The invaders had fallen back towards Maketu,…

The invaders had fallen back towards Maketu, a small settlement on the coast south east of Tauranga.

A contingent of British troops and Colonial Militia had hastily occupied the area and built a substantial redoubt on a nearby hilltop.

In the event, the enemy does not arrive for two weeks, until April 27, by which time a pair of field guns has also been installed.

When they eventually arrive, the East Coast Māori surround the redoubt and begin digging trenches.

The rest of the day is spent in desultory gun fire that achieves very little.

The following day, reinforcements for the defenders arrive in the form of three hundred Te Arawa warriors and two British naval steamships, one of them a heavily armed corvette.

These are able to anchor close in to shore and bombard the attackers at will.

The East Coast Māori soon find their position untenable and have to retreat.

They try to dig in further down the coast but are promptly attacked by the militia, the New Zealand Forest Rangers led by Captain Thomas McDonnell.

A running fight through the sand dunes ensues and continues until dusk; it is the resumed in the morning, with the Arawa Māori lending enthusiastic assistance.

Meanwhile the two naval ships keep pace with the fighting and any of the enemy Māori coming too close to the shore line was met with cannon fire.

Eventually the East Coast Māori disperse into the swamps and returned home.