tamati waka nene

The Northern War

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  The Northern War, fought in the Bay of Islands in 1845-46, was the first serious challenge to the Crown in the years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Its opening shots marked the beginning of the wider North Island conflicts that are often referred to as the New Zealand Wars.

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• Page 4 – Puketutu and Te Ahuahu

  Māori learnt an important lesson at Puketutu: the British were a formidable foe in open battle. This would influence Māori tactics in future clashes

• Page 6 – The quest for peace

  George Grey became governor in November 1845. When talks with the 'rebels' broke down in early December, Grey ordered Despard to move against Kawiti's new pa, Ruapekapeka.

• Page 7 – Ruapekapeka

  Ruapekapeka may have been a tactical victory for the British, but many consider the outcome a draw. Heke and Kawiti had escaped with their forces largely intact, and the terms

• Page 8 – Peace breaks out

  Historian James Belich contends that Grey won the propaganda war and Kawiti and Heke won the real war. Others argue that Belich's revisionism goes too far and maintain that