VOTE VOTE VOTE 29th April On this day in 1864, 230 Māori successfully defended Gate Pā from a force of 1,700 British troops. The battle began with the heaviest artillery bombardment of the New Zealand Land Wars, lasting eight hours. However, the shelling only killed fifteen Māori. The Māori defenders fired few shots in return giving the British the impression their bombardment had been a success. When the British entered the pā, they were not expecting to find themselves caught in a maze of hidden trenches against an enemy who fired at them from underground bunkers. The British retreated ten minutes after the raid began, having suffered more than one hundred casualties. Low on ammunition, the Māori retreated from the pā that night. #OnthisdayinNZhistory Cartoon by Toby Morris for The Wireless NZ. You can see the whole thing here: http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-lest-we-forget Maori in an Ideal world would just love to have the land back, imagine how rich our Iwi would be, 154 years of profit from these ancestral lands, Maori would be the dominate wealthy People of this land He Wahine He Whenua Whatungarongaro te Tangata.... The government and Colonial families still benefit and prosper from this STEALING... #GiveItAllBack!! #Thieves (at TOIARIKI Contemporary Ta Moko)
