New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars (Māori: Ngā pakanga o Aotearoa)[6] took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initially localised conflicts triggered by tensions over disputed land purchases (by European settlers from Māori), they escalated dramatically from 1860 as the government became convinced it was facing united Māori resistance to further land sales and a refusal to acknowledge Crown sovereignty. The colonial government summoned thousands of British troops to mount major campaigns to overpower the Kīngitanga (Māori King) movement and also conquest of farming and residential land for British settlers.[7][8] Later campaigns were aimed at quashing the so-called Hauhau movement, an extremist part of the Pai Mārire religion, which was strongly opposed to the conquest of Māori land and eager to strengthen Māori identity.[9]
For the Northern War, see Flagstaff War.
At the peak of hostilities in the 1860s, 18,000 British Army troops, supported by artillery, cavalry and local militia, battled about 4,000 Māori warriors[10] in what became a gross imbalance of manpower and weaponry.[11] Although outnumbered, the Māori were able to withstand their enemy with techniques that included anti-artillery bunkers and the use of carefully placed pā (fortified villages) that allowed them to block their enemy's advance and often inflict heavy losses, yet quickly abandon their positions without significant loss. Guerrilla-style tactics were used by both sides in later campaigns, often fought in dense bush. Over the course of the Taranaki and Waikato campaigns, the lives of about 1,800 Māori and 800 Europeans were lost,[7] and total Māori losses over the course of all the wars may have exceeded 2,100.
Violence over land ownership broke out first in the Wairau Valley in the South Island in June 1843, but rising tensions in Taranaki eventually led to the involvement of British military forces at Waitara in March 1860. The war between the government and Kīngitanga Māori spread to other areas of the North Island, with the biggest single campaign being the invasion of the Waikato in 1863–1864, before hostilities concluded with the pursuits of Riwha Tītokowaru in Taranaki (1868–1869) and Rangatira (chief) Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki on the east coast (1868–1872).
Although Māori were initially fought by British Army forces, the New Zealand government developed its own military force, including local militia, rifle volunteer groups, the specialist Forest Rangers and kūpapa (pro-government Māori). As part of broader Australian involvement in the wars, the Colony of Victoria deployed its naval forces, and at least 2,500 volunteers formed contingents that crossed the Tasman Sea and integrated with the New Zealand militia.[12][13] The government also responded with legislation to imprison Māori opponents and confiscate expansive areas of the North Island for sale to settlers, with the funds used to cover war expenses;[14][15] punitive measures that on the east and west coasts provoked an intensification of Māori resistance and aggression.
The New Zealand Wars were previously referred to as the Land Wars or the Māori Wars,[6] and an earlier Māori-language name for the conflict was Te riri Pākehā ("the white man's anger").[6] Historian James Belich popularised the name "New Zealand Wars" in the 1980s,[16] although according to Vincent O'Malley, the term was first used by historian James Cowan in the 1920s.[17]
Background[edit]
The 1840 English language version of the Treaty of Waitangi guaranteed that individual Māori iwi (tribes) should have undisturbed possession of their lands, forests, fisheries and other taonga (treasures) in return for becoming British subjects, selling land to the government only (the right of pre-emption) and surrendering sovereignty to the British Crown. In the Māori language version of the Treaty, however, the word "sovereignty" was translated as kawanatanga which was a new word meaning "governance".[18] This led to considerable disagreement over the meaning of the Treaty.[19] Some Māori wanted to sign to consolidate peace and in hopes of ending the long intertribal Musket Wars (1807–1845) others wanted to keep their tino rangatiratanga, such as Tūhoe in Te Urewera.
All pre-treaty colonial land-sale deals had taken place directly between two parties. In the early period of contact, Māori had generally sought trade with Europeans. The British and the French had established mission stations, and missionaries had received land from iwi for houses, schools, churches, and farms.
Traders, Sydney businessmen and the New Zealand Company had bought large tracts of land before 1840.[20] The Treaty of Waitangi included the right of Crown pre-emption on land sales, and the New Zealand colonial government, pressured by immigrant European settlers, tried to speed up land sales to provide farmland. This met resistance from the Kīngitanga (Māori King) movement that emerged in the 1850s and opposed further European encroachment.
Governor Thomas Gore Browne's provocative purchase of a disputed block of land at Waitara in 1859 set the government on a collision course with the Kīngitanga movement, and the government interpreted the Kīngitanga response as a challenge to the Crown's authority.[21] Governor Gore Browne succeeded in bringing 3,500 Imperial troops from the Australian colonies to quash this perceived challenge, and within four years a total of 9,000 British troops had arrived in New Zealand, assisted by more than 4,000 colonial and kūpapa (pro-government Māori) fighters as the government sought a decisive victory over the "rebel" Māori.
The use of a punitive land confiscation policy from 1865, depriving "rebel" Māori of the means of living, fuelled further Māori anger and resentment, fanning the flames of conflict in Taranaki (1863–1866) and on the east coast (1865–1866).
Weapons[edit]
The main weapon used by the British forces in the 1860s was the Pattern 1853 Enfield. Properly described as a rifled musket, it was loaded down the barrel like a conventional musket but the barrel was rifled. While muskets were accurate to about 60–80 m, an 1853 Enfield was accurate to about 300 m to 400 m in the hands of an experienced soldier; at 100 m an experienced soldier could easily hit a human target. The rifle was 1.44 m long, weighed 4 kg and had a 53 cm socket bayonet. This rifle was also commonly used in the American Civil War by both sides.
The Calisher and Terry carbine (short rifle) was ordered by the New Zealand Government from Calisher and Terry, Birmingham gunsmiths in 1861 after earlier fighting against Māori showed the need for a carbine suited to fighting in heavy bush. This was the favoured weapon of the New Zealand Forest Rangers because of its shortness, its lightness, and its ability to be reloaded while the marksman lay down—unlike the Enfield, which required the soldier to stand to load the powder—and could be loaded on the run. This feature led to a decisive victory for the Forest Rangers at Orakau: several groups of soldiers harried the fleeing Māori but only the Forest Rangers, equipped with carbines, were able to follow them 10 km to the Puniu River shooting as they went.[75][76][77]
Revolvers were mainly used by officers but were a general issue for the Forest Rangers. The most common revolver appears to have been the five-shot Beaumont–Adams .44 percussion revolver. Other revolvers in use were the Colt Navy .36 1851 model with open top frame. The Colt was favoured by the Forest Rangers because it was light and accurate being a single-action revolver. Von Tempsky's second company of the Forest Rangers also used the Bowie knife.[78]
Commemoration[edit]
The National Day of Commemoration for the New Zealand Wars was inaugurated in 2017 and is held on 28 October.[84] In 2019, a commemorative plaque was unveiled for the New Zealand Wars in the New Zealand House of Representatives.[85]
A number of fictionalised accounts of the New Zealand Wars have been adapted for film and literature: