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Story: Irish

‘The invasion of Auckland by the Ngatipaoa’

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‘The invasion of Auckland by the Ngatipaoa’

This 1892 painting by Kennett Watkins recalls an incident over 40 years before. Governor George Grey, with the support of the 58th Regiment and the Royal New Zealand Fencibles, met a group of Māori who had arrived by canoe. Many of the soldiers in the British regiments in New Zealand were Irish.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: C-033-003

by Kennett Watkins

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Irish – Migration 1800–1850, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/3840/the-invasion-of-auckland-by-the-ngatipaoa (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.