THE CAPTURE OF THE ORAKAU

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 8336, 12 April 1889, Page 3

THE CAPTURE OF THE ORAKAU

NARRATIVE BY A MAORI CHIEF. Was the last great fight in Waikato.and tlso became the defence of the pa by the KnHites under.Rewi was most heroic HUiri g t p Se T n l « ho well -k"c^vu chief HUm te Paerata, of the Ngatirankawa ngnt at Orakau, was at Wellineton, aud at the request of several members he gave, before a company of members and their friends, a narrative of the circumstances from the native side. Captain Gilbert Mair acted as interpreter. The Imperial and colonial troops at Orakau ?»' nb .ered 1700; the Maoris numbered 300, including women and children, of whom there were a good many. We give Hitin's narrative. He said :— I feel somewhat confused and embarrassed having to meet all these members ol Parliament and ladies, more especially as we were defeated at the ficht you now ask me to give you an account of ; but, if it will please you, I will endeavor to do I will first explain the causes which led to the King movement, andihe subsequent fighting which culminated at Jrakau. For some years previously the Maorrpeople had been getting more and more dissatisfied at the manner in which their ancestral lands, their one great possession, had been passing away, partly on account ot the Government land purchases —the purchasing of their land for fishopks, tobacco, and hatchets ; then the chiefs were angry because their mana was not sufficiently recognised ; also, the sellI ing by chiefs of the land belonging to the I people. The Maoris then determined, on the advice of Tamihana Tarapipipi(William Thompson) to set up a head whose mana was to overshadow the laed and protect it. Te Wherowhero Potatau was accordingly made King, and many tribes gave the keeping of their bodies andiheir land into his hands. As you all know, this led to firhting— first at Taranaki, then in tV'aikato, the East Coast, and other places. After many fights, in which the Europans were generally successful— for they had_ numbers and other advantages on their side, whereas the Maoris are a foolish people *»we assembled in the vicinity of Orakau. My own tribe was commanded by my father, Te Paerata ; my brother, Honi Teri te Paerata ; and my unole, Rawiri te Hirawea. The Urewera contingent was headed by Te Whenanui and Hapurona Kohi ; the East Coast natives were led by Te Waru, Tamatea, and Raharuhi j and the Ngatimaniapoto by Kewi Manga Maniapoto. The old men had selected a site for a pa in a very strong position— a tongue of land on Mr Cowan's farm, running into a deep swamp. Our first intention was to remain concealed till our defences were completed ; but some of the hot-headed young men strayed away against orders, and some were killed at Rangiaohia and another place. Onr hearts were very dark on account of those young men being killed, and the I men were angry. It was my old father, Te Paerata, whosaid, "Memateauiiionei." (Let us make the pa here ; let me die here on the land.) It was owing to the disobedience of others, and the discussion amongst us, that this place was selected, for it was not a suitable place at all. However, we commenced to build our pa at Orakau ; but some Europeans saw us and gave tho alarm. The General at once made preparations for attacking, aud, after marching all right took up a position about a mile from where we were at work, to wait for the main body to come up. Just as morning broke the troops were all collected, and advanced to surround our position, which was a sort of oblong redoubt, built of sods. It was about a chain and a half long and a chain wide, and was built in a peach grove. There was a sort of outwork or flanking angle at one end. We had worked all night, but the pa was not completed when the troops attacked us. They attempted to take the pa by a rush, but my father had placed the men, some in the ditch and others leaning over the earthworks, so when the attacking party got within a short distance, we fired tremendous volleys, which made them fall back, leaving their dead and wounded. They then attacked on another side, and were again repulsed. My father and other brave men urged that we should take advantage of the confusion the Europeans were in and attack them. It is an old saying of our fighting men, " Talca miia, taka muri" (Quick to strike, and quick to retire). Rewi would not consent, and the .supreme lucky moment was lost. The Europeans again attacked, and were repulsed for the third time. They then appeared to lose all hope of taking the place by assault, and determined to take it by first surrounding us and then sapping up to the pa. Our retreat was now quite cut oft. We had no water nor anything to eat except potatoes, which we ate raw to quench our thirst, which was very severe. For three days and three nights we were in this state, during which time a storm of shot was poured into our fort ; but we returned the fire, and dug holes to shelter the women, and did all we could to strengthen our defences. By this time the sap had approached to within half a chain of our works, but we kept up such a hot fire that many of the men digging it were killed or wounded. Up to this time our losses had been very small, and