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The Story of Dicky Barrett - Part 2 Battle at Otaka Pa
Dicky Barrett and Jacky Love were traders. They arrived in Ngamotu in 1828 and soon after that trading began between Maori and Pakeha. Barrett and Love wanted flax and goods like pigs and potatoes. Te Ati Awa wanted muskets.
Te Ati Awa had already helped Te Rauparaha, Chief of Ngati Toa beat an army of Tainui warriors. This bloody battle happened at Motunui while Ngati Toa were on their way south to the safety of Kapiti island.
Te Rauparaha continued on his way but Te Ati Awa knew Tainui would return. By December 1831 they could see the camp fire lights of Waikato and Te Maniopoto warriors. They were led by the great fighting chief Te Wherowhero and they were ready for revenge.
Rewind
Were these things happening in New Zealand around 1831? You decide.
True or false?
1. Inter-tribal wars known as the Musket Wars are in full force.
2. These wars end when all the tribes have muskets and there are no longer any easy victories.
3. A few hundred European missionaries, traders and whalers are living with Maori and are protected not by their power but by their value.
4. The Treaty of Waitangi has been signed.
5. Kauri is being harvested for ship's masts.
Answers at the bottom of the page.
Here comes the musket
"The introduction of the flintoff musket into Maori tribal society was both an advantage and - for some - a disaster."
Michael King - The Penguin History of New Zealand.
Some more of Michael King's book is summarised below. Read each point and then decide which points offered advantages for Maori and which of the four would lead to disaster.
1. Muskets became a favourite choice for the European trader. They were cheap to buy and easy to barter.
2. Maori didn't have projectile weapons like bows and arrows and slingshots. Muskets made it easier to hunt birds.
3. Some tribes sought guns simply for the mana of ownership. Other tribes had them so they wanted them too.
4. Maori were a warlike people so it wasn't long before they started to use muskets in battle.
Muskets for pigs?
It is thought that Maori first fought with muskets 1807. A Ngapuhi war party carried them into a Northland battle near Maunganui but they were slow to reload and Ngati Whatua attacked and beat them with traditional weapons.
By 1820 though, the tribes without muskets realised they needed them to survive and between 1822 and 1836 fierce battles were being fought all over the country.
This week's story tells the tale of a great Taranaki battle and it happened in February 1832. Historians think the levels of violence peaked between 1832 and 1833.
What if you were a Te Ati Awa chief at this time and the traders Dicky Barret and Jacky Love were trading in your area? Would it be a "wise move" to get some muskets? How many would you try to get. How would you get them?
Pair up with a classmate and work it out.
Word watch
All the words and phrases below are in this week's story. Choose the best meaning and then check your answers as you later read the story.
1. palisades (a) a fence of pales that formed a barrier for defence or (b) banks and ditches
2. taua (a) a shellfish or (b) war parties
3. refugees (a) people that flee their own homes- perhaps in times of war, to seek shelter somewhere else or (b) people that decide to leave their own country for life in a new country
4. held everybody hostage (a) held up people as in an "armed holdup" or (b) held everybody prisoner until demands were met or they gave up
5. canon fodder (a) the warriors who attacked a canon protected area or (b) ammunition for the canon
6. neutral territory (a) territory that belongs to neither side or (b) territory both sides want
7. sniper (a) a person in war who fires on the enemy from a hidden spot or (b) a spy
8. belching canon fire (a) exploding canon fire or (b) noisy canon fire
9. reckless (a) amazing bravery or (b) not thinking about the consequences
10. utu (a) revenge (b) war
Answers at the bottom of the page
Ready for war
It was lucky the war parties couldn't travel quite as fast as people can today. It gave the Te Ati Awa people time to prepare for war. Read the first part of this story down to "Spies and refugees" and find out where Te Wherowhero's war parties were when they were first seen.
Find out too what Te Wherowhero planned to do with the heads belonging to the two Pakeha traders.
This first part of the story told about preparations for war. Look here to find out how a pa was fortified so it could be defended against attackers. There were three main ways. Scroll down to "How were pa defended?"
Do you think all three features were built into the Otaka pa? Think about the pa site. How likely is it that stones were used in the defence banks?
I spy
Read "Spies and refugees" and "Brutality and conquest."
What if the two Waikato canoes had carried spies to Waitara? What useful information would these spies be looking for? Team up with a partner and make a list.
Not so safe
The siege at Pukerangiora Pa was brutal and those that ran to safest pa in the district would soon regret it. Pukerangiora was high above the Waitara River. Read this poem to find out more about the Pukerangiora story and a time when things were happier.
