The Battle of Gate Pa
Between 1845 and 1872 there was lots of fighting in New Zealand Between the local maori worries and the british imperial army.
Most of the fighting was about land and one of the biggest and most famous battles took place in Gate Pa in 1864.
The british force was lead by a General Duncan Cameron. Tauranga main road is named General Cameron.
A heavy bombardment was begun at daybreak on 29 April 1864 and continued for eight hours.
The British had 15 artillery pieces including one of 110 pounds (50 kg). By mid afternoon the pā looked as if it had been demolished and there was a large breach in the center of the palisade. At 4 pm the barrage was lifted and 300 troops were sent up to capture and secure the position. The attacking troops forced the defenders back inside the pa and Maori looked to flee only then discovering their path to the rear blocked - they reentered the pa and continued fighting.The soldiers in the pa mistook these for fresh reinforcements.
The British forces suffered considerable losses and withdrew 100 m to dig in new positions 100m from the pā to await daylight. During the night Māori gave assistance to the wounded and collected their weapons, and by day break they had abandoned the position. Gate Pā was the single most devastating battle for the British military during the New Zealand land wars, with 111 casualties and deaths, however it achieved the main aim of clearing the enemy from the vicinity of Tauranga so can be seen as a victory. Maori losses are said to be 25 dead. Many of the British casualties are thought to have been friendly fire incidents as the long shots by artillery landed on British troops on the other side. This may have been due to the muddy conditions which effected the stability of the artillery guns.
The aftermath of this battle saw reinforcements from the Waikato tribes arriving to continue the fight against the british but two months after the battle of Gate Pa the maori worries were heavily defeated at Te Ranga and so the British were victorious.
The Governor of New Zealand, Gorge Grey arrived to begin peace talks and installed Colonel Henry Greer as the local commander. Greeton in named after General Greer.
