An escalation of violence - war in Wellington

On 2 April 1846 Andrew Gillespie and his young son were attacked and killed by Ngati Rangatahi. The Gillespies had been attempting to farm some of the land from which Ngati Rangatahi had been recently evicted. A number of the settlers in the outlying areas moved into town as Wellington prepared for war.

By May Te Rangihaeata was regarded as ‘being in arms against the government’. Although he had played little or no part in the recent unrest, it was widely believed that Kaparatehau and others were fighting on his orders. Grey effectively pacified Ngati Tama and Ngati Rangatahi with a grant of 300 acres (121 hectares) at Kaiwharawhara on the western side of the harbour and monetary compensation for any crops lost. Te Kaeaea was ‘sent on a visit to Auckland'.

Boulcott's Farm

Boulcott's stockade

The most advanced British post in the Hutt Valley was at Boulcott's Farm, some 20 kms from Wellington. It was defended by 50 men of the 58th Regiment under the command of Lieutenant G.H. Page. The barn at the centre of the farm's defences was surrounded by a loopholed stockade.

An attack on Boulcott's Farm at dawn on 16 May 1846 left six soldiers dead and two more Europeans mortally wounded. The attack was led by Te Mamaku of Ngati Haua-te-rangi, who had recently brought 200 warriors from Wanganui to support his Ngati Rangatahi kin and Te Rangihaeata.

Bugler Allen

Te Mamaku's men had camouflaged themselves with pieces of brush. A sentry noticed that some of the brush surrounding the stockade was moving and fired into it. He was quickly overwhelmed and killed. Next to die was a young private, William Allen. He tried to raise the alarm with his bugle but before he could do so his right arm was severed by a tomahawk blow. While attempting to grasp the bugle in his left hand he was struck down and killed. His valiant efforts to warn his comrades made him a hero in colonial society. But the attack further demoralised the settler community.

A month later an armed patrol in the same area was ambushed and four men were wounded. Te Mamaku withdrew to Wanganui and sought the assistance of local chiefs. These letters were intercepted and Richard Taylor passed one of them on to the government. Grey now devised a strategy to deal with the Ngati Toa threat in the region.