The Wairau incident (also known as the Wairau affray or the Wairau massacre) of 1843 is generally identified as the first serious clash of the New Zealand wars. After New Zealand Company surveyors were prevented from surveying the area by Ngāti Toa, a party of settlers from Nelson arrived in a rash effort to arrest Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, two senior rangatira. 22 Pākehā and at least four Māori died after a clash.

A large information board on the roadside identifies where the clash occurred and the path of retreating settlers. Provocatively, perhaps, a small memorial cairn opposite the board singles out for commemoration the work of surveyors whose presence prompted the confrontation. A large pyramid-shaped memorial to the Pākehā dead, erected in the 19th century, stands in the cemetery across SH1. The final resting place of Māori involved is less clear: some sources suggest Te Rongo, wife of Te Rangihaeta was buried in nearby Robin Hood Bay, but Ngāti Toa's deed of settlement with the Crown suggests she was buried near the stream where the clash occurred.

Learn more

• NZHistory.govt.nz
• National Library