Early on 12 October 1866, several hundred Crown militamen and kūpapa attacked the pā at Ōmarunui. A party of Pai Mārire (Hauhau) had occupied the pā and were perceived as a threat to Napier by Donald McLean, the Superintendent of Hawke’s Bay Province, who mobilised local militia and kūpapa under the command of Colonel George Whitmore.

The pā was surrounded early on the morning of 12 October and ordered to surrender within the hour. When no response was received, Crown forces stormed the pā, killing 23 and capturing 86 prisoners who were imprisoned without trial at Rēkohu/the Chatham Islands for two years until they escaped until the leadership of Te Kooti.

An obelisk was erected at the site on the 50th anniversary of the battle in 1916. According to NZHistory.govt.nz, it was deliberately damaged in the 1990s, and only the base of the obelisk remains today. It is surrounded by a vineyard and in poor condition.

Learn more

• NZHistory.govt.nz
• Deed of Settlement with Maungaharuru-Tangitū Hapū