LIEUTENANT McDONNELL ON THE MAORI WAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 168, 16 July 1892, Page 4 (Supplement)

LIEUTENANT McDONNELL ON THE MAORI WAR.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—l have read with pleasure in the weekly Supplement of the Stat; Colonel McDonnell's descriptive account of the 1 Taupo Campaign" in 1869 and 1870, as ib has broughb to my memory many scenes and actions of the rough but-stirring times in the past, all but forgotten now. But, sir, in the Supplement of the 2nd inst. there is one glaring inaccuracy thab I cannot help bub contradict.. Colonel McDonnell states that Colonel Fraser received his orders to march .from Tauranga to meet anobher column; and that he started, but fell in wibh Te Kooti's advanced guard of scouts, who inflicted a defeat on him, and he retired with loas to Tauranga, and then wenb to Maketu in the Government gunboat, etc. Now, sir, I was stabioned^in Tauranga at that time under Colonel Fraser, and we left in the first instance by Government steamer for Maketu. From there, we marched inland round Rotorua Lake to Rotorua; thence we marched to the edge of the Twenty-mile Bush, and came.up wifch the Ara was. There was a great * korero' wibh them. Then they accompanied us through the Twenoy-mile. Bush to Orope (about 12 milos di6fc"anfc from Tauranga), From Orope we marched, still through the bush by Maori tracks, where we could only proceed in single file, to an old redoubt, leaving Tauranga on our right, and it was between these two places the ambuscade was laid by Te Kooti's men. Half-way up a hillside, a large tree had fallen across the brack, and ifc was behind this Te Kooti's men lay concealed. A fewof the constabulary and friendly natives were in our advance as scouts. The Maoris followed nexb and the constabulary brought up the rear. When the scouts got close up bo bhe fallen tree Te Kooti's men delivered their fire, and two Maoris and Constable Whitby, formerly of bhe Fifty-seventh Regiment, were shot dead. The remainder of the scouts took cover and commenced firing, " Colonel Fraser deployed the Maoris right and left of the track to out-flank the rebels, and tbe constabulary doubled up to the fronb, but the Te Kootiifces had vanished, the constabulary not having the chance to fire a shob. We carried the dead to our camping ground at the old redoubt, where we buried poor Whibty. The Maoris carried their dead comrades away. . The next day twenty of us constabulary under Captain, now Major Gascoigne, were detached fco patrol bhe track between Maketu and Rotorua Lake, and the following morning. Colonel Fraser, constabulary, Kepa and Wanganui Maoris followed after Te Kooti. And this is what Colonel McDonnell describes as a defeat on Colonel Fraser through which he had to retire with loss to ' Tauranga.' In proof of my sfcafcement, I refer you to Gudgeon's Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand (though ho is wrong as fco the route we went) or to Major Gascoigne, R.M. at the Chatham Islands, who was second in command bo Colonel Fraser on that expedition, but it was common camp talk at thab bime of the enmity between Colonels McDonnell and Fraser, and that they couldn't oi- wouldn't work together. No doubt Colonel Fraser had disobeyed or exceeded his orders, as he was put under arrest on his return to Tauranga, and died there whilst under arrest, yet I think it wrong of Colonel McDonnell to charge a dead comrade with being defeated, and retiring with loss before the enemy-^what was truly only a few minutes check in his advance. Certainly, Colonel Fraser never made such a mess as was made at Te Ng.utu-o-te-mar.u, when Yon Tempsky fell. I have no desire or reason to praise Colonel Fraser, for he was disliked by almost every man in his division, but justice and fair play prompts me to speak as above to his memory.—Your_, etc.',. .. . ~. „■

A Constable o? F-rasbr'-s D-VisiO-r. j __^h'bly,.._'uly.4, c-po2.' "'"''"; •! ;'"°''"" v'"'