A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19972, 5 July 1930, Page 13

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

THE MASSACRE AT ONAWE. (spbchlh WBin*» fob ram iiih.) [By W. F. Alexander and H. D. . S^imnkk.] (All Rights Keserved.) IX. Sere onco the haka sounded, and din of battle , Shook the grey crags; Triumphant ohout, and agonised death rattle Startled the shags Gone i® the Atua, and the hillsides lonely, The warriors .dead; No sight, noeoundl the weird, wild wailing • oiuy Of gull instead. —Dora Wilcox. At the head of Akaron Harbour, which is ten miles long, a pear-Bhaped peninsula divides it i'nto two bays—' Duvauchelle Bay and Head of the Bay on the east, and Barry's Bay on the west. Tlie peninsula, steep-sided, is about three-quarters of a mile long, and so narrow at one point as to afford just passage for a single person, and at high tide even he would be stepping over water. Here the Peninsula Maoris had built their fortress which w&s to serve them as a refuge against Te Rauparaha, and to this place most or the fugitives from Kaiapohia flocked. It was a sacred place long before it was made a citadel. On its craggy summit dwelt the Maori Aeolus, the Spirit of the Wind, whose vo.ce would be heard, with startling suddenness and in unearthly accents by rash intruders, "What dost thou here? Turn back." Only the priestly caste dared disobey that command.

The fortifications of Onawe were of prodigious strength. A deep trench was ..dug round the place selected for u pa, the excavated earth forming a bank on whose summit a strong palisading was erected, a covered way for the protection ot the defenders extending all round the inner side of the wall. The approach to a spring at the far end of the promontory was by a covered trench, protected by parallel walls; but to ensure a supply in the event of access to the gpring being cut off a number of large canoes were dragged into the pa and filled with fresh water, a matting covering preventing evaporation. The places were well stocked with provisions, and, with its steep sides and the narrow approach to it, may well have been judged impregnable to assault. Tangatahara, the "ugly man" (as his name denotes), who had been the slayer of Te Pehi, was given the command.

We can imagine the scene when the war canoes of Te lluaparaha, a' long fleet, came paddling up the quiet Waters of the harbour one morning in the* small hours. They sang no chants to give time to their paddles; they were intent on a surprise, if that was possible. The garrison of the peninsula had waited long for them. Stack says that all the time that Kaiapoi waa invested they had been perfecting their defences and waiting for the invader—the worst military conduct on their part. Stack says that there w«re 400 in the pa. Tamihana Rauparaha, speaking for his father, who would not be inclined towards understatement of his own victories, jjiVes the> number as 600. The defenders were too watchful to be surprised lAnd -we can. imagine how, when that hop©had failed the invaders woula give vent to their songs of defiance, to leud taunts, and provocative gestures. Their forces, on landing, formed two camps. Ngatitoa occupying Barry's Bay, and Ati Awa, the Head of th'e Bay. Innumerable fires were soon blazing to prepare their food. Food might soon have been the sharpest trouble of the assailants if Kai Tahu had stayed in their pa. But a doom was on the South Island Natives at this time which has been ascribed to the Celts: "They went forth to the battle, and they always fell." Or rather, the fatality that attended them was something more complicated than that. Thev seemed destined never to do the right thing at the critical moment. At Kaiapohia thev shut themselves up when thev should have prone forth: now. when oil their changes lay in a passive defence, which for months they had prepared for. nothing must please them but an active one.

A Disastrous Sally. The forces of the enemy were divided; one party camped on each side of the head of the Peninsula. The distance was not more than a few hundred yards, but there was bush between them, and some swampy ground. It occurred to Tangatahara that, by falling on one contingent before it could be aided by the other, he might make a quick end of this siege. So he led a force which sallied out and strove to take the Ati Awa, at Head of the Bay, by surprise. Their sentinels did not fail to hear the stealthy approach, and, running to the top of the .hill by which the two bays were divided, called the Ngati Toa to their assistance. Ngati Toa came floundering across the muddy beach which separated their camp from the peninsula, firing as they ran, and Tangatahara's tnen returned their fire. First blood .went to Ngati Toa in that exchahge, and as Kai Tahu fell back on the gate of their pa they found that Te Rauparaha, always the man of resource, nad interposed between, it and them a body of his Kaiapoi captives, who impeded their entrance, and on whom the defenders were losth to fire, as they were their kinsmen.. Stack says that the Kaiapohians having lost their own pa, had no wish that these defenders should be more fortunate, and called on them to surrender. Possibly they felt that anything that hapr pened to the Peninsula Natives was deserved, by them iafter, the. way in which they had held aloof, thinking only of their own safety, during Kaiapohia's ordeal. At all events there was a scene of confusion, in the midst of which some of Te' Rauparaha's warriors contrived to : insinuate themselves into the pa, and soon that was a shambles. Tamihana Rauparaha says that not a defender ' escaped, but this, once again, is an exaggeration. A few luckier ones found their way to the bush, and from there to the southern kaikas. But not many of the Oriawo garrison, the flower of Akaroa Peninsula, remained alive. There was a great massacre of prisoners and a great feast on the foreshore at. the head of the sad promon,toiy that evening, and the captives whom the oven did not claim were taken.back as slaves to Kapiti. Banks Peninsula by this disaster, and raids on the kaikas' whieh followed it, was almost denuded of population. Tangatahara was one of the few who escaped. He was taken prisoner by Te Hiko, the son of Te Pehi, whom he had killed. Two women, relatives of Te Rauparaha, recognised him, when his, captor was engaged at Gough's Bay, on the east coast of the peninsula, repairing his canoe to put to sea. At once they demanded his blood .-"Light an oven; we must have a feast; here is our man." Te Hiko, for some reason, refused. Perhaps he thought that the demand was an unwarranted,, interference with his authority. He put a guard of his own men over the • prisoner to ensure his safety. H# could soft decline a more

