The Significance of the Battle of Gate Pa on Tauranga

For homework over the school holidays, Mr Cunliffe had us right reports. All members of Room 19 had to write one and there was a really wide range of topics. This is my one

The significance of the Battle of Gate Pa on Tauranga

The Battle of Gate Pa, one of the biggest battles Tauranga Moana’s history, has helped to shape the way our lives are today. Ask any member of any of the local māori tribes and they will tell you that it has been a great impact on the way that they think and act. Signs of significance are shown by the organising of reenactments of the battle, the local māori tribes and the adding of decorations to commemorate the battle.

It is obvious that the Battle of Gate Pa and the mark it has made on Tauranga’s history is still fresh in the minds of some groups and individuals. Events made by ordinary people tell us this. Events that, if done correctly, can not only commemorate, but also explain and sometimes, apologize.The Battle of Gate Pa Trust is just one of the groups that makes sure we remember the lives given at the pa site of Pukehinahina (Gate Pa), so that we do not undo the work that the New Zealanders of the eighteen and nineteen hundreds have done.

It is evident that the Battle of Gate Pa has succeeded in enforcing the Treaty of Waitangi, even if the cost of lives that were paid is high. Just one sign that the Treaty of Waitangi has been given a greater presence are sometimes available to visit. They are called Marae or māori sacred grounds and they are there because the Treaty of Waitangi has been given a voice once again. They are there to remind us that we all have to act within our own rules.

There are places in Tauranga, such as The Elms that are still present in the bustling city today. Them still being there tells us that people still remember the people who fought there, sought refuge there and died there. That people will not casually shrug off the Battle of Gate Pa and the reason why it happened, for to do so would be to say that the lives lost, ruined and the minds broken mean nothing to them. That it doesn’t matter that people died or were broken. That they don’t care that the land is tainted with blood. Sanctuaries like The Elms and Gate Pa, in its time, are like those who died saying, “Please don’t forget me”.

In conclusion, I think that the Battle of Gate Pa has had a great impact on Tauranga and still has significance to it’s people. I think it has told us not to get rid of the old, just because there is something new. To remember those who are gone, just as they would remember us. And to show people what we think and speak our mind.

by Callum Reilly, 449 words