Ruapekapeka Pa
Ruapepkapeka - “The Bats’ Nest” - literally: “rua”: nest; “pekapeka”: the native bat. Thousands of bats lived in hollow trees in this area in the distant past - the name was given by the early Maori explorer Ihenga.
Located on Ruapekapeka Road, off State Highway 1, approx. halfway between Akerama and Kawakawa. There is a carpark with toilets. Allow at least an hour to walk around the site which is dotted with informative notice boards. When I visited, the grass on the site was quite short - which meant that the remains of the earthworks were obvious.
The notice board at the car park provides an introduction: “Explore Ruapepkapeka Pa, the site of the final battle of the New Zealand wars in the North. The conflict was fought between British colonial forces and northern Maori in 1845-1846 over different interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi. The innovative design of the pa was very effective as a defence against the British muskets and heavy artillery. You can still see the ditch and bank defences, a cannon used by Tawhiti and the earthen defences of the British.”
Although the clash ended in a stalemate this was the final conflict of “The War in the North”.
Located on Ruapekapeka Road, off State Highway 1, approx. halfway between Akerama and Kawakawa. There is a carpark with toilets. Allow at least an hour to walk around the site which is dotted with informative notice boards. When I visited, the grass on the site was quite short - which meant that the remains of the earthworks were obvious.
The notice board at the car park provides an introduction: “Explore Ruapepkapeka Pa, the site of the final battle of the New Zealand wars in the North. The conflict was fought between British colonial forces and northern Maori in 1845-1846 over different interpretations of the Treaty of Waitangi. The innovative design of the pa was very effective as a defence against the British muskets and heavy artillery. You can still see the ditch and bank defences, a cannon used by Tawhiti and the earthen defences of the British.”
Although the clash ended in a stalemate this was the final conflict of “The War in the North”.
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| Informative notice boards.... |
Remains of earthworks:
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| Tawhiti's cannon |
A memorial pole looks northwards over the scene:
A Maori strategy, which the British commanders were to become all-too-familiar with, was to build a well-fortified “gunfighter” pa in a remote location, always with an escape-route, and often featuring ambuscades. The plan, which generally always worked, was to force
the British to trek kilometers through heavy bush and mud, hauling cannons, equipment and supplies with great difficulty and thereby stretching their supply lines (which made them vulnerable to hit and run attacks from the bush).
After a brief engagement, the Maori ploy was to desert the pa, escaping to commence the whole procedure all over again.
This lack of a decisive outcome was most frustrating for the British, and they learned to their cost the folly of frontal assaults on such fortifications. In addition, these modern pa featured warrens of underground bunkers and tunnels - which nullified even prolonged artillery bombardments - to the great surprise of the European commanders.
A major problem for the Imperials was that this strategy meant that the Maori were almost always able to fight at a time and place of their choosing.
And thus it was at Ruapekapeka. With a controversial slight twist however - when the British finally stormed the pa (on a Sunday) it was empty and the Maori were at the rear: one account has it that they were at a prayer meeting, the other suggests that they were surprised whilst preparing an ambush!?
the British to trek kilometers through heavy bush and mud, hauling cannons, equipment and supplies with great difficulty and thereby stretching their supply lines (which made them vulnerable to hit and run attacks from the bush).
After a brief engagement, the Maori ploy was to desert the pa, escaping to commence the whole procedure all over again.
This lack of a decisive outcome was most frustrating for the British, and they learned to their cost the folly of frontal assaults on such fortifications. In addition, these modern pa featured warrens of underground bunkers and tunnels - which nullified even prolonged artillery bombardments - to the great surprise of the European commanders.
A major problem for the Imperials was that this strategy meant that the Maori were almost always able to fight at a time and place of their choosing.
And thus it was at Ruapekapeka. With a controversial slight twist however - when the British finally stormed the pa (on a Sunday) it was empty and the Maori were at the rear: one account has it that they were at a prayer meeting, the other suggests that they were surprised whilst preparing an ambush!?
Some further reading:
“Landscapes of Conflict - a field guide to the New Zealand wars” - Nigel Prickett
“To Face the Daring Maoris’ - Micheal Barthop
“The New Zealand Wars” - James Cowan
“The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict” - James Belich
Google and Wikipedia searches will also provide information.
See the video of my visit:
“Landscapes of Conflict - a field guide to the New Zealand wars” - Nigel Prickett
“To Face the Daring Maoris’ - Micheal Barthop
“The New Zealand Wars” - James Cowan
“The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict” - James Belich
Google and Wikipedia searches will also provide information.
See the video of my visit:
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