G Lane

But this was the Battle of Rangariri, Mashi.

Okay, it's November.

Take yourself back to November 1863.

Oh, I remember it well, yeah.

Okay, 1863.

Now, this was basically the British Army looking to move south out of Auckland down into the Waikato, which was a real stronghold.

It was obviously the home of the Māori King as well in Ngaruahia, Tūningawaewae.

So, a crucial...

This was a crucial battle in the land wars.

Now, it was a purpose-built defensive line right here, okay, from the pass site in Rangariri.

And it had trenches.

It's stretched between the Waikato River and the nearby wetlands.

So if you look at the river on the right, so you go through Rangariri all the way through to the wetlands.

They constructed trenches and parapets, a central readout designed to absorb artillery fire.

And technology that British commanders, when they arrived, failed to fully understand before they attacked.

And they had an absolute mozzer.

They had an absolute shitter.

Well, no, just the defensiveness, the defensive lines that they put up here.

They knew how to D up hard, and they D'd up hard.

British arrived with about 1,400 soldiers armed with artillery and river gunboats.