Mātakitaki Pā

Mātakitaki pā was built on a narrow strip of land at the junction of the Waipā River and the Mangapiko Stream. The name Mātakitaki covers three sections, Mātakitaki to the north-west, Taura-Kohia, and Puketutu to the east. The waterways and riverbanks provided the main defences, which Waikato supplemented with the usual ditches and palisades. Perhaps 5000 to 10,000 took refuge here — Musket Wars numbers are notoriously debatable, though the smaller figure, probably the more likely, was still a very big number for a country of then only about 100,000 people.

First blood went to the defenders when Te Wherowhero and a small detachment surprised some Ngāpuhi, killing perhaps 150 and capturing 90 muskets. Illustrating the cliché that pride comes before a fall, jubilant Waikato leaped up onto the parapets to shout defiance and insults, only to tumble back, felled by Ngāpuhi musketry. Panic deepened when Te Wherowheros men fired their captured guns, spooking their own men into thinking that Ngāpuhi had breached the defences. Hundreds of terrified Waikato were smothered in the ditch while trying to flee. Te Wherowhero and his men resisted for as long as they could, but had to retreat to Manguika, 8 km away. Next day they rolled Ngāpuhi back to Mātakitaki before withdrawing. It was an expensive lesson for Waikato. They lost perhaps 1500 and hundreds more were taken prisoner.