Te Kooti

[Furius]

Te Kooti
Note: Before you start reading this, get out an Atlas, it will help you understand what I'm talking about here.

Te Kooti was born some time in about 1832 in New Zealand. He was among the natives who call themselves the Maori, though in his time the term was not widely used. He lived for many years in his tribe, the Rongowhakaata on the East coast, around Gisbourne. He was soon known as one of the most vicious of all Maori.
In 1865 the Hauhau, a militant Maori religious group entered the Gisbourne area. Te Kooti fought on the side of the Europeans. Due to the fact that his brother fought on the side of the Hauhaus Te Kooti was arrested for supply ammunition to the Hauhaus. He was convicted in 1866 and sent to the Chatham islands, New Zealand's penal colony.
In 1867, while confined on the Chathams, Te Kooti had a vision in which the Archangel Michael told him to found a new Maori religion, Reatu (or Ringatu), the uprised fist. The religion losly based itself around beliefs that the Maori were much like the Jews of Exodus (except not Jewish) and most of Te Kooti's fellow inmates were soon converted.
At this time Te Kooti proclaimed that a ship would come and the Reatu believers would be allowed to leave the Chathams on it or the Ocean between the Chathams and New Zealand would split, allowing Te Kooti safe passage (If you look on a map you can see this would be much more impressive than the Red Sea).
Luckily for Te Kooti, a boat, 'The Rifleman' stopped to drop off supplies in the Chathams a few days later. Te Kooti took the chance and he and his fellow inmates seized the boat killing one European in the process.
On the 10th of July 1868 (6 days later) the Rifleman landed in the East coast. The crew was released and Te Kooti was contacted by a British Officer who ordered Te Kooti and his men to surrender. As the Rifleman had contained large amounts of ammunition and rifles, Te Kooti declined, though he promised not to attack unless he was attacked.
A group of British and Pro-British Maori were gathered to capture Te Kooti. According to official records this force consisted of 40 Military Settlers (local militia) and 80 Kupapa (Pro-British Maori). These attacked Te Kooti's force (which was presumably smaller) at Matawhero. The force was annhilated and Te Kooti began raids on the Gisbourne area. In these raids Te Kooti captured 300 Maori and large amounts of supplies. Te Kooti made his base in a conveniently placed mountain range known as the Ureweras.
Eventually, the situation was brought to the Gvernor's attention and General Mc Donnell, the most accomplished British General in New Zealand was sent in to deal with Te Kooti.
Te Kooti decided to lay in for a seige and built a pa (fort) at Nga Tapu. Unfortunatly, seige warfare was not Te Kooti's strength. Mc Donnell won the battle but was cheated of his victory as Te Kooti and his followers escaped through the pa's back door.
Te Kooti fled through the Uraweras towards a defensless Taupo.
* * *
End of Part One

 

[Furius]

