THE WAR IN 1863.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15497, 2 January 1914, Page 6

THE WAR IN 1863.

VETERAN'S NARRATSVE,

ADDRESS IN MOUNT EDIiN GAOL.

Personal reminiscences of the Maori war in 1863 were given in an address ?to the prisoners in Mount Eden Gaol; yesterday by Mr. P. G. Ewington, who is a member of the Prisons Board, and an official visitor to the- prison. Latterly' efforts lava been made to -introduce- some brightness into the principal gaols of th%. Dominion, and 1 the address given by Mr. • Evrington made a pleasant break in the monotony of" the prison life, ■ and was followed by the men with much interest and attention.

Mr. Ewington enlisted in Taranaki in 1863 in the Mounted Colonial Defence .Force, under Colonel Nixon, who afterwards was killed in action at Bangiaohia, on February 23, 1864,' and whose memory is perpetuated by the Nixon, monument at the junction .of Otahuhu and Mangere Roads, where ho had previously been. aft exemplary patriotic settler. The bad feeling occasioned by the' Taranaki .war of 1860-61 was. easily fanned into & name by the troops, who had not left that province, occupying the Tataiaimaka block of land, and on May 4, 1863, the natives- threw down the gauntlet by killing Dr. Hope and Lieutenant Trageti, who were then on their way. from'.Tataraimaka. to New Plymouth]' and by attacking a small escort. Swift retribution followed. The Maoris made rifle-pits in a strong position" on'W il Kaitaki Range] two miles inland facing the sea, and .assembled about 600 fighting men. On June 3 General Cameron marched out of New Plymouth with a force of .873 men and officers. Next day the assault was delivered under cover of the guns of the 'Royal :. Artillery, 'and of H.M..S. Eclipse combined^'The 57th Regiment led the way, pluckily supported by volunteers, and the position was carried with a loss of only '-; three men killed and eight wounded, while 28 Maoris were killed,, and ; many wounded. <

'v; Preparations Vin the City. «'■ ,■ I y; 'Alarming*,' news ■■ having • been (received about hostile rising of natives in Waikato, Governor Grey and General Cameron I with about 300 , men embarked .in the Eclipse lor' Auckland. ' Being attached :to General is Cameron's staff ao one of : his orderlies, ; Mr. Ewin»*«n accompanied that force. As it was believed that the natives ; would carry out their threat to invade j ;Auckland,: special precautions were taken at Panmure and Otahuhu. a.id a fortifica- 1 tion was thrown up on the site where the Supreme Court .now stands, commanding ;Official Bay. Life at : the Qaeen's Redoubt . was sometimes enlivened :, by hostile de- | monstrations ;; by i: natives Vat i Koherohay Mangatawhiri,, i and.Tnakau.-. ' .' Patriotic Settlers:. mi n ' i The Drury \ encampment in those days was \■ a K terribly wet, '• muddy, typhoidstricken place, and a/good. many Auckland volunteers contracted sickness from j which they never, recovered. Sacrifices then were made without murmuring. Love of country seemed greater thsn than now. European population waii sparse, and natives^were warlike, confident, and aggressive. Military life at "Pokeno was characterised, by careful preparation ?to conquer iWaikato. \;< Before the final ■ advance '■. was ;■ made, an incident occurred; about; seven j miles "\ from Tuakau, ; which caused much ; excitement at Queen's Redoubt. Some friendly natives hrA been attacked by the enemy, and Mr. 'A •« -tnge,' a, Government official, ' was Hird at Camerontown. Captain Swift, of t:!;> /jjh Regiment, being in command at Ti'akati,' set off with about SO men to support the., friendly natives. ;: Coming up j ; with, the enemy, the soldiers fixed bayonets 1 and charged. "Captain Swift ? and i Lieutenant $ Butler : were killed, and the j command fell upon Colour-Sergeant , Mc-' Kenn'a, o lwho,with difficulty brought 'off; his men and the wounded: after a gallant fight, for which he was given the "Victoria Cross. ' • the Decisive Engagement. The time was quickly ripening for. a great 'struggle at Ranginri. ;As a precautionary measure, General Cameron sent a force of j about ; ,800 men, under | General Carey,' principally of the 18th /Royal Irish) Regiment^to' land at the .Thames . ana thence "• proceed, to,'; a native ■ settlement, Pukorokororo, whence tho.Waikntos drew their supplies.' Then the 'general and his staff, made a reconnaissance 'of > Meri; Meri and the adjacent country in the Pioneer, a little steamboat that: had ;< come" from Sydney," and; in the' Avon, which had been ! sent: from. Auckland. He placed ■ about3oo j soldiers in rear of Men Meri. The Maoris' j had fortified, Meri Meri ; with soma- old cannons taken from: the wreck; of .thj s.s. Lord Worsley at Wailara,. and they : capI tured an Englishman, who had ■ been in the Roval Artillery, ■ and compelled him to" teach ■ them to fire. ' That he did so effectively was proved by one of the guns firing on that occasion a 71b weight through the side of the steamer, and its lodging in a barrel of meat, -\ —

The Assault on Bangirlrl. ■ <* . On November 19, 1863, Bishop -Selwyn arrived >at : Queen's - Redoubt' and■'■ held v - a church parade: He preached; from , thetext 'of, Scripture: "There is but a step between me and death." •' -,Lv*tle did some of the poor fellows think that within a few hours so many of them would have really taken that ; final : step,; :'■ - The',' next morning General Cameron marched with. 853 i officers and -men up '< the right ; bank of Stho\Waikato River -to assault the Rangiriri stronghold of the enemy. 3, Commodore Wiseman; had command of the two gunboats and six flat-bottomed boats, with seamen j; and * soldiers to Assault the enemy on the left ' flank when the general j did so in front. The enemy had a strong! central ,: redoubt and a < ditch J; aboutj 12ft deep 'fetching I from the river >£io' LakeWaikare. The position was shelled j for about'-; two: hours, and ;■ seme Maori ■women-who were ; {gallantly helpingi their | fathers and; husbands to defend • the :.plaoe,' were unintentionally billed. s§} At i 5 ; p.m., the: order w,«s. given to charge. The 65th ] led the way,'(under Colonel Wyatt, whose homely words 'were : v"Co, it } 65th," s The 12th and 14th supported, and a wild, exciting • rush, with ;shouting: and , ; cheering, was made.;■ Meanwhile, l Captain v Mercer's two- Armstrong guns and tke'.Naval six« pounder .thundered overhead, ; until * the men reached, the position, only to find it too' strong and . besot; with too raany ■ rifle i pits, to ■ carry (it.' I Ladders were too ;. short and the enemy's aim was so deadly that shelter had to be taken in: the trenches. Men were falling';' thickly, k.\ r od j and wounded, and ; .tho night .wail - spent in hitting ; : and ■- being hit. ';; Hand \ grenades I were thrown over ~ into; the redoubt, and some native huts inside of it were; set on fire. ''Next- morning the enemy .hoisted the white flag, and just as he had done so, the great fighting chief, William Thompson!, the lung-maker, appeared with ' 400 warriors; but finding the white, flag flying ho retired. r 4 i: The ,■ prisoners numbered 187, and -they were sent to Queen's Redoubt, and thence to Auckland. Next dav the ;36 .; soldiers were • buried in the churchyard, ; and -/an!-- equal number of Maoris ..was ■; buried in the j trenches. It was a dearly-bought victory, y . Mr, '-; Ewingtoh concluded by describing the 'change for. the !belter now that -.peace prevails, and Maori and ; British * children are being taugK in the same public school on the site of ..the battle, and he hoped that in life's conflict men would vie' with each i other,. in hastening the time when warn 'would -cease, : and -universal competition would succeeded. by universal cooperation.- :".''•-.■','.','''; "' '-.':';'' "

The ; audience ' comprised i 108 men ' and 14'wombn'.' At the close of his address Mr. Ewington was pven a vote of thanks, and the National Anthem was sung.