Volkner Incident
Encyclopedia
The Völkner Incident describes the murder of the missionary Carl Sylvius Völkner
in New Zealand
in 1865 and the consequent reaction of the Government of New Zealand in the midst of the New Zealand land wars
.
and is also said to mark the effective end of the fighting involved with the Invasion of the Waikato
. It left an uneasy peace—not so much a peace as an absence of conflict, one that lasted for several months. This period saw two significant changes in disposition of the warring parties.
The Imperial Troops were fighting their last campaign in New Zealand before being withdrawn to garrison duty and then complete withdrawn from New Zealand. At the same time the Colonial Militia were being reorganized and rearmed to take up the slack.
Meanwhile the Pai Marire
movement (or Hau Hau) was gaining ground and converts among the East Coast
Māori. The Pai Marire Movement began in 1862 as a combination of Christianity and traditional Māori beliefs. Originally peaceful, it had soon changed to become a violent and vicious anti-Pākehā
creed.
area of the Bay of Plenty
in February 1865. On 2 March the missionary, Carl Völkner, discovered that his Māori congregation had moved on from Christianity
to Hau Hauism. Although warned to stay away from the town, on his next visit he was captured, put on trial and hanged from a tree, and his body was decapitated an hour later. The Hau Hau prophet, Kereopa Te Rau
, re-entered the church and conducted a service with Völkner's head in the pulpit beside him. At a suitably dramatic moment he plucked out the missionary's eyeballs and swallowed them. The news of the murder caused great alarm and anger among Pākehā
.
Völkner's death at the hands of his congregation was caused by his willingness to act as an agent of Governor Sir George Grey
. Seduced by Sir George's personal charm during a visit to Opotiki
, Völkner began sending him reports of anti-Government activity, which are still extant in the archives (one is transcribed in Lyall's book, see Further reading below). Sir George commonly used such reports from Protestant missionaries to battle his two enemies, anti-Government Māori and the Parliament, and in turn he supplied the Protestant missionaries with information on the movements of Catholic missionaries.
That said, the New Zealand government was in no position to do anything about it—the Imperial Troops under General Cameron
were virtually on strike. There was active conflict in Taranaki (on the opposite side of the Island) which had to be resolved before anything could be started in the Opotiki region.
. This freed up the militia for action elsewhere.
In September, 1865, the forces then available to the New Zealand government, some 500 men, were transported by ship from Wanganui
through Cook Strait
, around the East Cape
to Opotiki. The composition of this force was significant. There were four companies of militia, a troop of cavalry and a contingent of Ngāti Hau
(not to be confused with their enemy, the Hau Hau) warriors led by Kepa te Rangihiwinui
. These were the units that had already been campaigning together during the Taranaki War and had a history of successful cooperation and mutual respect.
The landing at Opotiki was accomplished with difficulty. One of the ships ran aground on a falling tide and came under fire from the shore. Eventually it had to be abandoned and the crew and militia waded ashore but it was another twenty-four hours before the other ships were able to land their men and supplies.
As soon as they were established and the snipers driven away the militia occupied the church where Völkner had been murdered. While some of the Pākehā soldiers worked at turning this into a fortress the others with Kepa and the Ngāti Hau were turned loose on the countryside. There followed a season of pillage, rape and murder. Within two weeks they had stripped the countryside of all available food supplies, keeping what they needed and destroying the rest. Beyond a few muskets the local Māori lacked any weapons with which to defend themselves. It was made clear to them that these depredations would continue until the men responsible for the murder of Völkner were captured or surrendered. But the man they wanted most, Kereopa, had retreated to Tuhoe
lands in the Urewera Mountains
and had no intention of surrendering.
In the midst of all this, the commander of the militia, Major Brassey, was arrested for being drunk at his post and was replaced first by Major Stapp and then by Col. St. John, a one-armed veteran of the Crimean War
.
for trial. Five of them received the death penalty and were hanged the following year. Large areas of land around Opotiki were confiscated
under the New Zealand Settlements Act of 1863 and sold to settlers.
In the early 1870s, the Ureweras were invaded by the government forces searching for Te Kooti
and the Tuhoe were effectively conquered and subdued. They were forced to yield Kereopa to Ropata Waha Waha, and he was tried and hanged for Völkner's murder on 5 January 1872.
In 1993, Justice Minister Doug Graham
delivered an apology to Te Whakatōhea
along with an official pardon of Mokomoko, one of the chiefs hanged. In 1996, the New Zealand Government signed a Deed of Settlement, acknowledging and apologising for the wrongful invasion and confiscation of Te Whakatōhea lands, and the subsequent economic, cultural and developmental devastation suffered by the iwi. In 1998 the New Zealand government offered the Whakatōhea iwi NZ$40 million as compensation for all their historical claims including the invasion and the confiscation of land following the Völkner Incident; however the offer was not accepted. Te Whakatōhea are presently preparing to negotiate a full settlement with the New Zealand Government. As part of the settlement of neighbouring iwi Ngāti Awa
's claims in 2003, the Völkner Rocks near Whakaari/White Island
were renamed "Te Paepae Aotea (Völkner Rocks)".
Carl Sylvius Völkner
Carl Sylvius Völkner was a German-born Protestant missionary in New Zealand.He was born in Kassel, Hesse, Germany, probably in 1819. Völkner was one of several missionaries sent to New Zealand by the North German Missionary Society. He arrived in New Zealand in August 1849. In 1852 he offered...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in 1865 and the consequent reaction of the Government of New Zealand in the midst of the New Zealand land wars
New Zealand land wars
The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
.
Background
The Battle of Te Ranga, June 21, 1864, was the last major conflict of the Tauranga CampaignTauranga Campaign
The Tauranga Campaign took place in New Zealand, from 21 January 1864 to 21 June 1864, during the New Zealand Land Wars.-Origins:This campaign started as a side show to the Invasion of the Waikato, where British Imperial Troops, on behalf of the New Zealand Colonial Government, were fighting a...
and is also said to mark the effective end of the fighting involved with the Invasion of the Waikato
Invasion of the Waikato
The Invasion of Waikato or Kingitanga Suppression Movement was a campaign during the middle stages of the New Zealand Wars, fought in the North Island of New Zealand from July 1863 to April 1864 between the military forces of the Colonial Government and a federation of Māori tribes known as the...
. It left an uneasy peace—not so much a peace as an absence of conflict, one that lasted for several months. This period saw two significant changes in disposition of the warring parties.
The Imperial Troops were fighting their last campaign in New Zealand before being withdrawn to garrison duty and then complete withdrawn from New Zealand. At the same time the Colonial Militia were being reorganized and rearmed to take up the slack.
Meanwhile the Pai Marire
Pai Marire
The Pai Mārire movement was a syncretic Māori religion that flourished in New Zealand from about 1863 to 1874. Founded in Taranaki by the prophet Te Ua Haumene, it incorporated Biblical and Māori spiritual elements and promised its followers deliverance from Pākehā domination, providing a...
movement (or Hau Hau) was gaining ground and converts among the East Coast
East Coast Bays
East Coast Bays is the collective name for a series of small suburbs of North Shore City, in the Auckland metropolitan area of New Zealand, which line the northeast coast of the city along the shore of the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto Channel...
Māori. The Pai Marire Movement began in 1862 as a combination of Christianity and traditional Māori beliefs. Originally peaceful, it had soon changed to become a violent and vicious anti-Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
creed.
Völkner's murder
Pai Marire evangelists arrived in the OpotikiOpotiki
Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...
area of the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
in February 1865. On 2 March the missionary, Carl Völkner, discovered that his Māori congregation had moved on from Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to Hau Hauism. Although warned to stay away from the town, on his next visit he was captured, put on trial and hanged from a tree, and his body was decapitated an hour later. The Hau Hau prophet, Kereopa Te Rau
Kereopa te Rau
Kereopa Te Rau was a Māori Warrior. The name Kereopa is the Māori pronunciation of the Biblical name Cleopas. He was also nicknamed Kai whatu, the eye ball eater...
, re-entered the church and conducted a service with Völkner's head in the pulpit beside him. At a suitably dramatic moment he plucked out the missionary's eyeballs and swallowed them. The news of the murder caused great alarm and anger among Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
.
