This fanciful illustration shows the English-born Pākehā–Māori Dicky Barrett helping his adopted Te Āti Awa people defend themselves against attacking Waikato Māori. Te Āti Awa built a pā called Ōtaka on the Taranaki coast and equipped it with cannon from a European ship. Barrett was an ex-seaman and could show his Māori hosts how to fire the guns. After three weeks of ferocious fighting, the Waikato warriors withdrew. Barrett later became a trader, landowner and hotel-keeper in Wellington.
Using this item
Puke Ariki – Taranaki Museum & Library
Reference:
A66.286
Watercolour by A. H. Messenger
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