Story: The New Zealand bush
Samuel Calvert’s wood engraving, originally published in the Illustrated New Zealand Herald, is of an incident in the New Zealand Wars, between Māori and European. After the Taranaki leader Tītokowaru attacked a government outpost, British soldiers attempted to attack Tītokowaru’s pā, Te Ngutu-o-te-manu. Despite the impression given in this scene, the battle was a serious defeat for the colonial forces. Tītokowaru’s men, hidden in the bush, ambushed them and forced a retreat, with serious loss of life. Such incidents reinforced a view among 19th-century Europeans that the bush was a strategic refuge for Māori opponents of the government.
About this item
Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PUBL-0047-1868-10-08
Wood engraving by Samuel Calvert
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.