THE THIRD DAY.
“The following morning (2nd April) General Cameron made his appearance with a detachment of the Defence Corps and some packhorses with hand-grenades. * * * Our sap was now so far advanced that it entered the old stock-yard fence, which surrounded the pa at some distance. It was in rashly jumping out of the sap and cutting down gallantly one of these posts that Major Hurford received his death-wound in the head. He rallied for a short space of time, long enough to receive the attentions of his poor wife, but the ball, remaining in his head, caused his death at last at Otahuhu. Many gallant deeds were done that day in the sap, but the same being at the opposite extreme of the pa from our position I was not an eye-witness to them. I only know from good testimony that Captain Baker was amongst the foremost to urge the work by word and example; Jackson’s Ensign Whitfield behaved with his usual distinction; Ensign Harrison, of the Transport Corps, did good service with his rifle en amateur; my Sergeant Southee later in the day, still with the 65th detachment, was the first to change his footing from our works into that of the Maoris. (Note.—Poor Whitfield lost his life in one of my engagements in the Wanganui district. He was one of the most gallant officers I have known.)
“The weariness on our post on that third day was becoming to me almost unbearable. There was no excitement to compensate for the constant annoyance of bullets flying about you for three days and two nights, and the constant false reports of the assault going to take place sickened one at last of the whole affair. There had been a demand for volunteers in the morning to go sapping. I knew it did not refer to me, but I thought they might accept me after all when the hottest work commenced, so I took sixteen volunteers from my company and marched round to the sap. I was close to the sap when Baker met me and instantly drove me back in spite of all my expostulations and pleas of the morning’s order. ‘No, no! To your post! To your post!’ And as a sweetener for this disagreeable treatment the cunning Staff Machiavelli told me to come back at four o’clock in the afternoon, when I would be allowed to sap, knowing himself perfectly well that by that time I would have found other work to do. I went back crestfallen and miserable. My return instantly enfranchised Jackson, who took the opportunity of [[68]]trying his rifle skill en amateur in the sap—and his skill in this department is by no means contemptible.
“ * * * what means that shout—that hurrah? ‘Stand to your arms, men!’ Another truly British cheer! They must be assaulting the pa! ‘Forward, men—forward!’ And away I dash with a promiscuous crowd of Rangers and soldiers. But I know the way where we can go in reasonable security. Along the slant of the hill the fern is high, and the level of the ground scarce shows our heads. If we reach the angle of the pa in front of us while attention is concentrated on the diagonally opposite angle where our sap leads to we may get into the pa with little opposition, or shoot down fugitives escaping thence, if there are any.
“We had to go some distance. The Maoris saw us first just on cresting the hill, and sent a heavy fire at us. But all those who followed my guidance were soon safe from it. I saw some heaps of rubbish under some trees, with a half-broken-down pig fence, at 30 yards from the pa. That was a good halting place to breathe my men and count them. Alas! there were not above a dozen. There were my two sergeants, Carron and Toovey, Mogul, and little Keena, and a few of Jackson’s company—but we had lost our tail by the velocity of our flight forward. Well, the place had a very tenable look about it, so, seeing that every man lay well covered, I sent Sergeant Carron back for reinforcements, and saw that my men kept the Maoris’ heads well down the parapet. Our arrival there had in the first instance driven back a few Maoris attempting to escape from the angle I expected they would make use of. After that they kept up a pretty close fire upon us, but we had very good cover, and gave it to them better than they could. Carron returned in a little, and said that Captain Baker wanted me immediately at my post, so nolens volens, I had to return, seeing that a dozen men were not enough with which to assault 300 Maoris behind a high parapet. During my return I was informed by my men that one of those following me had been hit, and was lying in the very path to the pa. This was the first intimation I had of such mishap, for all the men close to me and following my guidance had been untouched. This poor fellow had chosen the main track to walk upon, probably scorning the fern, and had so come by his death. It was Corporal Taylor, an old soldier of the 70th. Sadly we carried our burden to our post, where I found my mentor Captain Baker charged to the muzzle with military reprimands for me. While he and I and Major [[69]]Blyth were argumenting on this subject a tremendous shout arose from the pa—a volley, and then such an incessant rattle of musketry that I perceived at once what the matter was. At last the Maoris had broken cover.
