The last battle of the Waikato War began when the spearhead of a 1200-strong British force charged an apparently weak Māori position at Ōrākau, south-east of Te Awamutu.
Near the Mana Cruising Club in Ngatitoa Domain are the remains of the Paremata barracks, a turreted two-storey stone structure built on Governor Grey’s instructions in 1846.
Born in Malta in 1829 and educated in Scotland, George Stoddard Whitmore followed his family’s long tradition of military service when he was commissioned ensign, at age 18, in a South African colonial unit, the Cape Mounted Rifles. There Whitmore revealed the organisational talent, courage and physical endurance that were to become the most commendable of his traits.
This memorial commemorates Ōtāhuhu settler and Franklin MHR Colonel Marmaduke George Nixon, who commanded the Colonial Defence Force Cavalry during the Waikato War and died from a wound received at the battle of Rangiaowhia in 1864.
Six soldiers were killed and two more Europeans were mortally wounded when Ngāti Haua-te-rangi leader Te Mamaku attacked the British post at Boulcott's Farm in the Hutt Valley.
