The East Cape War, sometimes also called the East Coast War, refers to a series of conflicts that were fought in the North Island of New Zealand from about May 1865 to June 1868. There were at least three separate unrelated campaigns fought in the area during a period of relative peace between the main clashes of the Maori Wars, between the end of the Invasion of the Waikato, and beginning of Te Kooti's War. Although separate, they have all come to be known as the East Cape War. The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The term Māori Wars, now more commonly referred to as the New Zealand Wars, or sometimes The Land Wars, refers to a series of conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872. ... The Invasion of the Waikato was an invasion during the Maori Wars fought in the North Island of New Zealand from July 1863 to April 1864 between the military forces of the Colonial Government and a federation of Maori tribes known as the King Movement (Kiingitanga). ... Te Kootis War was one of the New Zealand Wars, the series of conflicts fought between 1845 and 1872 between the Maori and the colonizing British settlers, often referred to as Pakeha. ...

All of these conflicts stem from a common cause, the arrival of the Pai Marire Movement or Hau Hauism from the Taranaki region around 1865. Originally Pai Marire was a peaceful religion, a combination of Christianity and traditional Maori beliefs, but it quickly evolved into a violent and vehemently anti-European (Pakeha) movement. The arrival of the Hau Hau in the East Cape effectively destabilized the whole region causing great alarm among the settlers and also seriously disrupting Maori society because of its disregard for traditional tribal structures. During this period the New Zealand Government was inadvertently helping Pai Marire recruitment by the wholesale confiscation of Maori land, a policy that understandably generated enormous resentment among the Maori. Taranaki is a region in New Zealands North Island and the name of the mountain which is the regions main feature, Geography and people Taranaki is situated on a peninsula on the west coast of the North Island, surrounding the volcanic peak. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... Pai Marire / Hauhau The Pai Marire movement was the first independent, organised Maori church. ... Jump to: navigation, search Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ... Pakeha is a New Zealand English word for European New Zealanders, that is, New Zealanders of predominantly European descent. ... East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ...

Early Actions

The first and most notorious incident was the murder of missionary Carl Volkner outside his church at Opotiki on March 2, 1865, which came to be known as the Volkner Incident. This outraged the European settlers who demanded justice, but New Zealand Government had committed almost all of their forces to fighting the Second Taranaki War. It took five months before they were able to free up men to deal with the murders. Several units of Colonial Militia and a large contingent of Taranaki Maori were shipped around the coast to Opotiki and turned loose in the area with instructions to burn, pillage and destroy as much as possible. Faced with starvation and no effective weapons the locals had no choice but to surrender. Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. ... Jump to: navigation, search March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... The Volkner Incident describes the murder of the missionary, Karl Volkner, in New Zealand in 1865 and the consequent reaction of the Government of New Zealand in the midst of the Maori Wars. ... World map showing Europe (geographically) When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... The Second Taranaki War is the name of a series of conflicts between the Maori and European settlers in the Taranaki province of New Zealand between 1864 and 1866. ... Taranaki is a region in New Zealands North Island and the name of the mountain which is the regions main feature, Geography and people Taranaki is situated on a peninsula on the west coast of the North Island, surrounding the volcanic peak. ... Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. ...

Meanwhile the Hau Hau had provoked a civil war among the Ngati Porou, one of the major tribes of the area. They successfully preached violence when the tribal leaders were urging caution. The Ngati Porou chiefs, who were opposed to the Hau Hau fanaticism, wrote to the Government requesting assistance, particularly arms and reinforcements. Their appeal reached Donald McLean, a major landowner in the Napier region. He already had available a sizeable store of weapons, enough to equip a force of 100 militia and arm the Ngati Porou. They sailed up the coast and the two forces joined up on July 6, 1865. Jump to: navigation, search A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. ... The Ngati Porou iwi is among the top ten tribes of New Zealand by population. ... Napier is an important port city in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. ... Jump to: navigation, search July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Over the next few months there were a series of skirmishes all over the East Cape during which the government forces were almost always successful. Hitherto in the various conflicts with the Pakeha the Maori had always shown themselves to be consummately skilful warriors, so skilful that although heavily outnumbered they had already fought the British Army to a standstill on several occasions. Surprisingly their military abilities seemed to have left them, and the Hau Hau had an almost perfect record for losing every skirmish, fight and battle they got into. Pakeha is a New Zealand English word for European New Zealanders, that is, New Zealanders of predominantly European descent. ...

Early in October, 380 Pakeha and Ngati Porou loyalists surrounded a force of about 600 Hau Hau. Even though the Hau Hau had a strongly fortified Pa and the weather conditions were atrocious (one of the attackers died of hypothermia) 500 of the Hau Hau were forced to surrender. This was complete reversal of the trend; a fortified and defended Pa was virtually unassailable. Look up Pa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Pa, PA or pa may stand for: pa, a word for dad or father (pa or paw) pa, Chinese political title meaning hegemon Pa, Maori word meaning a fortified village or redoubt, described at length in Maori Wars Per annum, p. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hypothermia is a medical condition in which the victims core body temperature has dropped to significantly below normal and normal metabolism begins to be impaired. ...

At about the same time a Hau Hau war party attacked a group of Ngati Porou women who had only a few shotguns and well flung rocks to defend themselves. They did so with such good effect that when the Hau Hau retreated they left behind thirteen dead.

In the event this attack cost the Hau Hau even heavier casualties. The loyalist Maori of the Ngati Porou were angered because non-combatants had been attacked. Particularly incensed was a rising leader or war chief among them, Ropata Wahawaha. He lead a group that tracked down and captured the Hau Hau responsible, and personally executed the ones who came from his own hapu, or sub-tribe. Ropata Wahawaha was a Ngati Porou war chief who rose to prominence during the East Cape War and to senior command during Te Kootis War. ... Māori culture is a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. ...

Waerenga a Hika

Early in November of the same year a large group of Hau Hau built a pa on the outskirts of a Pakeha settlement in Poverty Bay, some 10 km from Gisborne. There is some doubt about the nature of this group. Some authors suggest that they were refugees fleeing from Ropata and the Ngati Porou. However there were at least 200 armed men with the party, threat enough to the settlement which seemed to be confirmed by their building a Pa. Once again it fell to Donald McLean to assemble of force to deal with the threat and to organize the shipping to move his warriors into the area. This was completed by about November 12, including Ropata and some 300 Ngati Porou. Pa, Maori word meaning a fortified village or redoubt, described at length in Maori Wars. ... Poverty Bay is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealands North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gisborne is the name of a unitary authority (in this case, a region and district) in New Zealand. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ...

They surrounded the Pa on three sides and began a siege. The first day was spent in ineffectual rifle fire from both sides. The next day Major Fraser ordered his men to begin digging a trench towards the Pa but this was ambushed and a dozen of his men killed or wounded. There were two more days of rifle fire. For the Boston area punk band see Siege (band). ... A rifle is a firearm that uses a spiral groove cut into the barrel to spin a projectile (usually a bullet), thus improving accuracy and range of the projectile. ...

On Day five a large party of men, about 200, emerged from the Pa carrying white flags as if to surrender. However they were fully armed and by all contemporary accounts appeared to have no intention of surrendering. In the fighting that followed about sixty Hau Hau were killed while only one of the militia was slightly wounded.

On Day seven the militia acquired a small cannon from Gisborne but no ammunition. Instead they fired empty salmon tins packed with bullets, about a hundred per tin. The effect must have been impressive because after the third shot the Hau Hau did surrender, properly this time. Some 400 of them were made prisoners although many others escaped into the surrounding bush.

Ngati Kahungunu Civil War

December 1865 to January 1866 Jump to: navigation, search 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ...

This conflict happened in the northern Hawke's Bay area. It appears to have been very similar to the Ngati Porou civil war, conflict between those of the tribe who converted to Hau Hauism and those who remained loyal to the New Zealand Government, the kupapa. In this case the conflict was on a much smaller scale, possibly because each faction involved only a small proportion of the tribe, the bulk of the Ngati Kahungunu remaining neutral. Hawkes Bay is a region of New Zealand. ... The Ngati Kahungunu iwi, one of the largest tribes of New Zealand Maori, is based in Wairarapa and Hawkes Bay. ...