Check out these two photos:
With a classmate work out why Te Wherowhero chose to put this pa under siege rather than attack it straight away.
Bring in the canons
While Te Wherowhero camped outside Pukerangiora the people of Ngamotu prepared to defend their pa. Read "Preparing for invasion" and find out about the canons.
This story says the canons are thought to have been bought from a passing ship but no one knows for sure. Another story says they came from The Adventure, the schooner that was washed up and wrecked on Ngamotu beach. This was the schooner that Jackie Love and Dicky Barrett sailed to New Zealand on. Which story do you think is the most likely? Decide with a classmate and compare your ideas with another pair.
Which of the weapons do you think would be the most likely weapon to save the people of this pa? We know they had some muskets and traditional weapons. They also had these three very old canons. Rank these weapons in an order of importance.
Choose your weapon!
The story tells us that Te Ati Awa only had 100 muskets so what if you were about to defend the pa and you were one of the 250 warriors without a musket? Which traditional weapon would you most like to carry? Choose one from the list of weapons here.
Trickery and treachery?
Here is another piece of history where no one is quite sure what happened. Read "Tricks or a real try at peace" and "Blood on the sand". Find out who fired the first shots in the battle.
So what would the different sides say if they were asked who started the battle? Try this activity with a partner or in small group and look things from three points of view.
Print out the PDF chart below:
Decide what each group would have to say, complete the chart and then compare your chart with those from other groups.
A strange way to fight?
For Barrett and Love the Maori way of war seemed quite odd. Read different fighting styles and find out why.
Which of the very "different" ways of war may have even led to peace instead of war?
Who's fighting who?
The next part of the story tells us that sometimes it seemed more dangerous inside the pa than outside. Read "Gunfire and confusion" to find out why.
This part of the story finished by telling readers that Te Wherowhero was ready to give up and go home. He told Te Ati Awa he would attack first and slaughter them all.
The siege that had worked so well for Te Wherowhero at Pukerangiora Pa was unsuccessful at Otaka Pa. Team up with a classmate and list some reasons why.
Canon fire and retreat
Read through to "A self imposed exile" and look for more examples of the Maori way of war.
The drawing above is an imagined one. Who do you think the artist sees as the hero of Okata?
The great trek south
Finish the story now and find out about the great trek south.
What if you lived during this time? Would you have joined the trek or would you rather have been one of those that remained behind?
Heroes or villains?
The last paragraph in the story makes an interesting point about Barrett and Love and their part in the battle. Read it again and then decide how Te Ati Awa warriors would view Barrett and Love. Would they be heroes or villains? Compare your ideas with a classmate's.
Translate that poem
The poem, "A tribute to Mr Barrett" is a little tricky to read. See how much of it you can translate into lines of poetry that are easier to understand. For example lines one and two might be...
Oh those were stirring times when Chief Dicky did reign
Over Moturoa's realm on the flat land near the shore
Fast forward
Last week a Taranaki Daily News story told readers about the final dig day at a Bell Block pa site.
The historic excavations began in 2002 when archaeologists thought they had found a large wharenui (meeting house) from the 1850s. Under the house they found the remains of a fortified pa and the dig got bigger and bigger. It's been as big or bigger than any other in New Zealand.
Now archaeologists have uncovered a village that was once home to at least 150 people. There are signs of lots of houses, storage pits, gardens and hangi sites. The latest technology has been used to map the trenches, gateways and palisades.
Chief archaeologist Brent Holdaway says there are very few examples of a complete village. ""It has been fascinating because it gives us a great window into 19th century activities, pre- European settlement."" Mr Holdaway also said that the site showed the wealth of pre- New Zealand war communities. ""These people were wealthy,"" said Mr Holdaway.
The new Bell Block bypass will cover the greater part of the dig but at least two thirds of the village will remain intact. Transit New Zealand paid $700,000 for the big dig, but now it's time to start the new road.
Now that you know a little about the dig and something about the history of the area try this in small groups.
It's the 1840s.Your group are the leaders of a community that has to decide whether to return from Wellington and build a new village. Remember why you left Taranaki. Make a list of five big decisions that you will have to make before your village is settled.
Share your ideas with other groups.
Answers
Rewind
1. True. The Musket Wars began in 1818 and continued until about 1833.
2. True.
3. True.
4. False. The Treaty was not signed until 1840.
5. True. This harvesting began in the 1820s and would continue for another 100 years until the kauri was almost destroyed.
Click to go back to the questions.
Word Watch
1.a, 2b, 3a, 4b, 5b in this story but those that attack canon positions have been described by some writers as canon fodder. 6a, 7a, 8a, 9b, 10a
Click to go back to the questions.
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