Hundreds gather in Northland to remember the Battle of Ruapekapeka Pā

Te Ruapekapeka Trust chairman Pita Tipene at the site of Kawiti's whare, towards the rear of Ruapekapeka Pā. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

By Peter de Graaf of RNZ

Hundreds of people from around the motu are expected to descend on a Northland pā this weekend to remember one of the most famous battles fought on New Zealand soil.

The Battle of Ruapekapeka Pā, the final engagement of the 1845-46 Northern War, pitched an estimated 400 Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine defenders against a force of about 1600 British troops and Māori allies.

Despite its inconclusive ending, the battle’s effects are still felt in Northland today – and the military innovations it spawned were used for decades afterwards, even in the trenches of World War I.

Entrances to the tunnels and bunkers that gave the pā its name - "the bats' nest" - are still visible today. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

Te Ruapekapeka Trust chairman Pita Tipene said the first two days of commemorations would be centred on Kawiti Marae at Waiomio with a series of pōwhiri, wānanga and site visits.

The final day – a Sunday, like the last day of the battle 180 years earlier – would start at 4am with the blessing of a towering new pou ihi, or wayfinder pou, next to State Highway 1.

That would be followed by the blessing of 12 new tūpuna (ancestor) pou representing combatants in the battle, then a mass haka, a flag-raising ceremony and karakia at the pā itself.

Te Ruapekapeka Trust chairman Pita Tipene with a 12-pounder artillery piece known as Kawiti's carronade. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

Tipene expected hundreds would attend, including government ministers, the Defence Force and the British High Commission.

“It’s a time of year where many people will be away from Northland, but nonetheless, it is capturing the imagination of the people,” he said.

“Ruapekapeka is one of the few historic battle sites in New Zealand where we still actually have a pā. Many battle sites have been completely obliterated but this is still intact, and it’s very symbolic for not only the people of the North, but Māori people throughout the country. It is a nationally significant site.”

The origins of war

The Battle of Ruapekapeka Pā was the last of a series of battles in the Northern War (previously also known as the Flagstaff War) that raged from March 1845 to January 1846.

Tipene said there was still conjecture about the cause.

Anger over broken promises made in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, five years earlier, and He Whakaputanga (The Declaration of Independence), was a key motivator – but economic factors also played a part.

Kawiti's 12-pounder carronade was damaged in the battle and subsequently restored. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

When the Treaty was signed, New Zealand’s capital was at Ōkiato, near Russell, but it was moved to Auckland just a year later.

“When the British went to Auckland, they took all of that British trade with them. The economic ability of the local people was diminished greatly.”

The fighting begins

Tipene said the Northern War started when chiefs Kawiti, Pumuka and others attacked Kororāreka township (later renamed Russell), allowing Hone Heke to cut down the flagstaff for the fourth time.

The British evacuated to Auckland and called in reinforcements from Sydney.

They arrived in late March to April 1845 and set about taking control of the Bay of Islands, starting with a bombardment of Ngāti Manu’s Ōtuihu Pā (opposite present-day Ōpua).

The palisades are long gone but Ruapekapeka's earth fortifications remain to this day. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

From there, the fighting shifted inland to the shores of Lake Ōmāpere, then to Ōhaeawai – a military disaster for the British – and other battles such as Waikare and Te Ahu Ahu, some of which did not involve British troops at all.

It culminated at Ruapekapeka, about 20km southeast of Kawakawa, a site chosen by Kawiti for its commanding view over the surrounding area.

It also had a well, vital if the battle turned into a lengthy siege, and an escape route if needed.

“It also gave all the warriors in the front lines in the trenches a good line of fire when the British started charging towards them,” Tipene said.

Kawiti designed the pā specifically to withstand cannon fire with a complex system of trenches and palisades made from pūriri – famed for its hardness – lined with bundles of flax to absorb the projectiles’ impact.

Inside the walls, a network of underground tunnels and bunkers protected the defenders and lent the pā its name, which translated as “the bats’ nest”.

A towering pou ihi, or wayfinder pou, is being built at the turnoff on State Highway 1. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

Tipene said the first British scouts arrived around December 14, 1845 with the full force in place by December 29, after an arduous overland journey pulling 30 tonnes of provisions and artillery.

The first salvos started that day.

“On the night of January 10, 1846, they opened up with everything they had and they created a breach in the front palisade. Early the next morning, Sunday, January 11, they entered the pā.”