The loyalist faction won because they were able to call on support of the Colonial Militia and from the Ngati Porou warriors.

Napier

In October 1866 one group of Hau Hau attempted to invade Napier in a desultory fashion: they moved into the area in a threatening manner but did little more than camp on the outskirts of the settlement. However they could not be ignored. Once again a mixed force of Pakeha and Maori, commanded by Colonel Whitmore, was formed. They marched out and surrounded the Hau Hau at Omaranui. The Hau Hau were given a chance to surrender which they refused; in fact they refused even to negotiate. They were given an hour to reconsider and then the militia opened fire. The result was a massacre in which most of the Hau Hau were killed. 1866 is a common year starting on Monday. ... An atrocity (from the Latin atrox, atrocious, from Latin ater = matte black (as distinct from niger = shiny black)) is a term used to describe crimes ranging from an act committed against a single person to one committed against a population or ethnic group. ...

Tauranga again

January to March 1867 Jump to: navigation, search 1867 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

The peace agreement of 1864 had been accepted by most of the Maori of the Tauranga district and the area was relatively quiet. However thee was to be some confiscation of land and this was resisted by one small hapu or sub-tribe, the Piri Rakau lead by a Hau Hau Prophet, Hakaraia. Unlike most of the Hau Hau adherents he seems to have had some military wisdom. They were able to avoid either capture or destruction and for a brief time they had a considerable impact on the stability of the district particularly on the Arawa Tribe. However the arrival of Colonial reinforcements forced them to retreat towards the King Country. Hakaraia later joined Te Kooti. Jump to: navigation, search 1864 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... // Introduction Tauranga (population 90,906 — 2001 census) is the major city of the western Bay of Plenty on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Jump to: navigation, search In numerous religions, including Abrahamic religions, Jah religions, Sikhism, and many forms of Paganism, a prophet is an intermediary with a deity, particularly someone who claims to speak for the deity or interprets the deitys will or mind. ... Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c. ...

Similarly south of Opotiki the Tuhoe were not prepared to accept the arrival of Pakeha settlers on their northern border and made some raids on the farms being established in the area. Attempts by the militia to deal with the Tuhoe were largely unsuccessful because they could always retreat into the mists of the Urewera Ranges. Tuhoe comprise a Māori iwi (roughly: tribe) of New Zealand. ...

So this was the East Cape War, it wasn't a war but it certainly wasn't peace either. Two factors kept the area unsettled. The Government pressed ahead with the confiscation of Maori land and this in its turn provided the Hau Hau with a constant flow of recruits. Then in June of 1868 the situation changed drastically with the arrival in Hawkes Bay of Te Kooti. Jump to: navigation, search 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c. ...

Further reading

• Belich, James (1988). The New Zealand wars. Penguin.
• Belich, James (1996) Making peoples. Penguin Press.
• Binney, Judith (1995). Redemption songs: A life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki. Auckland: Auckland University Press.
• Cowan, J., & Hasselberg, P. D. (1983) The New Zealand wars. New Zealand Government Printer. (Originally published 1922)
• Maxwell, Peter (2000). Frontier, the battle for the North Island of New Zealand. Celebrity Books.
• Simpson, Tony (1979). Te Riri Pakeha. Hodder and Stoughton.
• Sinclair, Keith (ed.) (1996). The Oxford illustrated history of New Zealand (2nd ed.) Wellington: Oxford University Press.
• Stowers, Richard (1996). Forest rangers. Richard Stowers.
• Vaggioli, Dom Felici (2000). History of New Zealand and its inhabitants, Trans. J. Crockett. Dunedin: University of Otago Press. Original Italian publication, 1896.
• "The people of many peaks: The Māori biographies". (1990). From The dictionary of New Zealand biographies, Vol. 1, 1769-1869. Bridget Williams Books and Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand.