The Dispute in Heretaunga
Te Rauparaha, ariki of the Ngāti Toa
"
He ihu kurī, he tangata haere"
"Like a dog follows his nose, man will find opportunity"
(Refers to an unjust or criminal action)
From
An Awkward Engagement - A History of the New Zealand Company and its Endeavours in Aotearoa:
From the 1840s onwards, there were multiple attempts at establishing European settlements throughout the North Island. These projects were destined to meet with varying levels of success. These settlements would prove to be vital hubs in the development of Aotearoa, by providing links to the outside world, with all the material and cultural benefits (and some harms) associated with connection into a wider global nexus. These settlements were established by the New Zealand Company, a British enterprise which sought to construct profitable settlements in both Te Ika-a-Māui and Te Wāhi Pounamu. These settlement efforts effectively came to a halt further south with the assertion of French control over Te Wāhi Pounamu, but the New Zealand Company remained active in Te Ika-a-Māui. As a result of the colonisation efforts of this British corporation, the towns established by the New Zealand Company remained predominantly British in demography until the early 20th century, when rural-urban migration by Māori accelerated.
The hostilities in the Heretaunga were typical of the kind of disputes which would flare up as a result of land sales of dubious validity. The Heretaunga, known to the British as the Hutt Valley, had been lightly populated by a variety of
hapu, each of which were driven out by migrants from the north. The region ended up under the control of Te Rauparaha,
ariki of the Ngāti Toa, who granted occupation rights to Ngāti Rangatahi. Another tribe, Ngāti Mutunga had long since established
ahi ka, or a customary right to the land and was therefore in a position to sell it, but they had departed by September 1839, when the New Zealand Company vessel Tory arrived in Port Nicholson (*Wellington IOTL) to purchase land for its proposed settlements. Disregarding advice that Te Rauparaha's consent was necessary for the establishment of a settlement, the New Zealand Company distributed payment to six
rangatira for large, but poorly defined plots in the Port Nicholson area. Ngāti Rangatahi, despite inhabiting the Heretaunga area seasonally since the early 1830s, were offered nothing, despite the areas in question being under their effective ownership. Te Rauparaha himself strongly opposed the sale of this land.
Resident Thomas McDonnell, whose mandate was to oversee the protection of British interests in Aotearoa, intervened on the behalf of the New Zealand Company. McDonnell met with Te Rauparaha on several occasions, and it was decided that Europeans would be allowed to settle at Port Nicholson. However, another dispute arose over the boundaries of European settlement. After agreeing to a sale, Te Rauparaha then contended that he was unaware that the area in question would include the Heretaunga. He stated that in his mind, 'Port Nicholson' was all the land seaward of the Rotokakahi Stream, about 2km up the Heretaunga River. Aside from the original £400 price, McDonnell offered another £100 if Te Rauparaha would ensure the immediate departure of Te Kaeaea (also known as Taringa Kuri, or "Dog's Ear"), a Ngāti Tama chief whose
hapu had lived at Kaiwharawhara but had migrated into the Heretaunga in response to the encroachment of settlers on their land. Taringa Kuri began cutting a line through through forest at Rotokakahi, warning British surveyors that it demarcated the northern boundary of Port Nicholson. From November 1844 the British intensified pressure on Te Rauparaha to oust Ngāti Tama from the Heretaunga, eventually gaining Te Rauparaha's support.
Taringa Kuri remained defiant, and the Ngāti Tama defied Te Rauparaha, expanding their clearings and cultivations, as well as protesting at a lack of compensation for their lost land at Kaiwharawhara. The British came to the conclusion that force would be necessary to open up the Heretaunga for European colonisation. Conscious of the parallels between their current situation and the Wairau Affray two year earlier, the British settlers at Port Nicholson formed a militia force in 1845, comprised of 220 men. A series of makeshift fortifications and stockades were built in the area, including Fort Richmond, adjacent to the Heretaunga River and the small outposts at Taita and Boulcott's Farm. At the request of the settlers, a force of imperial troops from Australia was sent to the area to bolster the meager local forces. McDonnell visited the Heretaunga in mid-February 1846, soliciting a promise from Taringa Kuri to vacate the region, abandoning 120 hectares of potatoes they had been cultivating. He refused to compensate them for loss of crops and houses, claiming that their occupation of the area was illegal in the first place. He argued that it was Ngāti Mutunga who held the rightful claim over this land, and the Europeans had already secured the cooperation of Pomare, chief of the Ngāti Mutunga, who lived on the Chatham Islands (having paid him £300). British settlers were sent into the Heretaunga to occupy the land, but were resisted by remnant Māori who refused to give way for the Europeans. As a response, 340 or so troops were sent into the valley. Despite the fact that the Port Nicholson deed excluded native cultivations and homes, McDonnell sent a message to Ngāti Rangatahi
rangatira Kaparatehau, demanding that he vacate the village of Maraenuku or face forcible expulsion if they didn't leave by noon the next day (February 25th). Left with no choice, Kaparatehau accepted the ultimatum. Houses in the village were plundered by settlers the night that the Ngāti Rangatahi left. On February 27th, British troops entered the village and razed what remained, desecrating the village chapel and burial place in the process. Embittered, Ngāti Rangatahi retaliated on the nights of the 1st and 3rd of March with raids on settlers' farms, vandalising property, killing pigs and threatening the settlers with death if they raised an alarm.
On the morning of the 3rd March, a party of Māori fired several volleys at troops near Boulcott's Farm, 3 kilometres north of Fort Richmond, but were repulsed when British troops returned the favour in kind. the HMS Driver was ordered to take reinforcements to Petone. In late March, two Māori were arrested for the plundering of settlers' homes. On the 2nd April, farmer Andrew Gillespie and his son were killed by blows from at least one tomahawk on vacated land where the Gillespie family had just settled. Te Rauparaha sent word to McDonnell that the killers where Whanganui Māori not affiliated with Ngāti Toa and to look for them at Porirua. The suspects fled into bushland after a detachment of militia were sent to apprehend them.
British troops came across a newly-built and entrenched pā at the head of the Pauatahanui inlet in Porirua Harbour occupied by Te Rangihaeata. McDonnell responded by dispatching 250 troops to the northwest of Porirua. Ignoring warnings from Te Rauparaha and Te Āti Awa chief Te Puni that an armed strike was imminent, Port Nicholson police magistrate Major M. Richmond disbanded the militia in the town and reduced the strength of the forces in Heretaunga. At daybreak on 16th May 1846, 200 warriors of the Ngāti Toa and Ngāti-Hāua-te-Rangi warriors, led by chief Topine Te Mamaku, launched an attack on the imperial outpost at Boulcott's Farm. Two volleys were fired at the four-man English advance position. Te Mamaku's warriors then stormed the tents, killing the survivors with tomahawks, and then turned their attention to the other 45 men in the garrison. Lieutenant Page and two men, armed with sword and pistol, fought their way from the house in which they were besieged to the barn, where half of the force were quartered. Page ordered his troops to advance with fixed bayonets and were reinforced by seven militia, who arrived during the battle and helped to drive off Mamaku's warriors. Six British soldiers were killed, and an additional soldier and a settler succumbed to their injuries days later. Two Māori were killed and ten wounded. The scare prompted military forces to arm 250
kūpapa, or friendly Māori, of the Te Āti Awa serving under Te Puni to protect settlers, while settlers from Te Aro formed a volunteer militia engaged in nightly patrols to guard against an anticipated attack.
