DLO Siege Kaiapo Pa

 DLO Siege of Kaiapo Pa

In the early 1670s, Ngai Tahu Maori drifted to the South Island and the North Canterbury area from the North Island. searching for food and land, they fought and eventually defeated the Ngati Mamoe who was recently living in the area. The pa was built in the 1700s by Tu Rakautahi (Ngai Tahu chief), built on a peninsula between modern-day Woodend and Waikaku that was around 5 acres and was extended into a lagoon. The environment made it easily defendable. The neck of the land was very narrow and was surrounded by a deep ditch. 

Before the siege, an incident had occurred three years before the actual main event took place. A Ngati Toa chief had appeared from the north, Te Rauparaha. He fought and killed at Kaikoura and Omni. The Ngati Tahu was suspicious and cautious of Te Rauparaha and his men arrived at Kaiapoi Pa claiming to be greenstone traders. Ngai Tahu took quick action and attacked before Te Rauparaha did, killing eight chiefs which Ngati Toa was forced to travel back north. For two years Te Rauparaha carefully bid time to planning his revenge.

In those two years he he made a bargain with an English captain in a ship. He then attacked the Pa in Akaroa and destroyed it, taking the chief of Kapitit. torturing and killing many others, however he was still not satisfied with his revenge.

By now it was around 1831. On the night the Pa was attacked, most of the men were away at Port Cooper as escorts to the Chief Taiaora from Otago. The people who remained were inside the Pa closed the gates and waited. Te Rauparaha also waited patiently hoping they would starve, the first signal of the siege.

The Otago chief collected the men and returned to the Pa in the night. They creeped quietly through the scrub and then raced hrough the lagoon to the Pa with minimal casualties. The Pa was better equipped once they returned to fight Ngati Toa. The siege lasted for 3 months, despite the food decreasing within the Pa, Ngati Toa gathered scrub from nearby and dried and stacked it around the Pa. It eventually caused a fire.

After a few months of waiting, the Ngati Toa lit the scrub on fire during a Northwest wind hoping to drive off the attackers. creating a gap in the defense, allowing them  to enter the Pa, killing and capturing those who are inside the Pa. About 200 escaped to the lagoon, leaving the great Pa abandoned.