OLD-TIME MAORI RAID.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 October 1924, Page 16

OLD-TIME MAORI RAID.

WAIKATOS IN THE NORTH. Regret that aged Maori warriors pass away without, leaving a connected biographical account of their lives—records tnat would be invaluable to compilers or New Zealand's history—is expressed by Mr George Graham, of Auckland, in a ietier concerning the deaih 01 the old and respected rangauia of the nortn, lverepeti, who died • j n September 2d at isgunguru. in an obituary notice tne opinion , was expressed to,at, although Keiepeti . was unable to state the date ox nis birth, he was about 100 yea is old. ! Referring to tbe raid wnich Kerepebi j recollected, Ai r Graham states that this, was probably one which happened • in 18a 1, uiitiii an army of &UUu men. ; from the Ngaouhi and the Rarawhai. [ tribes, assembled at Whangarei, ICeie- \ peti’s people belonging to the lattei jt.iaes. These uilieu forces came by j war-canoes, via Mahurangi and Taka--1 puna, to Waitemata. Taking their i canoes across the usual portages at t Gtahuhu and Waiuku, they' proceeded to the Waikato Heads, where they ; surprised and killed the inhabitants oi . some villages. At Lake Whangape tlie -\gapniii brought a small party of Wai- ‘ katus into action. These they defeated, killing some 40 people. ! The Northern tribes then retreated. • pursued by the \Yaikatos in their warI canoes. Several engagements took ■ place at the 'Waiuku portage, but the • Ngapahi people escaped with minoi losses, and succeeded in- netting as fai ‘ :is 1C a wau Island , . being still folio wee" I by the Waikato fleet, now reinforced j hy parties from the Xgati-Yv hatua, of ICaipara, and vaiious people of Haul’aki. t ‘‘A battle at ICawau resulted in th<Ngapuhis fleeing to the mainland, and the aikatos and their allies disembarked at ’Whangarei. invading that district, and also Xgunguru. “1 well lecollect the account given to me by an old man who participated 1 m these doings,” adds Mr Graham. “It j appears that when the victorious fleet :an ivc l in the Waitemata from the i North the warrior's landed on the !. non<■•!!. w here now is Fort street, Auck- \ land. 'She headland, where the Wai- • ienvjfa Morel now stands, was a forti- : fled oa real led .Nganu-vera). and eimii larly a palisaded strongnold stood or j Point Bi itoma it. A stream of water ; ran down the slope where now is Swnn--1 son street, and therein was performed , the ceremonial ablutions to lift the j tapu off the fighting men. A war ldan.ee ol all concerned was then held jon the beach, and much other cere- ! menial, incidental to a victorious j armv’s return, was observed. The dried i tattooed heads of those slain in the i Northern campaign were set on posts 'to be jeered at hy the war-dancers, and this row of ghastly trophies stretched from one end of the beach tc , the other, so numerous were thev. ; Hence a name of that place was ‘One- \ panoa’ (beach of the heads of a line).”