The battle of Te Pōrere
- When
- 4 October 1869
- Where
- Te Pōrere
- Reach
- Local
The last major battle of the New Zealand Wars was fought at a hastily built redoubt below Tongariro. Te Kooti lost thirty-seven men and escaped wounded.
Te Kooti’s people dug a square redoubt on the pumice below Tongariro, copying a British design without the geometry that made it work: the corner bastions were poorly sited and the loopholes cut level, so nobody could fire down into the ditch. Thomas McDonnell’s Armed Constabulary, with Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Arawa, took the outworks and then the ditch. Thirty-seven defenders were killed for four attackers. Te Kooti lost two fingers and got away, and no prepared position in New Zealand was ever assaulted again.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to read the full account, or to check this one against the original.
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