New Zealand Medal

 

The New Zealand War 1845 - 1847 & 1860 - 1866.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The New Zealand Medal was a British Empire campaign medal presented for service during The New Zealand Wars fought between 1845 and 1847 as well as 1860 and 1866. The medal was instituted in 1869 and was awarded to both Imperial and Colonial troops who participated in the wars which were previously known as the Maori Wars, Anglo-Maori Wars or Land Wars.

 

The Imperial forces included British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines whereas the Colonial militia were recruited locally or in Australia, and included mobile forces like Von Tempskys Forest Rangers and the Arawa Flying Column from a Māori tribe for the guerrilla war in the New Zealand bush.

 

Colonial militia claimants had to prove that they had been under fire. Claims from colonial forces were closed in 1900 but reopened in 1910 and 1913 in association with land claims for service in the war. Claims were finally closed for Europeans in 1915 and Māori in 1916.

 

4,457 medals were issued in total. 1,957 medals were issued to members of the Imperial government, and 2,500 to the Colonial government. The Ministry of Defence retained a few, and sold some unclaimed medals in the 1960s with the name of the recipient XXXXXed out.

 

 

The medal is circular, 36mm in diameter and was struck in silver. The obverse of this medal bears Queen Victoria’s diademed head with a veil at the rear and the inscription; ‘VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D:’.

 

The reverse depicts a laurel wreath and within its centre usually a year or year range from either the first or second period, and between the wreath and the edge the inscription; 'NEW ZEALAND' (above wreath) and; 'VIRTUTIS HONOR' (meaning Honour of Valour) below the wreath.

 

Generally the colonial militia medals are undated, and a few specimens are known with '1846 to 1865'. A year range is given (for example) as; ‘1863 / to / 1865’ (in three lines) and unusually for 19th Century British medals the year(s) are die struck in the centre.

 

The swivelling ribbon suspender is unique to this medal being of an unusual foliated design, attached to the medal by a claw mount.

 

The recipient's details can be found on the medal's rim usually impressed in Roman capitals to both the army and navy while engraving is seen on those awarded to local militia units.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 32mm wide and is dark blue in colour with a central red stripe.

 

 

None were authorised for this medal.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The New Zealand Wars.

- Von Tempskys Forest Rangers.

 

The New Zealand Wars - The New Zealand Wars, which were long known as the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand government and indigenous Māori.

 

Though the wars were initially localised conflicts triggered by tensions over disputed land purchases, they escalated dramatically from 1860 as the government became convinced it was facing a united Māori resistance to further land sales and a refusal to acknowledge Crown sovereignty.

 

The government summoned thousands of British troops to mount major campaigns to overpower the Māori King Movement and also acquire farming and residential land for English settlers. Later campaigns were aimed at quashing the so-called Hauhau movement, an extremist part of the Pai Marire religion, which was strongly opposed to the alienation of Māori land and eager to strengthen Māori identity.

 

At the peak of hostilities in the 1860s, 18,000 British troops, supported by artillery and cavalry, battled about 4000 Māori warriors in what became a gross imbalance of manpower and weaponry. Although outnumbered, the Māori were able to withstand their enemy with techniques that included anti-artillery bunkers and the use of carefully-placed pa, or fortified villages, that allowed them to block their enemy advance and often inflict heavy losses, yet quickly abandon their positions without significant loss. Guerilla-style tactics were used by both sides in later campaigns, often fought in dense bush.

 

Over the course of the Taranaki and Waikato campaigns the lives of about 1800 Māori and 800 Europeans were lost and total Māori losses over the course of all the wars may have exceeded 2100.

 

Violence over land ownership broke out first in the Wairau Valley in the South Island in June 1843, but rising tensions in Taranaki eventually led to the involvement of British military forces at Waitara in March 1860.

 

The war between the government and Kīngitanga (King Movement) Māori spread to other areas of the North Island, with the biggest single campaign being the invasion of Waikato in 1863-64, before hostilities concluded with the pursuits of warlord Riwha Titokowaru in Taranaki (1868-69) and guerrilla fighter Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki on the east coast (1868-72).

 

Although Māori were initially fought by British forces, the New Zealand government developed its own military force, including local militia, rifle volunteer groups and the specialist Forest Rangers. The government also responded with legislation to imprison Māori opponents and confiscate expansive areas of the North Island for sale to settlers, with the funds used to cover war expenses - punitive measures that on the east and west coasts provoked an intensification of Māori resistance and aggression

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.

 

Von Tempskys Forest Rangers - Major Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky (15 February 1828 – 7 September 1868) was a Prussian adventurer, artist, newspaper correspondent and soldier in New Zealand, Australia, California, Mexico and the Mosquito Coast of Central America. He was also an amateur watercolourist who painted the New Zealand bush and the military campaign

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.