Battle of Te Pōrere

The Battle of Te Pōrere was an engagement that took place at Te Pōrere on 4 October 1869 in the Central Plateau region of New Zealand's North Island during Te Kooti's War. It was the last major engagement of the New Zealand Wars, a series of conflicts between the British, the local authorities and their Māori allies on one side, and several Māori iwi (tribes) on the other, that took place from 1843 to 1872.

Te Kooti, the founder of the Ringatū religion, gathered a following of disenfranchised Māori who like himself had been exiled in 1866 to the Chatham Islands by the government. In July 1868, he and his followers escaped to the mainland, landing on the East Coast. Over the next several months, Te Kooti and his adherents skirmished with the local militia, the Armed Constabulary and Māori aligned with the government—known as kūpapa. After a defeat at Ngatapa in January 1869, Te Kooti moved into the interior of the central North Island, finding refuge initially in the Te Urewera ranges before moving to the Central Plateau later in the year.

Te Pōrere was a pā (hillfort) that was constructed in the style of a redoubt and garrisoned by Te Kooti and his Ringatū warriors in September. A force of Armed Constabulary and kūpapa, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas McDonnell, was still in pursuit of Te Kooti and on 4 October, attacked Te Pōrere. Te Kooti's skirmishers quickly fell back from outlying fortifications to the poorly designed main redoubt. This was quickly overwhelmed by the attackers with relatively few losses. The battle was a major defeat for Te Kooti and at least 37 of his followers were killed and many others taken prisoner. Wounded during the engagement, he escaped into the bush along with other survivors. Te Kooti never again fought from a prepared defensive position and instead reverted to a guerilla campaign until 1872, when he found refuge in the King Country. He was pardoned several years later.