The Battle of Hingakaka - New Zealand Musket Wars. (1803 CE approx)

An epic battle, the greatest in pre-European Aotearoa New Zealand - aggrieved over what he saw as the unfair division of a fish harvest, Pikau-te-rangi of Ngati Toa-rangatira raised an army of 10,000 men. He led them against Te Rauangaanga, Te Wherowhero's father who rallied 3,000 men from Waikato and Ngati Maniapoto to defend their home territories against invasion. teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1t88/te-wherowhero-po… The Battle of Hingakaka is claimed to have been the largest battle ever fought in New Zealand. It may also have been one of the last great battles in world history that did not see significant usage of gunpowder firearms or other modern weapons. Essentially an intertribal conflict among the Maori, the details of Hingakaka are surprisingly well known, possibly due to the fact that regular contact with Europeans was just beginning around the time. Strangely, the exact date of the battle (or even year) is not known with certainty. The best estimate seems to have been around 1803. The Battle of Hingakaka seems to have accelerated the disunity of the Maori tribes and paved the way for the ensuing Musket Wars. One of the largest tribal conflicts ever recorded was the Battle of Hingakaka. Probably taking place around the year 1803, this war was ostensibly fought over fishing rights and harvest. Ngati Toa from the southern tip of the North Island decided to launch a punitive war against the Ngati Maniapoto tribe in what is now the Waikato region at the north end of the island. According to available accounts, the Ngati Toa chief Pikauterangi marshaled an army of perhaps more than ten thousand warriors for the campaign and marched north. However, the invaders were spotted before they had a chance to begin the slaughter. The Ngati Maniapoto and their allies hastily gathered a force of about sixteen hundred warriors to oppose the Ngati Toa. Having time to choose the ground of the battle, the defenders organized themselves on a high ridge just south of Lake Ngarato. The battle was a disaster for the invaders. At first the Ngati Toa seemed to gain the upper hand, surrounding some of the defending force. However, reinforcements for the northerners charged down the hill, breaking the encirlement and killing the Toa chief in the process. The confused southerners were forced to retreat, and the retreat became a rout. Many of the invaders were killed or captured as they attempted to flee into the nearby lake and swamps. The engagement came to be known as Hingakaka (the Fall of the Parrots) because so many tribal chieftains were killed during the fighting.