Another settler, Richard Rush, was killed in a tomahawk attack on 15th June and the following day a 74-strong force of soldiers, militia and Te Āti Awa warriors marched north from Boulcott's Farm and became involved in a skirmish with hostile Māori near Taita, resulting in several of the imperial forces being wounded. In the aftermath of these events, a large
taua (war party) of Māori from Upper Whanganui (including Ngāti-Hāua-te-Rangi) led by warrior chiefs Ngapara and Maketu marched down the west coast to reinforce Te Rangihaeata and Te Mamaku. Unable to convince Te Āti Awa chief Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke to interfere with the advance of the hostile taua, the British launched a dawn raid against Te Rauparaha's village of Taupo in late June, despite the lack of actual involvement in the fighting. Nevertheless, Te Rauparaha had been supplying provisions and arms to Te Rangihaeata, who had been actively waging war on the British. When Te Rangihaeata heard about his uncle's capture, he sent a force of 50 warriors to liberate him, but they were rebuffed easily. Te Rauparaha and other prisoners were transferred to the HMS Calliope, which sailed to Auckland, and they were detained there as prisoners of war.
With the arrival of Ngapara and Maketu's forces to the theatre, the British forces found their strategic position to be increasingly precarious. In order to achieve peace, they perceived the need to achieve some victories to improve their prospects. They sought to achieve this through the capture of Te Rangihaeata, which would allow the British to negotiate a desirable outcome. On 31st July 1846 a 213-strong combined force of militia, armed police and 150 Te Āti Awa set off overland to launch a surprise attack on the rear of Te Rangihaeata's stronghold at Pauatahanui. The occupants of the pā were alerted the next day and fled. The abandoned pā was commandeered as a British military post. Two days later, Maj. Edward Last began to lead the government force north through the heavily-forested Horokiri ranges in pursuit of Te Rangihaeata and Te Mamaku. The force was comprised of most of the forces that the British could scrape together: army regulars, seamen from the
Calliope, militia, armed police and several hundred Māori allies, including some under the command of a Ngāti Toa
rangatira, Rawiri Puaha.
Te Rangihaeata's new pā was discovered on 6th August at the crest of a steep ridge and surrounded by strong fortifications and three of the British were killed in a shootout that lasted until nightfall. The force withdrew from the hill and a detachment of sailors were sent back to Pauatahanui to retrieve two mortars. The weapons were carried in on 7th August and over the next two days the pā was struck by over 80 shells . Some of the British forces also skirmishes with Te Rangihaeata's warriors in the neighbouring bushland. By August 10th, Last had come to the conclusion that a decisive victory was unattainable and withdrew, leaving the Māori allies to maintain suppressive fire. Three days later they found that the pā had been abandoned under the cover of rain and darkness. The
kūpapa began their pursuit through broken terrain and dense bush, with both sides suffering casualties in the resulting skirmishes. Te Rangihaeata entrenched himself with about 100 men at Poroutawhao in swampland between Horowhenua and the Manawatu, forcing Rawiri Puaha's forces to withdraw rather than enter into a battle with a severe disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the British forces had returned to Port Nicholson, where they began digging trenches around the town. The
taua of Ngapara and Maketu had begun to advance towards the town, and they were soon joined by Te Rangihaeata and Te Mamaku. Surrounding the town, a tense atmosphere came over Port Nicholson, where settlers and soldiers feared the worst. In order to prevent a potential massacre, McDonnell travelled down to the area in order to parley with Te Rangihaeata and the other chieftains. A negotiated peace was decided on, whereby the Europeans accepted the limits of Port Nicholson as claimed by Te Rauparaha and Taringa Kuri. Furthermore, Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Rangatahi were to receive tribute from either the New Zealand Company or the local settlers. Whilst the settlers weren't particularly fond of this arrangement, they recognised that it was preferential to the threat of a Ngāti Toa attack on Port Nicholson. Te Rauparaha would also be freed from captivity. Te Rangihaeata as a result received a great deal of
mana (esteem) from this result, and it is believed that this event was key in Te Rangihaeata becoming
ariki (high chief) of the Ngāti Toa after Te Rauparaha's eventual death. Meanwhile Rawiri Puaha was politically marginalised, having fought against his fellow Ngāti Toa for the British.