THE MAORI WARS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 885, 11 December 1916, Page 9

THE MAORI WARS.

-'■■ ■■■ • ■■- - UNVEILING A MEMORIAL. Press Association. AUCKLAND, December 10. The Hon. G. W. Russell on Saturday afternoon unveiled a memorial on the j site of the Alexandra Redoubt, near' Tuakau, to the soldiers who fell in the Maori War. There was a large gather-; ing, including veterans, among whom was Major Brown, who was in com- • mand of the redoubt. The memorial, in the form of an obelisk, was erected by the Government in pursuance of a ! policy of preserving, as far as possible,! the names of veterans. The neighbourhood of the redoubt, in 1863, was the scene of a tight be- j tween the Maoris and the- 65th Regi-: ment, the British being ambushed by | a strong body of Natives. The com- j mander, Captain Swift, was mortally wounded, and Lieutenant Butler wounded, but the soldiers repulsed the ' Natives, and, under the leadership of Colour-Sergeant McKenna, roturned with their dead and wounded to the Alexandra Redoubt. For this service Colour-Sergeant McKenna received a commission and the Victoria Cross. In the course of his speech, the j Minister referred to the good work j of Miss Statham, who, as Inspector of |

the Department, had visited most of the old cemeteries in Auckland and Taranaki, and a large number of graves and tombstones had been renovated, monuments erected, and public interest aroused. In a number of cases, the task of keeping the graves renovated has been undertaken by local residents. In the three and a-half years since Miss Statham's appointment, the Department of Internal Affairs had spent over £IOOO on soldiers' graves.