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Tauranga Moana Tauranga Tangata
- Ko Te Manawarere Kia U
Season 5
,
Episode 9
Documentary series about the Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina) on 29 April 1864. The defences at Pukehinahina were designed by Pene Taka Tuaia, who is said to have learnt his military engineering during the Northern War of 1845–46. This new pā made extensive use of anti-artillery bunkers (rua) and its concealed trenches were to lull the British into a false sense of security when they stormed it.
British forces suffered a humiliating defeat in this battle, with 31 killed and 80 wounded despite vastly outnumbering their Māori foe. This was a major disaster for the British military, and historian James Belich (1998) said; ‘The Battle of Gate Pā was arguably the most
important battle of the New Zealand Wars’.