Gustavus Von Tempsky - The Taranaki Wars

The Taranaki Wars

The Forest Rangers were finally disbanded in Te Awamutu in mid 1866. Von Tempsky was immediately invited to take command of No. 5 Division of the Armed Constabulary. When Titokowaru's War broke out in 1868 von Tempsky and his division were very soon drafted and sent to the front.

On 12 July 1868 there occurred an incident which is still a matter of controversy among New Zealand historians. While in command of the fort at Patea von Tempsky was told that an unfinished redoubt about seven kilometers away was under heavy attack. Giving his second-in-command strict orders to hold the fort he immediately rushed off on foot to join the battle. By the time he arrived ten of the defenders were dead and another six injured while the attackers were able to escape. Had he chosen instead to send out the mounted troopers he had available they could have arrived on the scene in time to prevent some of the deaths. But that would have meant the glory going to someone else.

The Government was anxious for a quick end to the conflict and they pressured McDonnell into making a premature attack on Titokowaru's main Pa, Te Ngutu o Te Manu or The Bird's Beak. The defenders were ready and waiting when the militia arrived and they came under heavy and accurate fire. Wisely McDonnell very soon decided to withdraw as he was well aware of the futility of trying to attack a defended Māori Pa. This was too tame for Von Tempsky, who protested and then began to advance on the Pa. Within a few moments he was dead, killed by a bullet through his forehead, one of the fifty or so killed and wounded in the engagement.

James Shanaghan, an eyewitness, reported how von Tempsky died:

I had not gone far when a man of our company was shot. The Major went to his assistance, and was shot, the bullet entering the centre of his forehead. He fell dead on top of the man to whose assistance he was going. That was how Von Tempsky died.

Von Tempsky was held in high esteem by the Maori due to his warrior skills and was named "Manu-Rau" by them. Maori oral history states that von Tempsky was eaten by the Maori (claimed by some to have been a sign of respect) and to this day, Maori have refused to disclose where his bones were laid to rest. The local Maori returned his sword sheath to his widow and it is held these days by the Thomsons in Hawkes Bay. There is some mystery surrounding the whereabouts of the sword as it was a treasured prize. It is rumoured to lie under the whare which is said to attract good luck. However, Pakeha Maori Kimble Bent told his biographer that he saw Von Tempsky's body, and that it was not eaten. Bent stated that Titokowaru ordered that Von Tempsky's body be placed onto a funeral pyre in the centre of the marae. Other Pakeha dead were stacked on top so that Von Tempsky's corpse could not be reached for eating. According to Kimble, the bodies were burned to ashes and were not eaten. The corpses of some other soldiers were eaten.

His contemporaries said later that it was his hunger for glory and particularly his desire to win the Victoria Cross which drove him to attack in such a desperate situation. This may seem to be a harsh judgment but von Tempsky had written earlier: "Heaphy has the Cross and I want it."

After the loss of their leader his unit fell apart. Many of the men mutinied and then deserted refusing to serve under any other commander. At the end of September the 5th Division of the Armed Constabulary was disbanded and never reformed.