Pyes Pa
| Pyes Pa | |
|---|---|
 Pyes Pa
|
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| Coordinates: 37°49′24″S 176°08′31″E / 37.82333°S 176.14194°E | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
|
| Region | Bay of Plenty |
| Territorial authority | Tauranga |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 6,036 |
Pyes Pa is a suburb of Tauranga, New Zealand. As of the 2013 Census, Pyes Pa had a population of about 6,036 people, making it the most populated suburb in Tauranga
Pyes Pa is in the southern part of Tauranga, located at 37°49′24″S 176°08′31″E / 37.82333°S 176.14194°E. Pyes Pa is 40.3 km from Rotorua. It is less than 10 minutes away from Route K and Greerton Shopping Centre. Pyes Pa includes The Lakes, Cheyne Road and the TECT All Terrain Park.
The New Zealand Wars battle site of Te Ranga is located in a paddock on Pyes Pa Road (SH36) near the corner of Joyce Road, about 10 km south of Tauranga. On 21 June 1864, British forces decisively defeated local Māori there. The British defeat at Pukehinahina (Gate Pā) on 29 April 1864 shocked New Zealand’s European settlers.
Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron returned to Auckland, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Greer in command of the British garrison on the Te Papa peninsula. Greer was ordered to attack immediately should Māori forces begin constructing another pā in the district.
On the morning of 21 June, Greer left Camp Te Papa (now the Tauranga CBD) with a force of 600 men. Five kilometres inland from Gate Pā, the British force discovered 500 to 600 Maori working on defensive earthworks at Te Ranga. Led by Rāwiri Puhirake, they comprised Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui, supported by Ngāti Porou from the east coast and Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Rangiwewehi from Rotorua. Early that afternoon, following the arrival of reinforcements, Greer ordered men from the 68th and 43rd regiments and 1st Waikato Militia to advance.
The battle that followed was described as among the bloodiest of the New Zealand campaigns. In desperate hand-to-hand fighting, British troops exacted vengeance for Gate Pā. The Māori garrison was unable to hold the incomplete defences and, when Puhirake was killed, his force retreated.
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Wikipedia