HISTORIC ORAKAU THE MEMORY OF HEROES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 78, 2 April 1914, Page 3

HISTORIC ORAKAU THE MEMORY OF HEROES

TO BE PERPETUATED BY A MONUMENT. UNVEILING CEREMONY. IB I TILEGRAPH.- PRESS ASJOCUTION.) HAMILTON, Ist April. Fifty years ago to-day a fierce fight was proceeding at Orakau, some twentyfive miles fram Hamilton, where the defence put up by the Maoris was equal to anything in the history of the world. To perpetuate the memory of the heroes of the fight, the Government erected a monument on the site of the pa, and this was unveiled by the Minister of Defence (the Hon. J. Allen) in the presence of several thousand Europeans and Natives, General Godley and Staff, the Hon. W. H. Herries, the Hon. Dr. Pomare, Bishop Averill, five members of Parliament, and two members of the Upper House. A large number of veterans from all parts of the Dominion, under Colonel Morrow, were also present. The' speeches dealt chiefly with the bravery of the Native defenders and the gallantry of the British troops who set such a noble example to the present and future generations. A touching and pleasing feature was when Hari Wahanui, on behalf of the Native race, presented the Hon. James Allen, for , the Government, with a. sword, some old muzzle-loaders, and a tattered standard bearing the title of the Taranaki military settlers — No. 6 Company, Clifton Institute — which was seized during the fight These, he said, were returned as a token for ever cementing the bonds of peace between the two races. NOTHING MORE HEROIC. The Battle of Orakau, fought on 31st March and Ist and 2nd April, 1864, is said to bear the same relation to the Maori race as did the classic Thermopylae to the ancient Greeks, and the pages of modern history contain nothing more heroic or worthier of remembrance. The battle saw the termination of the war in the Waikato. The 1 Natives—surprised, completely 'surrounded by 1600 troops armed with the latest weapons, and outnumbered by six to one — possessed only obsolete fowling and Hint pieces, were inadequately supplied with ammunition, had to load their guns with peach stones, plugs of wood, and broken iron pots, were without water, and had only raw potatoes bo assuage their hunger, yet they kept at bay six times their number for bwo nights and three days, inflicting heavy loss on tho British forces. When General Cameron . arrived on the afternoon of the third day he waß so impressed with the heroic defence that he immediately instructed Major Mair to get into communication with the garrison, and, if possible, induce them to surrender, and so save tho lives of many brave men. Major Mair stood up at the head of . the sap, and called oub : "The General is filled with admiration at your bravery, but you are surrounded and cannot escape. Therefore he urges you to surrender that your lives may bo spared." All was quiet for a- few minubes while the matter was discussed, and then one of the Natives rose oub of the trenches, and hurJed back the famous reply :— "Ehoa, ko te tikanga tcnei ka. whawhai tonu ki akoe ; Ake ! Ake ! Ake ! ("Friend, thcj understanding is thai we will fight you for ever, and ever, and ever.") Major Mair then said : " That is well for the men, but let the women and children come out. Why should they die too?" Someone asked : " How do you know that there are women and children?" Major Mair replied : "Last night I heard them crying over the, dead." 4 Then a very tall woman stood up on the edge of the ditch, and answered : "If the men are to die, the women and children will die with tho men." The tioops cheered when the decision was known, and the fight became fiercer than ever. Late in_ the afternoon of tho third day the remaining Maori garrison formed up, and, placing their women and children in the centre, broke oub, cut their way through the cordon of the 40th Regimenb, and entered a huge swamp where they were quickly decimated by a tremendous cross fire from all sides, while the Forest Rangers and mounted men endeavoured to cut off bheir retreat. Even then they burned upon their pursuers, and nob till nearly 200 had fallen, did the remainder make their escape across the Puniu River into the King Country. General Cameron, in his despatch after the battle, wrote : "It is imjwssible nob to admire the heroic courage and devotion of the Natives in defending bhern.selves so long again&b overwhelming numbers. Surrounded on all sides, cub off from bheir supply of water, and deprived of all hope of succour they resolubely held bheir ground ' for nearly bhree days, and did nob abandon the position until the sap had .reached the dibch of the last entrenchment. They piobably had not less than 150 killed out of a garrison nob exceeding 300."