Rangiriri
Work had already begun on another defensive line a short distance further south at Rangiriri. However the Māori led by Te Wharepu had expended a huge effort on the Meremere Line and their resources were becoming stretched. Moreover, it was close to planting season and the warriors needed to return home to plant the crops. They were still able to muster about 500 men against an attacking force of about 860 men, but morale was low because previous engagements had been unsuccessful. Their morale was further undermined by a visit from King Tāwhiao and Wiremu Tamihana at the start of the battle who tried to persuade them to leave. According to the king, he spoke to the toa a dozen times but without success. Tāwhiao was a pacifist and tried to convince the taua to leave. He had a good understanding of British power since he had lived with Governor Grey at Kawau Island, where as a teenager he had fled for refuge after stealing money from his father, Te Wherowhero. He left during the fighting, only narrowly escaping injury.
General Cameron launched his attack on 20 November. His strategy was the same as at Meremere — some of his troops were transported by river in six armoured vessels, to the south of the Māori defensive position while the remainder attacked from the north. This time the Māori stood and fought. Parts of the line were quickly overrun but the central redoubt proved to be deceptively strong and easily repelled several attempts to capture it, inflicting heavy casualties on the attackers. According to The NZ Herald of the time, the British lost 39 men killed and 93 wounded during the fighting that day. The following morning the Kawhia chief Wirumu Te Kumete hoisted a white flag and shortly afterwards Lt. Penefather entered the redoubt and demanded their arms and they surrendered. There was some confusion at this point as the two cultures assigned a different meaning to the white flag; the British interpreted it as a sign of surrender. However, the Maori believed it meant a sign for the negotiation of a truce.
The nature of this "surrender" is open to debate as the Maori were not short of ammunition. They were, however, almost completely surrounded – the only escape route to the east was under observation by artillery batteries, making it usable only at night. Also the defenders had experienced a large artillery bombardment with modern high-explosive shells from the Armstrong Gun. About 65% of the defenders slipped away during the night via the lake and swamps to the east where waka were hidden. It became clear later that they had not intended unconditional surrender but wished to discover what terms the British might offer them if they did surrender. However when they saw the white flag numerous British soldiers entered the redoubt, shook hands with the Māori and mingled amicably. It was only when Cameron arrived twenty minutes later that he demanded that the Māori yield up their weapons and surrender.
Forty-one rebel Māori corpses were found though others may have died in the swamp, about the same as British losses. However 183 Maori rebels were taken prisoner and this made a serious dent in the already stretched Māori forces. A total of 200 captured Māori were held on board an old coal hulk in Auckland harbour while the government decided whether to charge them with high treason or not. They were then transferred to Governor Grey's island home at Kawau Island from where they escaped in September 1864 and returned to the Waikato but by then the war was long over. No effort was made to arrest the escapees.
The rebel Waikato Māori,who had been left to fight on their own by Maniapoto, withdrew to the south abandoning their ancestral lands to the British forces. On 8 December the British forces occupied Ngaruawahia, which had been one main centre for the King movement. Heralds under a flag of truce were sent to the rebels to ask them to lay down their arms. The rebels were irritated by this and later demands, as it reflected badly on their mana. Rebels later fired on the flag of truce, shooting and tomahawking the messengers, according to TW Gudgeon in Defenders of New Zealand 1887.
Read more about this topic: Invasion Of Waikato