humble request of the amazons, that they should be allowed at least to strike Tangatahara's head with the kauru fibre they were chewing, so that symbolically, if not otherwise, they would be devouring him. They struck him again" and again. Probably it was resentment at this interference with his property, more than any dim feeling of chivalry, which made Te Hiko resolve to give Tangatahara his liberty. In other stories of this young chief which have come down to us he does not appear less revengeful or less of a savage than his companions of the age. But he would do what he liked with his own. During the night he roused Tangatahara, and told him he was free to escape, which that chief very quickly did. A few years later wo find him at Moeraki, whence he returned before the 'forties, to Akaroa. He had a command in two expeditions which went north seeking revenge against Te Eauparaha. He died at Akaroa in 1847, and was buried in the old kaika at Wainui, scene of Te Eauparaha's Stewart's massacre. A monument to him at Little Biver, on Banks Peninsula, was unveiled in the presence of a great gathering of Maoris in 1900. The immediate impulse prompting its erection was apparently resentment at the vainglorious inscription and slighting references to the South. Island Maoris on Te Bauparaha's monument at 'Otaki. A basfe of hewn bluestone carries a white marble pedestal rising to a height of five feet, on the sides of which are inscribed a history of the fighting ana the names of the noted chiefs engaged. The letters are of metal beaten into the stone. Surmounting the whole is a .figure of a Maori chief in warlike attitude, armed with a tomahawk ana clothed with a Maori mat. The figure is sft 6in in height, and of pure white marble. An Historic Inscription. A translation of the inscription is as follows: — "This statue is erected in memory of Tangatahara, a native of New Zealand, of the Tuketerau clan of the Ngarahura tribe, a renowned warrior, died at Akaroa on December 13th, 1847, aged 75 years. He was in Kaiapoi pa on the .arrival of Te Bauparaha's first expedition, during their stay, probably about three months, pretending and professing peace. Hakitara warned the chiefs of the pa to be on their guard, as treachery contemplated an attack on the pa. Shortly after this was verified, when Te Pehi and others were slain. The expedition then returned to the other island. This expedition is known by the name of Te Niho Maka. Subsequently the expedition returned to Akaroa on board a vessel commanded by Captain Stewart, when Tama-i-hara-nui was captured and taken prisoner by them and murdered. Te Bauparaha afterwards returned with his third expedition, composed of several tribes and clans, to attack Kaiapoi. After its fall the expedition went to attack Onawe pa. Tahatiti, who went out of the pa to attack the enemy, was Bhot. Some of the Kaiapoi chiefs went into the pa to divert the attention of the defenders, while still tangi-ing with their friends, the enemy following in the rear. While seizing and making prisoners, those at the upper part of the pa opened out their fire with only eight muskets, and killed several of the enemy before they were captured. Te Bauparaha himself had a narrow escape from boing shot, Tara having pushed the gun aimed at him by Te Puaka on one side. Tahatiti was the only one of the defenders killed. The expedition is known by the name. To Maha Taupoki. • "At the end of all these expeditions the offensive was taken by the Kai Tahu in 1832. The expedition of Kai Tahu reached Wairau and took up a position on tho ' coast, where four canoes and a boat were seen approaching, which proved to be that of Te Bauparaha. The boat and two of the canoes landed, when Te Matata's dog revealed to them the presence of Kai Tahu, who immediately attacked and defeated the enemy. Had all the canoes landed the enemy would have been annihilated. - "Tho enemy were afterwards again nttacked and defeated at Oraumou. Tangatahara had a command in this expedition. This expedition is known as Tauiti. "Subsequently a second expedition of Kai Tahu went to Wairau, known by the name of Tauanui. Tangatahara accompanied this expedition, Kai Tahu. After this Tuhawaiki's expedition, coming from the south, landed at Piraki, where they were advised by Europeans to return home to the south, but they had already slain Koko. On their return to the south they attacked and defeated at Tuturau Te Puoho's expedition, which had reached Tuturau. Te Puoho was slain, and his followers were taken prisoners. "In 1837 peace was proclaimed between Kai Tahu and Te Bauparaha, which ended all strife between them, through the introduction of Christianity and in memory of the. undermentioned chiefs." (Names of fourteen chiefs, of not more than local fame, follow.) (To be Continued.)