TE PUOHO’S RAID.

Evening Star, Issue 21783, 27 July 1934, Page 12

TE PUOHO’S RAID.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—My attention' has been drawn to a letter in your issue, of July 21 dealing with Te Puohp’s raid. “ J.A.” gives a different account of the end of the raid from that given by me, and quotes ; as his authority the late S. Percy Smith. I am well acquainted with Smith’s books, especially with • The History of the Taranaki Coast,’ which contains Smith’s account of the raid. As an authority on North Island Maori history Smith is outstanding, but that his knowledge of certain events in South Island history was rather scanty is shown by the fact that in the history he quotes from Judge Chapman’s account of the Tuturau massacre. Judge Chapman received Ins account from Rawiri Te Maire, who fled down the Waitaki from Hawea, and who afterwards settled .in Waihao, South Canterbury. Rawiri Te> Maire therefore at least could give only a second-hand account of the capture and recapture of Tuturau. My authorities for my description are H. Beattie. R. Buddie. J. White, and J. Wybrow, who agree on the main points. The fact that their informants were Korako, who was captured near Waikaia and taken to Tuturau by Te Puoho, and Teone TopiPatuki, who actually shot Tc Puoho, would suggest that their Maori sources were the best _ obtainable. These southern Maoris would not he likely to minimise the fierceness of the Ngati-Tama warriors, and therefore we can safely conclude that Tutu-

rau ; was occupied without conflict ,or slaughter of anv of its inhabitants. ' With regard‘to ‘‘J.A.’s” theory that the raiders were defeated when in retreat near Balfour, I may say that this is the first time 1 have heard it mentioned. S. Percy Smith does not suggest anything of the kind in his ‘ History of the Taranaki Coast,’ nor does he give it in the journal of the Polynesian Society, with which he was so intimately connected. The same authorities as I quoted before support the account 1 gave. The desire to associate one’s own district with an historic occurrence has often given rise to rumours such as has been mentioned by “ J.A.” The Maori weapons found near Balfour could easily have belonged to either the Kati-mamoe or Kai-Tahu people, and almost certainly had no connection with Te Puoho’s raid. , , When the huia feathers and bos were found near Roxburgh some person did suggest that Nga-whakawa, who was the only man to escape from Tutu rau on its recapture by Kai-Tahu. had placed them there. This theory seems to be somewhat fantastic, as the location of the box would not lie 911 Nga-whakawa's route, and may be discounted, as the University Museum authorities claiined that the box had been placed in hiding not later than IS2O. As the recapture* of Tuturau took place in January. 1S;!T, this theory may bo rejected as another attempt by ro-mantically-minded persons to read interesting stories into this discovery. —l am, etc., Angus Ross. July 26.