The Wairau incident

Scene of the Wairau incident

On 17 June 1843, 22 Europeans and four Maori were killed when an armed party of New Zealand Company settlers and Ngati Toa clashed over the purchase of land in the Wairau valley at Tuamarina, 10 kms north of today's town of Blenheim. This was the most significant clash of arms between Maori and British settlers in the years immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Most of the European victims were executed after surrendering. Outraged settlers demanded action against Ngati Toa. They were ultimately disappointed when the new Governor, Robert FitzRoy, maintained that the Maori had been provoked by the unreasonable actions of the Europeans. FitzRoy was widely condemned by settlers, but the alternative – open warfare with Ngati Toa – would probably have made the situation far worse for those struggling to establish themselves in a new land.