In 1790, the Battle of Hingakaka was fought in New Zealand between the Waikato tribes under Te Rauangaanga against the Tainui Confederation under Pikauterangi during the Maori Tribal Wars.
Why did it happen?
In 1787, the Waikato tribes lived under the authority of the Tainui chief, Pikauterangi. It was customary for the iwi living in the interior to visit their relatives on the coast to assist them in catching the fish that entered the rivers to spawn. However, when Ngati Apakura became aggrieved at the way Pikauterangi directed the division of fish, they complained to their chief Te Mahutu, who decided to duck Pikauterangi in the water and steal his catch. Despite swift retaliation from Ngati Toa, Pikauterangi desired utu over this insult to his mana. Over the next three years, he travelled around the North Island, gathering warriors from all the tribes inhabiting the land. By 1790, Pikauterangi was ready and subsequently marched his massive army up the Mokau valley, gathering even more warriors who held grievances against the Waikato tribes. A smaller Waikato army was assembled and confronted the Tainui army between Lake Ngaroto and Lake Rotopiko, near present-day Ohaupo.
Who was involved?
The Waikato army at Hingakaka numbered 3,000 warriors and was under the command of Te Rauangaanga, Huakua and Tiriwa. Comprised of warriors from Ngati Apakura and Ngati Maniapoto, along with contingents from Ngati Whatua, Ngati Tai, Ngati Te Ata and Ngati Tipa, the Waikato army occupied a ridge between the two lakes. Te Raungaanga occupied the centre with 1,600 warriors, Huakua commanded the right wing with 500 warriors, and Tiriwa commanded the left wing with 900 warriors. To compensate for their inferior numbers, a dummy army was positioned across the arm of Lake Rotopiko to fool the Tainui into believing that their forces were greater than they really were. In stark contrast, The Tainui army at Hingakaka numbered 10,000 warriors from all around the North Island south of the Waikato. Despite their superior numbers, however, many of the Tainui warriors were unaccustomed to fighting alongside each other, with significant differences in dialect and battle tactics. In contrast, the Waikato army was close-knit in tribal affiliation and strongly desired to protect their homeland.
What happened?
At dawn, both armies arranged their forces to face each other. The battle itself began when the Waikato right wing noticed that the Tainui left wing was still moving into position and charged down the ridge in a wedge formation to take the enemy by surprise. As it did so, the Tainui left wing buckled and was driven back into the Tainui centre where Pikauterangi was located. Seeing the success of Huahua’s attack, Te Raungaanga charged down the ridge towards the Tainui centre and both sides engaged each other in hand-to-hand combat. During the fighting, Pikauterangi was killed trying to rally his demoralised forces, which caused the Tainui left wing and centre to lose heart and move towards their uncommitted right wing. This quickly turned into a rout as the whole army attempted to escape towards Lake Rotopiko, only to find its escape route blocked by Tiriwa’s forces. As the whole Waikato army moved in for the kill, many Tainui warriors attempted to escape by swimming across the lake, only for many to drown in the attempt. The Waikato army killed the rest on the lakeshore.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of Hingakaka was a decisive victory for the Waikato tribes. While Waikato suffered minimal casualties, the entire Tainui army had been wiped out. The slaughter was so great that the word Hingakaka means in Te Reo Maori “the fall of the bush parrots”, which referred to the fact that the Tainui force had been killed or captured like a flock of kaka. Indeed, many tribes that had fought for Tainui were so crushingly defeated that they never recovered. However, the iwi that the battle affected the most were Ngati Toa and Ngati Raukawa, for their continuing conflict with the Waikato tribes contributed to the Ngati Toa migration south from their homeland at Kawhia in 1822.
Bibliography
Crosby, R.D. The Musket Wars: A History of Inter-Iwi Conflict 1806-45. Auckland, Reed Books, 1999.
Hurinui, Pei Te. King Potatau: An Account of the Life of Potatau Te Wherowhero, the First Maori King. Wellington, Huia Publishers, 2010.
Philips, F.L. Landmarks of Tainui: A Geographical Record of Tainui Traditional History, Volume One. Otorohanga, Tohu Publishers, 1989.