Events In History
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13 February 1869Killings at PukearuheA Ngāti Maniapoto war party sacked the redoubt at Pukearuhe (White Cliffs), northern Taranaki, killing military settlers and family members. Later that day, the missionary John Whiteley also fell victim. Read more...
Coastal settlement 30 km north-east of Waitara. Ngāti Tama’s fortress of Pukearuhe pā at the southern end of Parininihi (the White Cliffs) guarded the entrance to Taranaki for many centuries. In 1865 Pukearuhe was occupied by the 70th Regiment and Taranaki Bushrangers, who built a redoubt and blockhouse. It remained a military outpost until 1885. Clifton township was surveyed around it, but did not develop much beyond housing for the garrison’s families. In 1869 the redoubt was attacked by a Ngāti Maniapoto war party which killed the eight residents and the visiting missionary John Whiteley.
