The stockade at Boulcott's Farm, the farthest British output into the Hutt Valley, was attacked by a large party of Ngāti Hāua-te-rangi (fighting in support of Ngāti Toa and Te Rangihaeata) on 16 May 1846. The garrison was caught by surprise and eight pākehā died in the skirmish. The raid fostered the creation of the settler myth of "Bugler Allen", supposedly cut down by a Māori fighter while trying to raise the alarm.

The erection of this memorial was mildly controversial, as NZHistory.govt.nz explains in great detail. Its existence is also quite misleading: despite claiming to "mark the site of Boulcott's Farm", the farm was in fact much closer to the Hutt River, in the vicinity of what is now the Boulcott’s Farm Heritage Golf Club.

Learn more

• NZHistory.govt.nz - Battle of Boulcott's Farm
• NZHistory.govt.nz - memorial
• Stuff article