Völkner's death at the hands of his congregation was caused by his willingness to act as an agent of Governor Sir George Grey
George Edward Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB was a soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony , the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer.-Early life and exploration:...
. Seduced by Sir George's personal charm during a visit to Opotiki
Opotiki
Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...
, Völkner began sending him reports of anti-Government activity, which are still extant in the archives (one is transcribed in Lyall's book, see Further reading below). Sir George commonly used such reports from Protestant missionaries to battle his two enemies, anti-Government Māori and the Parliament, and in turn he supplied the Protestant missionaries with information on the movements of Catholic missionaries.
That said, the New Zealand government was in no position to do anything about it—the Imperial Troops under General Cameron
Duncan Cameron (general)
General Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron GCB was a British Army officer who fought in the Crimean War , commanded troops during part of the New Zealand Land Wars and was Governor of the Royal Military College Sandhurst from 1868 to 1875.- Career :Cameron was a 42nd Regiment of Foot officer General Sir...
were virtually on strike. There was active conflict in Taranaki (on the opposite side of the Island) which had to be resolved before anything could be started in the Opotiki region.
Response
For several months nothing happened—then came the capture of Wereroa Pa—the relief of the siege of Pipiriki in August, 1865 that virtually ended that phase of the Second Taranaki WarSecond Taranaki War
-Background and causes of the war:The conflict in Taranaki had its roots in the First Taranaki War, which had ended in March 1861 with an uneasy truce. Neither side fulfilled the terms of the truce, leaving many of the issues unresolved...
. This freed up the militia for action elsewhere.
In September, 1865, the forces then available to the New Zealand government, some 500 men, were transported by ship from Wanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
through Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
, around the East Cape
East Cape
East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island....
to Opotiki. The composition of this force was significant. There were four companies of militia, a troop of cavalry and a contingent of Ngāti Hau
Ngati Hau
Ngāti Hau is a Māori iwi of New Zealand....
(not to be confused with their enemy, the Hau Hau) warriors led by Kepa te Rangihiwinui
Kepa Te Rangihiwinui
Kepa Te Rangihiwinui was Māori military commander and noted ally of the government forces during the New Zealand Wars. He was also known as Te Kepa, or Major Kepa or sometimes as Major Kemp. Te Kepa was a member of the Ngati Hau tribe or iwi...
. These were the units that had already been campaigning together during the Taranaki War and had a history of successful cooperation and mutual respect.
The landing at Opotiki was accomplished with difficulty. One of the ships ran aground on a falling tide and came under fire from the shore. Eventually it had to be abandoned and the crew and militia waded ashore but it was another twenty-four hours before the other ships were able to land their men and supplies.
As soon as they were established and the snipers driven away the militia occupied the church where Völkner had been murdered. While some of the Pākehā soldiers worked at turning this into a fortress the others with Kepa and the Ngāti Hau were turned loose on the countryside. There followed a season of pillage, rape and murder. Within two weeks they had stripped the countryside of all available food supplies, keeping what they needed and destroying the rest. Beyond a few muskets the local Māori lacked any weapons with which to defend themselves. It was made clear to them that these depredations would continue until the men responsible for the murder of Völkner were captured or surrendered. But the man they wanted most, Kereopa, had retreated to Tuhoe
Tuhoe
Ngāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
lands in the Urewera Mountains
Te Urewera
Te Urewera is an area of the central North Island of New Zealand. Located in rough, sparsely populated hill country to the northeast of Lake Taupo, it is the historical home of Tuhoe, a Māori iwi known for their controversial stance on Māori sovereignty...
and had no intention of surrendering.
In the midst of all this, the commander of the militia, Major Brassey, was arrested for being drunk at his post and was replaced first by Major Stapp and then by Col. St. John, a one-armed veteran of the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
.
Aftermath
By the end of October the local tribe's position was desperate. Some twenty of its chiefs surrendered and were shipped to AucklandAuckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
for trial. Five of them received the death penalty and were hanged the following year. Large areas of land around Opotiki were confiscated
New Zealand land confiscations
The New Zealand land confiscations took place during the 1860s to punish the Kingitanga movement for attempting to set up an alternative, Māori, form of government that forbade the selling of land. The confiscation law targeted Kingitanga Māori against whom the government had waged war to restore...
under the New Zealand Settlements Act of 1863 and sold to settlers.
