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Story: Whanganui tribes

Moutoa Island

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Moutoa Island

The Battle of Moutoa was fought on this small island in the middle of the Whanganui River. The conflict was between the upriver supporters of the anti-European Pai Mārire (Hauhau) movement and the lower river peoples. It lasted a mere half an hour, but cost the lives of perhaps 50 Hauhau and 15 lower river Māori, along with one European, lay brother Euloge Chabany from the nearby Catholic mission.

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How to cite this page

David Young, Whanganui tribes – Wars, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/2186/moutoa-island (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Young, published 4 March 2009, updated 22 March 2017.