Soldiers Graves, Opepe, Taupo, New Zealand
Opepe was the site of the most one-sided ‘battle’ of the New Zealand Wars. On the afternoon of 7 June 1869, the advance guard of the forces of the Maori guerrilla leader Te Kooti Arikirangi reached this patch of forest at the junction of several tracks between the Kaingaroa Plains and Lake Taupo. They encountered a unit of Bay of Plenty Cavalry who were looking for signs that Te Kooti was in the area. Their leader’s failure to post sentries before standing his men down resulted in nine deaths. The five survivors took several days to reach Fort Galatea, 70 km to the north-east.
Size: 3456px × 4608px
Location: Opepe, Taupo Napier Highway, Taupo, New Zealand
Photo credit: © John Steele / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ambush, battlesite, cemetery, graves, guerilla, headstone, historic, history, kooti, maori, memorial, military, napier, nz, opepe, place, soldiers, taupo, te, tombstone, turuki, war, warfare, wars, zealand
