Today in History

1868 Titokowaru's war begins

Three settlers were killed near Ketemarae, Hawera, by Nga Ruahine warriors acting on the orders of the spiritual leader Titokowaru. The deaths marked a change in strategy in response to protests over the confiscation of Maori land.

Titokowaru grew up in the shadow of the ‘musket wars’. He received formal training as a tohunga (Maori spiritual expert) before converting to Christianity in the early 1840s. His opposition to land-selling led him to support the King Movement (or Kingitanga). His first experience as a war leader came in Taranaki during the fighting of 1860-61. He lost an eye in the Pai Marire attack on Sentry Hill in April 1864.

In 1867 Titokowaru began to campaign for peace, and held a series of large hui. He renounced his connection with the Kingitanga and called for peaceful resistance. His hopes for reconciliation were dashed by the government's ‘creeping confiscation’ of Taranaki land. By 1868 Nga Ruahine faced a stark choice: war or starvation. At first Titokowaru began a campaign of plunder without bloodshed. Government forces responded by seizing stolen goods and taking prisoners. When Titokowaru refused to return an escaped prisoner, war broke out in earnest.

Image ref: B-034-015, Alexander Turnbull Library