At the same time Omarunui was attacked, colonial forces marched to Petane and arrested three men who had remained at the pa. According to a report made by the commanding officer, the colonial forces then intercepted and surrounded a party of armed Maori on horseback, led by Te Rangihiroa, who were riding from Te Pohue in the direction of Petane.
These forces fired on the Maori party after they refused several calls to surrender. Te Rangihiroa and 11 others were killed in the fighting.
After the battle, colonial forces captured about 84 prisoners, who were transported to the Chatham Islands. These men were detained without trial and kept in harsh conditions.
On January 12, 1867, the colonial government confiscated land in the Mohaka-Waikare district that belonged to Ngati Hineuru. The actions of the Crown caused a tremendous sense of grief for the living descendants whose ancestors fell at Omarunui.
For the living descendants of local Maori who fought against those inside Omarunui, it is with lament that lives were lost in the conflict. Many of the Maori that fought on either side of the conflict were related.
What is commonly referred to as the Omarunui "one-day war" in 1866 was commemorated at the centenary by the installation of stone obelisks, one being erected at Omarunui and another at Eskdale (Herepoho). JD Ormond, who was a local MP at the time of the battle, unveiled the memorial at Omarunui on its 50th anniversary on October 12, 1916.
In 1992 the obelisks on the monuments were destroyed by protesters although the plinths were undamaged. HDC retains the shattered remains of the obelisks in storage at the council's site in Orchard Rd.
On June 29, Parliament passed the Hineuru Claims Settlement Bill which acknowledges and apologises for the attacks at Omarunui and Petane, and the incarceration of their tipuna in the Chatham Islands that led to land confiscations in their region.
In October there will be a 150th commemoration of the battles at Omarunui and Petane. The purpose of the commemoration is to raise public awareness of this event, commemorate the lives lost in the conflict and to provide an opportunity for all living descendants to unite in remembering this tragedy.
The commemoration will include at least a gathering at the two memorial sites. We hope that the Hawke's Bay public will join us in the commemoration.
We would also like to hear from as many of the descendants of the local militia as possible.
Please contact Mat Mullany on 027 553 3409.
- Mathew Mullany is a local historian of Ngati Paarau descent.
- Views expressed here are the writer's opinion and not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz
