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Story: Police

Armed Constabulary posts: Pukearuhe, 1878

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Armed Constabulary posts: Pukearuhe, 1878

A military outpost was built at Pukearuhe in northern Taranaki during the wars of the 1860s, and in 1872 it was reopened as an Armed Constabulary station. In this 1878 photo its men pose in their bush-fighting costume – a tartan blanket worn as a kilt. The most practical form of clothing in the bush, this was a style of dress learned from their Māori opponents. The Pukearuhe redoubt was manned until 1885.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-022866-F

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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How to cite this page

Richard S. Hill, Police – Provinces, war and gold, 1850s to 1870s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/33855/armed-constabulary-posts-pukearuhe-1878 (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Richard S. Hill, published 8 June 2012.