The Thames Expedition – 1863

Establishing the Redoubts

A redoubt (called Miranda after the HMS Miranda) was established at Pukorokoro and a commissariat store was built just below, on a flat spot around which the creek ran. Because the store was close to and commanded by the redoubt, only a small guard was required. A road was later built down to the landing place. Stores were landed by the Naval Volunteers and by Monday November 30th the Miranda redoubt was complete.

On November 26th 40 men of the Colonial Defence Force and 150 men of the 12th and 70th Regiments moved to the intended site of Esk Redoubt while the remaining troops continued to build Miranda Redoubt. From Esk, built on a prominent hill called Maiapu by the Maori, can be seen Koheroa, the Naval Camp on the Mangatawhiri, Queen’s Redoubt, Meremere and even as far as Karoi just south of Raglan Harbour, which they named as Woody-head. Building of Esk completed by November 30th. On December 2nd troops of Colonial Defence Force, 12th Regiment, Waikato Militia and the Naval Volunteers, totalling 420 officers and men, marched from Miranda to Esk Redoubt. A recce to Paparata Pa was then made with 100 Infantry & 40 Cavalry who found the Pa deserted and returned to Esk.

The next day 539 officers and men marched from Esk to Paparata, leaving at 5am and reaching Paparata at 1.30 pm. They took with them entrenching tools, supplies and baggage on 90 pack horses. They built bridges and placed ti-tree fascines to make crossings over swampy areas. Because Paparata Pa was found unsuitable for a redoubt; Queen’s redoubt could not be seen from there, nor was the line to Miranda and the Firth of Thames visible.

A better site was found on top of a hill 2500 yards to the south east and construction of Surrey Redoubt began on December 7th. Morgan reported the activities were seen from Queens’s redoubt, the white tents being distinctly visible.

Expeditions and Activities

In the days following the landing scouting parties were sent out in all directions. They often came across cattle, which were shot for food and horses which were taken for the army’s use.

Lt Col H Parker, only 19 at the time, was a seaman in No 1 Company of the Naval Volunteers. He later told James Cowan something of life in the volunteers, stating that they remained at Miranda for six weeks. Later he witnessed the battle at Gate Pa and told Cowan that Captain Jenkins who had played a major role in the Thames Expedition had fought like a lion and killed three Maoris with his service revolver. Despite Jenkins being only 39 at the time Parker described him at the time as being “a little grey old fellow.” No doubt, being twice Parkers age, he appeared so to him!

A little known activity of the Navy and Naval Volunteers at this time was to maintain a blockade of the Firth of Thames with which the Colonial Gunboat Sandfly was involved. Just as the redoubts on land prevented the movement of Maori forces between the south and Auckland so the blockading ships in the Firth prevented the movement of boats. In an incident in late December a cutter, carrying a cargo variously described as maize or pigs and wool, and with ten Maori men, 3 Maori women and one Frenchman, was detained trying to leave the Piako and was taken as a prize. In another incident at the end of February 1864, Captain Jenkins had given permission for canoe of friendly natives to visit another hapu in Thames valley. However they appear to have absconded to join the rebels, leaving behind some large war canoes. Capt. Kemp, commander at Miranda took possession of the canoes and burnt them.

In his report of December 15th Colonel Carey stated that once Surrey Redoubt was established he intended to set up system of telegraph by signal (presumably heliograph) to enable contact between Miranda and Queen’s Redoubts.

Between Tues and Friday December 11th reconnaissance was carried out over the country around Surrey. Maori were encountered in several places and fired at the troops or were fired upon. Several settlements were found with cultivations and whare etc. The correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross reported that he went down to the flats below the redoubt (this would be the area adjacent to today’s Mangatangi village) and was surprised at the beauty ad fertility of the valley. Oats were growing luxuriously, up to 5 feet tall, wheat was in full ear and peach trees grew on the banks of the river. Left behind by the Maori, who had moved out as the army moved in, were a plough and threshing machine. The Colonial Defence Force, who manned Surrey at this time under Captain Walmsley, took their horses down each day to feed on the oats.

The Army built bridges over several streams including the Ruaotehuia Stream between Esk and Surrey. They also conducted reconnaissance patrols down the Mangatangi/Maramarua/ Whangmarino stream complex. There was now good communications from Miranda across to Queen’s Redoubt and by the end of December, with all the redoubts along the line from Miranda to Surrey (and so to Queen’s Redoubt) completed and manned, the soldiers could move through the surrounding country almost unimpeded.

By mid-December it was considered that the objective of the Thames Expedition had been attained by establishing the line of posts from the Firth of Thames to Queen’s Redoubt and driving the Maori out of the area. Accordingly the strength of regular troops at the three redoubts was reduced to 210 of the 70th, split between the three, and Waikato Militia at each.

In December Major Mould was O/C of Esk and Captain Downing O/C of Miranda Redoubt.

Although the army felt that it had secured the line from Miranda to Queen’s Redoubt, it was not impervious. Jackson and his Forest Rangers attacked a party of the Koheriki, in the bush somewhere between the present villages of Hunua and Paparimu, on December 14th.

The remnants of this group hid for about three weeks in dense bush between the Mangatawhiri and Mangatangi Streams. Heni te Kiri Karamu, one of the women in the group, described the situation to James Cowan. After escaping Jackson’s attack they were hemmed in on all sides and dared not light fires or shoot wild pigs or birds for food in case the Forest Rangers discovered them; subsisting on wild honey and water for up to three weeks, by which time they decided that they must break out and escape to the south. From the edge of the forest they could see Surrey Redoubt and a log bridge across the Mangatangi stream over which they must pass.

This was accomplished at night and two men of the party were detailed as a rear guard to destroy the bridge. However at daylight they were seen and pursued by the Colonial Defence Force and Waikato Militia who were held up by the missing bridge, so enabling Heni and her party to escape south to Lake Waikare, ultimately to Maungatautari and Tauranga where she fought at the battle of Gate Pa.

By January 8th Captain Tighe (70th Regt) was O/C Miranda and on the January 5th he led a group comprising 15 of 70th, 25 Waikato and 10 Auckland Naval Volunteers on a scouting expedition across the Hauraki Plains towards Thames. From the hills on the western edge of the plain they saw a large kahikatea forest, at the north end of which was a Maori village. They advanced on this, expecting some resistance but found it abandoned. The village also contained large cultivations of potatoes, maize, taro and the ubiquitous peach trees. After firing the village they returned to Miranda.

Final phase

On December 26th most of the Colonial Defence Force had been withdrawn from the Thames Expedition Redoubts, leaving just five at each to act as orderlies.

By the end of March 1864 the battle for the Waikato had been won at Orakau and the theatre of operations moved to the Bay of Plenty. The need for the redoubts erected by the Thames Expedition was now gone and on April 15th it was reported that Esk had been abandoned, followed by Surrey on the 24th. Miranda was probably retained as a post, possibly manned by Colonial Troops, since it was apparently used as a was still occupied in June 1866 since a report on a fire there telegraph stationwas carried by the DSC on June 14th. A hut occupied by Mr Kirk and his family was destroyed and they lost most of their belongings. The alarm was raised by “the sentry on duty within the redoubt.”