Rangiriri (1863)
Decisive battle of the New Zealand Wars
The Waikato War of 1863-64 was the most intensive of ‘Queen Victoria’s little wars’ in New Zealand. By now the government forces were better organised. Governor Grey’s Great South Road was snaking down from Auckland, river gunboats and transports were being built and they could call on 12,000 imperial soldiers and sailors well as colonial units and Māori allies. In contrast, the King Movement could field no more than 2000 of its 5000 part-time warriors at a time. Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron pushed south, making good use of steamers, taking Koheroa and then Meremere (evacuated at the last moment by the Kingites). The steamers, which now made the rivers more a liability than a resource for the pā-builders, gave Cameron momentum, whereas his foes needed time to regroup and resupply. Five hundred Kingites were still preparing a new defensive line at Rangiriri when Cameron attacked on 20 November 1863.
Rangiriri straddled an isthmus between the Waikato River and Lake Kopuera. A strong central redoubt was flanked by rifle pits and other defensive positions. The outnumbered Kingites repelled at least eight attacks and forced government troops to spend a wretched night bivouacked on the wet ground. Victory probably came by mistake; misinterpreting a white parley flag for surrender, the British got inside the pā before the defenders realised what was going on. The Kingites lost 47 men (more than the British) but their biggest loss was the 180 captured. Three weeks later Cameron occupied Ngāruawāhia, the King’s capital. He went on to win at Rangiaowhia and Ōrākau early in 1864. When the fighting shifted to Tauranga, the British were heavily defeated at Gate Pā before gaining revenge at nearby Te Ranga on 21 June, effectively ending the Waikato War.
Further information
This site is item number 29 on the History of New Zealand in 100 Places list.
On the ground
Although erosion and road construction have destroyed some of the site, much remains, and in 2013 some remediation work will be completed as part of the Waikato Expressway project. The redoubt is interpreted.
There are several related places to visit. Te Wheoro’s Redoubt was built a few years later on the site of part of the Rangiriri defences. A few hundred metres away in Rangiriri township are the Māori War and Early Settlers’ Cemetery and, near the tavern, the privately-run Rangiriri Battle Site Heritage Centre, which incorporates a café.
Websites
- Rangiriri - War in Waikato on NZ History
- Waikato War driving tour
- Rangiriri - Roadside Stories (video)
- NZ Transport Agency documentary on the Rangiriri archaeological dig (video)
- DOC guide to the main events and sites of the Waikato War (PDF)
Books
- James Belich, The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian interpretation of racial conflict, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 1986
- David Green, Battlefields of the New Zealand Wars: a visitor’s guide, Penguin, Auckland, 2010
- Matthew Wright, Two peoples, one land: the New Zealand Wars, Reed Books, Auckland, 2006
Related maps
This image Appears In 1 Article:
100 New Zealand Places
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