Daily Photo: Christ Church in Kororāreka / Russell

Am I alone in thinking that a church with bullet holes that are more than 180 years old is worth knowing a little more about?

The church was at the centre of the conflict between Māori and the British Army that became known as the Battle of Kororāreka. The story has a long beginning, but for our purposes, we’ll go back to the years surrounding the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Following the signing, a number of Māori felt the treaty was not being honoured. Among them was Ngāpuhi chief Hōne Heke, who had gifted the British Crown a flagpole at Kororāreka. He later cut it down in protest.

The pole was re-erected, only for Heke to cut it down again, making his displeasure with British actions fairly difficult to miss. The fourth attack came at night on 11 March 1845. Despite the flagpole being guarded by British soldiers, Heke and his warriors managed to take the hill and cut it down once again. Preceding this, fighting had broken out, at the far end of the town. It was a strategic move, drawing British forces away from the hill and the flag. The Battle of Kororāreka had begun. 

The attack on the town drew the British forces away from the flagpole, allowing Heke to advance on the British flag. The fighting almost destroyed Kororāreka and marked the beginning of what became known as the Northern Wars. Caught in the middle was the church, which still carries the scars of those days.

Today, it is New Zealand’s oldest surviving church. Its graveyard contains the graves of important Māori leaders, including Tāmati Wāka Nene and Hannah King, along with many other names woven into New Zealand’s history. There are also the graves of men from HMS Hazard who died during the battle in March 1845.

It’s all very interesting really because if you look closely at the church walls, you can still see some of the bullet holes left behind.