AO-TEA-ROA

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 17 August 1926, Page 6

AO-TEA-ROA

SENTRY HILL.

STORY OF THE ENGAGEMENT.

(By “Old-Timer.’o Tli,a junction of 'the Waitara branch with the Wellington ancl New Plymouth railway was formerly known by the above title, but the name was changed to Leppertou Junction, for cite ,reason, presumably, that Colonel Lepper, of tire military settlers, was given his land in that vicinity. There were many places close by with suitable names —Manutahi, Mataitawa, and To Arei, any one of which would have been most .appropriate as commemorating the actions in which the colonial troops, as represented by Major (afterwards Sir Harry) Atkinson’s Bush Rangers were engaged. Some of the Maori .names retained would, perhaps, have been better changed, but ail will agree that in almost all, cases they should have been adhered to, as being generally descriptive, and often beautiful. When Shake-speare wrote “What’s in a name?” lie was thinking of persons, not places 1 .

The names of all our cities, and most of our towns, all possessing perfectly good Maori names, were re-christened after some place, or person, of more or less consequence in the past. Sometimes the names were prefixed; by “New,” “North,” South,” etc. The name Sentry Hill, however, was the most desirable of all, and it appeals to all those interested in the' stirring events of the decade 1860-70. It is the site of the most decisive, but very onesided engagement (if such it can be called) between the white and the brown races. The details of this event, and of those . which led up to it, are not set- down in any of the histories 'of the time, and are as follows: —

In the early days of 1864, the military authorities decided to build, a fort near two hostile positions, and 1 close to the entrance to the old Maori track behind the mountain from Mataitawa to Kotemarae, near Normanby. Accordingly, a .strong party of Imperial troops and the Bush Rangers were sent there to form a- covering and working parly, and a capital site was chosen on a .small ’-til in flat fern country near the bush, .which veiled) the native positions. Oil tills was built a. redoubt of the style usually adopted for a permanent fortification, namely, a square, with two small 'squares at opposite corners, these bastions, commanding, all the faces of the redoubt. A wide, deep' trench was dug all round, and the earth from this wag used) for building a high parapet, the earth being retained in an almost perpendicular position by bundles of fern, doubled up, and used in alternate layers with earth. The whole, with the firing step and drawbridge, formed a, very strong fort. Inside was an iron building to house tlie garrison. There were also two mortars in the redoubt, which could I>© easily moved, a.s required. These queer little guns deserve some description, as they bore little or no resemblance to the mortars of to-day. These guns threw an 8-in. she 1 !, and were so short that when loaded the shell projected - from the muzzle, and at first glance could have heen mistaken for “go-ashore” pots. These guns were not of much use. except against an enerav in more or less mass formation, as the gunner.g could not see their objective, being behind a 7ft. parapet. The range and direction having been calculated, the “guns” were laid; at an elevation accordingly, the angle being increased as the range shortened, instead of lowered, as with other guns. The .'shells were fitted with time fuses. When completed, the redoubt was garrisoned bv 75 men of the 57th Regiment, under Captain Shortt. By this time those of the Maoris opposed. to us had abandoned a 1! pretence of Christianity, and called themselves “Hnuhaus.” and adopted a religion which they styled “Pad Marire.” The priests of this new religion induced their followers to revert to cannibalism, and other ancient customs, and also to believe that the T>akehas’ bullets could be turned aside by waving the hand. On September 30. 1864, .about 300 of the unfortunate dupes advanced from

their pah about 1 mile away at Manutahi, in close column, and, carrying kits of cooked potatoes, on which, with “fixings” which need not be mentioned, they proposed to feast when the fort was taken. The sentry at the gate of the font was marching up and down, .and) was ordered to appear, unaware of the enemy’s approach, and the Maoris came on to within 150 yards of the redoubt. Then :cne of the priest® advanced unarmed to within 20 yards of the sentry and threw a stone at him, but was allowed to retire unmolested. The war party now commenced to advance, but Captain Shortt ordered the sentry to come in, the drawbridge was raised, and a. murderous rifle, and shell fire opened on the brave —but deluded and betrayed—natives, who then took cover in tlie high fern and) opened fire on the redoubt. The only casualty on the British side now occurred. A drummer, being ordered to sound the alarm, boylike.” lie jumped on the parapet to do so and got winged. In response to the call, Major Butler soon arrived from a camp .at Mahoetahi with reinforcements, and on these charging the Maoris, they, dispersed into tlie dense bush nearby, taking their numerous wounded with them.

There was a system of signalling at that time something like that! used today at pilot stations, and messages sent from fort to fort finally reached the barracks on Marshland Hill, New Plymouth. 'Telephones were non-exist-niiit, and would have been useless, as the. lines would have been destroyed as soon as erected. The news of the attack on Sentry Hill .so;cn reached town, and Major Atkinson’s Bush Hangers, under Captains Good and Jonas, and the mount eds. under Captain Mace, C.C.,* were, ordered out. They were, of course, too late, as tlie distance was about nine miles, while the soldiers from Mahoetahi had hut ia scant three The “Brass Hats” having decided not to press home the advantage, tlie volunteers returned to New Plymouth. Before doing so the dead, were careful, lv scanned for identification purposes. Tlie dead were 36 in number, and were laid 1 out in three rows. Their ages ranged from under sixteen to gnarled warriors, and most of them were frightfully mutilated by pieces of shell. These, being made of cast iron, broke into jagged pieces of all shapes and sizes, and caused terrible wounds. Among the dead were men of nolo, fc.il whose names “Old Timer” is indebted to the late Mr B. Wells’® little book, “The History of Taranaki,” p. 245. They were: 'Parenga Kingi, chief of Taranaki: Manahi, Ngamutu ha.pu of the Ngatiawa; Tupara Keina, of Ngatiawa; a.nd Tamati Hone, head chief of Ngatiruanui. From the above it must be conceded that Sentry Hill was a. most appropriate name for the junction and settlement, and perhaps some day it will be; again .so-called. Cases where such changes as this occurred will! be remembered by your readers a.s having taken .plaice on this coast, notably Raleigh, Carlyle, and Pet-re. which happily were changed back to Waitara, Paten and Wanganui. With regard to the 'pronunciation of Maori names, the writer, at the risk of getting out of 'his depth, ventures to give a few hints: First, the accent is always on the first syllable- secondly, each- vowel forms a syllable (in other words, there is never more than one vowel in a syllable). The vowels are sounded somewhat as follows: “a,” as in tar: “e” a® a in way; “i” as in te; “o” a® in tow; and “u” a® oo in two. “Ng,” when it occurs between two syllables, is never divided —e.g., Waingongo.ro, a. sad stumbling block to most people, if divided, Wa-ing-ong-o-ro sounds-quite smooth and pleasant, suggesting the sound of water running among the rocks, which the name implies. Perhaps someone better qualified than “Old Timer” will throw more light on the interesting subject of Maori words a.nd names; for it is certain that such information would be very welcome t!b many more besides the writer of these notes. [“Old-Timer” refers above to Major (afterwards Sir Harry) Atkinson. In ai former article this name appeared -as “Sir Henry,” obviously the result of a .slip of the pen.] *Colonia! Cross.