Story: Taranaki region

Huirangi cross (1st of 5)

Huirangi cross

This cross at Huirangi, east of New Plymouth, marks the grave of more than 40 Māori from Waikato and Taranaki (Ngāti Hauā, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Mahuta and Te Āti Awa). They were killed making an audacious dawn attack on No. 3 redoubt (Pratt’s sap) on 23 January 1861. The battle lasted over an hour, with many of the casualties resulting from vicious fighting in a trench. The redoubt was held by the 40th Regiment, which lost five men in the action.

The original wooden memorial cross was replaced by this concrete one in 1941.

Using this item

Private collection
Photograph by Ron Lambert

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Ron Lambert, 'Taranaki region - Māori–Pākehā conflict', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/25321/huirangi-cross (accessed 19 April 2024)

Story by Ron Lambert, updated 1 Aug 2015