Samuel Calvert’s wood engraving, originally published in the Illustrated New Zealand Herald, depicts an incident in the New Zealand wars. After the south Taranaki leader Tītokowaru attacked a government outpost in mid-1868, colonial soldiers advanced towards Tītokowaru’s pā, Te Ngutu-o-te-manu. Despite the impression given in this scene, the battle was a serious defeat for the colonial forces. Tītokowaru’s men, some of whom were hidden in the bush, ambushed them and forced a retreat, with serious loss of life. Such incidents reinforced a view among Europeans that the bush was a strategic refuge for Māori opponents of the government.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference:
PUBL-0047-1868-10-08
Wood engraving by Samuel Calvert
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
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