It’s reasonably common knowledge that large numbers of Māori fought on the side of the government during the New Zealand Wars. We even have a name for them, kūpapa Māori.
A less well-known story is the handful of Europeans who went in the other direction – Pākehā soldiers who deserted the British army and joined the cause of Māori “rebels”.
Most of these people are poorly documented, but there is one exception: Kimble Bent.
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An illustration of Bent in the Tangahoe river from Chris Grozs’ graphic novel ‘Kimble Bent Malcontent’.
Photo: Chris Grozs
June, 1865. A Ngāti Ruanui chief, Tito Hanataua, was riding his horse along a track near the bank of the Tangahoe river. He was there to scout a nearby British army fort.
To his astonishment he came face-to-face with a soldier wearing a dripping wet scarlet uniform. That soldier was…
