NATIVES FINALLY REPULSED AT THE RANGA.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LII, Issue 8616, 13 June 1924, Page 6 (Supplement)

NATIVES FINALLY REPULSED AT THE RANGA.

'this engagement saw the

AFTER- the Gate Pa, a large number of troops were sent to the Taranaki district, where a fresh outbreak was expected, Colonel Greer remaining m command at le Papa. On June 21, 1264, information having been received that the rebe-s were entrenching st Te Ranga, about s.s miles inland, Colonel Greer ordered a reconnaissance, and moved out with aix hundred men. He found the enemy so intent entrenching, and with suc.i insufficient tools, that oar force was allowed to come up quite close unmolested. The position selected "<y the enemy was the .narrowest portion between two gullies which ran up from the Waimapu waters on the left and the Kopurererua on the right, less than fifty yards wide, the ground faking steeply several hundred feet on either hand. By the time they were discovered the rebels had dug a shallow trench across the neck and along the edge of the gully in an easterly direction about sixty paces apart, and the troops, by taking up a position on either fiank of the enemy, wore able to enfilade the trenches, which had the effect of bunching up their numbers in the centre, and impeding- their huni'd entrenching operations. Colonel Greer immediately sent to Te Papa for reinforcements, and on the arrival of two hundred and twenty men and one gun, a heavy fire lasting two hours was opened. Major Shuttlcworth repeatedly reporting that he could not restrain the men muen longer, finally they were about to anticipate the bugle, when the charge was sounded, and they advanced with loud cheers, burning as they were to avenge their dead at the Gate Pa and efface the stain from their flags which' were emblazoned with the names of glorious battles won in India and the Peninsula. The Maoris poured in one tremendous volley which caused only a few caematlies, being, as usual, too high, and next moment before they could reload, our men, with a wave of steel swept over them, notwithstanding their desperate valour when clvJ!>l>ed rifle and bayonet met long-handled tomahawks. £)nly a few minutes elapsed from the bugle call when ad was over, and with hardly an except tion, all had died from bayonet wounds. The very flower of Ngaiterangi and associated tribes had fallen with their faces to the invader, in full accord with the proud ancestral boast “Me mate ahau mo to whenna,” —“If I die let it be to die for the land.’’ A small detachment of the Defence Force, under Captain A. C. Turner, pursued the fleeing enemy some distance, sabreing a number, but the deep

bush gullies on either hand made effectual pursuit impossible. Sixty-eight bodies lay in the shallow trenches alone. 1 ruly they had dug their own graves. Their total loss was at least one hundred and forty killed, and thirty-seven wounded were taken prisoners. Colonel Greer states that the Maoris made a most gallant stand, meeting the fierce bayonet charge without flinching, and only with great difficulty were they forced from the trenches at the bayonet point. A largo force o< rebels came to the assistance of their countrymen, but arrived too late. There were many fierce personal encounters, Private John Smith drove his bayonet through a Maori's body, and before he could recover the native wounded him severely in the head in two places and shot him through the leg. Coporal Bryne had passed his bayonet through a native, who seized the bayonet with his left hand and was about to tomahawk him with Lis right when Sergeant Murray killed him. Our casualties were thirteen killed and thirty-nine officers and men wounded, and ten in wounded prisoners were captured The gal’ant ch : ef mr.d loader, Pawiri Pnhirake fell, and was subsequently re-interred in Otamataha Pa at Cemetery Point by the side of bis adversary, Lieutenant-Col-onel Booth— fitting tribute to a heroic and knightly foe, and onlv a measure of the general admiration exhibited by the British for their Ngaiterangi antagonists. Hcnarc Taratoa, the young Otaki teacher also fell, and on his body was found the “Order of the Day” loi combat beginning with prayer and ending with the words in Maori from Romans XTI 20: “If thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink.” The Tauranga tribes soon afterwards surrendered, and the friendliest relations were re-established, and on the final peace-making, when Sir George Grey met the assembled Ngaiterangi tribe, he informed them that as an pafnicffo appreciation' of their chivalrous conduct of the ivar, the boundaries of the lands confiscated by mation—commencing north of the Katikati harbour at Ngakuri-a-whare extending easterly to Wairakei, midway between Maketu and Tauranga, and on the south-west side, the watershed, would be abandoned, and only the area lying 'between the Wairoa and TVaimapu Rivers, estimated to contain fifty thousand acres would be taken. An old chief of Ngaiterangi gratefully accepted this concession, and concluded his speech by a touching reference to their ancient sacred mown-

tain “Kua whiti te ra ki tua o Tawauwau,” “the sun now shines over Mount Tawauwau.” This settlement was most honourably kept, though in ’C7 small wandering, disaffected parties of rebels caused considerable intermittent fighting along the edge of the great forest, and on 4th February. 1870, a final action took place with To Kooti's forces, when Colonel Janies Fraser's column was defeated with considerable loss at Paengaroa.

Gener I Cameren's Dispatch

The following is a copy of General Cameron’s despatch to His Excellency the Governor, Sir Geo. Grey, on the G ate Pa battle: — . On April 26th., 1864, $ reinforcements had been landed the Mission station, Tauranga, to wlrich place I had transferred my headquarters on April 21st. On the 27th I moved the CBth Regiment, under Colonel Greer, and a mixed detachment of 170 men, under Major Ryan, 70th Regiment., toward the enemy’s position, of which * I made close reconnaissance. It was on the highest point of land between two swamps. A strong redoubt, oblong in shape, had been constructed with entrenched rifle trenches, extending from the right and left joining the swamps. I encamped the 68th and Major Ryan’s detachments about 1,200 yards from the enemy’s position on the 27th, and on that and the following day the guns and mortars intended to break the position were brought into the new camp and were joined by a large force of sailors and marines, lauded at my request by Commodore Sir William Wiseman. The strength and composition of the force assembled in front of the enemy’s position on the evening of the 28th are shown in the foot note. Having received information that by moving a force along the beach of one of the branches of the Tauranga harbour at low water, it was possible for a body of troops to pass outside the swamp on the enemy’s right and gain the rear of his position, I ordered Colonel Greer to make the attempt with the 68th Regiment. After dark on the evening of the 28th, and in order to divert the attention; of the enemy from that side, I ordered a feigned attack to be made on his front. Colonel Greer’s movement succeeded perfectly, and on’the morning of the 29th he had taken up a position in rear of the enemy which cut off his water supply, and made His retreat in daylight impossible, but was necessarily too extended to prevent his escape by night. By the same night the guns were all placed in position and opened fire soon after daybreak on the morning of the 2Pth. I gave directions that the fire

should be directed principally against the left angle of the centre work, which, from the nature of the ground, i considered the most favourable part to attack. Practice was most excellent, particularly that of the howitzers. About noon Armstrong gun taken by Captain Greaves across swamp, enemy’s left position crumpled up and abandoned. Fire continued until 4 p.m., when large portion of fence and palisades destroyed, and a practicable breach made in the parapet, I ordered the attack. Major Ryan’s detachment was extended as close as possible to keep down fire from the rifle pits, with orders to follow the assaulting column. One hundred and fifty seamen and marines under Commander Hay, H.M.S. “Hairier,” and an equal number of the 43rd., under Lieut-Colonel Booth, formed the assaulting party. The remainder of the seamen and marines, and of the 43rd., amounting together to 300 men, followed as a reserve. The assaulting column, protected by the contour of the ground, gained the breach with little loss, and effected an entrance into the main body of the works, when a fierce conflict ensued, in which the enemy fought with the greatest desperation. Lieut-Colonel Booth and Commander Hay, who led into the works, both fell mortally wounded. Captain Hamilton was shot dead on the top of the parapet while in the act of encouraging his men to'ffdvance, and in a few minutes all officers of the column were either killed or wounded. Up to this moment, the men, so nobly led by their officers, fought gallantly and appeared to have carried the position, when they end-

denly gave way, and fell back from the work to the nearest cover. This repulse I am at a loss to explain otherwise than by attributing it to the confusion created among the men by the intricate nature of the interior defences, and the sudden fall of so many of their officer's. On my arrival at the spot I considered it inadvisable to renew the assault, and directed a line of entrenchments to be thrown up within one hundred yards of the work so as to be able to maintain our position and resume operations the following morning.

have sustained a serious loss in the death of lieut-Colonel Booth, which took place the night after the attack. 1 have already mentioned tho brilliant example shown by this officer in the assault, and when I inet him on the following morning as ho was being carried out of the works, his first words were an expression of regret that ho had found it impossible to carry out my orders. The heroism and devotion of Captain Hamilton and Commander Hay, reflect the highest credit to the naval service. Tho loss of tho enemy must have been verv severe although not moi c than twenty bodies were found in and about the position. It m admitted by the prisoners that they carried off a large number of killed anl wounded during the night, and they also suffered in attempting their escape as described in Colonel Greer’s report. In my reports to His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal, Commanding-in-Ohief, and the Right Hon. the Secretary of State for AVar, I have brought to their favourable notice the names of the officers who particularly distinguished themselves on this occasion. Commodore Sir "William "Wiseman! on this, as on every other occasion, cooperated with me in the most cordial manner, and I am much indebted to him, as well as to the whole Royal Navy and Marines, for their valuable assistance. I have, etc., I>. A. CAMERON* Lieutenant-General. Headquarters, Tauranga, May Bth., 1864 To His Excellency, Sir George Grey, K. 0.8.

The natives, availing themselves of the extreme darkness of the night, abandoned the works, leaving some of their killed and wounded behind. On taking possession of the works in the morning, LioutColonel' Booth and some men were found still living, and, to the credit of the natives, had not been maltreated, nor had any of the bodies of the killed been mutilated. I enclose a list of our casualties. I deeply regret the loss of bo many bravo and valuable officers who fell in the noble discharge of their duty ou this occasion. The 43rd Regiment, and the service,