October 25, 2013
Historical Rangiriri battle remembered
Final preparations are being made for the commemorations marking 150 years since one of the biggest battles of the land wars.
On November 20 1863, more than 1400 British troops attacked about 500 Kingitanga warriors at a redoubt at Rangiriri beside the Waikato River.
The battle ended the next day when the British misused a flag of truce to capture the remaining defenders.
Organiser Moko Tauariki says the commemoration has been a huge undertaking for the iwi, particularly because it involves managing a large event alongside State Highway One.
It's also hard to estimate how much kai will be needed.
"Waikato Tainui or our whanau back home in Rangiriri from Maurea or Horahora Marae we want to make sure that anyone that comes to our little takiwa that we look after them so the challenge has been trying to find the putea to be able to do that for an unnumbered amount of people, so we dont know how many people are coming but we're planning for about 2000," he says.
Moko Tauariki says the hapu is also getting help for the Rangiriri Battle commemoration from the New Zealand Transport Authority, Historic Places trust which administers the site and Waikato District Council.
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