1846: First Ever Dawn Raid

July 23, 2025

By AHNZ

Today in history, 23 July, 1846, probably the first ever Dawn Raid by the New Zealand government.

Governor George Grey resolved to target Chief Te Rauparaha in order to disorganise and demoralise some of his swamp-dwelling kin. These were led by Rauparaha’s nephew, Rangihaeata. It worked. The raiders fell apart and Rauparaha’s power vacuum was filled by several men who split the power and all of them were Christian Maoris.

“Te Rangihaeata was driven out of his home territory at Kawhia by a stronger tribe. He and his Ngati Toa migrated (violently) down to settle the Wellington area in about 1823, kicking out the Maoris who lived there before…Grey counter-invaded the Hutt Valley Ngati Toa, backing them off into the Levin swamplands to waste away give up the fight.” – 1846: Almon Boulcott’s Farm, AHNZ

“Rangihaeata hated pakeha. He wanted to go to Wellington and kill all of them. Rauparaha was the name he was given after his father was eaten and the guy that ate him said Rauparaha would be the relish for his next meal. So his name loosely translates into relish.” – Andy Mayhew, comment to AHNZ (2022)

“Werawera, the father of Te Rauparaha, was captured, killed, and eaten. At the time, Te Rauparaha was only a child. The grim old warrior who had taken part in Werawera’s death was later heard to say that if the boy ever fell into his hands, he would suffer the same fate—remarking that the youngster would make a delicious relish for rauparaha.” – Buick (1911,) shared by Andy Mayhew (2022)

“That’s the typically British way of subjugating the colonized indigenous people in the past, and not only in the past. I read that Te Rauparaha was held on board of the ship, and his kin and tribe men believed that he had lost his mana – for them it was the reason why they started looking for other leaders.” – Elwynne Tarakihi, comment to AHNZ (2022)

“Kapiti is a real historical nexus point for the era, so much history passed through it. Having conquered and expelled the Muaupoko tribe in 1823, the Ngati Toa held it by repelling an attack of some 2000 warriors attempting to re-take the territory at the Battle of Waiorua (1824.) If Rauparaha had stayed at home in Kawhia he would have been destroyed and enslaved like the people he left behind. By fighting his way down the coast and doing the same to another group he had found his power base, Kapiti.” – 1823: Seizure of Kapiti Island, AHNZ

“He was always accompanied in these marauding excursions, which he frequently extended over to Cloudy Bay and Queen Charlotte Sound, by Rangihaeata, who had become his inseparable companion since his rise in authority. Their respective stations were pithily described by one of the whalers, who told us that ‘the Robuller’ as he mispronounced his name, ‘cast the bullets, and the Rangihaeata shot them.’ Rauparaha was the mind, and his mate the body, on these black-mail gathering rounds.” – Travers (1872,) Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Papers Past

“The elderly chief appeared from his dwelling and grabbed a taiaha. His attempted blows were deflected, and he was seized and taken to HMS Driver. He was informed that he was under arrest for supplying weapons to Māori deemed to be in open rebellion against the Crown. ” – NZHistory.govt

Grey had used a superior aptitude for technicality and bureaucracy to kidnap and hold the old man which Rauparaha simply could not compete with. Dignity Culture beats Honour Culture. If Rauparaha had a better lawyer he should have freed himself and been compensated for the injustice of an illegal act. Instead he was incarcerated for 2 years and died on the third (1849.)

Image ref. Modified from plate from An Old New Zealander: or, Te Rauparaha, the Napoleon of the South, T. Lindsay Buick (1911)

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