Puketapu Feud Memorial Cross, Bell Block, New Plymouth
Posted by: 
Phronimos
S 39° 02.511 E 174° 10.195
60H E 255062 N 5674767
This is a memorial to Rawiri Waiaua and his tribesmen who died here on the 3rd of August 1854 while they were upholding the mana of the government.
Waymark Code: WM949D
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 06/26/2010
Views: 10
The European settlement of New Plymouth had been plagued from the outset by the unavailability of sufficient land. In 1848 it remained confined to an area of only 3500 acres. Governor George Grey was able to extend this by securing an additional 32,000 acres between 1848 and 1853. A minority of local Te Atiawa leaders, including Rawiri Waiaua, Ihaia Kirikumara and Te Teira Manuka, were willing to sell land, but they faced strong opposition from men such as Te Waitere Katatore and Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake from Te Atiawa.
In August 1854 the disagreement within Te Atiawa came to a head. Rawiri Waiaua, his brother Paora three other members of his Puketapu hapu were killed in a dispute over a block of land he wished to sell. The killings were carried out by a group of fellow Puketapu men acting on behalf of Katatore. New Plymouth braced itself for a backlash. There were fears for the longer term prospects of New Plymouth if other ‘friendlies’ should fall victim to the actions of the ‘anti-land selling league’.
This memorial cross marks the scene of the Puketapu feud, was erected by the New Zealand government in 1941. It replaced an earlier wooden cross erected by W.H. Skinner in the 1920s.
The translation of the Maori inscription reads...
This is a memorial to Rawiri Waiaua and his tribesmen who died here on the 3rd of August 1854 while they were upholding the mana of the government.
See 'Cross marking scene of the Puketapu feud', New Zealand History website, (
visit link) and 'Pressure on Maori land - War in Taranaki 1860-63', URL: (
visit link)