Go to home page - New Zealand History online

What happened that day?

Pages tagged with: ngati ranui

The rescue of Betty Guard and her two children from Ngati Ruanui in September 1834 involved the first use of British troops on New Zealand soil.
Betty Guard is believed to be the first European woman to settle in the South Island. In 1834 she was taken hostage by a group of Taranaki and Ngati Ranui Maori before being rescued several months later by her husband Jacky and a detachment of 60 men from the 50th Regiment.