HOW IT BEGAN.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 10473, 31 December 1927, Page 9 (Supplement)

HOW IT BEGAN.

LONG DRAWN OUT WAIKATO WAR.

AIR EZRA SMITH S 'N’rERECTING NARRATIVE.

THE OPENING -V ’DENTS.

Before :irr ■in Gis'oon -n Hiii t- which ■ re it:- ha? r: .titled Imre ir. Ezra Smith, o Oind-w.-we Rot.d. ived with his parents in the We;knit; ml 11V . ini '••at '• ;»s-t»f-i.n~l with the ea'lv events or '.lie Waikato wai when the Maoris and punches ol that district fust Hashed. Chatting with a “Times” representative, Air Smith threw some interesting light on these momentous happenings. He said the trouble apparently rose over a Maori pa, called Kiri Kiri ,near Papakurn. For some reas.on, probably because the pa wa. on Government land which had been sold to settlers, the authorities decided that the Natives must move nj.it This meant that the people of K ri Kiri would have to move to a pa at Mangere or take tu the bush. Naturally, they objected and a squad o, mounted cavnliv was sent to enforce the Government edict. When the mounted men approached, the Maoris in the pa moved off into the bush.

WAR ON NATIVES’ LARDER.

Two settlers lived in tho neighborhood of the pa., a Captain Calvert and a Mr. Golding, and word ws received at these homes that the Alajiris had been driven out of Kin Kiri. Thinking to profit by this event, two sons of "these settlers proceeded to the p*i and removed a lar-m onaiitity of maize and kumcras. The Maoris, however, had net loft their posses-

sions altogether unwatchccl. It was an old custom of those times time, should a 'Maori go mad, lie was shut up in a hut with p'enty of food and left for a while to see whether lie would recover. Taking advantage o! this, the departing Nat.vos line! lelt several old women in a hut, telling them to “act mad,” lint to take note of niiv pers"n who removed anything from the pa. Thus the actions of voting < 'alvcri and Coining were carefully observed. . f A clti v oi* t- - A o Irtrf'' onnd o* tlie exp'dlod Natives c-"im dawn towards Captain Calvert's home., Mr Smith's In me w.-.s sUmP'd near the Calvert's house and, tnough they had had no trouble with tlie Amoris Hi) to that time, they were always prepared and two horses were kepi reach- in the stable. There was e. trap-door in the floor of the house, too, so that a person rouH slip through this, make for th c stable, pick up a horse and ride away for assistance.

It was customary, in pioneering days, to start the day's work early and, about sunrise on this particular meriting, the Smiths observed the Natives creeping down through the bush, and surrounding the Calvert's home. Mr Smith himself was despatched immediately on horseback lor assistance to. a pine, some mites away, known as •'.aptaiii Ring’s Redoubt.” As lie rode out of the yard, lie could hoar the first shots being fired in the attack on the Calvert's.

CORNERED AND SLAIN.

As was discovered later, this attack was of short duration, the Natives firing a few times and _ then rushing the house. Captain Calvert’s soil, who had vis.ted the. K.ri Kiri pa, was the only male at Home and when the Mao is made their rush he fled into a bed-room. Them, he was cornered and shot down as lie attempted to shellvr behind some furniture. The Natives then retired from the Calvert s p ncc and made for the shelter of the bush, whence they continually sniped at the Smith’s domicile. Meantime Air. Ez-

i'" Smith had reached Ring's Redoubt, informed Captain Ring of the trouble and led a party of troops to the Cal vert homestead, arriving there on the evening of the same day. A further party of SCO volunteers also arrived on the scene. The Natives, ci course, had fallen back to hiding phices in the bush and it was useless attempting to follow them when they laid the cover of darkness as well as of the bush. It was thought they might possibly attack the Smith homestead during the night and preparations were made to give them a warm reception. Captain Ring's men of the 18th Royal Irish were hidden in the scrub near the house and the force of volunteers were housed in the stable. The Maoris, however, proved too cautious and not a shot was fi”cd during the niglitt.

“HE'S LIKE A RAT.”

Through his .special knowledge of the distri.t, Mr. Er.r.i Smith was chosen to carry a despatch from Captain Ring to Major Galloway, niio had charge of another redoubt some miles away. Quite a hoy then. Mr. Minth and Captain Ring asked Mr. •Smith, senior, what weapons' best suited the. young lad. Mr Smith replied: •'Oh he doesn’t need anything like til::t. They’ll never see bun he’s like a rat in the bush.” And the !"tiicr’s prophet y proved true, or Mr. Smith rode safelv through the bush without a stop, despite the fact that ‘■omo hundreds of Maoris were moving about on the watch for just such an attempt. Not only did lie deliver the despatch to .Major Calloway, bat lie also returned safely to Captain Ring with an answer, arriving back just before dav-break. It was a remarkably fine piece of work, especially for a mere boy. and lie received a great deal oi' credit for it but, as he himself remarked: "it was a very anxious time for dad while [ was away, and when I get back, he simply said to me, ‘Well done, my soil,’ and went away to his to his loom.” how the Waikato war began,’’ said Mr. Smith, and he went on to relate the incidents of the first real engagement of the campaign.

FRANKING ATTACK FAIRS.

A few days after the killing o! Captain Calvert’s son, a section ot the 18th, who had been sent on f :»troi duty nen_r some lonely homesteads close to Kiri Kiri, were attacked in the bush. Mr. Smith was guiding the party at the time and, after shuts Uad been exchanged at intervals lor the greater part of the day, he suggested that the patty, under his leadership, should make a detour and fall oil the Natives from the rear. This was agreed to but, on reaching some particularly thick hush, the lieutenant in charge weald not risk entering it and returned to the former position with a view to making a frontal attack. There they encountered a squad of men from the 65th, attract-

HOW THE WAR. STARTED.

On the following clay, the troops and volunteers entered the bush and soon came on tile tracks of the main body of Maoris, but the Natives retreated still further into the interior and only an occasional shot was exchanged by the two parties. A man named Cooper went on a scouting expedition on his own and was killed by the Natives, who set alight to his clothes, so that the pnkehas could find the corpse and see that the Maoris had scored another death. Then the Natives appeared in a clearing on the hi'l-side high above the tro. ps and treated them to a war-dance. (.attain Ring ordered the men to sight their rifles at aOO yards, lmt the bullets fell short and the Nat’vcs continued their dance uninterruptedly. -Mr. Smith, who knew the cmintrv. stated that they were fully a mile distant when the sights were raised. The bullets fell among- the Natives who immediately broke for enter. It was useless attcounting to follow them up into tne liills, where they knew every inch oF the ground and so the troops returned to the redoubt. “And that was ed to the spot by the firing, and it was decided to send these men. by a short cut, to make a flanking attack on the Maoris. This short cut, however, as oiten happens, proved the longest wav round and the Maoris, who had scouts out. learning of this move, kept up such a hot fire that the flanking party was compelled to stav their advance and keep closolv to cover. Meanwhile, the men of lb.th svere in trouble and had boon rorced hack unt'l they took refuge on a small hush-covered knoll. Besides the regular feops there were a imal er of volunteers and this mixture ot trained and untrained-mode the party very hard to manage eftective’v. The IMaoris surrounded the small rise whereon the pnkehas were mid tlm latter apne4"ed in serious danger, hut n determuied charge broke the Maoris’ cordon and the Natives retreated up the lolly slopes' to their rear. The party iucau sing 6-3' Ls lost little time in following their compatriots end the first engagement of the Waikato Maori War had ended.

SNIPER KILLED.

‘-It must be remembered,” remarked All*. Smith, in conclusion, ••that, this fighting took place in country covered by heavy bush and the two parties wore very chary about coming too close to one another for fear of an ambush, for which the country was ec:tainly admirably suited. In consequence, casualties on either side were very few. The onlv dead Maori I saw, attoi this fight, was one who had been sniping iron) the top oi a tree and bad been shot as he attempted to scramble down to safety when the Maoris commenced to retreat. One man each from the lbth and the 65th was killed, but these were the onlv fatalities known ot. Of course, the' Maoris made a practice of can-t----ing off their dead and wounued and thev might have suffered a greatReal more than it appeared. Beside our two dead, there were a number wounded and some had remarkably narrow escapes.”