In the early 1870s, the Ureweras were invaded by the government forces searching for Te Kooti
Te Kooti
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatu religion and guerrilla.While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Chatham Islands without trial along with captured Hauhau, he experienced visions and...
and the Tuhoe were effectively conquered and subdued. They were forced to yield Kereopa to Ropata Waha Waha, and he was tried and hanged for Völkner's murder on 5 January 1872.
In 1993, Justice Minister Doug Graham
Doug Graham
Sir Douglas Arthur Montrose "Doug" Graham KNZM is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party.-Early life:...
delivered an apology to Te Whakatōhea
Te Whakatohea
Te Whakatōhea are a Māori iwi located in the eastern Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. The iwi comprises six hapu: Ngāi Tamahaua, Ngāti Ira, Ngāti Ngahere, Ngāti Patumoana, Ngāti Ruatakena and Te Ūpokorehe. In the 2006 Census, 12,072 people claimed an affiliation with Te Whakatōhea.The iwi is...
along with an official pardon of Mokomoko, one of the chiefs hanged. In 1996, the New Zealand Government signed a Deed of Settlement, acknowledging and apologising for the wrongful invasion and confiscation of Te Whakatōhea lands, and the subsequent economic, cultural and developmental devastation suffered by the iwi. In 1998 the New Zealand government offered the Whakatōhea iwi NZ$40 million as compensation for all their historical claims including the invasion and the confiscation of land following the Völkner Incident; however the offer was not accepted. Te Whakatōhea are presently preparing to negotiate a full settlement with the New Zealand Government. As part of the settlement of neighbouring iwi Ngāti Awa
Ngati Awa
Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand.Ngāti Awa comprises 22 hapu , with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns on the Rangitaiki Plain, including Whakatane, Kawerau, Edgecumbe, Te...
's claims in 2003, the Völkner Rocks near Whakaari/White Island
Whakaari/White Island
Whakaari/White Island is an active andesite stratovolcano, situated from the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, in the Bay of Plenty. The nearest mainland towns are Whakatane and Tauranga....
were renamed "Te Paepae Aotea (Völkner Rocks)".
Further reading
- Barthorp, MichaelMichael BarthorpMichael Barthorp is a British historian and writer, specialising in military history and military uniforms. He lives in the Channel Islands.Barthorp attended Wellington College and served in the Rifle Brigade as an officer during World War II...
(1979). To face the daring Māori. Hodder and Stoughton. - Belich, JamesJames Belich (historian)James Christopher Belich, ONZM is a New Zealand revisionist historian, known for his work on the New Zealand Wars.Of Croatian descent, he was born in Wellington in 1956, the son of Sir James Belich, who later became Mayor of Wellington. He attended Onslow College.He gained an M.A...
(1988). The New Zealand wars. Penguin. - Belich, James (1996) Making peoples. Penguin Press.
- Cowan, J., & Hasselberg, P. D. (1983) The New Zealand wars. New Zealand Government Printer. (Originally published 1922)
- Lyall, A. C., (1979) Whakatohea of Opotiki. A.H. & A.W. Reed.
- Maxwell, Peter (2000). Frontier, the battle for the North Island of New Zealand. Celebrity Books.
- Simpson, Tony (1979). Te Riri Pakeha. Hodder and Stoughton.
- Sinclair, KeithKeith SinclairSir Keith Sinclair, CBE was a poet and noted historian of New Zealand.Born and raised in Auckland, Sinclair was a student at Auckland University College, which was then part of the University of New Zealand. He was awarded a Ph.D...
(ed.) (1996). The Oxford illustrated history of New Zealand (2nd ed.) Wellington: Oxford University Press. - Vaggioli, Dom Felici (2000). History of New Zealand and its inhabitants, Trans. J. Crockett. Dunedin: University of Otago Press. Original Italian publication, 1896.
- "The people of many peaks: The Māori biographies". (1990). From The dictionary of New Zealand biographies, Vol. 1, 1769–1869. Bridget Williams Books and Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand.