Skip to main content

Story: Māori–Pākehā relations

Ruapekapeka, 1845

Image
Ruapekapeka, 1845

Major Cyprian Bridge of the British Army's 58th regiment sketched a battle at Ruapekapeka , Northland, in 1846. British troops, who are supported by 'friendly' Māori, are bombarding the in the background. Battles in the 1840s were some of the earliest occasions on which relations between Māori and Europeans deteriorated into open warfare.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PUBL-0054-1-077

by Cyprian Bridge

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.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Mark Derby, Māori–Pākehā relations – Military conflicts, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/28566/ruapekapeka-1845 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Mark Derby, published 22 March 2011.