Ruapekapeka pā occupied by British forces

The battle at Ruapekapeka (the ‘bats’ nest’), a pā built by the Ngāpuhi chief Kawiti. was the last of the Northern War of 1845–46. Debate soon raged as to whether it had been abandoned by its defenders or captured by the British.

The Northern War had erupted in March 1845 following Hōne Heke’s repeated attacks on the symbol of British authority, the flagstaff on Maiki Hill above Kororāreka. Ruapekapeka gave Governor George Grey the chance to establish his authority in the wake of the failure of his predecessor, Robert FitzRoy, to bring Heke and Kawiti into line.

Grey assembled a considerable force for the assault. As well as 1300 British troops and navy personnel, he had 400 kūpapa Māori (Ngāpuhi rivals of Heke led by Tāmati Wāka Nene). The British spent three weeks hauling artillery, men and supplies over almost 20 km of rugged country. When this force assembled before Ruapekapeka in early January 1846, it outnumbered Kawiti and Heke’s men by four to one.

A full-scale bombardment was mounted on 10 January. Steady and accurate firing created three small breaches in the palisade. Colonel Henry Despard wanted to attack before Kawiti’s men could escape, but he was talked out of this plan by kūpapa Māori and Grey.

The next day it was discovered that the pā was nearly empty. The dozen warriors still inside fired one volley before fleeing. When the British followed they were fired on by Māori hidden in the nearby forest. The defenders may have made a tactical withdrawal in a bid to lure the British into an ambush. Fighting intensified as Kawiti’s men seemed to be trying to regain the pā, then fizzled out when the British refused to be lured into the bush.

Despard and Grey proclaimed a ‘brilliant success’. The colonel wrote that Ruapekapeka had been ‘carried by assault’ and that a full-scale attempt to regain the pā had been repulsed.

Another interpretation of events was that the pā had been abandoned once it had served its purpose. Unable to sustain their effort against professional British forces, Māori had to fight in a way that delayed and frustrated their enemy. They had forced the British to make a huge effort to assault the pā, then denied them a clear-cut victory. 

Following the battle Heke, Kawiti and kūpapa leader Wāka Nene met at Kawakawa and agreed on a peace settlement. Grey had little choice but to accept this outcome and pardon the ‘rebels’.

Image: Ruapekapeka pā