Battle of Ohaeawai
| Battle of Ohaeawai | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Flagstaff War | |||
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| Belligerents | |||
 United Kingdom
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Māori | ||
| Commanders and leaders | |||
| Lieutenant Colonel Henry Despard: 58th Regiment ~ 10 officers and 200 men; 99th Regiment ~ 7 officers and 150 men; Tāmati Wāka Nene ~ 400 warriors HMS Hazard ~ 10 officers and men Auckland Volunteer Militia ~ 30 men |
Te Ruki Kawiti ~ 150 warriors Pene Taui ~ 150 warriors |
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The Battle of Ohaeawai was fought between British forces and local Māori during the Flagstaff War in July 1845 at Ohaeawai in the North Island of New Zealand. Te Ruki Kawiti, a prominent rangatira (chief) was the leader of the Māori forces. The battle was notable in that it established that the fortified pā could withstand bombardment from cannon fire and that frontal assaults by soldiers would result in serious troop losses.
After the Battle of Te Ahuahu a debate occurred between Te Ruki Kawiti and the Ngatirangi chief Pene Taui as to the site of the next battle; Kawiti eventually agreed to the request to fortify Pene Taui’s Pā at Ohaeawai. In the winter months of 1845 Lieutenant Colonel Despard led a combined force of troops from the 58th and 99th Regiments, Royal Marines and Māori allies in an attack on Pene Taui's Pā at Ohaeawai, which had been fortified by Kawiti.
The British troops arrived before the Ohaeawai Pā on 23 June and established a camp about 500 metres (1,600 ft) away. On the summit of a nearby hill (Puketapu) they built a four-gun battery. They opened fire next day and continued until dark but did very little damage to the palisade. The next day the guns were brought to within 200 metres (660 ft) of the pā. The bombardment continued for another two days but still did very little damage. Partly this was due to the elasticity of the flax covering the palisade. Since the introduction of muskets the Māori had learnt to cover the outside of the palisades with layers of flax (Phormium tenax) leaves, making them effectively bulletproof as the velocity of musket balls was dissipated by the flax leaves. However the main fault was a failure to concentrate the cannon fire on one area of the defences, so as to create a breach in the palisade.
After two days of bombardment without effecting a breach, Despard ordered a frontal assault. He was, with difficulty, persuaded to postpone this pending the arrival of a 32-pound naval gun which came the next day, 1 July. However an unexpected sortie from the pā resulted in the temporary occupation of the knoll on which Tāmati Wāka Nene had his camp and the capture of Nene's colours - the Union Jack. The Union Jack was carried into the pā. There it was hoisted, upside down, and at half-mast high, below the Māori flag, which was a Kākahu (Māori cloak). This insulting display of the Union Jack was the cause of the disaster which ensued. Infuriated by the insult to the Union Jack, Colonel Despard ordered an assault upon the pā the same day. The attack was directed to the section of the pā where the angle of the palisade allowed a double flank from which the defenders of the pā could fire at the attackers; the attack was a reckless endeavour. The British persisted in their attempts to storm the unbreached palisades and five to seven minutes later 33 were dead and 66 injured. The casualties included Captain Grant of the 58th Regiment and Lieutenant Phillpotts of HMS Hazard.
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