NZ Wars Collection

Inside the story of Waerenga-a-Hika - a forgotten war, generations of trauma, and a history finally being told.

The six-day battle changed Gisborne forever, but many New Zealanders are only now learning its story - and the cost of forgetting

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In 1865, government forces planned an expedition against the Pai Mārire community at Waerenga-a-Hika pā, near Gisborne. The pā had become a refuge for several hundred people who made up over half the Tūranga Māori population, fleeing the East Coast Wars. Government agent Donald McLean assembled a mixed force of Ngāti Porou volunteers and European troops, including Military Settlers and the East Cape expeditionary force. McLean issued an ultimatum and when his demands weren’t met, the forces launched an attack, surrounding the pā and beginning a six-day siege.

You can watch the video documentary series at rnz.co.nz/video

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The sixth chapter explores the siege and its devastating consequences for the people of Te Tai Rawhiti, illuminating a significant event in Aotearoa's history.

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On the eve the battle, British troops have ringfenced Gate Pa. Māori are out-numbered 7:1. Can they survive the biggest artillery bombardment ever on New Zealand soil and face down the might of empire? It's a clash between the world's most powerful artillery and revolutionary pa design, and one that spills over into more violence at Te Ranga. Host Justine Murray continues her journey into her whānau's past and the competing truths of Aotearoa's history.

This episode was first released on 29 April 2024.

Watch the video documentary here

On the eve the battle, British troops have ringfenced Gate Pa. Māori are out-numbered 7:1.

Can they survive the biggest artillery bombardment ever on New Zealand soil and face down the might of empire? It's a clash between the world's most powerful artillery and revolutionary pa design. Plus, what happens next at the oft-forgotten Battle of Te Ranga?

Host Justine Murray continues her journey into her whānau's past and the competing truths of Aotearoa's history.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Paraone Koikoi was at the Battle of Gate Pa in 1864, when Tauranga Moana iwi bested the British army in one of the most humiliating defeats in its history. Now, 160 years later, his great-great-great grand-daughter combines her personal story with rigorous history to tell the story of a blockade, bombardment and a famous battle. In episode one, 600 British troops land in Tauranga, Māori return from Waikato to defend their land, radical new pa are built, and a code of conduct for war in drafted.

This episode was first released on 29 April 2024.

Watch the video documentary here.

Paraone Koikoi was at the Battle of Gate Pa in 1864, when Tauranga Moana iwi bested the British army in one of the most humiliating defeats in its history.

Now, 160 years later, his great-great-great grand-daughter combines her personal story with rigorous history to tell the story of a blockade, bombardment and a famous battle.

In episode one, 600 British troops land in Tauranga, Māori return from Waikato to defend their land, radical new pa are built, and a code of conduct for war in drafted.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

On the morning of 29 April 1864, British colonial forces opened fire on Pukehinahina Gate Pā. This was the first engagement of a military campaign waged against the iwi of Tauranga Moana and their allies. On the 160th anniversary of this momentous event, RNZ launches the two-part podcast series NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana.

This episode was first released in April 2024.

Watch the video documentary here

On the morning of 29 April 1864, British colonial forces opened fire on Pukehinahina Gate Pā. This was the first engagement of a military campaign waged against the iwi of Tauranga Moana and their allies. Pukehinahina was followed by the Battle of Te Ranga, one of the bloodiest clashes of the NZ Wars, then Te Weranga the 1867 Tauranga Bush Campaign aimed to crush Māori resistance to the surveying and confiscation of lands.

On the 160th anniversary of this momentous event, RNZ will launch Stories of Tauranga Moana, the next chapter of the award-winning NZ Wars series.

RNZ Podcasts Senior Producer Justine Murray (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi) presents her own personal connection to these stories through her tupuna Pāraone Koikoi in a two-part podcast series. An ariki of the hapū Ngāi Tamarāwaho, Paraone was there at the Battle of Gate Pā. His son Ihakara would be killed in the battle, but afterwards his young daughter Te Auetu and wife Matatu would help the wounded on both sides. These stories are recorded in raupatu evidence in Waitangi Tribunal reports, given by Paraone's descendants.

Over the past few months, Murray has interviewed her whānau about Paraone. While the stories are vague at times, this story hopes to paint a picture of this tupuna, who lived in Tauranga Moana at a time where conflict and the subsequent land confiscations would have tragic consequences.

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The war on Waikato reaches its climactic conclusion at the Battle of Ooraakau. But that's just the beginning of the struggle for Kiingitanga. Mihingaarangi Forbes and William Ray look at the aftermath of a war which changed Aotearoa forever.

This episode was first released on 14 February 2021.

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Governor George Grey launches his invasion of Waikato. Kiingitanga forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned, but the invasion doesn't go smoothly for the British. Hear the stories of the most famous, and infamous conflicts of the war: Rangiriri and Rangiaaowhia.

This episode was first released on 13 February 2021.

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Through the 1840s and 50s, Waikato Māori had been close allies of Pākehā settlers living in Auckland. So why did war break out between the two factions early in 1863? Over three episodes we investigate the origins of the largest, most significant war between Māori and the Crown - the Waikato War.

This episode was first released on 12 February 2021.

Watch the video documentary here.

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Shots fired in Taranaki in 1860 sparked decades of conflict and the country's longest running war. The rapidly growing settler population is desperate for more land while local iwi are more reluctant to sell. In part three, we look at the New Zealand Company's dodgy deals and resulting battles, Ngāti Maru's fight to reclaim the land and one settler family's dreams as they arrive amidst the years of conflict.

This episode was first released on 19 March 2020.

Watch the video documentary here.

By Tim Watkin

The first shots were fired at Waitara on March 17, 1860. Shots that rang out around Taranaki 160 years ago and started armed conflict and Māori-settler tensions in the province that continued on and off until the raid on Parihaka in 1881.

Following what historians call The Waitara Dispute, Māori lost 1.2 million acres of land to "creeping confiscation" and in the midst of that three brothers arrived from Wales to follow their hopes and dreams in a new land.  One of those brothers was Arthur Roger Watkin, my great-grandfather.

This podcast marks the anniversary of those first shots, drawing on the documentary produced by Great Southern Television for RNZ - NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara, and digging into my own family history to discover whether my ancestors bought confiscated land and what that means for both me and local iwi today.

Taranaki's fertile land had been fought over even before Pākehā arrived in any significant numbers.  During the musket wars raids from iwi to the north, led by the likes of Te Rauparaha, sparked battles and eventually migration, as many Te Āti Awa moved south to the Kapiti Coast.  This migration was later used against Taranaki iwi, as Crown officials argued they had lost mana whenua to their ancestral lands in in Taranaki.  But some iwi members always remained and the invading tribes never inhabited the land, so today those arguments are largely seen as excuses for a land grab.

Settlers arrived in serious numbers from 1840, when the New Zealand Company set up the new settlement of New Plymouth.  The Company claimed to have bought 60,000 acres, but Māori disputed this.

Historian Vincent O'Malley says "the New Zealand Company deeds were hugely problematic and really not worth the paper they were written on".

Governor William Hobson sides with the company, his replacement Robert FitzRoy sides with Māori, then George Grey authorises attempts to re-purchase that land.  But through it all the highest ranking rangatira in the region, Wiremu Kīngi Te Rangitāke, had a single message: No sale…

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