UNDER THE STARS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10392, 9 May 1927, Page 6 (Supplement)

UNDER THE STARS

SEARCH FOR THE HAU HAU REBELS.

MR. GOLDSMITH’S GRAPHIC NARRATIVE.

HAIR- BREADTH ESCAPES

Paparatu, Mataw hero, . Makaraka, Te Aral, Patutahi, Open and Ngatapa are a few of the places whereat Mr. Robert Goldsmith participated in active service against the han ti.au rebels who terrorised this district round 18b3. . , it was in 184 S his period or residence in tins district began, and al r tliougli ho spent much of the early the East Coast, by far the greater part of his career has been lived in close proximity to the town. On September 9 next, he will complete seventy-nine years of life in. Poverty Pay. Mr. "Goldsmith’s outstanding memories of the oid days arc, naturally, vivid mental pictures or the famous fighting times and, in the course of an interview, lie re-lived some of those stirring days.

ARM SHATTERED AT PAPARATU

When ward was received that To Kooti and his band had landed from the Chuthams- at Whareangaonga, Colonel Whitmore went out w.th a. force, which included dir. Goldsmith, to intercept the_ Natives. Te Kooti made lor Tmiroio oil route to the Vrewera country and it was at Pa par at a that the opposing forces came into conflict. colonel Whitmore came uo .v.tli Tc Ivcoti unout 9 o’clock in the morning and immechatelr engaged him, the tight taking place in hills covered with bush. The ITau-I s iiVis v. ore 0.1 unc side of a gully and the Kurrpcan force on the other, so that there was little scope tor a straight-out encounter. The two forces took cover in the bush, each man finding the best shelter he could and keeping un n desultory fire_ whenever a target present d itself. -Until dai'xvness fell the engagement lasted, but, thereafter, C-monol W lntmore, vho had by far the fewer number of troops' deemed it necessary to withdraw and Te Kooti continued his dash for the Urc.vora country. It was in this fight that Mr. Goldsmith received a wound, the scar of which he hears to this day. ire bad taken cover behind some bushes, but exposed h s ie:t arm and a ball smashed through it at the elbow. A comrade saddled a horse for h.m and lie rode back to Matawlicro, where a temporary hospital had been set- up in the small church —the first established church in Poverty Bay. After being tended there, ho was sent down by boat to Napier and remained there until news of the terrible Massacre. ASSIST? TO 4WGE THE MASSACRE. This awful disaster occurred, of course, after Te Kooti had returned from the Crewera country. Mr. Goldsmith was immcd.aiely very worried about the safety of Ins parents who had stayed behind in G.Sooriio, so iia 'a bTb a'a’a ooa a Uk sT; !TaT alfl a

determined to return to the bold of action at onc-e, although h.s wound was still causing him much trouble, making liis le t arm useless. A boat was about to Icove tor G sborne and he smuggled himself aboard, a:ter being put ashore cure, tinall. landing in Poverty 15-r again within a week after the tragedy. Despite hi- vv-ouau, ho immediately attached Mused* to the avenging force of -w'xed Euro]>eans and friend v Nat.vcs and \ya- , imaged ma nly in despatch-carrying between the punitive force and Headquarters in Gisborne

SGE.PII.ISED BY REBELS. On one occasion Mr. Goh’srhitb and a friend were driving some cattle for the troops from Patutahi to the forces situated beyond Ng.'itapn. They had reached N'uatapa when they saw some Natives riding down - HP-side. i: Wo didnt like the Hal.- n' them at all,” continued Mr. Goldsmith, ‘'but my friend said they could' - t be HauHaus since they had hers.; and we knew—or thought we d•'<■?. that the enemy were all on foot. Nevertheless, we decided to be on the sn r e side and halted for a time, watching these strangers. They approached rapidly —too rapidly for our ease of mind—and so we ton 1; cover in t' in h»«l> -t a moment when thev were hidden from us. Lying there concealed, we p.— -

could hear them beating around in search for us. So close were they, for a time, that we could hear then, talking and then knew for a tact that they were hostile. T/iey moved some cl.stance away and wo cook die chance 01 a d.- sl', for oar I ves in the chrec-

i.tiou of Pat a Labi. When wye were j K j iite.,l, the cn.'se was on. The HauHaus were well mounted, having apparently gripturcd sums stray horses on the Fiats.

CHANCE THAT WENT BEGGING

"We hacl a good lead and at any commanding point, on the top' ot a hill for 'instance, we fired a couple ol shots at them to cool their ardour. Thev would approach these- po.nts cautiously, not knowing whether we were still waiting for them. Meantime we would be dashing down the hill-side increasing our lead. ‘ Following some- distance behind

us, when we set out from Patutahi, had been some ammunition came s, friendly Natives. My friend and 1 came upon this party at a place called Puketoro and they immediately fell into a panic when ae told them we were being closely followed b • Hau-Haus. Our total number was greater than the enemy and as the latter were then coming down a valley, while we held a commanding position above the track where they would pass, there was an ideal situation for an attack, which was practically certain of success. But our ammunition carriers would have none of it. We argued vainly and I swung my horse in behind them to prevent them returning to Patutahi. But it was no good and a splendid chance to destroy or capture some of Te Kooti’s men went begging simply throgh the timidity. Seeing our augmented forces, the Hau-Haus stopped ard we*'returned unmolested to Patutahi.” At this time, Mr Co’dsmith stated, there was a military depot at Patutahi, with a good supply of ammunition and stores. The Hau-Haus came down from Xgatapa and the occupants of the depot left immediately without firing a shot With v' opposition, the rebels s’mply wnTAed in and helped themselves, thus replenishes their scanty stocks of cartr.uges, us'ng them, later, to shoot down the men who had been issued with these self-same munitions.

A TIGHT CORNER. Choice of death by fire or by shooting was almost forced on Air. Goldsmith and some friends in a small • counter with Hau-Haus near Ngatapa. The rebels were ou one side ol a ridge and the Government troops on the other, the latter being steadily on the defensive against superior numbers. All over the ridge was. a prolific growth of fern and, while hidden in this, the European force was comparatively safe. To get them into the open, tire Hau-Haus fired the fern and the breeze carried the flames rapidly towards Air. Goidsipitli unci his comrades. Fortunately, at inte,vals, the wind died down, for had it kept up steadily, tbe flames woulci have driven the hidden troops out of cover in short space. Every man, however, set to Work making a firebreak, pulling up and inn king down the growth as fast as possible. Finally a swath of cleared ground lay atliwart their position and this served to check the flames, and also left a clear patch wli Ich the rebels would not risk crossing. A de.srdtorv stretch of fighting la-ted until n’ght'all, when Ale Go'dsnrth and h : s companions heal a hasty retreat to the comfortable security of a camp some few miles away.

SHOCK WHILST SCOUTING. On a scouting trp near Ngatapa, related Mr. Goldsmith, they had seen no signs of tiie Hau-Haus, desp.te warnings from friendly Natives that the enemy had come down from the hills. Proceeding to Patutahi, the s'outs heard Natives talking on the other side of the river, but could not tell whether they were friendly or otherwise. , Night came on and they camped at a redoubt situated on what is now Mr. Ewen Cameron’s place at Malcauri. During the dark hours, thev again heard Natives talking, but could not run the risk of attracting their attention, for fear thev should prove hostile. Morning ponin fbr. neighborhood appeared deserted and, after returning to Maka-

.aka Tor- the following night, they once mere made their way cut to the Xgatapa Flats.' Still they had perceived no Natives who were definitely hostile', but they came on traces of a camp-fire. Back they came to Pukepu ice in the Patutahi A alley. Mr. Goldsmith was some d'stance ahead of the rest of the party, when he noticed a number or Natives- coming down a hill towards them. Extensive scouting.' had revealed no trace of the Hau-Haus and Ire, concluding these were some of the friendly .Natives, took no notice ot them. Ml*. Goldsmith, and this party gradually approached one another and when they were only two hundred yards away they suddenly discharged a volley at him.

A HOT PURSUIT. “Lt was a nasty shock,” commented Mr. Goldsmith, "but I didn’t take long to get over it, you may be sure, ana I cleared hack up a lull towards bur own men. There was too much excitement in it for my comfort and I can't understand yet how they miss-

ed mo, ‘or they kept up their shooting as I dashed up the lull-side and down the oimei s.ne to saiety. lt was fortunate for our men that I did ~'et away, for no others in the party -new the .ay o. tb - land aoont there, 'the ji.,.u-Ha.iis out.numbered u.s greatlv and we were placed m an awkward pos tion, being m a valley with a wide swamp at our rear. By coming to the hilt-top, winch they could have done with perfect saroty, the enemy could have picked u.s off at io.sure. Fortunately I knew an easy path along the edg- 1 of the swamp and so we-galloped a king th ; s to the more open country at the bottom of the valley. When tbe.. Hau-Haus reached the hill-top, we were well away, but thev wasted little time in setting out hotlv after us.” A GAi-LA-Vf nHr CUE. Mr. Cosdsmii.li wra.tner diffident about relating nti moment of tills, clmse and. passed it oif w ith a tew vverJs. it appeared, mat one of the scout ng parry was mounted on a horse in iudiiterenc duality and rapidly :eil ’behind the others. Eivntuni:y his mount oecu me completely ’ ‘puffed” atics oa,iif u> a standstill. Iho Hau-Hum rap di r approached and none or his comrades would risk a dash Lack to rescue the unfortunate straggler. Air. Goldsmith, who was up with the kadcis on noticing the man’s plight- immediate l '/ checked his mount, turned =; d rode back to his a -vista nee. Tom ing along at f’uii gal’cp. he called to Ids comrade (who L-id tlra dismounted and was running after the fleeing party) to bo •early to jump. The rescuer swung •ns hdr.so in a cire’e without checking the pace ft all. came up by the dismounted man, gripped bun, and halt supporting him across his leg and hn!’-'b—.gging him a beg the ground, carried him to a sate distance when the bowse could slcwn d-w:, and the rescued man dim 1 ' up behind h « rescuer. Meantime the advancing HauHaus were emptyi-g their r iles at the nr- ir. but neither was touched. The rescued man’s name was Camphell. It shouhl he remembered that, at this time, Air Goldsmith had only one sound arm. ROPATA’S CLEVER STRATEGY. Two days after this narrow escape. Alajor Ropata arrived at Patutahi from Napier and Air. Goldsmith joined his party as a scout, once more getting up to the firing-line. Leaving Patutahi, they set out for Ngatapa and had reached Makaretu, when -they engaged a strong body of Hau-Haus. The enemy were caught in a valley with a deep creek at the bottom, so Alajor liopata divided his party, sending a band of friendly Napier Natives, some seven or eight hundred, along one rnlgc, while fie took up a position, «ith the remainder of his force, on the pother. Caught between two fires, with m. possibility of escape, the Jlau Hails fought bravely despite rapidly-dimin-ishing numbers. The Government troops gradually closed in and drove the rebels up the valley which narrowed’ down to an end in a clear space near the hill-top. When the retreating Natives reached the end of the cover, they had the choice of. rushing out into the open to he shot down or of jumping into the deep creek at the s ; de. Some made a dnsn for the open, hut mute won through Others jumped into the ore n k (which had a deep flow of water) and attempted to escape down stream. "Thev hadn’t a chance in the world.” Air. Goldsmith rem a "ked reflectively, "and with some of them swimming and others breast-high in the -water, we had no in fixing them all.

AN UNFORTUNATE SEQUEL. This victory ever the Hau-Haus had an unfortunate sequel. Before tne engagement,. Alajor Ropata Had issued orders that no prisoners were to bo taken. The Napier Natives haa ■captured two men and, for some reason, did not wish to. execute them. Alajor Ropata demanded that tlicy be delivered to him, but the Napier men proved adamant. Thereupon the Alajor, whose own party consisted of only 70 or 80 as against ten times that number of Napier Natives, delivered an ultimatum that the latter could keep the two prisoners until next morning, but- they would then have to be given up without fail. During that night, all the Napier "friendlies,” with their two prisoners, departed for Patutahi. and were thence returned to Napier, taking no further part in the lighting. Their departure was a big "less to the Government forces. -

Very shortly after this, on the same -trip, Air. Goldsmith participat-

ed in the attacks on the pa situated on Ngatapa hill. Alany of the Hau Haus had retired to this strongly fortified post which was well guarded on all open sides by a series of riflep'ts outside the stout pallisa.de. All the brush and scrub had been cleared for a considerable distance around the pa and the attackers were thus fully exposed to the defenders’ fire when advancing. Alajor Ropata, however, led an assault to the first line of rifle pits which were captured, but they had to relinquish this position during the night, owing to the supply of ammunition running out. THE CAPTURE "OF NQATAPA. The whole party then retired to Gisborne and were there fully equipped again. Large numbers of Europeans arrived from all parts of the country and again the pa at Ngatapa was besieged. On three sides, the pa was easy of approach and the attacking force set a cordon around to prevent any of the Hau-Haus cscsp.ng. The fourth side of the pallisade was ou the edge of a - precipitous cliff, about twenty lent lugh, with ti-treo growing profusely along the brink. 'This side was considered inaccessible either from within or without tbe pa and, consequent y, the attackers placed no guard thereabouts „

A number of assaults were made by Alajor Ropata an cl Ins men, the riflepits being captured, but the pa itself remaining in Hau-Hau hands. To shorten tiie siege, it was decided to blow up the defences and a tunnel from the rifle-pit was dug to below the stockade walls. A strong explosre charge was prepared and the time of. the final discomfiture of the rebels was fixed for a certain inorning

"But the Hau-Haus must have known something,” said Air. Goldsm th with-a smile, ‘Lor every one cf tiie beggars cleared out of the pa that night. They slipped out the back way and got down tbe cliff by bending the ti-tiee over and using it to lessen the distance of their fall. In the morning, it didn’t take us long to find they bad gone and so we captured the empty Ngatapa pa. Anyway we had our explosion end uttcr!v destroyed the stronghold.”

Many of the escaping Natives were captured and thev were dealt with very summarily They were made to dig* their own graves and were then shot down as they stood on the edge. "It seems cold-blooded,” remarked Air. Goldsmith, "hut it w.as a necessary measure and these devils had committed cruelties which made any mercy impossible.

FINE TRIBUTE TO THE AYOAIENFOLK. “They were stirring times,” said Mr. Goldsmith, in conclusion, "and they were wonderful in some ways. Thoughts occasionally come to me of the days spent under the stars, waiting, breathlessly, at the sound .of Native voices, to discover whether tlmy were those of friend or of fbe. Life seemed of very little consequence and we thought little moro of shooting down a Hau-Hau than a farmer does now of killing a fat sheep to supply his household. But one can only hope that New Zealand will never see such a state of things again. The greatest burden of it all was borne hv the women, our wives and daughters, who sat hv the fireside and thought of the absent ones who even then might have passed to death amidst the fern and shrub of i some desolate hill-side.”