John Gilfillan painted ‘A native council of war’ in 1853. Six years earlier his wife, Mary, and three of their children had been killed by Māori on their farm in the Matarawa valley, near Whanganui. The execution of four of the perpetrators in April 1847 appears to have further incensed upriver Whanganui Māori led by Tōpine Te Mamaku, who moved south and blockaded the town.
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Hocken Library, University of Otago
Oil painting by John Gilfillan
Permission of the Hocken Library Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.
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