UNDER THE STARS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 10473, 31 December 1927, Page 6 (Supplement)

UNDER THE STARS

SEARCH TOR THE HAL' UAL' REBELS. mh. goloshmrs graphic narrative.

RAUL BREADTH ESCAPES,

Papumlu, At ..tan hero, Malsaraka, To Ami, J'atuluhi. Op~u aul Ngatapa aro a low of the places whereat Air. Robert Goldsmith p-.-rt.e-pitted in active service against the Ainu nail rebels who terrorised Eli-.s district round 1808. . , ~ jt was In 18-13 has period or residence in ti.is district began, and although lie spent much of the early days' up the East Coast, by far the greater part of his career inis been lived in close proximity to the town. On September D next, lie will complete seventy-nine years of iilo in .Poverty Lay. Mr. Goldsmith's outstanding memories of the oid days are, naturally, vivid mental pictures o. the famous fighting times and, in the course of an interview, lie re-lived some of those stirring days.

ARM SKATTELTa AT PAPAIIATI

When word was is A veil that '1 cKooti and his band Intel landed trom the Ciiatliains- at Wharcongaonga, Colonel Whitmore wont out w.tii a force, which included .Mr. Goldsmith, to intercept the Ntit.vc.s. ie Kooti made for Tiniroto en route to l]io Urewera country and it was at Paparata that the'opposing lorc.es came mL ; eoufiit t. volmiol \v i ll l.more tame up .v.tli do T.c*.iti a.nout U o’clock in the morning and immed:ntelv engaged him, the light taking p|.re in Tiiilij cjvcird with bush. The llau-Jiaus '.'.ere o.i one side or a gully and the Eur: pcan force on the other, .mi that there was little scope for a straight-out encounter. The two iorces took cover in the bush, each ma.i finding the best shelter he could anti keeping un a thwaltorv fire vGienevor a target present./.I itself. -Until tlaivness fell the engagement lasted, but, thereafter, t monel V liitmoro, lio had by far the fewer number of troopsj deemed it necessary to withdraw and Te Kooti eon tinned his dash for the Urewera country. It was in this fight that Air. Goldsmith received a wound, the sear of which lie hears to this day. He had taken cover behind some bushes, but exposed li s hut arm and a bull smashed through it at the elbow. A comrade saddled a horse for h.in and ho 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 A vir-VGE r !HE AIASSACRE.

This awful disaster occurred, of course, after Te Kooti had returned from tiie Urewera country. Mr. Goldsmith was inimed.atcly very worried about the safety of Ins parents who had stayed behind in G.5..-oine. sj he

determined to return to tlio iieltl of action at once, although h;s wound was still causing him much trouble, making his le t arm useless. A boat was about to kero tor G shot no and he smuggled h'.mscll aboard, oiler being put ashore once, finally landing in Poverty BA- ag-sin within a week after the tragedy. Despite hi, wouau, he immediately attached hi o.seh to the avenging force of -ru-x-.-d Euro--1 leans and fr.cnd’y Nat.vcs and wa.i ngaged manly in despatch-carrying between the nunitive torn and Headquarters in Gisborne

SURPRISED I3Y REBELS

On one occasion Mr. Goldsmith and a friend were driving some cattle for the troops from Patutahi to ihe forces situated beyond Ngatapn. They had reached N'gatapa when thev spw some Natives riding dewn v hil'-side. “We didnt like the o' them at all,” continued Mr. Goldsmith, “hut my friend said they collide I l>e FlauHaus since they had her;-! ■ and wo knew—or thought wo d*d that the enemy were all on foot. Nevertheless, we decided to he on the sn c o side nnd halted for a time, watching these strangers. They approached rapidly —too rapidly for our case of mind—and so we too'; cov«r in 'b*»«b at a moment when thev were hidden from us. 'Lying there concealed, wo

. could hear them beating around in i search for ns. So close were they. I lor a time, that we could hear them j talking ami tiitn knew for a met that (they wore hosti.c. J nvy moved some i d.stance away u-.G we took the etiauct* • to a dash re" our i vt-s in tin; dirce- : t o-' ot Patut.-o i. When y.e were jas hied, tin e.i.s.i was on. Tiie Hau- ’ Rails were vt-elj mounted, having ap-p-.reot'y raptured s.mo stray horse.', on the Fiats.

