On Battle of Boulcott's Farm anniversary, Lower Hutt deputy mayor tries to have Māori remembered
Friday, 14 May 2021
If someone does a PhD on war memorials and civic racism, the stone commemorating the Battle of Boulcott’s Farm would make a great case study.
Erected by the Hutt Borough Council in March 1925, the memorial – the large stone, sitting atop a plinth –is situated on the corner of High Street and Military Road in Lower Hutt, opposite Hutt Hospital.
It commemorates British soldiers killed in a minor skirmish 175 years ago, with an inscription on a plaque embedded in the stone reading to “the glory of God”.
Generations of school children have been taught the story of the “brave” Private William Allen who was “brutally” killed by Māori when defending Boulcott’s Farm on May 16, 1846.
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From a historical point of view, there are a number of obvious problems. It makes little reference to Māori, some of the names are incorrect and much of the history underpinning the memorial is unknown or disputed.
With the 175th anniversary of the battle on Sunday, there is, however, finally light at the end of the tunnel for those who want to set the record straight.
Hutt City deputy mayor Tui Lewis, who is of Ngāi Tai and Ngāti Manu descent, is working on a project to address the accuracy of the memorial and acknowledge Māori.
The issue is delicate and Lewis wants all Māori with an interest in the battle to be consulted and have their say. She is hoping to complete the project in time for the 180th anniversary.
Liz Mellish from the Wellington Tenths Trust, the Palmerston North Reserves Trust and Te Āti Awa welcomes the move and said it was long overdue. She had always been uneasy about the memorial and the lack of recognition of Māori.
Historians had concentrated on the role of Ngāti Toa and Te Āti Awa but overlooked the role of upper Whanganui chief Te Mamaku of Ngāti Haua-te-rangi, who led the attack.
The issues around the battle are far more complex than historians suggest and relate to Battle Hill, fought later that year, which was the last battle fought between Māori and Europeans in the region, Lewis said.
Historian Warwick Johnston has lobbied the council for years to correct the memorial and welcomes what Lewis is doing, although he would like to see progress before 2027.
In the past, he has been highly critical of Stuff and the Hutt City Council for its portrayal of the battle and the use of a famous image of bugler Allen.
Much of his anger revolves around the 1896 image of a giant Māori warrior about to strike the diminutive Allen with a tomahawk. In 1991, the council commissioned a history of the city by David McGill.
Material in the book, Lower Hutt the First Garden City, relating to the battle repeats myths created by earlier historians.
McGill uses the 1896 illustration with a caption that reads: “The brutal beginning to the Battle of Boulcott’s Farm, when bugler Allen died attempting to sound the warning.”
His account states: “His right shoulder holding the bugle was tomahawked, almost severing it. He fell to the ground, taking the bugle in his left hand to blow the alarm. Tomahawk blows to the head killed him.”
McGill supports the council taking a fresh look at the memorial and agrees any inaccuracies in the way the battle has been portrayed, should now be rectified.
He is aware of Johnston’s campaign and said that when he wrote the book, it reflected the views of the day and if he was writing it now, his approach would be different. When he was researching the book, the image of Allen being attacked by the warrior was prominently displayed in Lower Hutt’s War Memorial Library.
Johnston has extensively researched the incident and his blunt assessment is use of the image by historians, Stuff and educationalists has portrayed events around the battle in a completely unrealistic manner.
Describing the weapon of attack as a tomahawk, was little more than an attempt to glorify the British dead.
“Is this a case then of using the American Indian weapon – its name and its ‘scalping’ connotation – in an attempt to promote an image of savagery on the rebel Māori?”
What is known about Allen is that he was 21, was a drummer in the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot and that he had been in New Zealand for a year. Stories associated with the image claim Allen was as young as 12 and the Māori warrior was “seven foot” tall.
Johnston notes there are few, if any, accurate reports of the battle and Allen’s actions in it are essentially unknown.
His death was probably “quite straight forward” and quite unremarkable in terms of the battle.
Rather than perpetuating myths around Allen, Johnston wants historians to concentrate more on the Māori perspective.
So what do we know about the Battle of Boulcott’s Farm? In a nutshell, not much.
There was ongoing tension between settlers in the Hutt Valley and Māori. In February 1846, British troops ransacked a pā and an area being cultivated by Māori.
Māori responded by driving out British settlers and attacking 44 homes. Governor George Grey responded by declaring martial law.
On Friday May 15, Te Āti Awa chiefs warned settlers that an attack near Boulcott, where there was a stockade and farm, was imminent. At 5am the next day, Māori attacked and skirmishes continued all day.
Te Mamaku led the attack on Boulcott’s Farm. He was in the Hutt Valley with up to 200 warriors to support prominent Ngāti Toa chief Te Rangihaeata and whānau in the area.
There is nothing known about Māori casualties, but British casualties were buried on the battlefield the next day.
The glorification of the British dead began almost immediately and continues to this day.
Nicholas Boyack is a Stuff journalist and a historian.