Baillie.- — The Fust New Zealand Navy. 35 



again proceeded up the river, and landed at Ngaruawahia, where he 

 established headquarters. On the 26th December 300 men of the 50th 

 Regiment left Onehunga on the transport " Alexandra " and the chartered 

 steamer " Kangaroo " for Raglan. On the 28th, 250 men of the Waikato 

 Militia, under Colonel Haultain, embarked on the steamer "Lady Barkly " 

 for the same destination. 



The memorandum of the Defence Minister, dated the 20th October, 

 1863, stated, " But so strongly has the necessity been felt for providing 

 means for commanding the navigation of this important artery of the 

 country, and for preparing means of communication with the military 

 settlers to be located in the Waikato country, and of transporting the 

 necessary supplies, that two smaller steamboats of very light draft of 

 water have been ordered to be constructed in Sydney. These vessels are 

 being constructed of iron. They will be brought from Sydney in sections, 

 on board a vessel laden with coal, direct to the Waikato River, and 

 put together at the Waikato Heads. These two boats are also specially 

 designed of great power, so as to be used as tugs, and thus provide means 

 of transporting supplies up the river." 



These two boats were named " Koheroa " and " Rangiriri," probably 

 after the two actions fought on the Waikato. (Plate VI, fig. 2.) 

 The builders were Messrs. P. Russell and Co. A Sydney newspaper, in 

 describing one of the boats, said, " This boat, which can easily turn in the 

 space of a little more than her own length, may follow the bendings of 

 such a river as the Waikato in its narrowest part, and may either be used 

 as a steam-tug, towing flats for the conveyance of troops, or may be armed 

 with a gun at each of the singular-looking portholes, which are closed with 

 folding doors, in the middle of the lower deck ; while the bulwarks on 

 each side are pierced with twenty or thirty loopholes for rifle shooting." 

 The " Koheroa " was built in less than six weeks from the time the contract 

 was received from Mr. James Stewart, C.E., who had been sent to Sydney 

 by the New Zealand Government to superintend the construction. The 

 sections of the " Koheroa " were brought from Sydney to Port Waikato 

 by the steamer " Beautiful Star." The first bolt was riveted on the 

 4th January, 1864, and the vessel was launched on the 15th. I can find 

 no record of these boats being engaged in hostilities, but they were used 

 for transport work for some time. 



By the end of January, 1864, General Cameron's headquarters had 

 been moved to Te Rore, on the River Waipa, from which, on the 20th 

 February, with a force that included a naval detachment of 149 men and 

 ten officers, he moved across the Mangapiko River to Te Awamutu, where 

 headquarters were established. During the last few days of this campaign 

 (February, 1864), while the " Avon " was patrolling the river, a shot 

 reached the vessel and killed Lieutenant Mitchell, H.M.S. " Esk." 



From Ngaruawahia Commodore Wiseman and a party of naval and 

 military officers went up the Horotiu River a distance of twelve miles, then 

 transferred to the " Koheroa," and, proceeding twenty-two miles farther 

 on (to near the site of the present town of Cambridge), located the Maori 

 position, and returned. This incident ends the story of the British Navy 

 on the Waikato River, though the steamers were used for some time 

 longer on transport duty. Colonial crews were placed on board, and 

 the Naval Brigade's operations were transferred to the Tauranga district. 



General Cameron transferred his headquarters to Tauranga on the 21st 

 April, 1864. Reinforcements, which had been sent from Auckland on 

 2* 