CHANTS THAT WENT BEGGING

“We had a good lead and at any commanding point, on the top tn a hill for instance, we fired a couple ol shots at them to cool their ardour. They would approach these pouts cautiously, not know.iiy whether wo were still waitr.g for them. Meantime vre would hr: dashing down the hill-side increasing our lend. | ‘■Following some- distante behind

us, when we set out from Patulahi, iiad been sonic ammunition came s, friendly Natives. Aly friend and 1 came upon this party at a place called I’uketoro and they immediately fell into a panic when vie told them we were being closely followed b Ilau-Hiius. Our total number was greater than the enemy and as the latter were then coming down a valley, while we held a commanding jkjsition 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 Patutnhi. But it was no good and a splendid chance to destroy or capture some of To Kooti’s men went begging simply throgh the «*ca"rriprs’ timidity. Seeing our augmented forces, the Haii-llnus stopped ar.d weM-etuimcd unmolested to Patutahi.” At this t'me, Air Go’dsmilh stated, there was a military depot at Patutalii, with a good supply of ammunition and stores. The Hau-Haus came down from Ngatapa and the occupants of the depot left, immediately without firing a shot With r- opposition, the rebels s'mpiy winked in and. helped themselves, thus replenishing their scanty stocks of cartridges, ns ng them later, to shoot down the men who had been issued witli these self-same munitions.

A TIGHT CORNER.

Choice of death bv (ire or iiy sheeting was almost forced on Mr. Gtiljlsmitli and seme friends in a small • counter with flail-fa us near _ Ngatup.i. The rebels were on one side ol a ridge and the Government troops on the other, the latter being steadily oil 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 got them into the open, the Kau-Haus fired the fern and the breeze carried the flames rapidly towards Mr. Uoldsipith nnc. Ills comrades. Fortunately, at intcivals, the wind died down, for had it kept up steadily, the flames would have driven the hidden troops out ol cover in short space. Every man, however, set to work making a firebreak, pulling up and ha-'lcing down the growth as fast as possible. Finally a swath of cleared ground lay athwart their position and this served to cheek the Hames and also left a clear patch which the rebels would not risk crossing. A desv-ltorv sfretch of fighting la-fed until n‘gilt's'll, when Mr finidsnvl.it and Ids companions heal a hasty retreat to the comfortable security of a camp some few miles away.

SHOCK WHILST SCOUTING

Oil a scouting tr’p near Ngetapa, related Mr. Goldsmith, they had seen no signs of the Hall-Halts, desp.to warnings from friendly Natives that the enemy had come down from the hills. Proceeding to Patutahi, tho S' outs heard Natives talking on the other side of tho river, but could not toil whether they were friendly or otherwise., Night canio on and they camped at a redoubt situated on what is now Mr. Ewen Cameron’s place at Makauri. During the dark hours, thev again hoard Natives talking, hut could not run the risk of attracting their attention, for fear thev shou'd prove hostile. Morning tl’o neighborhood appeared deserted and, after returning to Maka-

.a ha for the following night, they om c: more made their way out to the Ngiitap.! Tints. St.il they had perceived no -Natives who were definitely hostile, but they came on traces of a ..■amp-fire. Back they came to Pukcpu,.;: in the Pututuiii \ alley. Air. Goldsmith was some d stance ahead of the rest of the party, when he noc-

ked a number of Natives- coming down a hill towards them. Extensive scouting had revealed no trace of the Hau-Haus and he, concluding these were some of the friendly Natives, took no notice of them. Mr. Goldsmith and this: party gradually approached one another and when they were onlv two hundred yards away they suddenly discharged a voßey at him.

A HOT PURSUIT.

“It was a nasty shock,” commented Air. Goldsmith, “but I didn’t take long to get over it, you may he sure, ana I cleared Sark un a hill towards bur own men. Thmo was too much excitement hi it lor my comfort and I can't understand yet how they m.ss-

ed me, ‘or t.'wv kept up their shooting as I dashed up the hill-side and down tiie oniti .-..,ie to saicty. Jt was fortunate lor our men that I did ;et away, tor no others in the party mew- the .ay o. tli- -a ml ammt there. The ii...u-Jiau.s out..umbered us greatlv and we were piac-.-ii ;n an awkward pos lion, being in a valley with a wide swamp at our rear. ’ By coming to the hill-top, winch they could have done with pert tot saeiy, the enemy could have picked us oft at le.sure. Fortunately I knew an easy path along the edg-. of the swamp arid so we galloped a'ong th ; s to the more open .country at tiie bottom or tiie valley. When the. Hau-Haus reached the hill-ton, we were well away, but rhev wasted little time in setting out hotly al'Lr i?s.”

A GAI.RANT .A*-CUE. Air. Goidsiiiii.il w.i,- ratiuir diffident about ivl.it;ng an ;.-.ei-.!C-..t ol this chase and passed it oil with a lew words, it appearr;: mat one of the scout ng party was mounted on a iioise in indisi'erenc duality and rapid-

i.y nil behind the others. Ev« ntuaJ:y Ids mount in-nimc completely *puit --d” mm can..- u> a standstill. The Kau-Huis rnj'di/ approached and none of his comrades would risk a d.v h hack to rescue the unfortunate straggler. Air. Goldsmith, who was up with the leaders on noticing the man’s plight imim •L;to , v cheeked ids ng-unt, turned a d rode hack to Iris a rsisiaru'e. Tcm i;m; along at full gal‘op. li' called to h s comrade (who

hod tlnii dismounted and was running after the tlreing party) to Do .•nady to jump. The rescuer swung b ; s hdrso in a oire’e wl*limit cheeking tin' pace ; t all. cue-" up l'y the dismounted man. grimed him, and halt supporting him across Isis leg and linl'L-t,..-urging him ahr g I'u' ground, carried him to a sa : - distune;* when (lie lio--.se* could slew n (’own and the rescued man o'iw'< up behind h < rescuer. Meantime the advancing Hautiaus were emptvi’-g their r iles at the ui-ir, hut neither’was touched. The rescued man’s name was Camphell. Tt shou'd be pm l mu bored that , at this time, Mr Goldsmith had only one sound arm.

ROPATA’S CLEVER STRATEGY

Two days after this narrow escape. Major Ropata nrr.vcd at Patutahi trotn Napier and Mr. Goldsmith joined his party as a scout, once more getting up to the finug-hno. Leaving Patutahi, they set out for Ngatsipa and had reached Makarctu, when they engaged a strong body of Kau-Haus. The enemy were caught in a valley with a deep creek at the bottom, so Major Ropata divided his party, sending a hand of iricndly Napier Natives, some seven or eight hundred, along one ridge, while he took up a position, with the remainder of his force, on the /other. Caught between two fires, with im of escape, the llau Hans fought bravely despite rap.dly-dimin-ishing numbers. The. Government troops gradually closed in and drove the rebels up the valley which narrowed' down to an end in ft clear space near tho hill-top. W hen 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 dasu for the open, hut none won through Others jumped into the ere'*k (which had a deep flow of water) and attempted to escape clown stream. “Thev hadn’t, a ehar.ee in the world.” Mr. Goldsmith renin "'ked reflectively, “and with some of (hem swimming and others breast-high in tho vote*-, we had nn in fixing them all ”

AN UNFORTUNATE SEQUEL.

This victory ever the Hau-Haus had an unfortunate sequel. Reiei-e tne engagement, Major Ropata had issued orders that no prisoners were to be taken. The Napier Natives hart captured two men and, for some reason, did not wish to execute them. ALaj or 'Ropata demanded that they lie delivered to him, but the Napier men proved adamant. Thereupon the Alajor, whose own party consisted oi 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 he 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 fighting. Their depart nre was a b‘g less to the Government forces.

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

ed in the attacks on the pa situated on Ngatapa hill. Many 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 pallisade. 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. Major 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 N QATAR A.

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 v, as besieged. On three sides, the pa was easy of approach and tiie attacking force set it cordon around to prevent any of the Hau-Haus escsp.ng. The fourth side of the pallisade was on the edge of a • precipitous cliff, about twenty left high, with ti-treo growing profusely along the brink. T his side was considered inaccessible ’either lrom within or without the pa and, consequent y, the attackers placed no guard thereabouts .

A number of assaults were made by Major Ropata and Ins men, the riflepits being captured, but the pa itself remaining in Uau-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 cxplosvc charge was prepared and the time of the final discomfiture of the rebels was fixed for a certain morning

“But the Hau-Haus must have known something,” said .Mr. Gold* sm ill with a smile, “.or every one cf tiie beggars cleared out of the pa that night. They slipped out the back way and got down the cliff by bending the ti-tice over and using it to lessen the distance of tlu ir fall. 11l the morning, it didn’t take us long to find they had gone and so we captured tlie empty Ngatnpa pa. Anyway we had our explosion and utterly destroyed the stronghold.” Many, of the escaping Natives were captured and thev were dealt with very summarily They were made tu dig’ their own graves and were then shot down as they stood on the edge. “It seems cold-blooded,” remarked Mr. Goldsmith, “hut it w.as a necessary measure and these devils had committed cruelties which made any mercy impossible.

FINE TRIBUTE TO THE WOMENFOLK.

“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 th°v wore those of friend or of fbe. Life seemed of very little consequence and wo thought little more of shootinE down a Hau-Hau than a farmer docs now of killing a fat sheep to supply his household. Rut one can only hope that New Zealand will never see such a state of things again. The greatest burden of it all was borne by the women, our wives and daughters, who sat bv 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.”