Hone Heke - Battle of Te Ahuahu

Battle of Te Ahuahu

After the successful defence of Puketutu Pā on the shores of Lake Omapere, in accordance with Māori custom, the Puketutu Pā was abandoned as blood had been spilt there, so that the place became tapu. Hone Heke returned to the pā he had built at Te Ahuahu. Tāmati Wāka Nene built a pā at Okaihau in the days that followed that battle at Puketutu Pā, the warriors of Heke Tāmati Wāka Nene fought several minor skirmishes with the warriors of Heke and Kawiti.

The hostilities disrupted the food production and in order to obtain provisions for his warriors, in early June 1845 Heke went to Kaikohe and on to Pakaraka to gather food supplies. During his absence one of Tāmati Wāka Nene's allies, the Hokianga chief, Makoare Te Taonui, attacked and captured Te Ahuahu. This was a tremendous blow to Heke's mana or prestige, obviously it had to be recaptured as soon as possible.

Until the 1980s, histories of the Northern War tend to ignore the poorly documented Battle of Te Ahuahu yet it was the most significant fight of the entire war as it is the only engagement that can be described as a clear victory - not for the British forces - but for Tāmati Wāka Nene and his warriors. However, there are no detailed accounts of the action. It was fought entirely between the Māori warriors on 12 June 1845 near by Te Ahuahu at Pukenui - Hone Heke and his warriors against Tāmati Wāka Nene and his warriors. As there was no official British involvement in the action there is little mention of the event in contemporary British accounts. Carlton (1874) mentions "Heke committed the error (against the advice of Pene Taui) of attacking Walker, who had advanced to Pukenui. With four hundred men, he attacked about one hundred and fifty of Walker's party, taking them also by surprise; but was beaten back with loss. Kahakaha was killed, Haratua was shot through the lungs".

The Rev. Richard Davis also recorded that a "sharp battle was fought on the 12th inst. between the loyal and disaffected natives. The disaffected, although consisting of 500 men, were kept at bay all day, and ultimately driven off the field by the loyalists, although their force did not exceed 100. Three of our people fell, two on the side of the disaffected, and one on the side of the loyalists. When the bodies were brought home, as one of them was a principal chief of great note and bravery, he was laid in state, about a hundred yards from our fence, before he was buried. The troops were in the Bay at the time, and were sent for by Walker, the conquering chief; but they were so tardy in their movements that they did not arrive at the seat of war to commence operations until the 24th inst.!" In referring to "our people" the Rev. Richard Davis can be assumed to be referring to Christians among the combatants rather than the total number killed on either side.

At the Battle of Te Ahuahu on 12 June 1845 Nene's warriors carried the day. Heke lost at least 30 warriors and was driven from Te Ahuahu leaving Tāmati Wāka Nene in control of Heke's pā. Haratua recovered from his wound. Heke was severely wounded and did not rejoin the conflict until some months later, at the closing phase of the Battle of Ruapekapeka. After the battle of Te Ahuahu Heke went to Kaikohe to recover from his wounds. He was visited by Henry Williams and Robert Burrows, who hoped to persuade Heke end the fighting.