And Other Poems.
85
ORAKAU.
THREE hundred swarthy braves at Orakau—
And from the hills and gorges of Taupo—
Savage warriors from Uriwera,
Gathered together to defend the land
From the encroachments of the Pakeha.
The Ngatimaniapoto were there,
Led on by Rewi Manga, the fearless;
Te Paerata, famed in many fights,
Commanded the Ngatiraukawa tribe,
He was the warrior who cried aloud—
“Me mate au kikonei!” which means:—
“Let us make the pah here, let us die here!”
The dauntless chief Te Whenuanui,
And Hapurona of Uriwera,
Headed their wild and savage warriors.
Te Waru was there with his East Coast braves,
And other chiefs famed in song and story
Met on the spot to resist the spoilers,
Who had taken the land from the Maori,
In the name of the Queen of the far land.
Only three hundred warriors were there,
Entrenched within the weak unfinished pah.
Only three hundred brave men and women,
To meet the Pakeha, who surrounded
The sod-built fortress with his well-drilled troops,
Nearly two thousand hardy Britons—
The Royal Irish and the Forest Rangers,
And Fortieth Fighters under Leslie.
It was the second morning of April,
When the colours in Nature’s dress were changing
From the brown and russet hues of Autumn
To the dark and sadder shades of Winter.
And from the hills and gorges of Taupo—
Savage warriors from Uriwera,
Gathered together to defend the land
From the encroachments of the Pakeha.
The Ngatimaniapoto were there,
Led on by Rewi Manga, the fearless;
Te Paerata, famed in many fights,
Commanded the Ngatiraukawa tribe,
He was the warrior who cried aloud—
“Me mate au kikonei!” which means:—
“Let us make the pah here, let us die here!”
The dauntless chief Te Whenuanui,
And Hapurona of Uriwera,
Headed their wild and savage warriors.
Te Waru was there with his East Coast braves,
And other chiefs famed in song and story
Met on the spot to resist the spoilers,
Who had taken the land from the Maori,
In the name of the Queen of the far land.
Only three hundred warriors were there,
Entrenched within the weak unfinished pah.
Only three hundred brave men and women,
To meet the Pakeha, who surrounded
The sod-built fortress with his well-drilled troops,
Nearly two thousand hardy Britons—
The Royal Irish and the Forest Rangers,
And Fortieth Fighters under Leslie.
It was the second morning of April,
When the colours in Nature’s dress were changing
From the brown and russet hues of Autumn
To the dark and sadder shades of Winter.
