Ko te Manawa-rere, ko te Manawa-rere, kia u, kia u!
Trembling hearts, trembling hearts, be firm, be firm!

The battles of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina) & Te Ranga

Click on images for their references

Artist, Horatio Gordon Robley,1864 Gate Pā - Tauranga - no one has captured this period of Tauranga's history so well in drawings, as this artist who was present throughout the battles of Gate Pā and Te Ranga.  Some of his painting above and below

Setting the Scene  - by Te Kohinga

Tauranga - once a flourishing economy....
This was true for Tauranga Moana (Waihī Beach to Papamoa) Māori prior to the British troops arriving in 1864 and blockading the harbour.  This led to the Battles of Gate Pā on 29th April and Te Ranga on 21st June 1864 resulting in massive confiscations of very productive traditional Māori lands. This also needs to be taught in schools, as part of our NZ history curriculum so our tamariki and mokopuna of all races and cultures can know the truth.  

The map here is from Dame Evelyn Stokes
Dame Evelyn Stokes (1936-2005), a geographer and historian who throughout her extensive career as a researcher wrote many reports and created these maps to accompany those reports in relation to the raupatu of Tauranga Moana in the waitangi tribunal claims.

The Battles: Maori -v- English

Pukehinahina flag. Courtesy Tauranga City Libraries. Click the flag to read its history

Courtesy of Tauranga Heritage Collection who holds the flag which is provenanced to the Battle of Gate Pa in 1864.

Identity and the Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina), 29 April 1864
The New Zealand Wars are an indelible part of the history of Aotearoa and, as such, an ingredient in the shaping of national identity. The Battle of Gate Pā at Pukehinahina (puke hill, hinahina or mahoe tree) on 29 April 1864 was one of the few outright victories for Māori against the British and occurred during a period of great identity upheaval for Māori. The musket wars had already forced a major cultural shift reflected in radical new pā design and the missionaries had introduced Christian teachings.  ​

Battle of Te Ranga - 21 June 1864
On 21 June the uneasy quiet in Tauranga was broken by gunshot. In the bloody exchanges that followed over 100 lives were lost, most of them Māori. The battle of Te Ranga, as it came to be known, saw Māori forces overwhelmed by British troops. Rawiri Puhirake and Henare Taratoa were among those who lost their lives that day. 

Henare Wiremu Taratoa (1830-1864):  The Code of Conduct
​Read 'Orders of the Day' by Henare Wiremu Taratoa of Te Ranga's whose challenge to Colonel Greer of 28 March was followed by a letter setting down a Code of Conduct by which Ngāi Te Rangi would take up arms. Taratoa's stance was one inspired by his strong Christian conviction, a faith shared by many in the Tauranga district by 1864. To defend his people, and independence, was not to forsake a faith in God. Henara is laid to rest in the Mission Cemetery at Otamataha Pā in the historic precinct of Tauranga. Image of Henare: Alexander Turnbull Library. Ref: A-033-011. ​

Henare Taratoa is laid to rest in The Mission Cemetery, Otamataha Pā (Cliff Road), Tauranga

Rawiri Puhirake (1814-1864) 
Ngāi Te Rangi leader Rāwiri Puhirake Tuaia was the most influential chief in Tauranga during the time of the Battle of Gate Pā at Pukehinahina (29 April 1864) and Battle of Te Ranga (21 June 1864). His uncle was Reko who signed the Treaty of Waitangi in Tauranga in 1840.  Henare is laid to rest in the Mission Cemetery at Otamataha Pā in the historic precinct of Tauranga.
 RH Image: Rawiri Puhirake: 'For his enemy.’  Lithograph, Wilson & Horton, Auckland, 1895 - NZ History.  ​

Rawiri Puhirake is laid to rest in The Mission Cemetery, Otamataha Pā (Cliff Road), Tauranga

Rawiri Puhirake tending to Colonel Booth as seen on his headstone

Widespread land confiscation resulting in the official Anglican Apology
These two ferocious battles, the Battle of Gate Pā on 29 April 1864 and the Battle of Te Ranga on 21 June 1864, which led to widespread land confiscation finally resulted in the December 2018 official Apology from the Anglican Church. Taonga Tauranga believes that with growing interest in the history of these battles by locals, visitors and tourists, more needs to be done to honour not only the battles of Gate Pā and Te Ranga, but to learn more about the New Zealand Land Wars ​which took place from 1854-1872. 

In 2014 there was a 150yr Commemoration and Exhibition for the Battle of Gate Pā & Te Ranga. 
​The Battles were arguably the most important milestone in Tauranga's history and one of the major milestones during the New Zealand Land Wars.  

Explanatory Video made at the time of the
150 yr Commemoration
by MurrayMaunder of Vision Productions

Victory at Gate Pā?
​by Buddy Mikaere & Dr Cliff Simons

The recently released book ​Victory at Gate Pā? by historians Buddy Mikaere and Dr Cliff Simons is an outstanding explanatory read. Available here​.  

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The lovely story of Heni Te Kiri Karamu (1840-1933) 

Hene (also known as Heni Pore, Jane Russell and Jane Foley) claimed to be at the Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina) which took place on 29 April 1864. Here she gave water to Colonel Booth and other fallen soldiers - both Maori and the English.  There is a plaque in her honour in the Memorial Reserve.  

St George's Anglican Memorial Church at Gate Pā

St George's Anglican Church at Gate Pā is the most notable of historic churches in Tauranga.In 1880, Canon Charles Jordan asked that part of the Gate Pa Domain be made available for an Anglican Church that would be a memorial to the officers and men who had fallen in the battle. Fundraising was undertaken and part of the pā site was obtained through an exchange of land between the government and the church. On 10 February 1900 the governor, Earl of Ranfurly, laid the foundation stone. 

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The Tukutuku Panels

Gate Pā memorial reserve

Please click on image to see caption

Today it is a joy to walk around the peaceful and beautiful dedicated reserve with its glorious trees. You will find this reserve, where once fierce fighting took place, seamlessly flowing from of St George's Memorial Church at Gate Pā, Tauranga, New Zealand 

​In 2014 members of the Pukehinahina Charitable Trust enlarged and embellished the memorial, adding a large deck (marae ātea) and replacing the old flagpole. Two trees flanking the memorial which were to have been removed were instead lopped and turned into carvings. Eight carved pillars (pou) were installed along the edge of the reserve. Each pou stands for one of the main protagonists: Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Tamarāwaho, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Hangarau, Waitaha, Tainui iwi, and Pākehā (Lieutenant General Sir Duncan Cameron is depicted). The refurbished memorial was dedicated on
​29 April 2014, the 150th anniversary of the battle.

Take a heritage tour with Buddy Mikaere

Take an inspirational tour with historian Buddy Mikaere on the integrated powerful history of The Elms, Gate Pa and Te Ranga, events that have had far reaching consequences for our region resulting in an historic Apology from the Anglican Church of Aotearoa.
​
Ring Buddy on ​+64 21 384 620
[email protected]  
Heritage Tours of Tauranga Moana
​Or fill in the form below for more information from Buddy

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