Fall of Rangiriri

DESCRIPTION: "What will they say in England When the story it is told When the story it is told Of Rangiriri's bloody fight And the deeds of the brave and the bold?" The Maoris fight hard against the British before two hundred are forced to give in
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1864 (The Auckland New Zealander, according to Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ)
KEYWORDS: battle soldier death New Zealand
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
20 Nov 1863 - Battle of Rangiriri between Maoris and Europeans. 183 Maori surrender after their ammunition runs out
11 Sep 1864 - The surviving Maori escape from the prison hulk where they are kept (source: Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Bailey/Roth-ShantiesByTheWay-NZ, pp. 35-36, "The Fall of Rangiriri" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Escaped Prisoners" (fate of the Rangiriri prisoners)
NOTES [242 words]: Gordon McLauchlan, editor-in-chief, New Zealand Encyclopedia, David Bateman Limited, 1984, p. 442: "RANGIRIRI, a farming area about 20 km. southeast of Mercer, in Waikato County, was the scene of a battle between General Duncan Cameron and his British and colonial troops on the one side, and the forces of the Maori King Movement on the other side, in November 1863.
"The Maoris had fallen back from Meremere and built formidable fortifications on an isthmus between the Waikato River and Lake Waikare. Cameron decided to send some of his troops by boat to the other side of the redoubt and attack from both sies at once. The Maoris were forced to surrender. They lost 36 killed and 183 prisoners, and the British losses were 38 killed and 92 wounded."
I'm not sure what this says about race relations in New Zealand, but none of the other five histories I checked even mentions the battle. Keith Jackson and Alan McRobie, Historical Dictionary of New Zealand (Oceanian Historical Dictionaries #5), The Scarecrow Press, 1996, p. 76, did have a biography of Cameron: "Cameron, Duncan Alexander [1808-1888]. Soldier. Cameron was sent to New Zealand in 1861. Despite his reputation, his military campaigns against Maori met with mixed fortunes because he was faced by clever, innovative opponents. Maori referred to Cameron as 'The Lame Seagull' for his reputed slowness and timidity. Despite this, he was recognized as a very competent general." - RBW
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File: BaRo035

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