Battle of Hingakaka The Battle of Hingakaka ( sometimes " Hiringakaka " ) was fought between two Maori armies made up an allied southern North Island army and a Tainui alliance army , near Ohaupo in the Waikato in the late 18th or early 19th centuries , and was reputedly " the largest battle ever fought on New Zealand soil " . The battle was fought between groups comprising many smaller allied hapu and iwi . The attackers , a force of 7 , 000 to 10 , 000 warriors , led by a Ngāti Toa chief Pikauterangi , from the Marokopa district of the lower North Island invaded the Waipa District , to restore honour . He was aggrieved over the poor distribution of the kahawai harvest , according to Pei Te Hurinui Jones . This led to the killing of all members of the Ngati Apakura , who were one of the hapu hosting the fish feast . Other accounts say that Pikauterangi took the biggest fish for himself and he was seized and ducked to the point where he nearly drowned . In vengeance he killed Ngato Apakura , cooked their bodies and distributed them for eating amongst Ngati Kauwhata and Ngati Raukawa This " take " , or cause , happened about 3 years before the actual battle . During this time Pikauterangi travelled around the lower North Island collecting putting together a large force . He raised about 4 , 000 men from the Wellington region and a further 3 , 000 from the East Coast tribes of Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu . This , combined with a separate force of Te Ati Awa , Ngati Ruanui and tribes from the Whanganui who had already been in battle with Ngati Maniapoto . The forces combined at Otorohanga in preparation for the attack on the Ngāti Maniapoto and the Waikato tribes who had allied with Ngati Whatua and Hauraki hapu . The invaders were first spotted by Wahanui , a Maniapoto chief , just south of Otorohanga . He sent runners to warn the tangata whenua in the central Waikato . Choosing to ambush the attacking force , the Waikato defenders chose Te Mangeo ridge line just south of Lake Ngaroto to launch their attack . The day prior to the battle the two armies drew up before each other . The Tainui army realising their numbers were far fewer at about 1 , 600 ( some sources say 3 , 000 ) , arranged bunches of feathers on top of fern to simulate the head feathers of warriors held in reserve , while other chiefs made war - like speeches in the fern to imaginary warriors . Te Rauangaanga , Te Wherowhero ' s father , placed his army on the high ground at the end of a narrow ridge in three groups . The invading force assembled at the foot of the spur . Huahua ' s force made a frontal attack by charging down the hill . The defenders reeled back , allowing the attackers to envelop them . The second group of the defending forces then rushed down the hill to hit the confused army of Pikauterangi in the flank . The turning point came when Pikauterangi was felled by a blow from Te Rauangaanga . In a panic the invaders tried to retreat along a narrow gap between the ridge and the lake but were ambushed by Tiriwa ' s men who had been waiting in the bush along the ridge . The Ngāti Toa were forced into the swamplands along the lake margin ; some tried to swim the lake but were killed by patrols waiting on the far side . Many thousands died in the attack . Pei Jones of Tainui , says 16 , 000 warriors are said to have taken part . Combatants included Waikato - Maniapoto , Ngāti Toa and Ngāti Raukawa . Ngati Raukawa alone are said to have lost 1 , 600 warriors in battle , including two chiefs . Others came from Taranaki , from Kaipara in Northland , and as far east as Bay of Plenty and Hawke ' s Bay . So many chiefs died in the battle that it is known as " Hingakaka " ( the fall of parrots ) , an echo of the traditional mass parrot hunt . The sacred carving Te Uenuku was lost in the carnage . Sources differ on the date of the battle , ranging from 1790 , to " about 1803 " and " about 1807 " - with the latter now seeming the most likely . Aftermath . The victorious Tainui warriors considered following up their decisive victory with a campaign against the tribes that had made war on them . However the tohunga of the Ngati Whatua had a bad dream in which he saw Ngapuhi launching an attack on the Kaipara in their absence . Ngati Whatua returned to their home land and defeated an attempted invasion by Ngapuhi . Other Tainui wanted to continue the war especially against Ngati Raukawa who were seriously weakened and retreated to Maungatautari . Waikato had had enough of fighting for the meantime but in 1810 set out down the west coast on a raid . At Rangikaiwaka on the coast they met a force of Ngati Tama and a Ngati Haua chief , Taiporutu , was killed . As a result of this another war Tainui party set out to gain utu to punish Ngati Tama . The avenging warriors were ambushed and defeated by Ngati Tama and their chief Raparapa . This led to further conflict and was the immediate background to the Ngati Toa forming alliances with Ngati Tama and Ngati Mutanga in the great Ngati Toa upheaval of 1821 - 22 .