More British soldiers and sailors were killed at ‘Bloody Rangiriri’ than in any other battle of the New Zealand Wars, but their eventual hard-fought victory opened the Waikato basin to the advancing imperial forces.
Rangiriri
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War in Waikato
After fighting broke out again in Taranaki in early 1863, Governor George Grey turned his attention to the region he saw as the root of his problems with Māori: Waikato, the heartland of the anti-landselling King Movement. Grey vowed to ‘dig around’ the Kīngitanga until it fell. Read the full article
Page 4 - Rangiriri
The decisive battle for Waikato was fought at Rangiriri in November
Locality 4 km south of Te Kauwhata. One of the fiercest battles of the Waikato war was fought at Rangiriri on 20 November 1863. The pā built there by Māori to block the British advance was exceptionally strong, and attacking British forces lost many men. Māori defenders, who also suffered heavy losses, surrendered by mistake the following day, under the false impression that a white flag flying from a gunboat meant that the British wanted to negotiate. Part of the pā is now a historic reserve. Some of the British dead are buried in a nearby cemetery.
Meaning of place name
The name was imported from Hawaiki: Rangiriri was the home of one of the chiefs of the Takitimu canoe, on the Society Islands, and also a part of the ocean believed to be the place where fish originated.
