Ohaeawai gravestone

Gravestone for William Stewart and Matthew Hodgkins, who were killed at Ohaeawai.

British commander Henry Despard’s decision to assault the modern pa of Ohaeawai on 1 July 1845 was roundly criticised in terms ranging from ‘stupidity’ to ‘lunacy’. Major Cyprian Bridge recorded that after the assault he and his men were ‘tired and dispirited and disgusted beyond expression at having been defeated by a mob of savages and with such fearful cost too’. Bridge criticised Despard for not attacking the pa at its most vulnerable point, but to be fair to teh colonel the level of concealment achieved by the outer fence made it difficult to know exactly where this weak point was.

Despard was nearly 60 and had not seen active service for nearly 30 years and was perhaps no longer to running a campaign. Despite the criticisms of some of those who survived the assault that day he continued to enjoy the support of his Australian-based superior, General O’Connell, and Governor Robert FitzRoy.