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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Auckland Provincial District]

The Fight At Ohaeawai

The Fight At Ohaeawai.

Owing to the damage and the loss he had sustained Heke erected a new pa at Ohaeawai, seven miles from the Waimate mission station, and nineteen miles from the Bay of Islands. Though built rapidly it was unusually strong. At this stage Colonel Despard arrived from Sydney with more troops. Being senior officer, he took command of the whole force which now consisted of 520 soldiers, thirty sailors from H.M.S. “Hazard” and eighty volunteers from Auckland. After a tedious march of nine days, they arrived at Ohaeawai on the 25th of June. Next day the attack began, but even the 12-pounder artillery made no impression on the pa. A 32-pounder, with another detachment from H.M.S. “Hazard,” arrived a few days later; this proved somewhat more effective. On the 1st of July, strongly against the advice of Waka Nene, Colonel Despard ordered an assault. The storming party consisted of 160 soldiers, under Majors Macpherson and Bridge, and forty sailors and volunteers. This brave party threw themselves in vain against the palisades, and were shot down by the Maoris behind. The result was a disastrous repulse; in ten minutes 107 men were lying dead or disabled before the pa. The Duke of Wellington, as Commander-in-Chief, considered Colonel Despard should have been tried by court martial for ordering this attack in the face of such hopeless difficulties. Heke's party quietly evacuated their pa the next evening, and left some of their noisiest dogs tied up inside, in order to lead the besiegers to believe that they were still in possession. At daylight on the following morning the troops took possession of the pa. In his hour of victory Heke wrote a characteristic letter to the Governor, in which he said: “If you make peace, do not bear malice against your enemy. Cæsar, Pontius Pilate, Nebuchadnazzar, Pharaoh, Nicodemus, Agrippa, and Herod were kings and governors; did they confer any benefit, or did they not kill Jesus Christ?”

After the troops had taken possession of Ohaeawai hostilities were delayed, awaiting the arrival of reinforcements. This delay lasted four months. During this time Kawiti erected a new pa at his own place, Ruapekapeka, or the Bat's Nest. This was considerably stronger than Ohaeawai and more difficult of approach. Kawiti's love of war and ancient feuds with our allies, Heke's hatred of the British, and Governor Fitzroy's arbitrary conditions of peace kept them still hostile. As the first Maori warrior who had fought against England's trained soldiers Heke rose high in the esteem of his countrymen.