The Northern War, fought in the Bay of Islands in 1845-46, was the first serious challenge to the Crown in the
years after the Treaty of Waitangi. Its opening shots marked the
beginning of the wider North Island conflicts often referred to as the
New Zealand Wars.
Ruapekapeka may have been a tactical victory for the British. But many
consider the battle to be a draw. Heke and Kawiti had escaped with
their forces largely intact. The terms of the peace settlement that
followed suggests that the Maori had enjoyed a strategic victory.
