The Rangiriri fortifications, lower Waikato River, in their tactical setting

This oblique view of the Rangiriri locality, looking southeast and up-river, shows the strategic significance of the narrow stretch of dry land extending along the banks of the Waikato River. To the west is the river, to the east the swampy margins of Lake Kopuera, a lake big enough to be difficult to outflank. The swamps, lake and river and the presence of the state highway have forced housing and light industry to encroach on the limited areas of high ground, all of which were occupied by Maori at this famous battle site. The line of the principal trench crossed the low hill in the foreground. The position of the fortification at its centre is marked by the white posts of the cemetery fence. The surviving redoubt in the rear of the main Maori line is just to the right of the small building on the extreme left middle of the photograph.