we were sustained by the recital of the brave dpeds of our ancestors, whose motto was, "Me mate te tangata, me mate mo te whenua" (The warrior's death is to die for the land). We felt no fear, for our heart? were filled with fury. Our ammurition now began to fail ; we had no bullets, so we fired peach stones aud plugs of woods as a substitute. Our sufferings bee \me very great from hunger and thirst. About midday on the third day the sap was quite close to our pa, and the troops lighted small shells (hand grenades), and threw them into our midst. Some burst, killing and wounding those near ; others we picked up and threw back, buistine in the sap. The General decided to send a summons calling upon us to surrender. Major Mair was sent by the General to bring us this message. He came up to within a few yards of where we were, our men all aiming at him with their guns, and said, " Let the fighting cease, because, you are surrounded. Your position is hopeless. If you persist in fightim*, yon" will all be killed, and your women and children will die with you." This word was sent round, and all the chiefs aud people within the pa took counsel on the General's message. The Urewera proposed that we should hoist a white flag, and then, when all the troops came rip close to our fort and demanded our arms, to pour a tremendous volley in and then charge through. We would not agree to snch treachery, becatise this was not . after the manner of chiefs. What we proposed was that the troops should go away with all their dead and wounded, and that we also would go away with ours. These negotiations lasted about half an hour before our ultimatum had been decided upon. Then the general again sent Major Mair, who said, "Let the women and children be sent out ; we will protect them, so that they may ndt die." Then uprose my sister, Ahuniai, amongst the women', and said, "If our husbands and brothers are to die, of what profit is it to us that wo should live ? Let us die with the men." Seeing that the women were all of one mind, then Hapurona, Rewi, and my father said "Ake, ake, ake" (We will fight on for ever). The people repeated these words with a great shout, and one of my people named Wereta fired at Major Mair, hitting him on the top of the right shoulder. Of course, this treacherous work broke off the negotiations, and firing commenced on both sides more furiously than ever, only we had no bullets. _ A big gun was then put in the sap, which broke down our pa and made a breach through which the troops tried to enter, but we drove them back, killing their leader, Captain Hereford. Our position became 30 desperate that we determined to try and break through ; so we put our last bnllets in our guns, and forming up in a solid body, with the women in our midst, we made one rush, breaking down the pa, and marched out, firing from both flanks at the besiegers, who closed' in round onr rear, and tried to cut off our retreat. We burst out on the southward side, and marched down the hill, breaking through and killing a lot of the soldiers who tried to stop us. As we were leavingthe pa, 1 saw one of our men crouching down, holding his gun as if about to fire at the enemy. I found that he was quite dead, so I took the gun, feeling that, if I had that, I would be a match for any man who tried to stop me. I also bethought me of some blankets wherewith to keep myself warm at night, so I run back and picked up a bundle. No straggleis were left beMnd, and the fight became desperate and hand to hand. I had a presentiment that 1 would escape,' bnt when I looked back and considered the odds we had to light against, and saw the Kuropeans marching after us in their majesty and might, then I said to my. companions, " Oh, foolish people to dare to strive against the white man, the offspring of 'Tiki,' the heaven-born sons of glints. As we fled before them, they tried, by outmarching ou onr flanks to cut off our retreat, arid poured a storm of bullets which seemed to encircle us like hail. .It became as a forlorn hope with us ; none expected to escape, nor did we deßire to; were we not all the children of one parent? Therefore we sll wished to die together. My father and many of unpeople died in breaking away from the pa. When we cut through the troops further on, my brother, Hone Teri, who was with Kewi, died la endeavoring to ehMd h|ra, The whole of iay tribe were

r slain . ln y father, Mothers, and uncle all died. My sister, Almmai, she who saiu the nieu and women would all die 1 together, was wounded in four places. one was shot in the right side, the bullet • going through her body and coming out '< on the left) she was shot right through 1 the shqulder, the bullet coming out at her ; back; she was also shot through the : waist'; and her left thumb was siiot away. 1 Yet she is still alive, and resides at Tnupo. We bore away many of our wounded. Not half of the defenders of the Ornkan Pa escaped. I saw, as we got away from the Piinui river, a young mar, of the Nttatimaniapoto tribe leading oif two old men, one of whom was badly wounded. He was hard pressed by the troops, and kept kneeling down and pointing his gun at his pursuers, but it was not loaded, and eventually he was shot ; also one of the old men, the other escaped to the woods. None of the men in the pa showed any fear. All were equally brave, but the most intrepid in fight and sagacious in council were Hapurona, Eaureti te Huia, Kewis brother, and my brother, Honi Ten te Paerata. It Was from the small, flanking angle inaf Wereta fired at and nearly shot Major Mair. We afterwards heard that; «hen the pa was carried, Major Mair went in with the stormers to look after the_ wounded, lie found some soldiers trying to kill a wounded ivoman named Hineiturama, belonging toßotorua. They did not know, perhaps, that she was a woman, but they were enraged at the death of their officer, Capßain Ring. Major Mair carried the woman to a corner of the pa, and ran off to save another woman called Ariana, who was also badly wounded ; hut when he returned Hineiturama had been killed. I mention this to show that some of the Europeans were kind to us. It is on this account that the Waikato and Taupo natives have an affection for Major Mair. Before Orakau I took part in the fights at Bangiaohia and Paterangi. The fight was through the jealousy between the Ngatinianiapoto and Ngatiraukawa. The Ngatirankawa had been successful in a iiglit some time previously, and this made the Ngatimaniapoto anxious to eclipse them ; hence their attack on the bathing party, where they lost 35 killed. The Maoris had collected large quantities of ammunition years previously, not with the intention of fighting the Europeans, but. to protect our land in case we were attacked by other tribes, as there had been a number of fights between other tribes over the land not long before. My own tribe, the Ngatiraukawa, and, the Ngatimaniapoto would have been very sorrowful indeed if the Government had given the site of Orakau, with all our dead, to Te Kooti. We were very thankful that Mr Bryce prevented this being done. When we were hemmed in at Orakau some of the wounded were crying for water, and I ran to the swamp with a calabash to get some. I passed right through the soldiers. Perhaps they knew what I wanted the water-for, for they did not fire at me. In answer to a question as to his age, Paerata spoke of a fight near Otalsi, at Horowhenua, in 1830, and said he was born some time before that. He added : "I am about pixty-six, I think, but I fully intend to live another sixty-six years." During the fight at Orakau a son of Raharuhi showed great courage ; but, after shooting one of the soldiers, lie became so elated that he jumped upon the bank, and was shot through the heart. Another man, called Aporo, kept standing up on the parapet, every now and then calling out, " The sky is clear towards the east, but dark on the west and south." He wished to convey to those natives outside that tho side towards the east was not so well protected by the Europeans, and encouraging the natives- to try and make a diversion in our favor on that side. Te Heulieu, Te Huiatahi, and a small party came as near to us as they conltl, bnt were fired at by the big guns! They sat on the hill and wept their farewell, for they thought that W3 would none of us escape. Te Heuheu, with a few followers, tried to come to our assistance, but were kept back by the others, who said it was useless to go to certain death. Hitiri te Paerata gave the following account of the saving of Mr Buckland's life at Tututawa :— I was living away in the Hauhau country, and Mr Buckland, with a native companion, came to pay me a visit. He came into my house, leaving the horses outside. When the Hauhaus saw Mr Buckland had arrived they seized his horses immediately. I kept Mr Buckland in my bouse during the night, and at daybreak in the morning I was aroused by hearing shouting and yelling and a trampling of feet outside. I opened the door and looked out, and found a great number of men rushing about with tomahawks and weapons in their hands. I went and stood in the doorway, because they were trying to get past into the house to kill Mr Buckland. I told these people that according to Maori custom they uad made a great mistake; they had laid their hands on the horses and saddles and left the real object to the last, and according to Maori custom that was a very bad omen. I told them to be off, to go away ; that it was a cowardly treacherous thing to kill a defenceless stranger, a man who had come unarmed, and accepted their hospitality. I told them to go away, and they did so. They put away their weapons, and dispersed, after sending back the horses. I then said I would take Mr Buckland back to Cambridge. They tried to prevent me from going with Mr Buckland, because they knew that Purukutuand a number of Waikatos, who were 'some distance off in ambush, would kill him if I did not go. However, 1 insisted upon going, and went. I took Mr Buckland right back to Cambridge, and found Mr Mackay there, and warned him that the natives intended to commit more murders ; and almost while I was speaking Purukutu murdered the European Sullivan at Rotorangi. When I got back to my settlement 1 found the head ot the European had been cut off and brought there. I reminded Mr Buckland that, if ever I was in trouble, he should stand by me and do me as good a turn as I had done him, and he promised to do so, but he died.— N.Z. Herald.