater authority than Te Teira. Approximately 2000 Māori were living on the block at the time. Crown officials knew Te Rangitaake had a customary right to oppose the sale. Chief Te Teira (date unknown) Unknown photographer. Reproduction of carte-de-visite. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (PHO2008-1759)

  17. The Pekapeka block This map is extremely detailed, showing nearly two hundred owners. Only about a tenth of the block is shown as belonging to Teira and the sellers. Map of Pekapeka block. Map sent by Featherston to Grey. Drawn by two Māori, one with survey experience and approved by Te Patukakariki, 29 August 1861.Sent to Colonial Office, CO 209/165, Grey to Newcastle, 6 December 1861. From: K. Sinclair. Origins of the Maori Wars, NZUP, 1961. Appendix A. Disputed land at Waitara which sparked unrest. Auckland City Libraries

  18. The Pekapeka block Plan of Peka Peka Block Waitara (1860). Drawn by J.F. Berry, 1939 from Plan no. 104. Paper mounted on linen Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (ARC2005-80) This shows the survey ordered by Governor Gore Browne and the land area known as Teira's block, 1860.

  19. The Pekapeka block The Governor, Thomas Gore Browne, then announced a new Government policy - that the Government would accept any offer of land from any individual Māori who wished to sell. No Māori of supposed rank or customary status would be permitted to obstruct this policy. Māori authority must not be permitted to usurp the authority of the Crown. Therefore, the Waitara sale would go through, provided Te Teira's title to the land could be confirmed.

  20. Dispute Kīngi and Governor Gore Browne argued over the issue through letters. Kīngi still vetoed (opposed) the sale. The Governor sent in surveyors anyway. “I do not agree to our bedroom being sold – I mean Waitara, for this bed belongs to the whole of us; and do not you be in haste to give the money. “ Wiremu Kīngi in a letter to Gore Browne. Governor Gore Browne Image: Wikipedia Commons

  21. Dispute • Māori women and children removed the surveying pegs each night. • In this illustration from the School Journal (1978) you can see the women pulling up the survey pegs and the surveyors and settlers in distress. School Journal Illustration by Cliff Whiting, 1978 Courtesy of: Learning Media, Ministry of Education Government officials eventually threatened war, and carried out the threat. A small group of Pākehā, including missionaries, stood with Māori and remained vocal against the Waitara purchase and its legitimacy.

  22. Conflict On 4 March 1860, Gore Browne ordered Colonel Charles Emilius Gold, commanding the 65th Regiment, the Taranaki Militia and the Taranaki Rifle Volunteers, to occupy the disputed block of land at Waitara in preparation for a survey. Four hundred men landed at Waitara the next day to fortify a position and the surveying of the land began . British Positions at the Mouth of the Waitara From The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Volume I (1845–64), James Cowan, 1955. The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.

  23. Conflict • Kīngi and his men built Te Kohia, an L-shaped pā, on the southernside of the Pekapeka Block on 15 March, after a warning by Gold about a previous pā he built on 5 March. • They then uprooted the surveyors' boundary markers and the next day, 17 March, when ordered to surrender, they refused. • Gold's troops opened fire. Plan of the Pekapeka Block, Waitara — (Inset, Te Kohia pa, called the “L” pa from its shape.) From The New Zealand Wars: A History of the Maori Campaigns and the Pioneering Period: Volume I (1845–64), James Cowan, 1955. The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.

  24. War The British believed it would be an easy victory, decisively asserting their sovereignty over Māori. They were wrong. They started firing on the pā during the afternoon of 17March 1860 and the following morning found it abandoned. Kīngi ’s men simply left the pā, leaving the British firing on nothing. This would be an ongoing pattern to the battles in the First Taranaki War, Māori strategy outwitting the British over and over again.

  25. War Sarten et al, 1860 (circa 1980). Murray Moorhead. Ink & watercolour on paper. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A97.014) This sketch is a modern interpretation of the attack of Te Kohia Pā, Waitara, in 1860 by the Taranaki Mounted Volunteers. Sarten and two unidentified figures on horseback reach for the red flag at Te Kohia Pā (known as the "L" pā due to its layout). On the horizon are colonial troops and weaponry including canons.

  26. War Within days, Māori war parties retaliated and attacked the farms south of New Plymouth, killing six settlers who had not taken refuge in the town. Fearing an attack on New Plymouth was imminent, the British withdrew from Waitara and concentrated around New Plymouth. Recap: Why did Gore Browne attack the pa? Was Te Teira eligible to sell the Pekapeka Block? What was Kīngi ’s position on the sale?

  27. Taihoa! Stop! It’s time to digest some of this information. Turn to your worksheet and work through the tasks next to Taiaha #2.

  28. The Battle of Waireka The next engagement, the ‘Battle of Waireka’ on 28 March, was a badly coordinated attempt by regular troops and local militia to rescue settlers south of New Plymouth. Though most of the settlers were saved, Waireka was not the victory that the Governor claimed. The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre From: The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 2 (May 1, 1935), NZETC.

  29. The war continues… Far from being over quickly, it was soon apparent that the war would be a prolonged encounter. Civilians were to be targeted as well. Just as Māori attacked settlers and burned their homes, the military attacked Māori villages and productive Māori farms, leaving defended pā untouched. Bell Block Stockade (circa 1860) John Skinner. Watercolour & pencil on paper. Collection of Puke Ariki, New Plymouth (A65.902)

  30. The war continues… • The First Taranaki War lasted a year. • Māori could generally not have all their forces mobilised at once, as fighters were also needed at home to work the land, tend crops, etc. So they took it in shifts to fight. • The British on the other hand had ultimately a much larger human resource capacity, and were able to ship in more and more soldiers. Nonetheless they could not obtain a decisive victory. Settler support diminished for the War.

  31. Questions for discussion • How were the circumstances that led up to the battle at Waitara as much a product of Crownpolicy as anything else? • What do you think was at the heart of the matter? • Discuss why the two different chiefs from the same iwi disagreed about whether or not to sell the land at Waitara. • Wars and battles rarely start overnight. Describe the sequence of events that led up to the start of the Taranaki Wars. • Debate the following statements: • It was all about greedy settlers wanting land • The New Zealand Company was dishonest • The iwi were so busy fighting each other, war against them was inevitable • The Crown authorities of the time didn’t really support the Māori . The answers to these questions will make good notes for your future use.

  32. References • The First Taranaki War Wikipedia entry • Land Wars Star over Pekapeka Block, by Virginia Winder, Puke Ariki Treasure Link • The Taranaki Report: Kaupapa Tuatahi, accessed from www.waitangi-tribunal.govt.nz • Chapter12: Te Muru me te Raupatu: the Aftermath, in Ancestral Landscapes of Taranaki in Taranaki Whenua: Life Blood Legacy. by Peter Adds, New Plymouth, Puke Ariki Museum, 2008. • Taranaki War 1860-2010: Te Ahi Kā Roa, Te Ahi Kātoro, exhibition notes, Puke Ariki Museum, New Plymouth.

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