By that time, only Kawiti and a small number of defenders remained inside the pā. Fighting ensued until they also withdrew into the bush.

The British did not follow Kawiti’s men, fearing an ambush.

The war ended in a truce of sorts with Kawiti famously telling Governor George Grey, “If you have had enough, then I have had enough. But if you have not had enough, then I have not had enough either.”

The battle’s lasting effects

Tipene said one of the most important results of the battle was that Ngāti Hine and their allies retained their land. (Land was usually confiscated by the Crown after conflicts with Māori.)

“The British were already preoccupied with uprisings in other parts of the country, and they were given advice by Māori who were loyal to the British that it wasn’t going to be a good idea to confiscate the land. Immediately after the battle, Kawiti made it very clear that if Governor Grey wanted to fight on, he was willing to fight on too – but if he wanted peace, peace would be had.

“People were still angry and frustrated at what the British were doing, but effectively, peace was made. Kawiti said fighting with weapons was over, but it would continue in other ways, basically with the pen.”

Warriors of mass haka group Te Tira Taua advance on the site of the British encampment during the 2021 commemorations. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

The Battle of Ruapekapeka Pā, regarded as the pinnacle of Māori military design, influenced the way wars were fought for decades afterwards.

The British surveyed the site, made a model of the defences, and applied the innovations in the Crimean War and in the trenches of World War I.

In 2008, the New Zealand Institute of Professional Engineers formally recognised Ruapekapeka Pā as a site of national engineering significance.

An excrement-smeared club

In January 1845, a few months before the war, Hone Heke visited Kawiti and presented him with the gift of a fine greenstone mere (club) smeared with human excrement.

The gift came to be known as Te Mere Whakakopa.

Tipene said the greenstone mere symbolised the rangatiratanga, or authority, of Māori, while the excrement was a symbol of how it was being defiled by the British.

Victoria Cross recipient Willie Apiata is welcomed to Ruapekapeka Pā in 2021. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

“Kawiti understood that immediately, and his response was, ‘Me poroa ngā ringaringa me ngā waewae’. He was saying, ‘We will chop their hands and legs off’, which is a metaphorical declaration of war. It was a pact to wage war on the British and their allies.”

Tipene said Te Mere Whakakopa was the theme of this year’s 180th anniversary commemorations, and was still relevant today.

“A whole lot of legislation that’s coming out of the current government continues to contaminate the authority of the Māori people,” he said.

Sacrifice and reconciliation

Another ongoing effect of the battle was bitterness between Māori who fought for the British and those who fought under Kawiti.

Tipene said some reconciliation had happened naturally – the daughter of Te Aho, a prominent defender, had married a British corporal and their descendants were now one of the most prominent families in the area – but this weekend’s commemorations were another chance to continue healing those old wounds.

It would also be a chance to remember the sacrifices ancestors had made for future generations, Tipene said.

Members of the New Zealand Wars Re-enactment Society, in British uniforms of the 1840s, during the 2021 commemorations. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

“We’re holding this to acknowledge their sacrifice, and for reconciliation between those who fought so many generations ago. But we’ve got to move on. We live in the same country. We’ve got nationhood to think about, and nobody’s going anywhere. We’re only nine years away from the bicentennial of He Whakaputanga and 14 years from the bicentennial of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, so we need to be really purposeful about moving towards the nationhood that was envisaged when those documents were first signed.”

A mass haka during the battle's 175th anniversary commemorations. Photo / Peter de Graaf, RNZ

Te Ruapekapeka 180 programme

Friday, January 9

10.30am: Pōwhiri for hapū from Te Tai Tokerau.

3.30pm: Waiomio pā site visit.

Saturday, January 10

10am: Pōwhiri for ngā iwi o te motu (iwi from around the country).

2pm: Pōwhiri for dignitaries including government ministers, Defence Force and British High Commission representatives.

4pm: Wānanga.

All events on Friday and Saturday take place at Kawiti Marae, Waiomio.

Sunday, January 11

3am: Buses depart Whangārei, Kaikohe, Waikare, Kawiti Marae and Whangaroa.

4am: Blessing of pou ihi (wayfinder pou), intersection of SH1 and Ruapekapeka Rd.

5.30am: Blessing of 12 tūpuna pou, located at the British forward position, honouring those who took part in the battle.

7.30am: Mass haka, flag raising ceremony, speeches and karakia, at the pā.

10am: Breakfast.

11-12.30: Guided tours of Ruapekapeka Pā.

- RNZ