I'm shocked at how few soldiers there were ........
The Treaty of Waitangi was first signed on February 6, 1840 and conflict between the British Crown and Maori tribes was to some extent inevitable after that. Ostensibly the Treaty established the legal basis for the British presence in New Zealand. It is still seen today as the document that established New Zealand. However both parties, and indeed most of the signatories, had different understandings of its meaning. The Maori believed that it guaranteed them the continued possession of their land and the preservation of their customs. Many of the British thought that it had opened up the country to mass immigration and settlement. On May 21, 1840 New Zealand was formally annexed by the British Crown and the following year the capital moved to Auckland, some 200 km south of Waitangi.
Meanwhile at the southern end of the North Island the New Zealand Company was aggressively purchasing land and bringing settlers to New Zealand. It maintained that the Treaty was not legally binding upon them and continued their activities in defiance of the new government.
In June 1843 the company attempted to survey some land that was still subject to dispute about its ownership. In the ensuing melee 23 Englishmen and four Maoris were killed. This became known as the Wairau Affray.
In the Bay of Islands, Hone Heke, one of the original signatories to the Treaty, was becoming increasingly unhappy with the outcome. Among other things, the relocation of the capital had resulted in a decline of the European population of the bay, a reduction in the number of visiting ships and a serious loss of revenue. Furthermore he was told by American and French traders that the British flag flying on Flagstaff Hill over the town of Kororareka signified slavery for the Maori. What made this intolerable was that the flag pole had itself been a gift from Hone Heke to the first British Resident.
Then in June 1844 a girl from his tribe went to live with an English butcher in Kororareka and defied his orders to return to the tribe. Heke and his men went into the town, looted the butcher's shop and recovered the girl. Almost as an afterthought they cut down the flag pole.
In August 1844 Governor FitzRoy arrived in the bay backed by the navy and 170 men of the 96th Regiment. He summoned the Maori chiefs to a conference which apparently defused the situation. Hone Heke did not himself attend but sent a conciliatory letter and offered to replace the flag pole.
The new accord did not last. Rumours that their land was going to be confiscated were given credence by the large number of European settlers pouring into the country. More to the point, there had not been a trial of strength between the Maori and the British. Kawiti, one of the leaders of local tribe, the Nga Puhi, had spent his whole life in inter-tribal warfare in which Ng? Puhi were usually the winners. Encouraged by Heke's defiance he decided to test his strength against the white tribe. Meanwhile Hone Heke cut down the flag pole a second time.
Once again troops of the 96th Regiment were sent to replace it, and almost immediately it was cut down again. Reinforcements were called in. A new and stronger pole sheathed in iron was erected and a guard post built around it. Meanwhile Governor FitzRoy sent over to New South Wales for reinforcements.
The next attack on the flagstaff was a much more serious affair. At dawn on 11 March 1845 the Maori attacked the guard post, killing all the defenders and cutting down the flag pole for the fourth time. At the same time, possibly as a diversion, Kawiti and his men attacked the town of Kororareka. The garrison, of about 100 men, managed to hold the perimeter while the town was evacuated to the ships moored in the bay. Most buildings in the town were burned, but the missionaries' homes and the church were not touched.
The next morning, all surviving inhabitants of Russell set sail for Auckland in HMS Hazard (whose sailors had taken part in the fighting ashore), the 21-gun United States corvette St. Louis, the Government brigantine Victoria and the schooner Dolphin. Nineteen Europeans had been killed and 27 wounded. Hone Heke and Kawiti were victorious and the Pakeha (Europeans), symbolised by their flag pole, had been humbled.
