Story: Kāwanatanga – Māori engagement with the state

Military camp, Waitara, 1860 (1st of 2)

Military camp, Waitara, 1860

Beneath the snow-capped peak of Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont) stand the flags and tents of the British Army's 65th Regiment in this 1860 painting by the regiment's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gold. These troops were assembled to occupy a block of Māori land which the district's paramount chief refused to sell to the government. In the ensuing battles 3,500 government and British troops fought 1,600 Māori, resulting in 238 casualties among the former and 200 among the latter.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: B-103-011
Watercolour by Charles Emilius Gold

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:

Paul Meredith and Rawinia Higgins, 'Kāwanatanga – Māori engagement with the state - Implementing kāwanatanga', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/37438/military-camp-waitara-1860 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Paul Meredith and Rawinia Higgins, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Aug 2016