Part 2
On the 6th of June 1869, Te Kooti and his 200 followers arrived in the area around Opepe (East of Taupo). There were 14 Pakeha (Maori blanket term for Europeans) camped in a site pointed out by Col. St. John. They had been sent specifically to guard against Te Kooti's arrival.
It appears that Col. St. John was not a military strategist as Opepe is a small hollow, practically totally surrounded by trees. One can visit the site today, though there's not much to see. There was a telegraph line running through the site and the cavalry had dug two wells and built a horse trough. There's also a sign, so decayed it can hardly be read (And in the wrong place to boot).
The next day (the 7th of June 1869) one of the cavalry, a George Crosswell lost his horse. He left to look for it and was not only unsuccessful but was soaked and forced to remove his clothes. He sat and waited for them to dry by the horse trough, a good way out of camp.
Back in the camp a Maori wandered in wearing a red coat which implyed he was a Kupapa (A Maori fighting for the British). They shared breakfast and chatted around the fire for a half hour. Suddenly he shouted and Te Kooti's warriors burst out of the forest. Te Kooti pulled off the coat and joined in the insuing fray. 9 of the cavalry were killed. Crosswell, though, was still sitting by the horse trough when he saw Te Kooti's men. Guessing that the other cavalry were already dead, he jumped up (still naked) and ran 40 miles to the nearest town, Galatea. Thus Taupo heard that Te Kooti had arrived. General Mc Donnel was called in.
At this point Te Kooti set off up north with only a few of his closest followers. He was going to Tokangamutu, in the King Country, the seat of power for the most powerful Maori of the time, Te Wherowhero the Maori kingi. Chosen by many Maori tribes to be a leader in rivalry of Queen Victoria of England he held great power and all Pakeha feared he might decide to go on the offensive, in aid of Te Kooti. Luckily for Pakeha, Te Wherowhero was not very keen. Instead of pledging his large amount of aid, he sent a chief Rewi Maniapoto, to see if Te Kooti was worth it.
Te Kooti quickly returned to his followers and a number of small skirmishes insued. On the 25th of September he even attepted to kill Mc Donnel on his morning ride and at the same time knock off the forces of Capt. St. George and the Arawa, a Maori tribe that was aiding the British. This was a major loss and Rewi Maniapoto left for the King Country. Te Kooti would not receive aid from the Maori Kingi.
Finally on the 1st of October General Mc Donnel made plans to attack Te Kooti in his fortress base, Te Porere.
Te Porere was one massive pa (Maori fort) among the largest ever constructed. There were three parts to it, the Rifle Pit, a good half a mile away, small and inaccesible which could hold 10 men at most. The lower redoubt, a twisted maze of trenches close to the treeline that was built while Te Kooti was in the King Country. Unfortunatly it was to close to the treeline and if it was ever used it would have failed to defend against Mc Donnel and St. George. Finally, erected on top of the hill in a way that looks very majestic to this day was the Upper Redoubt. This was a rammed earth square around a dug out hollow, large enogh to allow a good 150 men to shoot. Unfortunatly, it was built in a hurry (about 4 days) and had many technical oversights: its walls were too high, the front trench was badly angled, and the loopholes for the guns could not be adjusted.
On Monday the 4th of October 1869, Mc Donnel attacked. He had 500 men with him, of which 400 were Kupapa. Te Kooti's forces numbered only 250.
Mc Donnel split his men into three groups, Maj. Kemp led his Te Kepa Rangihiwinui Kupapa to the left, Col. St George led the Arawa, and Ngati Kahunganu Kupapa to the right, and the rest went to the rear under Mc Donnell. Maj. Kemp and his men were the first to reach the pa.
The Ngati Kahunganu drove Te Kooti's forces into the pa. Then Col. St George's men attack from behind, and St George was killed. Kemp's forces went to the left, but the north side of the pa fires hard preventing Mc Donnell's troops from surrounding the entire pa.
The outcome already certain, some of Te Kooti's men started fleeing the pa.
The Ngati Kahunganu leader, Renata Kawepo tackles a man, and a women gouges his eye out.
In the last few moments Te Kooti reached into his pocket for more ammo and got one and a half fingers, and half his thumb blown off by a bullet.
Finally, Te Kooti prophet of Reatu runs.
Thirty-seven of Te Kooti's, and only four of Mc Donnell's men died. Te Kooti had lost because the pa was badly made and as he had seen at Nga Tapu he and his men weren't good at fighting from a prepared position.
Te Kooti ran to the King Country, the one place where he would not be followed. For many years he remained a thorn in the New Zealand Government's side and, eventually he was gifted both a pardon and a piece of land. He built a church on the land and lived for many more years untill, as napped in the midday heat, a cart rolled over him and ended his life.
Why therefore is Te Kooti in any way important to history? The answer is found in the Lower Redoubt at Te Porere. This structure bears an uncanny resemblence to WWI trenches. This similarity is not coincidental, and that Redoubt is the mother of the trenches of WWI.

 

[NewWaver]

Kia ora, neighbour. Nice to see some other fellow kiwis here.

 

[Frimlin]

There's a few of us around.

Kia Ora from a Christchurch lad, born & raised.