Post by Kiwi Frontline on Jan 16, 2016 8:09:55 GMT 12
Northern Advocate 16/1/16
HONE HEKE'S ROLE
I was pleased to read the articles on the commemoration of the siege of the musket pa at Ruapekapeka constructed by the illustrious Ngati Hine rangitira Te Ruki Kawiti. This encounter was the final chapter of the Flagstaff Wars, initiated by another rangitira also of great renown, Hone Heke of Ngapuhi, in response to British mismanagement disadvantaging his people in the Bay of Islands.
Opposing these figures were the British Colonial forces under Colonel Henry Despard, with his chief ally being the Hokianga rangitira Tamati Waka Nene. Tamati Waka Nene had a vision of the future which rose far above the limited and factionalised views of those around him, both Maori and Pakeha. Like his elder brother. Patuone, he could see the forest for the trees.
The next major engagement was the attack on Taui's pa, reinforced as a musket pa by Kawiti. This was at Ohaeawai, where Despard demonstrated incompetence and arrogance which resulted in a sharp defeat for the attackers. Waka Nene warned that a frontal attack on such a redoubt would be disastrous, Despard would not heed the "opinion of a savage" and went ahead. The result was a third of his men killed or wounded. Kawiti withdrew, and the British occupied the pa.
The result at Ruapekapeka was broadly similar, although the British approached the battle paying heed to Waka Nene's counsel.
Does this then make Tamati Waka Nene a traitor to his people? I think not, his strong advice to the British authorities was to fully pardon both Hone Heke and Kawiti, so their mana would not be besmirched. This is where the wisdom of Tamati Waka Nene is demonstrated; he understood pitched battles and protracted war against the British would mean destruction to tangata whenua not only in Te Tai Tokerau, but across the nation.
Maori had already been seriously weakened by the bloody internecine conflicts of the Musket Wars — to continue would bring ruin. It is mentioned that Ngati Hine retained much of its land, the initial British desire was to take this land, but Waka Nene warned that such action would only lead to a fatal downward spiral of increasing antagonism.
The wise counsel of Tamati Waka Nene and Patuone remains piquantly relevant in today's Ngapuhi Treaty Settlement environment. Just as the patriotic fighting spirit of Kawiti and Hone Heke will always be honoured.
G M T
Whangarei
sites.google.com/site/kiwifrontline/letters-submitted-to-newspapers
HONE HEKE'S ROLE
I was pleased to read the articles on the commemoration of the siege of the musket pa at Ruapekapeka constructed by the illustrious Ngati Hine rangitira Te Ruki Kawiti. This encounter was the final chapter of the Flagstaff Wars, initiated by another rangitira also of great renown, Hone Heke of Ngapuhi, in response to British mismanagement disadvantaging his people in the Bay of Islands.
Opposing these figures were the British Colonial forces under Colonel Henry Despard, with his chief ally being the Hokianga rangitira Tamati Waka Nene. Tamati Waka Nene had a vision of the future which rose far above the limited and factionalised views of those around him, both Maori and Pakeha. Like his elder brother. Patuone, he could see the forest for the trees.
The next major engagement was the attack on Taui's pa, reinforced as a musket pa by Kawiti. This was at Ohaeawai, where Despard demonstrated incompetence and arrogance which resulted in a sharp defeat for the attackers. Waka Nene warned that a frontal attack on such a redoubt would be disastrous, Despard would not heed the "opinion of a savage" and went ahead. The result was a third of his men killed or wounded. Kawiti withdrew, and the British occupied the pa.
The result at Ruapekapeka was broadly similar, although the British approached the battle paying heed to Waka Nene's counsel.
Does this then make Tamati Waka Nene a traitor to his people? I think not, his strong advice to the British authorities was to fully pardon both Hone Heke and Kawiti, so their mana would not be besmirched. This is where the wisdom of Tamati Waka Nene is demonstrated; he understood pitched battles and protracted war against the British would mean destruction to tangata whenua not only in Te Tai Tokerau, but across the nation.
Maori had already been seriously weakened by the bloody internecine conflicts of the Musket Wars — to continue would bring ruin. It is mentioned that Ngati Hine retained much of its land, the initial British desire was to take this land, but Waka Nene warned that such action would only lead to a fatal downward spiral of increasing antagonism.
The wise counsel of Tamati Waka Nene and Patuone remains piquantly relevant in today's Ngapuhi Treaty Settlement environment. Just as the patriotic fighting spirit of Kawiti and Hone Heke will always be honoured.
G M T
Whangarei
sites.google.com/site/kiwifrontline/letters-submitted-to-newspapers