The battle of Te Pōrere

After the ambush at Ōpepe in June 1869, Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Tūruki went to Te Kūiti, the Māori King's base. Tāwhiao withheld his support. When Te Kooti left for Taupō on 5 August, Rewi Maniapoto of Ngāti Maniapoto and the Ngāti Tūwharetoa leader Horonuku Te Heuheu Tūkino IV went with him. On 25 September a combined force of Ngāti Kahungunu, Te Arawa and Ngāti Tūwharetoa defeated him at Te Ponanga, near Tokaanu. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas McDonnell reported that 'the wounded had their heads cut off'. Judith Binney's biography of Te Kooti says the defeat cost him Rewi's support and any hope of help from the Kīngitanga (King movement). NZHistory notes that some doubted Rewi had ever seriously thought of joining a military campaign. Either way, Rewi had gone home.

Te Kooti then made a stand at Te Pōrere, on the bleak pumice land at the western edge of the Rotoaira basin, on the edge of the bush north-west of Mt Tongariro. NZHistory says it is not clear whether Te Kooti or an ally built the main work. It was a British-style redoubt about 20 m square, with flanking angles (bastions) at opposite corners, standing apart from a maze of trenches and rifle pits. NZHistory calls it 'a bad clone' of the British design. The angles were poorly sited, and the loopholes were cut horizontally, so the defenders could not fire down into the surrounding ditch.

On 4 October 1869 McDonnell attacked with Armed Constabulary from Whanganui and Māori fighters 'from all points of the compass'. Accounts name the Māori contingents differently. One NZHistory page names Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Arawa, while Te Ara lists Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu and Whanganui Māori. A key figure was Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, known to Pākehā as Major Kemp. The attackers first took two small detached positions and then quickly occupied the ditch. Thirty-seven of Te Kooti's men were killed and nearly 30 captured, for four of the attackers killed and four wounded. Te Kooti escaped through the neighbouring bush, but lost the two middle fingers of his left hand.

Te Pōrere ended Te Kooti's alliance with Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Horonuku surrendered and rejoined those of his people who had fought for the government. Te Kooti never again fought from a prepared position. For the rest of the pursuit he relied on guerrilla tactics until he reached the King Country in 1872 (see Te Kooti escapes from Rēkohu). NZHistory calls Te Pōrere the last major battle of the New Zealand Wars. The Historic Places Trust 'reconstructed' the redoubt around 1960, and Heritage New Zealand has administered the site for more than half a century. NZHistory notes that the restoration may not meet modern conservation practice. New interpretation panels were unveiled in 2009 for the 140th anniversary of the battle, and the site is on NZHistory's 'History of New Zealand in 100 Places' list.