Ōhaeawai is a small village at the junction of State Highway 1 and State Highway 12 in the Far North District of New Zealand, some 250 km (160 mi) from Auckland. The town of Kaikohe is 10.4 km (6.5 mi) to the west, and the Bay of Islands is a short drive to the east.

The Battle of Ōhaeawai, part of the Flagstaff War, was fought in July 1845 at Ōhaeawai [4] in Northland, New Zealand. The battle was between British forces and their allies from the local Ngāpuhi tribe of Māori on one side, and other Ngāpuhi, led by Te Ruki Kawiti, a prominent rangatira (chief), on the other side. [5] .

In a matter of minutes, 40 British troops lay dead and another 70 were wounded. Ōhaeawai, the prototype of the ‘modern pa’, was a major advance in the Māori response to new weaponry. Firing and communication trenches protected the occupants while …

The battle of Ohaeawai Pa was Kawiti's greatest victory and one of the three most serious defeats for the British in New Zealand. Designed and defended solely by Kawiti and his warriors Ohaeawai was the prototype of a new kind of pa. eight and construction of …

The pā at Ōhaeawai, belonging to Heke’s ally Pene Taui, was even stronger than the pā, which the British had failed to take six weeks prior. Heke and Kawiti had been working to strengthen the defences, expecting another attack. While Heke was engaged at Te Ahuahu, Kawiti and Pene Taui continued the work at Ōhaeawai.

Township in the rolling hillcountry to the east of Lake Omapere, Northland. 3km south-west of the town there once stood a pā, site of the Ōhaeawai Battle of 1845. The battle was fought between the British and the combined forces of the Ngāpuhi chiefs Hone Heke and Kawiti. Ō: place of; haeawai: thermal waters.

Ōhaeawai, the prototype of the ‘modern pā’, represented a significant advancement in the Māori response to new weaponry. The pā featured firing and communication trenches that protected...

The Ohaeawai battlefield of July 1845 and St Michael's Church, Bay of Islands. Victoria University of Wellington

Ōhaeawai, the prototype of the ‘modern pa’, was a major advance in the Māori response to new weaponry. Firing and communication trenches protected the occupants while allowing rapid movement within the pā. Anti-artillery bunkers (rua) had been dug into the ground and covered with logs, stones and matted flax.

Description: Section, elevation and ground plan of Heke's pa at Ohaeawai, Northland. The section shows a Maori man kneeling in a trench with a rifle aimed through gun-holes in the palisade and two Maori seated inside a shelter beyond the palisade area.