Te Kooti - at War

At War

On November 10, 1868, Te Kooti and his followers attacked the township of Matawhero on the outskirts of Gisborne. Some 54 people were slaughtered, including women and children. The dead included 22 local Māori as well as European settlers. This was probably a revenge attack, motivated by Te Kooti's false imprisonment as a spy.

Te Kooti was then pursued by colonial and sympathetic Māori forces. His community was surrounded at Ngatapa, but Te Kooti and his warriors managed to escape.

From there, Te Kooti was chased to Te Porere. There, he set up a pa and withstood an attack from the British forces, including some opposing Maori troops, under Major Kepa. After much fighting, the British broke through into the pa and Te Kooti had to abandon it, leaving many dead and wounded. Te Kooti himself was shot in the finger on his escape.

From there, Te Kooti escaped into the Urewera and made an alliance with the Tuhoe leadership.

From 1869 to 1872, Te Kooti and his followers raided throughout the central North Island while being pursued by their colonial and Māori enemies. His power was only broken once his Tuhoe allies were systematically conquered by his enemies. But once again Te Kooti managed to escape, this time to the King Country where he spent the next decade under the protection of the Māori King. Te Kooti used this time to develop his religion.