Kōrero: Police

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.