First Taranaki War
- When
- 1860–1861
- Where
- Te Kōhia pā, Waitara · Waitara
- Reach
- Several regions
British artillery opened on Te Kōhia pā, beginning a year of fighting over the Waitara purchase that ended in an inconclusive truce.
Around 3,500 imperial troops were eventually committed against a few hundred defenders who used pā designed to be abandoned once they had absorbed a bombardment. Neither side won outright. New Plymouth was crowded with refugees, much of the district was laid waste, and the truce settled nothing — fighting resumed in 1863 and the underlying land question was answered instead by confiscation.
Regions affected
Sources
Written for this project from these references rather than copied from them. Follow a link to check the account against the original.
Related
Tītokowaru’s campaign
Riwha Tītokowaru won a run of victories with a tiny force and had the colonial government close to losing the southern North Island, then his support evaporated.
South TaranakiThe Musket Wars
Musket-armed war parties reshaped the map of Māori New Zealand. Perhaps 20,000 died and whole districts changed hands before the fighting burned out around 1840.
New Zealand enters the First World War
About 100,000 served overseas from a population of just over a million. Around 18,000 died and 41,000 were wounded — proportionally among the heaviest losses of any country.
New Zealand declares war on Germany
‘Where she goes, we go’ — 140,000 served overseas and nearly 12,000 died, from a population of 1.6 million.