1843 The Wairau Incident

The settlers in the New Zealand Company town of Nelson were keen to expand their lands into the Wairau Valley, ahead of the Land Commissioner's inquiry into the area. The local Māori, particularly Ngāti Toa, rejected any claim that they had already sold that area to the Company. One group, led by Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, disrupted a survey party and burned their huts. In response, a party led by local magistrate Thompson and company representative Captain Arthur Wakefield set out to arrest the chiefs. When they met at Tuamarina, Te Rauparaha denied destroying anything that was not his own property. Thompson became enraged, and when he called his men forward, a musket went off, killing Te Rangihaeata's wife. In the ensuing battle, 22 Europeans were killed, including those who surrendered, in utu (satisfaction) for the Māori deaths. The settlers were outraged and there was widespread hysteria that Ngāti Toa would attack elsewhere, especially in Wellington. But incoming Governor Robert FitzRoy took the view that the settler posse had brought it on themselves by foolish and provocative actions and inflicted no punishment upon Ngāti Toa.