| Wairau Affray | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the New Zealand Wars | |||
 Wairau Memorial in Tuamarina cemetery | |||
| Date | 17 June 1843 | ||
| Location | Tuamarina, Wairau, New Zealand 41°25′40.5″S 173°57′32.9″E / 41.427917°S 173.959139°E | ||
| Caused by | Possession of lands and estates | ||
| Goals | The arrest of Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata for arson | ||
| Lead figures | |||
Arthur Wakefield † | |||
| Casualties and losses | |||
| |||
 | |||
| Tuamarina, Wairau, is near Blenheim, at the top of South Island | |||
The Wairau Affray of 17 June 1843,[1] also called the Wairau Massacre and the Wairau Incident, was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take place in the South Island.[2]: 182 The incident was sparked when a magistrate and a representative of the New Zealand Company, who held a duplicitous deed to land in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough in the north of the South Island, led a group of European settlers to attempt to arrest Ngāti Toa chiefs Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata.[3] Fighting broke out and 22 British settlers were killed, nine after their surrender. Four Māori were killed, including Te Rongo, who was Te Rangihaeata's wife.
The incident heightened fears among settlers of an armed Māori insurrection.[4]: 236–237 It created the first major challenge for Governor Robert FitzRoy, who took up his posting in New Zealand six months later. FitzRoy investigated the incident and exonerated Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, for which he was strongly criticised by settlers and the New Zealand Company. In 1944 a land claims commission investigation determined that the Wairau Valley had not been legally sold. The government was to pay compensation to the Rangitāne iwi, determined to be the original owners (until the early 1830s, when Te Rauparaha had driven them from the area).
- ^ "Wairau Affray". Southern Cross. Vol. 2, no. 69. 10 August 1844. p. 2.
- ^ King, Michael (2003). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Penguin Books.
- ^ Baker, Matiu (12 June 2015). "The Blenkinsop Indenture: Dirty deeds done dirt cheap!". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ Burns, Patricia (1989). Fatal Success: A History of the New Zealand Company (1st ed.). Auckland: Heinemann Reed.