Ruapekapeka (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ruapekapeka is a p 14 kilometres southeast of Kawakawa in the Northland Region of New Zealand. It is one of the largest and most complex p in New Zealand. The earthworks can still be seen just south of Kawakawa. A shattered Maori cannon in the central pa points towards the British advanced position, (the grassed area in mid distance). Ruapekapeka was the site of the last battle in the Flagstaff War, the first major armed conflict between British troops and M ori. Te Ruki Kawiti designed the pa (fort) of Ruapekapeka (or the Bat's Nest), specifically to counter the cannons of the British forces. It was constructed during 1845, in an good defensive position, in area of no strategic value, well away from civilians, as a challenge to British rule. When the new British Governor Sir George Grey was unable to end the Flagstaff War by negotiation, he assembled a British force in the Bay of Islands to deal with Hone Heke and Te Ruki Kawiti.