Te Kooti's War

Te Kooti's War was one of the New Zealand Wars, the series of conflicts fought between 1845 and 1872 between the Maori and the colonizing British settlers, often referred to as Pakeha. This particular conflict covered most of the East Cape region and the centre of the North Island of New Zealand from July 1868 until mid 1872. It was the longest and in some ways the ugliest and most savage of all the New Zealand Wars.

Pursuit

A few days later Colonel McDonnell was relieved of his command. Headquarters were very upset over the paucity of his communications, and the Minister of Defence had seldom known where he was or what was happening. Instead the job of catching Te Kooti was contracted to the various Maori war chiefs who would be paid by results, according to the number of Ringatu heads or prisoners they brought in. Both Kepa, now Major Kepa Rangihiwinui, with his Wanganui Warriors, and Major Ropata Waha Waha and Ngati Porou accepted the task. Later Arawa also joined the chase but only after they had negotiated better terms, i.e. more cash for the job.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The task of catching Te Kooti was entrusted to the Maori allies of the Government. Only one Pakeha was allowed to continue the hunt: Ropata had requested Colonel Tom Porter as his second in command. Apparently they had already soldiered together for quite a long time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ropata and his men left Gisborne on 28 February 1870. On the same day two Ringatu war parties struck a Maori settlement, Opape, on the other coast of East Cape, near present-day Opotiki. In addition to capturing arms and ammunition they took 170 prisoners, mostly female. They were possibly seen as hostages, because when Kepa descended on the village looking for the raiders the men were uncooperative and the village suffered all over again.

Related Topics:
Gisborne - 28 February - 1870 - Opotiki

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Early in March Kepa began moving south into the Ureweras. The people of the area, the unfortunate Tuhoe, were given a simple choice - cooperate or suffer a great misfortune. Since Kepa was backed up by about 400 armed warriors the nature of the misfortune was fairly obvious and, grudgingly, information about Te Kooti and his whereabouts began to emerge. Later Ropata reinforced the grudging treaty even more forcefully.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The two war parties rampaged through the Urewera Mountains for about a month. Meanwhile Te Kooti was resting in the Maraetahi region. Life in the Ringatu camp was not happy: food was short and discipline fierce, the slightest infractions being punished by instant death. The captives and the rank-and-file Ringatu feared To Kooti and his lieutenants almost as much as the approaching war parties.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For they were approaching, Kepa from the south and Ropata from the north in a well-coordinated pincer movement. They reached Maraetahi on 25 March 1870. Ropata arriving first, immediately made a successful surprise attack. As the Ringatu fled upstream they ran right into Kepa and his men. Te Kooti escaped with four women and about 20 men, but the rest of the band were killed or captured, about 300 people altogether. The majority of these were the unfortunate captives Te Kooti had taken at Opape in February but it also included the bulk of the Ringatu. Nineteen of the most senior of these were executed immediately, the rest were taken back for Pakeha trial and imprisonment.

Related Topics:
25 March - 1870

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was the end of Kepa's war. He and his men had pursued Te Kooti right across the North Island for seven months. They were operating far from their own territory, fighting on behalf of the Government against an enemy who had never threatened his own people. They felt they had done enough. The New Zealand Wars were over and it was time to go home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

But the pursuit of Te Kooti was not over, for it was to continue for another two years. Ropata, Porter and Ngati Porou were joined by another force, Gilbert Mair and George Preece leading a taua (war party) of Arawa. Together they ranged through the Urewera Mountains, subjugating the Tuhoe and forcing them to hand over any fugitives they were sheltering. One welcome catch who fell into Ropata's hands was Kereopa, Volkner's murderer - he was worth 1000 pounds to his captors.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Te Kooti had many narrow escapes, but he managed to stay ahead of his pursuers until mid August 1871 when the Arawa forces unexpectedly came upon his camp, which was taken after a brief skirmish. When in camp Te Kooti usually slept some distance away from his followers. This habit had saved him at Maraetahi and it did so again. He was almost killed but another man intercepted the bullet. He fired one shot and fled, naked, into the bush, and the hunt continued.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Early in February 1872, Preece received good information about the whereabouts of Te Kooti, at the junction of the Waiau and Mangaone Streams. On 13 February they found a camp that had been occupied only a few days previously. The next day they found a camp with a fire still burning and then spotted a group of people climbing the cliff on the opposite side of the flooded stream. One of them was Te Kooti. Shots were exchanged and the chase was on. Later the same day Nikora te Tuhi spotted Te Kooti in the distance and fired two shots at him. They both missed but they were the last shots fired in the New Zealand Wars.

Related Topics:
1872 - 13 February

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Te Kooti continued to elude the pursuers. On 15 May 1872 he crossed the Waikato River and once again entered the territory of the Maori King, Tawhio. This time he approached the King as supplicant and was granted asylum.

Related Topics:
15 May - 1872

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And that was the end of Te Kooti's War, the longest, most bad-tempered and last of all the New Zealand Wars. Since then Pakeha and Maori have not fought each other, neither has any Maori tribe fought against another tribe. If peace is merely the absence of war then that is what has prevailed in New Zealand since then.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Maurice Shadbolt's novel Season of the Jew is set during Te Kooti's War and the movie Utu is based very loosely around some incidents from it. One legacy of the war is still with us, since the Ringa Tu religion still flourishes in some area of New Zealand.

Related Topics:
Maurice Shadbolt - Season of the Jew - Utu

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~