Defence of Pukekohe East 1863 The Defence of Pukekohe East was an action during the Invasion of the Waikato , part of the New Zealand Wars . On 13 September and 14 September 1863 , 11 settlers and 6 militia men inside a half completed stockade around the Pukekohe East church held off a Māori taua or war party of approximately 200 men from Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Pou iwi , until they were relieved by detachments of the 18th , 65th and 70th Regiments . In a series of actions around the stockade the taua sustained 20 % casualties and retreated . Background . Many Europeans ( or Pākehā ) settled in New Zealand between 1830 and 1860 , by which time British settlers outnumbered Māori by more than two to one . Europeans were initially welcomed by the Māori . However disputes over land , sovereignty and mana lead to skirmishes between Europeans and pro and anti European Maori , known as the New Zealand Wars , notably in the north in the 1840s , in Taranaki from 1860 and in the Waikato in 1863 - 1865 . In the Waikato , south of the British settlement at Auckland , Māori formed the Kingi Movement . Kingitanga involved adopting European culture in order to preserve their own people : Kingites established a newspaper , a bank , and a parliament , as well as electing a king . These last two actions were seen as threatening British sovereignty , leading Governor Sir George Grey to invade the Waikato . Pukekohe East . Pukekohe East lies on the rim of a giant volcanic crater , south east of Auckland . Although potentially fertile , the land remained in virgin forest , or bush , and was never densely populated . In the 1830s , those Māori who had lived closest were defeated by Hongi Hika ' s Ngapuhi iwi , the survivors abandoning their settlements and retreating south . When settler government came to grant titles to the land this history lead to dispute over boundaries and ownership . The land was first sold to Europeans in 1843 , as part of the general land speculation in the Auckland area which seized the European settlers . Not until 1853 were disputes between different Māori claimants resolved and was the area first settled . Families of farmers built houses and began to clear the land but this process was far from complete when war broke out . The church . The young settlement included many Presbyterian Scots . They resolved to build a Presbyterian church in 1861 , undertaking the majority of the work themselves and paying for the cost of £126 2s 5d by subscription . Construction was of ¾ inch weatherboards of rimu and totara wood . These were not bulletproof . When the church was opened of 5 April 1863 , this was the largest building and centre of the community - although it was just by , excluding porch and belfry . The church stands on the high ground of the crater rim , in what would have been a natural defensive position , but for the dense bush which still came uncomfortably close , except to the south , where land had been cleared for a cemetery . War in the Waikato . On Sunday 12 July 1863 General Cameron ' s Army advanced into Waikato territory from its frontier base of Pokeno . The settlers of Pukekohe East , a few miles away , received no official notice - they were informed that afternoon by Reverend Norrie , who had conducted a service for the soldiers . The 65th Regiment advanced through their settlements later that day . On Wednesday 14 July , two settlers at nearby Ramarama were killed by Māori raiders , which illustrated the vulnerability of Pukekohe East . Many families , and virtually all women and children were evacuated . Those men who remained behind decided to construct a stockade around the church , as a refuge in the event of attack . During the next 3 weeks a further 13 settlers were killed on isolated farms in the area south of Auckland . The stockade . The stockade was built from the wall of the church , excepting small bastions on the north - western and south - eastern corners , to allow enfilading fire . The entrance was built into the south - eastern corner , visitors being channelled though a chicane exposed to the defenders ' fire . The walls were made of small logs – on average in diameter – just enough to stop a musket ball . These were laid horizontally , and nailed to posts , instead of vertically as was the Māori custom in their forts , or pa . Gaps between logs were left for firing positions . The stockade was to be high , but was not completed in September , at which time walls were just over five feet , forcing defenders to stoop . Work had been stopped by Lieutenant Daniel Lusk , who conducted an inspection of the amateur settlers work on 31 August . Lt . Lusk ordered a moat dug around the outside , the earth being piled against the wall . A trench 3 – 4 feet deep and wide had been completed by the attack . Bush close to the south - eastern corner was also to ordered to be cleared . The around the church was cleared in the days before the attack , but large stumps and low growth left , providing cover and concealment . The taua . Most knowledge of the taua comes from an interview with a survivor , Te Huia Raureti , by historian James Cowan . The defenders estimated the taua contained 300 to 400 warriors , but Te Huia Raureti estimates it was 200 strong . They comprised Ngāti Maniapoto , with Ngāti Pou and a few northern Waikato men . The taua assembled at Meremere on 12 September and paddled up the Waikato River in three war canoes , or waka . The party launched an abortive attack on the Alexandra Redoubt , then marched to the north , keeping inside bush to the west of Pokeno , where they spent the night . According to Te Huia Raureti , Raureti Paiaka and Hopa te Rangianini said ‘ In the battle to come let us confine ourselves strictly to fighting ; let no one touch anything in the settlers ’ houses , or their stock , or otherwise interfere with their property . ’ A dispute broke out within the taua after Ngāti Maniapoto under Wahanui disregarded this wish and looted the Scott house . Conclusions . The church still stands today . Bullet holes can be seen in the walls and porch , and in the gravestone of Betsy Hodge . The defence of Pukekohe East is interesting as one of the few occasions in which Māori attacked a European fortification - the more so in that they obtained more than 10 to 1 superiority in numbers , while the fortification was designed and constructed by amateurs , undermanned and incomplete at the time of attack .