Battle of Rangiriri

Battle of Rangiriri
Part of New Zealand Wars
Date 20–21 November 1863 Location Rangiriri, Waikato Result British victory
Belligerents
British and New Zealand colonial forces	Maori King Movement of Waikato
Strength
1420	500
Casualties and losses
49 killed, 87 wounded	36 killed, 35 wounded

The Battle of Rangiriri was a major engagement in the invasion of Waikato, which took place on 20–21 November 1863 during the New Zealand land wars. More than 1400 British troops defeated about 500 warriors of the Kingitanga (Māori King Movement), which was resisting the expansion of British settlement and colonial rule in the North Island. The battle cost both sides more than any other engagement of the land wars and also resulted in the capture of 180 Māori prisoners, which impacted on their subsequent ability to oppose the far bigger British force.

The British success at Rangiriri and several subsequent battles opened the Waikato basin to the British forces and the government subsequently confiscated 1.3 million hectares of land for use by settlers. In 1995 the Crown apologised for its actions.

Since early August 1863 Kingitanga forces had been fighting the British advance into Waikato territory from the so-called Meremere line, a 22 km-long line of fortifications that spread from Pukekawa to Meremere and Paparata. The defensive line commanded about 2000 square kilometres of bush and was manned by a force of up to 1500. On October 31 the British commander, Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron, landed troops on the banks of the Waikato River 15 km south of Meremere, ready to make an assault on the main fortification from the rear with a total force of 1200 men. The following day the Māori forces evacuated Meremere and retreated south to Rangiriri, their next defensive line.

Work on the Rangiriri line had begun before the fall of Meremere with a 500m long double ditch dug between the Waikato River and Lake Kopuera. Strengthening work had continued during the earlier campaign based at Meremere, and concentrated work began in early November 1863 under the direction of Te Wharepu, a leading Waikato chief. The front line ran east-west, comprising a long trench, behind which was a parapet of banked-up earth and another trench. The trenches were between 2.7m and 4.2m deep, with the parapet between 4.2m and 6.3m from the base of the trench. Another line of defences ran south from the main line at right angles to it, facing the river to protect the line from any river-borne force. In the centre of the main line lay a small but well-protected north-facing redoubt with several lines of concealed rifle pits at its southern side. A second series of outlying works were located on a spur to the south and east of the main defence line. The defences consisted solely of earthworks, with no palisading, while the redoubt, whose low profile meant it escaped detection by Cameron on river-borne reconnaissance missions on 30 October and 18 November, was deceptively strong. (The eastern part of the double ditch and some of the outlying works were destroyed with the making of State Highway 1. From the central redoubt earthworks, Lake Kopuera is about 105m to the east.)

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