Mrs N.M Morris
Auckland
New Zealand
7th February 1964
Dear Sgt Mitchell,
We were very pleased to receive your letter and to know that you all had enjoyed your stay in New Zeland. Your presence made all the difference to the day at Rangiriri and Jack Bilkey, Ross Mitchell and I were very pleased to have the oppertuinity to show you some of the places associated with the Royal Artillery in this part of the world.
I am enclosing a cutting that I wrote for our local paper prior to the Rangiriri Centenary and will now add some further information which you might like for your records.
"The Daily Southern Cross" Aucklands early newspaper states that Captain Mercer arrived in Auckland on 8th March 1861 by the ship "Norwood" 850 tons from London. Cpt H Bristow was the Capatian. The RA party included Cpts Mercer, Watson and Hunter; Lts Magennis and Pickford and Assistant Surgeon Temple. 219 Rank and File, 31 woman, 33 children.
(This paper also states in Capt Mercers obituary notice ; 26th November 1861 that Cpt Mercer commanded the first Battery of Armstrong Guns sent here, but I am not sure if that is correct ; Jack Bilkey says that the RA fought in the Bay of Islands War of 1845-46)
After taking part in the Taranaki war soon after their arrival, the RA under Captain Mercer returned to Auckland where they were employed in the construction work of the Great South Road between Drury and the Waikato River. Early records state that the distance between Drury (where we met that day) and Pokeno (the Queens redoubt where we couldnt show you much trace of the trenches) was 11 miles. It would have been another two or three miles to Havelock on the Waikato River where another post was established. In charge of the work was Lt D.J Gamble the Deputy Quarter-master General .
Altogether about 2,300 Imperial troops were used, the transport employed in the movement and sudsequential supply of this force and intended for roadwork consisted of two parts :
1) Transport Corps, under the direction of the Commissariat :
2) The transport of the Royal artillery under Captain Mercer with 7 officers, 6 sergeants, 182 rank and file and drivers, including 22 mechanics.
They had available 58 pack horses, 102 cart horses, 175 bullocks and 42 bullock
carts.
Pheraps I should mention here that the section of the Graet South road between Drury and Pokeno was first put through the bush as a rough track in 1853 by a surveyor and a party of Maoris for the sum of £28.
A few years later the Provincial Government did some work on the road but it was not an all weather road. In December 1861 Govener Grey decided to metal the road so that (as he wrote to the Colonial Secretary in England) he could move troops at all seasons of the year.
As it pointed right to the door of the Kingite Territory, it was no wonder the Maoris weent very happy about it.
Officially the Maori War (or the Waikato War) began on 12th July 1863 when General Cameron crossed the Mangatawhire Stream (just south of Pokeno) and entered Maori territory-land that they had refused to sell to the British Crown. However on 9th July troops
began to move south from Auckland and Otahuhu while troops already stationed at Drury moved up to Pokeno.
The southern cross of July 10th 1863 states " Puruant to orders that had been given, the whole of the 65th Regiment.... started from the Barracks in Auckland yesterday morning at about 4 o,clock for Drury....later in the morning it rained heavily....the artillery as was expected did not leave the Barracks yesterday morning.
There are altogether about 170 of them, 120 of whom will proceed on foot with the Guns and 50 as Cavalry, they will take with them nine Guns, four of which are Armstrongs, four 24 pound Hpowitzers and one nine pounder.
The Southern Cross of 17th July 1863 says "The Gun horses of the Royal Artillery are to be handed over for use of the Transport service. It is expected that on the account of all the roads and the impossibility of obtaining forage for the horses the Guns will have to be drawn by Bullocks when the troops take the field on the other side of the Waikto"