Te Kooti escapes from Rēkohu
- When
- 1868–1872
- Where
- Gisborne and Te Urewera · Tūranganui-a-Kiwa
- Reach
- Several regions
Deported without trial, Te Kooti seized a schooner, sailed 300 prisoners home, and led a four-year pursuit through the Urewera that never caught him.
He had been exiled to the Chathams in 1866 on suspicion of aiding Pai Mārire, without charge or hearing. In captivity he founded the Ringatū faith. After landing at Whareongaonga he asked for safe passage inland and was refused; the raid on Matawhero followed in November 1868, killing around 50 Māori and Pākehā. Government forces chased him for four years across some of the roughest country in the North Island. He was pardoned in 1883, and Ringatū endures.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
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