| Te Rauparaha In the 1820�s the Ngati Toa tribe from the Waikato area moved south and after a series of skirmishes with tribes around Manawatu, took over the fortress island of Kapiti near Wellington. Their chieftain was Te Rauparaha, and over the next few years, his warriors decimated the tribes along the Horowhenua coast. His victories brought slaves, which allowed the tribe to produce flax, potatoes and tattooed heads for trading with European shipping. The muskets he received allowed him to further wage war, and it was in 1828 that he turned his eyes to the South Island. The food resources there were well renowned, as was the much coveted greenstone. The countryside was sparsely populated, and if it had to be taken in battle, then their superior firepower would ensure them victory over the more traditionally armed tribes. The first skirmish by Te Rauparaha and his allies from the North Island, was not against Ngai Tahu, but various tribes living in the Wairau valley � they were effectively decimated, and Ngati Toa returned to Kapiti. Eventually, his greed for resources saw him venture further south to Kaikoura. Ngai Tahu there were expecting relatives from the North, and by the time they realised their danger, Ngati Toa had killed many of them and enslaved others that didn�t escape to the hills. The same thing happened at Goose Bay, and then the war party of about 2000 moved on to Ngai Tahu�s major settlement at Kaiapoi. The fortifications at Kaiapoi were formidable � the walls of the pa were surrounded on three sides by a lagoon and swamp, and was fortified against muskets on the south side. Ngati Toa explained to Ngai Tahu that they were only there for trade, and a few of the party were allowed into the settlement. There are various accounts of what happened next, but the end result was that several Ngati Toa people were killed. Te Rauparaha broke camp and returned with his warriors to Goose Bay, killing some of his prisoners there and then left with about five hundred other prisoners for Cooks Strait. Everyone knew however that revenge would be forthcoming. In 1830, Te Rauparaha persuaded Captain John Stewart of the ship �Elizabeth� to convey him from Kapati to Akaroa harbour along with two hundred armed men in exchange for a cargo of flax. Upon arrival, while Ngati Toa remained hidden below decks, the ship�s trading-master invited chiefs to come aboard to trade for muskets. Several chiefs and later others, not suspecting anything untoward, went aboard and were captured by Te Rauparaha. Those Ngai Tahu still on shore, eventually became suspicious and it was then that Ngati Toa and some European sailors (including Captain Stewart) rowed ashore and attacked the local inhabitants. Some eighty hostages were taken back to Kapiti where they were killed by the relatives of those Ngati Toa who had been killed at Kaiapoi. The �Elizabeth Affair� taught Ngai Tahu the advantages of having allies with Europeans, and they continued to trade with them, especially if they traded for muskets. The following year saw Te Rauparaha organise another war party, and sail for Marlborough. There, all the tribes were decimated. Only where some of the invaders decided to settle were a few survivors allowed to remain as slaves. Ngati Toa�s allies also overcame Ngai Tahu on the West Coast, but because of their skill with greenstone, they were allowed to continue working it, although it came under the control of the invaders. In 1832 he led four hundred warriors south to North Canterbury. Having attacked and scattered the inhabitants of some small settlements around Kaiapoi, he then laid siege to the fortification of Kaiapoi itself. Many attempts were made by the attackers to break down the defences and storm the pa. Brushwood was piled up against the walls of the southern fences in order to burn down the walls, but the defenders managed to take them away while Ngati Toa waited for a southerly wind to arrive that would blow the fires in the right direction. After three months of siege, another hundred warriors came over from the West Coast to support Ngati Toa. An all-out attack ensued and the walls were breached. In a desperate attempt to confuse the attackers, a Ngai Tahu chief set fire to a storehouse hoping that the smoke would slow down the invaders. Unfortunately for Ngai Tahu, the smoke blew back into the pa and the attackers were victorious. Some eight hundred people fell to musket fire and hand-to-hand fighting, while another two hundred managed to flee south to the stronghold at Arowhenua near Temuka which had prepared its defences in preparation for Te Rauparaha�s invasion. Ngati Toa then used their captives to gain entry into other settlements around Banks Peninsula and slaughtered anyone they could capture. Meanwhile Ngai Tahu had gathered a fighting party at Temuka and set off to avenge their northern relatives but before they arrived at Banks Peninsular, Ngati Toa had departed for Kapiti. It had been a disastrous episode for Ngai Tahu � the northern half of the tribal territory had been lost, thousands of its people had been killed or taken prisoner back to Kapiti, and the greenstone along the west coast was in the hands of the enemy. A plan was made to rid Ngai Tahu of Te Rauparaha once and for all. A war party started out from the island stronghold of Ruapuke in Foveaux Strait, gathering more warriors from settlements on the east coast as the party sailed north. By the time it reached Kaikoura in January 1833, it was three hundred strong. A few Ngati Toa had settled along the coast north of Kaikoura and these were killed by Ngai Tahu when they were found. Te Rauparaha was known to go to Lake Grassmere in Marlborough each summer to hunt ducks. It was there that he was surprised by Ngai Tahu and his party defeated although he just managed to escape himself. He was chased up to Marlborough Sounds doing battle there before escaping back to Kapiti. He quickly returned with more warriors and an inconclusive battle was fought with Ngai Tahu. Both sides eventually went their separate ways. More muskets were bought by Ngai Tahu and the next year saw a larger war party sail from Ruapuke. Gathering more warriors as it moved northward, it comprised of thirty war-canoes, about six hundred warriors and all the Ngai Tahu fighting chiefs. Unknown to Ngai Tahu however, was the fact that Te Rauparaha was busy fighting tribes in the North Island, so the war party attacked all the waling stations around Cloudy Bay because they were aligned to Te Rauparaha. Captured Maori were put to death, and apart from two Europeans who were ransomed, all the Europeans fled to Kapiti. A frustrated Ngai Tahu then returned to their homes having reasserted their control over their eastern territory as far as Lake Grassmere but without killing Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha and his allies had caused much devastation to the tribe over several years; many of the leaders had been killed, the population had decreased by as much as a quarter, the Westland greenstone was out of its control, the principle settlement at Kaiapoi had been razed to the ground, and refugees had put strains on the southern resources. The long term effects were to be more disastrous for the tribe however. European settlers would soon be demanding land, and Ngai Tahu was not in a good position to resist land agents or drive a decent bargain � many of the land owners of the north were dead, the southern refugees were requiring land in their own right causing trouble for the older landowners, and generally there was not much organisation within the tribe. Is it any wonder then, than modern day Ngai Tahu are insulted when sporting teams use Te Rauparaha�s haka �Ka mate, ka mate� with so much pride before their games. |