Ōrākau pā

Click on thumbnail for more detail.

Ōrākau pā, sketched by Brigadier-General G.J. Carey (1822–1872), from the Illustrated London News, 1864. The illustration shows British troops in the foreground behind trees and in a trench leading up towards the pā, on which a British flag can be seen flying. The smoke of gunfire can be seen at several points around the pā.

The Battle of Ōrākau is perhaps better known as ‘Rewi’s last stand’, a name immortalised by Rudall Hayward’s 1925 silent film (remade as a ‘talkie’ in 1940). This was a brutal affair in which up to 160 of the pā’s defenders were killed, most of them during a pursuit that followed a daring breakout towards the safety of the King Country.