1863 - Maori Wars - Australian History

- 1860s - British settlers - Treaty of Waitangi - Maoris -1840, disputes - ownership - sale of tribal land - full scale Maori revolt -1860 - British Army - several thousand Australians from NSW and Victoria volunteered - Enlistment was individual. -1863 and 1864 - Waikato Militia - scouting operations -protecting - settlers from Maori raids -

By the 1860s the good relations that had existed off and on between the British settlers and the natives in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi with the Maoris in 1840, broke down. Disputes over the ownership and the sale of tribal land led to a full scale Maori revolt in 1860. The British Army, finding the Maori resistance more than they had anticipated made an appeal to for help among their colonies.

Moved by loyalty to the British Empire and a sense of adventure, several thousand Australians from the colonies of NSW and Victoria volunteered to help suppress the rebellion. Enlistment was on an individual basis, not organised by the colonial governments. Between 1863 and 1864 these volunteers became part of the Waikato Militia which was employed mainly in scouting operations and protecting while settlers from Maori raids.

Reference

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