On 17 June 1843, 22 European settlers and four Maori were killed when
an armed party of New Zealand Company settlers clashed with Ngati Toa over the purchase of land in the Wairau valley, near modern-day Blenheim.
In 1830 Captain William Stewart of the brig Elizabeth entered into a commercial arrangement with Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha to ferry a taua (war party) of 100 warriors from their base on Kapiti Island to Banks Peninsula to undertake a surprise attack on northern Ngai Tahu.
The news from Wairau was greeted with shock by settlers throughout the
colony. The killing of men who had surrendered was viewed as
cold-blooded murder. There were fears that these events signalled the
beginning of a widespread Maori insurrection.
Te Rauparaha was a Ngati Toa chief and warrior. Sometimes called the 'Napoleon of the Southern Hemisphere', he ruled the lower end of the North Island from his base at Kapiti Island for the best part of 20 years
This sketch of Te Rauparaha in 1847 is by William Bambridge. Te Rauparaha is wearing a naval uniform which he was given after his arrest and detention in Auckland in 1846.
