W. T. L. Travers.—The Life and Times of Te Rauparaha. 67 
Rauparaha and his warriors reached the scene of action, and at once renewed 
the battle with the utmost vigour ; and, after a long and sanguinary conflict, 
completely defeated the invaders, with tremendous slaughter ; not less than 
170 dead bodies being left on the beach, whilst numbers were drowned in 
attempting to reach the canoes that were still at sea. The remainder of the 
invading force made their way, with all speed, to Waikanae and other points 
of the coast, where many of them landed, abandoning their canoes to the 
Ngatitoa, who had commenced an immediate pursuit. After the battle 
Rauparaha composed and sang a “song of triumph,” the words of which I 
regret that I have not been able to obtain. The result was in every way 
advantageous to his people, for no further attempt was ever made to dislodge 
them, whilst they, on the other hand, lost no opportunity of strengthening 
their position and of wreaking vengeance on the Ngatiapa, Rangitane, and 
Muaupoko, the remnant of whom they ultimately reduced to the condition of 
the merest tributaries, many of the leading chiefs, including Te Hakeke, 
becoming slaves. Ib would be useless for me to give anything like a detailed 
account of the incursions of the Ngatitoa into the country on the main land, 
often extending as far as Turakina, in which numbers of the original inhabi- 
tants were killed and eaten, or reduced to slavery ; bnt it is perfectly clear 
that their power was completely broken, and that after Waiorua, the Ngatitoa 
and their allies found no enemy capable of checking their movements. The 
news of the battle having reached Taranaki, with rumours of Rauparaha’s 
astounding suecess, Te Puaha, with a detachment of Ngatiawa, came down 
to Kapiti in order to learn the truth of the matter, and having ascertained 
how completely Rauparaha had defeated his enemies, he returned to Taranaki 
for the purpose of bringing down a number of his people to join the Ngatitoa 
in their settlement of the country, as well as to take part in the prosecution 
of Rauparaha’s further designs. Accordingly, he shortly afterwards brought 
with him, from Taranaki, a considerable number of fighting men, with their 
families, consisting partly of Ngatiawa proper, partly of Ngatihinetuhi, and 
partly of Ngatiwhakatere, heing members of a hapu of Ngatiraukawa, who 
had escaped from a defeat on the Wanganui River, and had incorporated 
themselves with the Ngatiawa. This formed an important accession to the 
force under Rauparaha, which received further additions shortly afterwards 
from Te Ahu Karamu, a Ngatiraukawa chief of high rank, who, against the 
feeling of his people, had determined to join his great Ngatitoa kinsman. 
This chief, having heard from Rauparaha’s emissaries of the difficulties in 
which he was likely to be placed by the defection of the Ngatiawa, had 
started from Taupo with 120 armed men, of his own immediate following, and 
arrived at Kapiti shortly after the battle of Waiorua, and then took part in 
- many of the raids upon the original tribes which occurred after that event. 
