The Illustrated London News report on the presentation to William Odgers of the Victoria Cross for his actions at Waireka. He was the first person to be awarded a VC during the New Zealand Wars.
Odgers' ‘conspicuous and daring bravery’ that day occured near dusk when his commander, Captain Peter Cracroft, decided that with time running out decisive action was required. Cracroft promised ‘Ten pounds to the man who gets that flag!’ and Odgers duly gained his place in New Zealand military history. In dispatches Cracroft described how his men stormed Kaipopo pā ‘under heavy fire’. Once inside they ‘destroyed everything living in the trenches, as far as could be ascertained’.
Newspaper accounts that Cracroft's men killed between 70 and 150 Māori in the attack were greatly exaggerated. Historian James Belich suggested that the pā was virtually empty at the time of the assault. This was a ‘paper victory’ bolstered by claims of ‘enormous’ Māori losses. On the other hand, the Waitangi Tribunal’s Taranaki report (1996) claimed that Waireka was a Māori victory. Nigel Prickett also dismissed British reports of ‘cart-loads’ of Māori bodies taken away, while concluding that between 17 and 40 Māori were killed during the day's fighting. Regardless of the body count, the British could claim Waireka as a victory – albeit one of uncertain magnitude.
Community contributions