First Taranaki War - Background

Background

The catalyst for the war was the disputed sale of 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land known as the Pekapeka block at Waitara. Pokikake Te Teira, a minor chief of the Te Atiawa iwi, sold the land to the British despite a veto by the paramount chief of the tribe, Wiremu Kingi and a "solemn contract" by local Māori not to sell. Governor Browne accepted the purchase with full knowledge of the circumstances and tried to occupy the land, anticipating it would lead to armed conflict. A year earlier Browne had written to the Colonial Office in England, advising: "I have, however, little fear that William King (Kingi) will venture to resort to violence to maintain his assumed right, but I have made every preparation to enforce obedience should he presume to do so."

Although the pressure for the sale of the block resulted from the colonists' hunger for land in Taranaki, the greater issue fuelling the conflict was the Government's desire to impose British administration, law and civilisation on the Māori as a demonstration of the substantive sovereignty the British believed they had gained in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. The hastily written Māori translation, however, had given Māori chiefs an opposing view that the English had gained only nominal sovereignty, or "governorship" of the country as a whole while Māori retained "chieftainship" over their lands, villages and treasures.

By 1860, it was tacitly recognised that British law prevailed in the settlements and Māori custom elsewhere, though the British, who by then outnumbered Māori, were finding this fact increasingly irksome. One commentator observed, with reference to Waitara: "We seem to be fast approaching a settlement of that point, whether Her Fair Majesty or His Dark Majesty shall reign in New Zealand." The British were convinced that their system represented the best that civilization had to offer and saw it as both their duty and their right to impose it on other peoples.

However, in the 20 years since the signing of the Treaty, the Māori had made significant political advances. They had moved from being a collection of independent tribes to an effective confederation. This was called the Māori King Movement and was largely centred on the Waikato region, but had influence over large areas of the North Island. One of the uniting principles of the King Movement was their opposition to the sale of Māori land and the concomitant spread of British sovereignty.

At the start of the war New Zealand's military and naval forces were tiny following the withdrawal of the British 58th regiment in 1858, leaving only one regiment in New Zealand. The New Zealand and Australian governments were aware of an increase in French forces in New Caledonia following the uproar going on in Europe. The New Zealand government was determined that there should be no excuse for French interference in New Zealand and was keen to increase the number of British troops as security against any external threat. In 1859 there were only 1,000 soldiers in New Zealand with only 192 in New Plymouth, the nearest town to the disputed land at Waitara. This was built up to 360 in February 1860 and by July this rose to 1,700, of which only 1,100 were professional soldiers.

Because New Plymouth had been threatened many of the troops were used to guard against a surprise attack and only 331 soldiers were used in the first concerted attack on 27 June against a pā. The attacking forces were divided into 3 groups. This attack resulted in a complete defeat with heavy loses of 30 killed or missing and 32 wounded. Following this disaster dispatches were sent to Australia which resulted in a rapid rise in troops. By August 1860 there were 2,320 troops in Taranaki of which 860 were local militia or volunteers. Because of the nature of the threat the forces were divide to protect the settlers scattered around the "blocks "i.e. Waitara 467, Bell Block 165, Omata 49, Waireka 246 and New Plymouth 1,403. However, effectives were much lower than this, e.g. the militia force—on paper 425—had only 100 active soldiers. One of the main concerns for the government was the 1,700 women and children at New Plymouth. On the plus side many Māori actively helped the settlers. Also missionaries in the Waikato kept up a regular correspondence with the government as to the mood and intentions of the Kingites in the Waikato. In this way the government became aware of the increasing support in the form of material (lead shot, powder, blankets) and food (potatoes were planted in fall back positions in the hinterland). Settler families left their farms leading to a shortage of food but this was offset by plantings close to settlements guarded and patrolled by troops. A Māori gardening corps was set up to clear the land for the farmers. One ongoing problem, faced by the settlers and soldiers alike, was the exposed Taranaki coastline without a protected harbour. Goods could only be unloaded at New Plymouth in good weather, which meant that partly unloaded ships often had to stand out to sea for a week or more until settled weather returned. During one storm, the ship George Henderson was wrecked. By 9 October 1860, the field force available for active operations in New Plymouth was 837 men plus 150 loyal Māori who fought under the leadership of Mr Parris, assistant Native Secretary.