“Leaving my interlocutors very unceremoniously, and calling on my men to follow me, I rushed up to the picket house. On the other side of the house, at a glance, I saw the state of things. A dense mass of Maoris was rushing through the scrub at the bottom of the gully on the further corner from our post. The ridge where the pa stood was enveloped in a dense mass of powder-smoke, whence the incessant firing of our troops issued as if there never would be a pause to it.
“Giving hurried orders to Westrupp to watch the forest side of the picket hill, and taking Roberts with me, we went off at full speed along the ridge to cut off the Maoris whom we saw now ascending the furthest extreme of that ridge.
“ ‘Run, men, run! Cut them off! Cut them off!’ And the Rangers bounded over the ground as if their feet had wings.
“The Maoris had had a tremendous start of it, but the passage of the swamp and scrub in the bottom of the gully had delayed them somewhat. We came within shot of them, and as their long, irregular mass ascended the next rise our fire began to tell. Still we had to use the utmost exertion to keep within sight and shot of them, and would probably have lost half had not Rait with his troopers and some of the Defence Corps headed them by a daring break-neck ride across country. But the Maoris, seeing only these troopers after them, suddenly turned upon them, and from the other side of the swamp commenced to give them some ugly shots, killing in a moment two horses and wounding some of the men. Now, Rait’s troopers had only revolvers, which were utterly useless at that distance, so they began to be rather doubtful what to do with their Tartar, when the Rangers made their appearance, and the presence of their carbines became soon painfully evident to the natives. Off they started again, and now at a lesser distance they began to drop under our fire very fast; also some of them had outrun their fleetness, and, our wind and stamina beginning to tell after the first three miles, many a laggard was shot down after giving us the last desperate shot of his barrel. * * * The last natives we saw were three or four trotting along the top of a distant ridge. Signs of declining day and a bugle sounding the return made us [[70]]relinquish further pursuit. On re-crossing the river we found Colonel Havelock collecting the squads of avengers. He marched them home in a body, myself remaining behind to wait for some men of mine who had not yet made their appearance. When these at last arrived I also turned my face Orakau-wards.
“We followed pretty much the direction we had taken in the pursuit, and soon came upon the silent marks of it. Amongst them, however, I found one poor fellow still alive. We bandaged him the best we could, and carried him along. After getting over the next mile he expired, and we laid him to his rest. We found another one, not far off, and carried him also some distance, when he, too, gave up the ghost and left us.”
Other wounded men were carried into the camp, Von Tempsky continued, but not until next day did the troops fully realise the terrible nature of the blow they had inflicted on their foes. Probably fewer than fifty out of little more than three hundred escaped death or wounds. Fully 160 Maoris were killed or died of wounds. The British loss was 17 killed and 51 wounded.
On 3rd April, 1864, the Forest Rangers were moved from Orakau, the main body having left the previous day. Colonel MacNeil, A.D.C. to General Cameron, had been ambuscaded near Ohaupo during the three days of Orakau. It was therefore decided to have a permanent post about half way between Pukerimu and Te Awamutu. Major Blyth (40th) and Von Tempsky were despatched from Te Awamutu to a place a little beyond the native pa of Ohaupo, and a redoubt was built on a commanding ridge. The 40th built the redoubt, while Von Tempsky’s Rangers policed the road and scouted the bush.
“There is some lovely lake scenery,” wrote Von Tempsky, “between Te Awamutu and Ohaupo. Among sombre patches of forest gleams a water mirror every now and then, with a vivid green margin of waving grasses and rushes; here and there a solitary cabbage-tree with its long, irradiating leaves giving to the otherwise home-like scenery the New Zealand character. By moonlight the lake scenery is quite a fairy effect, and has often compensated me for the tediousness of repeated night patrol.”
INCIDENTS OF THE SIEGE.
THE MAORI DEFENCE.
The Maoris’ reason for not building the Orakau pa in a more defensive position is explained by the survivors. They say that it [[72]]was not placed where the native church stood, and where “Kawana” afterwards fixed his homestead, because that situation was conspicuous, and would readily be seen from the Kihikihi redoubt. This position certainly would have been superior to that selected as the site of the fort on the Rangataua rise, for on the western side of the Orakau Hill, just in rear of the old homestead, the ground slopes steeply to the Tautoro gully and swamp, and that side of the pa could easily have been scarped into an insurmountable wall. On the southern side there is a quick incline to the present road; on the east and north aspect the land slopes gently from the hill crest.
From a drawing by Mr A. H. Messenger]
THE BATTLEFIELD OF ORAKAU
The blockhouse on the hill was built five years after the battle, close to the site of the British field headquarters during the siege. This drawing shows the battleground as it was about 1870.
With regard to the famous cry of defiance associated with the defence of Orakau, it is difficult to reconcile some of the Maori versions with the popular story. From none of my Maori authorities, all of them men who fought at Orakau, have I been able to obtain exact confirmation of the reported ultimatum: “Ka whawhai tonu matou, ake, ake, ake!” (“We will fight on for ever, and ever, and ever!”) The following is the statement of Major W. G. Mair, who, when ensign in the Colonial Defence Force Cavalry, acted as staff interpreter, and conveyed General Cameron’s demand for the surrender of the pa and his promise of safety for the garrison: “I could see the Maoris inclining their heads towards each other in consultation, and in a few minutes came the answer in a clear, firm tone: ‘E hoa, ka whawhai tonu ahau ki a koe, ake, ake!’ (‘Friend, I shall fight against you for ever and ever!’)” Then Mair made request for the women and children to come out. “There was a short deliberation, and another voice made answer: ‘Ki te mate nga tane, me mate ano nga wahine me nga tamariki.’ (‘If the men are to die, the women and children must die also.’)” The difference between the popular version and Mair’s narrative is obviously very slight.
MAJOR W. G. MAIR
Major Mair, who served with great distinction in the Maori Campaigns, 1863–72, was General Cameron’s interpreter in the negotiations with the Maoris at Orakau, April 2nd, 1864. For many years after the wars he was a judge of the Native Land Court.
AFTER FIFTY YEARS: OLD OPPONENTS MEET
This photograph, typifying the peaceful union of the races, was taken at the monument on the Orakau battlefield, on the occasion of the jubilee gathering, April 1st, 1914.
The Maori account, as given by Te Huia Raureti and Pou-Patate Huihi and the late Te Wairoa Piripi is to the effect that the answer of Rewi and his fellow-chiefs was that they would not make peace. Te Wairoa Piripi said: “The General’s messenger came to us and called out: ‘Do not fire at me. I have a message for you from the General to request that you make peace, so that your women and children may be saved.’ This message was made known by Raureti Paiaka to the whole pa, to Rewi, who was at the northern section of the pa when the pakeha was speaking to Raureti. The [[73]]people in the western part of the pa were listening. Rewi Manga made reply: ‘Kaore au e hohou te rongo’ (‘I shall not make peace.’) Then all the people cried in chorus: ‘Kaore e mau te rongo, ake, ake, ake!’ (‘Peace shall never be made—never, never, never!’) Then stood up Karamoa Tumanako, of Ngati-Apakura, and said: ‘I shall make peace.’ To this Rewi, Hone Teri, and Raureti replied: ‘We are not willing that the people should be made prisoners, but if we leave the pa you make your own peace.’ Some of the people having fired, the pakeha dropped down, and the fighting began again. It was now that the rakete (rockets, i.e., hand-grenades) were flung into our pa. They were not so bad at first, but when the fuses were shortened many were the deaths. The sap was now close up. The outer fence, or pekerangi, was thrown down on the top of the soldiers, and some of them were killed or injured there. Two shells from the big gun on Karaponia [the hill on which the blockhouse was afterwards built] burst in the Manga-o-Hoi swamp, and the tribes in that direction were scattered. The explosion of a third shell slightly damaged the end of the pa where Te Huia and certain others were. The sun was declining, and now the pa was broken at the south-east angle, and the people jumped out from all parts of the work. The line of soldiers below the pa in the south-eastern direction was broken through by Paiaka, Te Whakatapu, and Te Makaka te Taaepa, and the people fled to the swamp, thence to the Puniu, leaving a great many dead.”
Te Huia Raureti said (1920): “When the interpreter spoke to us, saying, ‘Friends, come out to us so that your lives may be saved,’ Rewi Maniapoto made reply, through a messenger, my father Raureti Paiaka, ‘Peace shall never be made—never, never!’ Again spoke the pakeha, and said: ‘That is right for you men, but as for the women and children, send them out of the pa.’ This was declined, and all the people cried, repeating Rewi’s words, ‘Peace shall never be made—never, never, never!’ (‘Kaore e mau te rongo—ake, ake, ake!’)”
From a photo by J. Cowan]
THE BATTLEFIELD OF ORAKAU (PRESENT DAY)
From a drawing by Major von Tempsky]
THE CAPTURE OF THE ENTRENCHMENT
This picture is a drawing, untitled, among the numerous war sketches left by Major von Tempsky. Major Mair, to whom it was shown many years ago, said he believed it represented the final scene of Orakau, April 2nd, 1864, when the last few Maoris to abandon the pa encountered the bayonet.
The Ngati-Tuwharetoa and Ngati-te-Kohera tribes declared that it was Hauraki Tonganui who replied to Mair on behalf of Rewi—he was simply a mouthpiece or messenger.
It is clear from all the Maori statements, and also Major Mair’s account given me many years ago, that Rewi himself did not speak to the interpreter. (For full details of Orakau and the discussion [[74]]between the opposing parties see the Official History of the New Zealand Wars, written for the Government, and published 1922.)
Orakau pa was surrounded by a square of post-and-rail fence, about a chain outside the earthworks. A veteran of the Forest Rangers says it was a cleverly-designed obstruction—the predecessor of our modern barbed-wire entanglements. It was partly masked with flax and fern, and it wrought the defeat of Captain Ring’s charge at the pa. The mounted men, too, were stopped by the post-and-rail fence, and there made a good target for the Maoris. The earthworks were not high, but the wide trench was a deadly affair and a complete obstruction to any charge.
CROSS-SECTION OF ORAKAU PA
From a survey, 1864.
CROSS-SECTION OF ORAKAU PA
The British headquarters in the siege were fixed just under the fall of the ground on the south-west of the pa close to where the blockhouse was afterwards built. The slopes are covered to-day with a dense growth of prickly acacias. The blockhouse has disappeared; the site is traceable only by a hollow showing where the magazine was under the floor of the building. A short distance to the W.S.W. of this spot, on slightly higher ground, just on the edge of the Karaponia crest, with the acacia grove feathering the abrupt slope to the swamp a hundred feet below, is the place where two Armstrong guns were posted to shell the pa. A tall bluegum marks the exact spot; at its foot are the fern-grown remains of a short parapet, the gun emplacement.
It was estimated that about 40,000 rounds of ammunition were fired by the troops during the three days’ fighting at Orakau. [[75]]
“Some of our men,” wrote an eye-witness, “lost their lives through foolishly and recklessly exposing themselves to the fire of the rebels. Tired of waiting in the sap, and in some instances excited by drink, they stood up and invited their fate: ‘Come on,’ they would cry, ‘and we’ll cook your head for you!’—in jocular allusion to the preserved heads which once formed an important article of trade in this island.”
The same narrator, an army chaplain, wrote: “Our men were short of caps; the reason for this was that they often used them for lighting their pipes. They placed a small piece of rag inside the caps, which they then caused to explode with the points of their bayonets.
“The Royal Irish had to avenge the death of their gallant leader [Captain Ring]. More than one Maori was slain from the belief that he had fired the fatal shot. It is said that ten Maoris fell in this way; when a fugitive was overtaken the cry arose: ‘That is the man who killed the captain!’—then came a wild yell, a shot, a bayonet thrust, and all was over.
“A Maori fugitive was taken prisoner and committed to the charge of two of the Royal Irish, who were thus prevented from joining in the pursuit. As they heard the shouts of the pursuers dying away in the distance they cursed their hard fate in being obliged to remain behind. An officer came up when their impatience had reached its crisis: ‘Shall we kill him, Barney?’ Barney thought for a moment, then shook his head. ‘I couldn’t kill the craytur in cold blood, Shane, but I wish we were quit of him.’ ‘Kick him and let him go,’ was the ready response. They loosed their hold and applied their heavy boots with full force to the person of their prisoner, who turned round and looked as if he would have sprung at their throats. The love of liberty was stronger than the thirst for revenge; he disappeared in the bush, while Shane and Barney hurried after their comrades.
“Most of the women who attempted to escape from the pa were taken; they were not able to run as fast as the men, and were soon exhausted. One woman was found dead clasping a Bible to her breast. The sacred volume was found on the persons of several of the dead and wounded, who had left everything else behind.
“There was little left to reward those who first entered the pa; they found about three tons of raw potatoes and a little Maori bread, but not a drop of water, nor any vessel to hold water. * * * [[76]]They had no surgeons to attend to their wounds. One man had his left leg broken by a ball; he bound two pieces of wood round it with wild flax and fought on to the last. Another whose side was pierced plugged the wound with a cork and kept his place among the defenders of the pa. * * * We have officers here who fought through the Crimea and the Indian Mutiny; all unite in affirming that neither the Russians nor the Sepoys ever fought as the Maoris have done; all lament the necessity of having to fight against such a gallant race. On this point the whole army is unanimous; a different feeling may prevail among the colonists, who look forward to reaping a rich harvest from all this carnage and bloodshed.”
A MAORI SURVIVOR’S STORY.
THE RETREAT TO THE PUNIU.
The following are extracts from the narrative given to the present writer in 1920 by the veteran chief Te Huia Raureti, of Ngati-Maniapoto, who with his father fought at Orakau:
“Orakau was not a strong fortification. There was no proper palisading around the earthworks—we had not sufficient time to complete the defences—but there was a post-and-rail fence, in the form of a square, a little distance outside the trenches and parapets. The principal parapets were about five feet high and four feet in thickness, composed of sods and loose earth, with layers of fern pulled up and laid with the roots outward. The fern helped to bind the earthworks. We were still working away at the ditches and parapets when the troops came upon us. We had a sentry on the look-out, on the west side of the earthworks, the Kihikihi side, from which the soldiers approached. His name was Aporo. Suddenly his voice was raised in these words of alarm:
“ ‘He pukeko kei te Kawakawa! Kei Te Tumutumu te mea e tata ana!’ (‘A swamp-hen has reached the Kawakawa! There are others nearer us at Te Tumutumu!’)
“The ‘pukeko’ was the advance guard of the Imperial troops; the Kawakawa was the settlement near the large acacia grove [about a third of a mile north of the Orakau church and kainga.] The troops marched by the road which skirted the bush and up through the cultivations. Meanwhile some other soldiers (mounted men) had come a more direct way, a little to the north of the cart road, and we saw them at the peach and almond grove on the hill just west of the Tautoro swamp and creek about a quarter of a mile from [[77]]our earthworks. Some of the troopers rode at our pa, but had to retire before our volleys. The main body of the soldiers came marching on; and another force which had marched up along the Puniu River, crossing and recrossing, finally fording the river near where the Waikeria joins it and coming out on the Orakau-Maunga-tautari Road.”
After describing the three days’ fighting, Raureti told the story of the retreat to the Puniu on the last day:
“When the people had come to the decision to abandon the pa we all went out of it on the north-east side and retreated on the eastern side of the Karaponia ridge. My gun was loaded in both barrels, and I had some cartridges in my hamanu [ammunition-holder.] The soldiers were already in the outworks of the pa. Only one man wished to surrender, and this was Wi Karamoa, the minister. He remained in the pa, holding up a white handkerchief on a stick in token of surrender. We left many killed and wounded in the pa. Some of the dead we had buried; others were left lying where they fell. Among those whom we buried in the works were Matekau, Aporo (Waikato), Paehua (of Ngati-Parekawa), Ropata (the husband of Hine-i-turama), and Piripi te Heuheu (Urewera). There was bayonet work in the first rushing of the pa. On the first part of our retreat, across the slopes of the pa, we did not fire; we reserved our shots for emergency.
“We had to break through the soldiers at the steep fall of the land east of Karaponia. Here, where the ridge dropped, there was a scarped bank and ditch, made to keep the pigs out of the Rangataua cultivations. Just below this, between us and the swamp, were the soldiers. A man rushed first to break through the soldiers; he was killed. Then the foremost man turned back towards the pa, but my father Raureti Paiaka and his comrade Te Makaka dashed at the line of soldiers and broke through, and all the rest of us followed and made for the swamp. Raureti shot two soldiers here. We now were broken up and separated from one another. We retreated through the swamp, and when we reached a place called Manga-Ngarara (Lizard Creek) we found some troops who arrived there to stop us. There again Raureti Paiaka broke through and we passed on. Ngata was nearly killed there by being cut at with a sword. Raureti raised his gun as if to fire at the swordsman, but he had no cartridge in his gun. The soldier, fearing to be shot, hastily turned back, and our friend was saved. [[78]]
“Our chief and relative Rewi was with us in the retreat through the swamp, and several of us formed a bodyguard to fight a way through for him. When we had crossed the swamp to the Ngamako side, where the hills go steeply up, we saw soldiers, mounted and foot, in front of us, and we fired at them, and one or two dropped. At last we reached the Puniu River; we crossed it and travelled through the Moerika swamp, and presently halted at Tokanui. Next morning we went across to Ohinekura (near Wharepapa). Some of those who escaped from Orakau retreated to Korakonui and Wharepapa; some crossed to Kauaeroa; and others went to Hangatiki. When we crossed the Puniu the old Urewera chief Paerau, who was following us, called out to us from the Orakau side of the river, ‘Friends, Te Whenuanui is missing.’ However, Te Whenuanui (the chief of Ruatahuna) appeared safely, and we continued our retreat together.
“Rewi Maniapoto had gone to the Urewera Country before Paterangi was built, in order to enlist assistance in the war. There were old ties of friendship with the Urewera dating back to the time of the battle of Orona, at Lake Taupo, in the ancient days. The Warahoe section of the Urewera had a pa there then, and there were Ngati-Maniapoto living with them. Some of Warahoe later came and lived in the Ngati-Maniapoto country. Two casks of gunpowder were given to Rewi for the war; one of these was paid for in this way: Takurua, elder brother of Harehare, of the Ngati-Manawa tribe, came back with Rewi, and Raureti gave him £30 to pay for the gunpowder.” [[79]]
CHAPTER XI.
CAMP LIFE AT TE AWAMUTU.
The close of the Waikato War saw some four thousand Imperial and Colonial troops in quarters at Te Awamutu, which remained a large military cantonment for over a year. Surveyors were busy cutting up blocks of confiscated land in the Waikato-Waipa delta for the military settlers, three regiments of Waikato Militia—one regiment was allotted land at Tauranga—and the two companies of Forest Rangers.
An excellent description of military life in Te Awamutu at this period is contained in a narrative written by an Army chaplain (name not given) which appeared in “Fraser’s Magazine,” London, in 1864. The writer narrates the trials and humours of the journey by river and road from Auckland to Te Awamutu in March, and gives an account of the soldiers’ town as he saw it.
“During the hot months,” wrote the chaplain, “officers and men were under canvas. * * * Most of these [the tents] have now disappeared, and a small town of whares has sprung up in their place. These whares are extremely comfortable; the coldest wind or the heaviest rain is effectually excluded. The nearest approach we have ever seen to a whare at Home is a Highland bothy, built of turf and heather. One whare affords accommodation for twenty-four men, who have to act as their own architects, carpenters, and builders. A healthy spirit of rivalry is thus produced; each man vies with his neighbour, and surveys the work of his own hand with honest pride. Raupo, a strong, flexible reed, abounding in the neighbouring swamps, has to be cut down and carried into camp on the men’s shoulders. They have often to remain for hours up to the waist in water, and are thus liable to frequent attacks of dysentery and fever. * * * When the whare is finished the men are allowed to have a dance on the wooden floor. The solitary flute strikes up ‘Judy O’Callaghan,’ ‘Garryowen,’ or some equally lively air, and a light-footed Irishman dances a pas de seul amid the vociferous applause of his comrades, who, inspired by his example, take the floor and batter the boards with hearty goodwill. A few of the huts are built of wood, which has been supplied by contract. Most of the primæval forests in the district have disappeared, but [[80]]clumps of red pine may still occasionally be seen. A party of some two hundred sawyers are employed about six miles from the camp [near Rangiaowhia]; strange, wild-looking men who have lived for years in the bush and hold little intercourse with their fellow-men. Some of the more skilful amongst them can make as much as £15 per week; the poorest workman can make the half of that amount. * * * The furnishings of our hut consist of a camp-bed, a table, two chairs, two wooden stools, two bridles, a riding-whip, a mirror six inches by four, a few paddles, a rifle, a sword, and a lump of bacon suspended from the roof. The mothers and sisters of officers out here are not to suppose that their sons and brothers are equally comfortable; our habits are deemed quite luxurious; our hut is the envy of the whole camp. The rumour has reached us that the Colonial Government, who claim it as their property [the hut was at the mission station], intend to turn us out, but they will find that rather difficult; possession at Te Awamutu is something more than nine points of law; we know our rights and mean to stand by them.”
Describing some of the troops at Te Awamutu, the chaplain wrote: “ * * * The soldiers of the 65th Regiment are most exemplary in this respect [attendance at religious services]. The regiment has spent eighteen years in the colony; the men have been broken up into detachments and stationed in rural districts, far removed from the temptations of garrison towns. Their appearance is very different from that of the men belonging to other regiments recently arrived. They are grave, serious, thoughtful men, with bronzed faces and flowing beards—living proofs of the healthiness of the climate. They are all in good condition, and occupy one-fourth more space on the parade-ground than any other regiment here. From their long residence in the colony most of them have contrived to save a little money; some who have speculated in land are capitalists possessed of thousands. This wealth does not interfere in any way with the strictness of discipline or the respect due to their officers. On the contrary, they expose their lives as readily as those who have nothing to lose, and from long intercourse are devotedly attached to those under whom they serve. They have never left their officers wounded on the field of battle; it is always a point of honour with them to carry them off, whatever loss may be entailed. Their wealth also sometimes enables them to be generous. It was only recently that a subaltern of long standing was likely [[81]]to lose his company from not having money to purchase. Judge of his surprise when one of the sergeants waited on him and offered to advance the sum required. * * * The 65th is first on the roster for Home service, but few of the men will ever leave the island. In fact, it is not to be desired that they should, as a better class of colonist could not be found.
“When the natives fled from this district a good many horses, cattle, and pigs were left wandering in the bush. Some months ago it was a frequent amusement among the officers to sally forth in small parties in search of loot. They revived the wild sports of Mexico by hunting down the horses and driving them into camp. We know of one case where an officer brought in twenty horses and sold them at £5 a head, thus netting £100 by the venture. * * * We have several lakes in the neighbourhood. [One of these was the Pekapeka-rau lagoon near Rangiaowhia.] The natives, on leaving, hid their canoes by dragging them into the bush or sinking them. A good many have been found, and some of our men have become skilful paddlers. They venture forth in these frail barques in search of sport. At first the wild fowl were so tame that they seemed to apprehend no danger; they have now become more suspicious. Pig-hunting also was a frequent amusement.”