WHO WAS TO BLAME

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10392, 9 May 1927, Page 2 (Supplement)

WHO WAS TO BLAME

i FOR poverty bay massacre. MAJOR BIGGS WARNED BY* SETTLERS. DID GOVERNMENT REFUSE EXTRA TROOPS? Mr. H. Strong, v.'lio was for yea&s Public Librarian at Christcluu'ch, and is no-.v living m retirement at Redcliffs, was a settler at Mata. ; wliero at the time of the massacre ! and is of opinion that if Major i Biggs had taken the warning given j him by settleis the tragedy would have been averted. Sir Strong ser- | vecl in the operations against To i Kooti, and in “New Zealand Mars” supplies some interesting notes on events prior to the raid on Poverty Bay. ~ j Mr Strong states that lie, until | others, was engaged in service in a . church at Matawhero when a mes- : songcr arrived with the news of Te i Ivooti’s landing. It was Sunday afternoon, July 12. IS6S, and all the men in the church, without waiting to change their clothes or obtain supplies, saddled their horses and went south in 'the direction of Whn_ reongaonga. On the track at the : late Mr Woodbine Johnson’s property at Muriwai, orders were received ; from Major Biggs to continue the 1 march to Wliareongaonga. G’lie es- ; enpees, however, had refused to surrender and had stated their intention of going on into the Trewera Country. Major Biggs ordered a p-ur-suit and the engagement at PapaI rntu followed. When the fight, bej gan the men, though cheerful on. I ough, were in a state of exhaustion j and were almost starving. The retirement was ii most difficult task, the wounded having to be carried over mountains, through creeks and over steep hills. j After a severe night march tlie j men Captain Westrupp’s out station, where they were met by Colonel Whitmore, with the Napier j volunteers and others. He immedi--1 ately ordered the Poverty Bay setti lers to be paraded and warned them j they must be ready to start back in i pursuit in an hour. “The settlers 1 spokesman detailed the privations j they had undergone, and said that 5 under similar circumstances Colonel | 'Whitmore himself would hardly have 1 been prepared to march in au hour. 1 “The Colonel’s language in reply,” I says Mr Strong, “was such as to J preclude all possibility of the sett. j lers working harmoniously with him lon any future occasion. Captain j Westrupp, by his silence, endorsed cur action; had lie said the word ! I and many ethers would have fol- ! lowed in hot pursuit, for a better i man than Capt. Westrupp never • lived!” All the settlers asked was . that they should be allowed to return home and obtain proper food and a change of clothing (they had been in the field in bad weather for ten days) Before again engaging in the arduous pursuit. The courage , and promptitude of the Poverty Bay 1 men and their cheerful willingness to take up arms, were displayed in their action, when they were distur- ( bed in church on the Sunday, and j Colonel Whitmore's criticisms in his • book were entirely unjustified. | In the course of' the next march, jMr Strong says. the. settlers were j again subjected to abuse from Col. | onel 'Whitmore. The country was I rough and on the Ahimanu range ; the force was delayed by heavy snow | storms. "When the Waihau lakes | were reached the provisions were exhausted and the men were suffering greatly. “We'\ the Poverty Bay 1 men. then held a meeting and de- , eided unanimously that, on account | of tlie way in which Colonel WhitI more had treated us from the day ■we started, we should go no further, and I believe that- Captain Westrupp once more endorsed our action.” The settlers then returned to the Bay. At that time Mr Strong lived a considerable distance from the Turanganui landing place; his home was near the Patutahi crossing of the Waipaoa river. On the same side of the river there was another settler, Mr Tames Wyllie, who had incurred the displeasure of Te Kooti. Mrs Wyllie was well acquainted with the'friendly Maoris in the district. Some time before tbe massacre occurred ,slie__ repeatedly I expressed-fears that before long Te ' Koo£i would make a raid ... on the Settlement. It was believed be would come down the Patutahi Valley, and accordingly Mr Strong, with the Wyllies and seme other settlers in tlie district, arranged to keep watch 'day and night, at tire crossing of the Waiapoa, taking turns of duty and keeping tlie saddles on their horses. From the crossing there is a good view up: the valley. Government sc-outs (under Lieut. Gascoyne) had been sent out, but tbe settlers took • other steps toNprevent surprise. One day Mrs. Wyllie informed Mr. Strong that she had been told by an old-Maori weman that- Te Kcoti was coming down the valley. Mr. Strong at once rode in and informed Major Biggs. Major Biggs’ replay was “Well you know I have scouts out and I Will receive twenty hours’ notice • before anything can happen.' The story is absurd and you are all in an unnecessary state of alarm.” Mr. Strong returned home, and the Settlers’ Vigilance Committee ceased Hauhaus came down to Patutahi and crossed the very ford that the farmers had been guarding. Had .Major Biggs heeded Mr Strong's waning the massacre would have been averted..'; -y.; Te ; iyooti’ s men. passed ;by -the, set.tlers’ ' homes at';Patutabi'intending to raid them on -their: -return from the Mata whero 'set t lemon t. *_ j ' When the alarm was given '< tlie Wyllies hurried off southward iu the direction of the Mahin.. .-Itr wias then

remembered that Air. Strong was in iris house, which was close to the track of the marauders, and Mil*. AY. Benson crossed over andrwarned him of his danger, shouting “Clear out, the Hauhaus are down!’ However, Air. Strong li.-id sent a boy to W.vllie’s house, and he heard their shouts of disgust when they found that their intended victims had escaped,. They did not search Air. Strong’s place, otherwise he would most “certainly have been captured. Shortly afterwards Sergt. Butler arrived with the news of the massacre of settlers. The boy arriving later, Air. Strong took him on his horse and they rode into Turanganui safely. Had Aiajor Puggs taken the setttors’ warning, Air. Strong declares the Hauhaus would have been heard and seen when they stated to cross the Patutahi at the wide shingly ford and all the Europeans would have been warned in time. Another fatal blunder was the failure to erect a fortification at Alatawhero. It was proposed in October, ISSB, to constiuct a redoubt in the middle of that farming area, and the loyal Ala oris agreed to supply and erect palisades if the Europeans would assist in the work of construction. However, Hie authorities did not approve of the erection of a redoubt there and so nothing was done to provide a place of refuge for the settlers and their families in case of attack.

In connection with the allotment of the blame, however, another viewpoint is given by Aiajor Gascoyne in “Soldiering in New Zealand, ’ jor lie writes thus in vindication oi Major Biggs, whose carriage, prudence and energy he praises: “He (Major Biggs) was mistaken in supposing that Te Kooti would advance bv the Reinga road, but the information at his command made it certain he would do so. Blame for the surprise must he on the niggard policy which,gave him in spite of liis strong representations of the danger one small party of men to watch an extent of country that required large parties to watch it efficiently.”