“About a dozen whares were burned in the village. The fight extended from the head of the swamp, where Colonel Nixon was shot, right up to the Catholic Church, whence we drove the Maoris over the crest into the swamps, next the native racecourse. Some shots were fired at us from the English Church; some Maoris were inside the building. It was an open skirmish from then right along. There were not more than 200 Maoris altogether in Rangiaowhia that day, but they fought well, and had plenty of ammunition. After one of our fellows had been shot, my commanding officer said to me, ‘Corporal, take two men and see if there are any Maoris in the whare there,’ pointing to a house about twenty yards away. I posted the two men outside and stooped to enter the house, which was sunk in the ground, with a low entrance. As I entered I was felled by a terrific blow on the side of the neck, but deflected somewhat by the edge of the doorway. I lay there stunned for some moments, and when I recovered I saw a Maori weapon, a long taiaha, lying beside me. [It is now in the Old Colonists’ Museum in Auckland; a small piece was nicked out of the blade of it by the doorway edge.] My men told me that the inmates of the whare had escaped by bursting through the thatch at the back, and got clear away. It was a very narrow escape for me, and I took the taiaha as a memento of it. I took no further share in the fight that day, but I was able to march back to Te Awamutu.” CHAPTER VIII. THE ENGAGEMENT AT HAIRINI. On the afternoon of 22nd February, 1864—the day following the capture of Rangiaowhia—the British and Colonial forces were involved in a much sharper affair, a heavy engagement in which all three arms—horse, foot, and artillery—were used. This was the battle of Hairini Hill, a steep elevation about half way between Te Awamutu and Rangiaowhia; the name has since been transferred mistakenly to Rangiaowhia village. The present road follows exactly the military route of 1864. Here the Maoris who came pouring out of Paterangi immediately they discovered that their works had been outflanked had hastily fortified themselves, burning to avenge the surprise capture of Rangiaowhia and the killing of their comrades. An incident of the day’s work was a sabre charge by the Colonial Defence Force Cavalry; this was one of the very few occasions on which cavalry charges were practicable in the Maori Wars. Von Tempsky wrote the following narrative of his Rangers’ share in the afternoon’s fighting: