THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WARS Certain questions persistently arise in connection with the Ruapekapeka battle: Firstly, why is it that there is no written record of where the soldiers fell, where they were buried, and the number of the dead? My informants said that they were buried in one L-shaped grave, head to head, below the position where the troops were camped. Secondly, why do all written records end abruptly, giving little or no Wanaunga or other details of the one and only encounter which took place of Ruapekapeka? Some of my informants declared that by the time the soldiers arrived back to their camp the main body of Maori warriors on Kawiti's side had already left for their homes. If this then be true, the Maoris who were left behind may have done the burying, hence their more detailed knowledge of this affair. The soldiers certainly left a lot of cannon-balls behind them on the camp site. Many years afterwards a quantity was found in a gully near by. Others declared that the Maoris followed a long way after the retiring soldiers, but did not relish the idea of shooting them in the back. However, stories such as these, lacking detailed accounts of some actual happenings, cannot be relied upon. In connection with the wounded, a story is told of one, Te Whata, who was wounded in the groin. He was carried to and bathed in a spring some distance to the south of Ruapekapeka Pa. The spring is called Tou-wai-nou (towai—tou to dip, wai—water) to commemorate this event. It will be admitted, because of the lack of information to the contrary that the pa was breached by the heavy pounding it had been subjected to. It would be difficult at this time to estimate the extent of the damage, but the pa was still in the fight. The Maoris had not considered abandoning it. The soldiers on the other hand, realising that it had still plenty of sting in its tall, and probably realizing too that the lay of the country did not favour an assault, decided on the method adopted, that of attacking on Sunday after first spying out the ground. To think even for one moment that Kawiti's men outside would consider clearing out into the bush without a fight, would be entirely false. If anything had happened to the old leader they would have fought to the last man. There is no support for stories that the Maoris were driven into the forest.
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Te Ao Hou, October 1956, Page 45
Word Count
417THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WARS Te Ao Hou, October 1956, Page 45
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The Secretary Maori Purposes Fund Board
C/- Te Puni Kokiri
PO Box 3943
WELLINGTON
Phone: (04) 922 6000
Email: MB-RPO-MPF@tpk.govt.nz