Battle of Ruapekapeka

Battle of Ruapekapeka
	Part of Flagstaff War
	; The bombardment of Ruapekapeka, January 1846. Artist: Cyprian Bridge, Major, 58th Regiment
Location	20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Kawakawa35°27′23″S 174°08′37″E / 35.4563°S 174.1436°E
Belligerents
United Kingdom: Colony of New Zealand	Māori
Commanders and leaders
Henry Despard; Tāmati Wāka Nene	Te Ruki Kawiti; Hōne Heke
Units involved
Royal Navy HMS Castor; HMS North Star; HMS Racehorse; HMS Calliope; Royal Marines; East India Co. HEICS Elphinstone; HEIC Artillery; British Army 58th Regiment; 99th Regiment; Ordnance Royal Engineers; Royal Artillery; HM Treasury Commissariat; Auckland Militia Volunteer Pioneers; Maori Allies Tāmati Wāka Nene; Eruera Maihi Patuone; Nōpera Panakareao; Repa; Mohi Tāwhai;	Te Ruki Kawiti; Hōne Heke
Strength
Military; 68 officers + 1110 men; Maori Allies; 450 warriors	Ruapekapeka; ~ 500 warriors
Casualties and losses
Military; 13 killed; 30 wounded; Maori Allies; 8–10 killed; 15–20 wounded	Unknown

The Battle of Ruapekapeka was an engagement that took place from late December 1845 to mid-January 1846 between British forces, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Despard, and Māori warriors of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe), led by Hōne Heke and Te Ruki Kawiti, during the Flagstaff War in the Bay of Islands region of New Zealand.

The battle site was a pā located 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Kawakawa, which was one of the largest and most complex fortifications of its kind in New Zealand; the Ngāpuhi designed it specifically to counter the cannon of British forces.^[3]^[4]^[5] The earthworks of the pā can still be seen.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Collinson, Thomas Bernard (1853). "2. Remarks on the Military Operations in New Zealand" (PDF). Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corp of Royal Engineers. New Series 3. London: John Weale: 5–69.
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference NZ18460124.2.12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Best, Elsdon (1975). "The Modern Gun-fighter's Pa (from Notes Supplied by the Late Tuta Nihoniho)". The Pa Maori. Wellington: A. Shearer, Government Printer. pp. 367–376. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015 – via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC).
^ "Gunfighter pā, c1845". New Zealand History. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Manatū Taonga. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
^ "Gunfighter Pā: Mangaheia Station, Tauwhareparae Road, Tolaga Bay". Heritage New Zealand. 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015.

[Collinson1853-1] Collinson, Thomas Bernard (1853). "2. Remarks on the Military Operations in New Zealand" (PDF). Papers on Subjects Connected with the Duties of the Corp of Royal Engineers. New Series 3. London: John Weale: 5–69.

[NZ18460124.2.12-2] Cite error: The named reference NZ18460124.2.12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Best1975-3] Best, Elsdon (1975). "The Modern Gun-fighter's Pa (from Notes Supplied by the Late Tuta Nihoniho)". The Pa Maori. Wellington: A. Shearer, Government Printer. pp. 367–376. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015 – via New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC).

[GP1-4] "Gunfighter pā, c1845". New Zealand History. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Manatū Taonga. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.

[GP3-5] "Gunfighter Pā: Mangaheia Station, Tauwhareparae Road, Tolaga Bay". Heritage New Zealand. 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2015.

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