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 Land Wars, previously known as the Maori Wars. 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... New Zealand functions as a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. ... 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 Battle of Te Ranga, June 21, 1864, was the last major conflict of the Tauranga Campaign and is also said to mark the effective end of the fighting involved with the Invasion of the Waikato. It left an uneasy peace, not so much a peace as an absence of conflict, one that lasted for several months. This period saw two significant changes in disposition of the warring parties. June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The Tauranga Campaign took place in New Zealand, from January 21, 1864 to June 21 1864, during the Maori Wars. ... 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). ...

The Imperial Troops were fighting their last campaign in New Zealand before being withdrawn to garrison duty and then withdrawn from New Zealand completely. At the same time the Colonial Militia were being reorganized and rearmed to take up slack.

Meanwhile the Pai Marire movement (or Hau Hau) was gaining ground and converts among the East Coast Maori. The Pai Marire Movement began in 1862 as a combination of Christianity and traditional Maori beliefs. Originally peaceful, it had soon changed to become a violent and vicious anti-Pakeha creed. Pai Marire / Hauhau The Pai Marire movement was the first independent, organised Maori church. ... East Coast Bays is the collective name for a series of small suburbs of North Shore, in the Auckland metropolitan area of New Zealand which line the northeast coast of the city along the shore of the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto Channel. ... Te Puni, Māori Chief Māori is the name of the indigenous people of New Zealand, and their language. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Pakeha is a New Zealand English word for European New Zealanders, that is, New Zealanders of predominantly European descent. ...

Pai Marire evangelists arrived in the Opotiki area of the Bay of Plenty in February 1865. On March 2 the missionary, Karl Volkner, discovered that his Maori congregation had moved on from Christianity to Hau Hauism. He was dragged from his church and hung from a tree; after an hour or so he was decapitated. Then the Hau Hau prophet, Kereopa te Rau re-entered the church and conducted a service with Volkner's head in the pulpit beside him. At a suitably dramatic moment he plucked out the missionary's eyeballs and swallowed them. The news of this brutal murder caused great alarm and anger among Pakeha populace who demanded immediate retribution, eyeball eating was not to be tolerated. Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament. ... Kereopa te Rau (?-1872) was a Maori Warrior; nicknamed the eye ball eater. ... Pakeha is a New Zealand English word for European New Zealanders, that is, New Zealanders of predominantly European descent. ...

It was suggested at the time that Volkner was spying for the government and this explained his murder. However the allegation was never proven, and it was immediately dismissed as being irrelevant.

That said, the New Zealand government was in no position to do anything about it--the Imperial Troops under General Cameron were virtually on strike. There was active conflict in Taranaki (on the opposite side of the Island) which had to be resolved before anything could be started in the Opotiki region. For several months nothing happened--then came the capture of Wereroa Pa--the relief of the siege of Pipiriki in August, 1865 that virtually ended that phase of the Second Taranaki War. This freed up the militia for action elsewhere. General Sir Duncan Cameron was the Commander of the British Imperial Forces stationed in New Zealand during the middle phase of the Maori Wars. ... View of Mount Taranaki from Stratford (facing west). ... 1865 is a common year starting on Sunday. ... 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. ...

In September, 1865, the forces then available to the New Zealand government, some 500 men, were transported by ship from Wanganui through Cook Strait, around the East Cape to Opotoki. The composition of this force was significant. There were four companies of militia, a troop of cavalry and a contingent of Ngati Hau (not to be confused with their enemy, the Hau Hau) warriors lead by Kepa te Rangihiwinui. These were the units that had already been campaigning together during the Taranaki War and had a history of successful cooperation and mutual respect. Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... A view of from the summit of Mount Victoria, Wellington - Cook Strait stretches to the right (west). ... East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. ... Kepa Te Rangihiwinui (early 1820s - April 15, 1898) was Maori military commander and noted ally of the govenrment forces during the Maori Wars. ...

The landing at Opotiki was accomplished with difficulty. One of the ships ran aground on a falling tide and came under fire from the shore. Eventually it had to be abandoned and the crew and militia waded ashore but it was another twenty four hours before the other ships were able to land their men and supplies.

As soon as they were established and the snipers driven away the militia occupied the church where Volkner had been murdered. While some of the Pakeha soldiers worked at turning this into a fortress the others with Kepa and the Ngati Hau were turned loose on the countryside. There followed a season of pillage, rape and murder. Within two weeks they had stripped the countryside of all available food supplies, keeping what they needed and destroying the rest. Beyond a few muskets the local Maori lacked any weapons with which to defend themselves. It was made clear to them that these depredations would continue until the men responsible for the murder of Volkner were captured or surrendered. But the man responsible, Kereopa was not available for capture and had no intention of surrendering.

By the end of October the tribe's position was desperate. Some twenty of its chiefs surrendered. They were shipped to Auckland for trial, five of them received the death penalty and were hanged the following year. Large areas of land around Opotiki were confiscated and sold to settlers. Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest urban area in New Zealand. ... Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...

In 1998 the New Zealand government offered the Opotiki Maori $NZ40 million as compensation for the confiscated land. The offer was rejected as inadequate; the land is currently valued at about $NZ20 billion.

Further reading

• Barthorp, Michael (1979). To face the daring Māori. Hodder and Stoughton.
• Belich, James (1988). The New Zealand wars. Penguin.
• Belich, James (1996) Making peoples. Penguin 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.
• 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.