On 16 June 2002, a new memorial was unveiled to mark the grave of more than 20 Maori warriors who were killed in the Battle of Katikara on 4 June 1863. The warriors came from several iwi including Taranaki, Ngati Ruanui and Whanganui.
A photograph of the memorial taken after the unveiling on 16 June 2002. The memorial tablet bears the following inscription:
HERE LIE OVER 20 WARRIORS OF AOTEAROA: TARANAKI, NGATI RUANUI, WHANGANUI ME ETEHI ATU. THEY DIED FOR THEIR BELIEFS IN THE BATTLE OF KATIKARA 4th JUNE 1863. TAKOTO MAI RATOU I TE RANGIMARIE ME TE RONGOPAI O TO TATOU ARIKI.
At the bottom of the inscription, in smaller letters appear the words:
ERECTED BY THE NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TE KOTAHITANGA O NGA MAHANGA A TAIRI JUNE 2002
The memorial was established as a joint venture between the local hapu, Nga Mahanga a Tairi, and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, which has responsibility for maintaining the graves of those who fell in the New Zealand Wars of the 1800s. Designed by Nga Mahanga a Tairi, the memorial consists of a large boulder and a granite tablet mounted on a sloping base. It is located at the Fort St George Redoubt on Lower Pitone Road, Tataraimaka, and will be maintained by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. It is the first memorial to be created as a joint project between Maori and the Crown.
During the first Taranaki war of 1860-1861, Te Atiawa, led by their chief Wiremu Kingi, fought against the Government over the disputed purchase of the Waitara block. As part of the struggle, Ngati Ruanui drove European settlers from the prime Tataraimaka block and continued to hold it by right of conquest following the truce of 1861.
Governor Grey decided to return the Waitara land block to Taranaki Maori, acknowledging that it had been wrongly purchased. However, before he did so, and without warning, Grey reoccupied the Tataraimaka block and set up a redoubt.
Local Taranaki Maori saw the re-occupation as an aggressive act, and plotted to kill Grey by ambushing him as he travelled the road from New Plymouth to Tataraimaka. On May 4 1863, however, two officers with a small party of soldiers were ambushed instead whilst escorting a prisoner back to New Plymouth. All but one of the party were killed. This incident, known as the 'Oakura ambush', provided Grey with a reason to gather more troops in Taranaki.
New Plymouth settlers called for revenge and on 4 June 1863 a force of 873 officers and men marched on Fort St George just north of the Katikara river. They were supported by artillery from the steamship HMS Eclipse, positioned just off shore. Governor Grey was aboard observing the bombardment by the steamship of Maori palisades.
The 57th Regiment taking a Maori redoubt on the
Katikara River, Taranaki.
(click on image for more detail)
The cover fire from HMS Eclipse enabled the ground troops to storm the Maori palisades. Against very heavy odds Maori retreated from the palisades to the inland earthworks. Those who were able to flee to the bushes were fortunate. Those who sought refuge in the earthworks found themselves in a trap.
The Maori dead were later gathered and buried in a pit close to the redoubt. The grave has remained unmarked except for a concrete slab laid by a local farmer in later years.
A photograph of the concrete slab which marked the mass grave prior to the erection of the memorial in June 2002.
Map showing location of the Katikara Memorial site, Fort St George Redoubt, Lower Pitone Road, Tataraimaka, Taranaki. Lower Pitone Road turns off SH45 about 15 kilometres south of New Plymouth
James Belich, The New Zealand Wars and the Victorian Interpretation of Racial Conflict, Auckland, 1986.
James Cowan, The New Zealand Wars, Wellington, 1922.
Chris Pugsley, 'Walking the Taranaki Wars - An Excuse for War: The Battle of Katikara, 4 June 1863' in New Zealand Defence Quarterly, Winter 1998.
