During the new zealand wars what did the heroine of gate pa do?
Heni Te Kiri Karamu, also known as Heni Pore, Jane Foley, and Jane Russell (1840 - 1933) of Te Arawa Iwi was a teacher and warrior who became known as the 'heroine of Gate Pa'. She was a teacher and governess and had learned to speak both English and French fluently.She was living at Maraetai, southeast of Auckland in July 1863 when British forces invaded the Waikato. She supported the Maori King movement and decided to head south to the Waikato. She joined a group of Ngati Koheriki who skirmished ther way south to meet up with Kingite forces. She reached the village of Wiremu Tamehana and here worked as an interpreter and translating captured British intelligence. After the fall of Orakau she travelled to Tauranga where British forces were readying to attack Ngati Koheriki and Ngaiterangi at a place called Pukehinahina. Here they built the pa or defensive fortification most commonly known as Gate Pa.Heni was present at the pa when the British forces, who were greatly superior in both numbers and weaponry, attacked the pa. Unfortunately for the British Gate Pa was a cleverly designed trap and the Maori defenders firing from concealed positions took a heavy toll on the British attack forcing them to retreat in disarray. The British fled leaving their wounded and dying behind while the Maori defenders, having achieved their military objectives, prepared to abandon the pa. Heni and others, despite having little more than water to offer, stayed to nurse the British wounded throughout the night even though the British were expected to counter-attack at anytime. It was this action that earned her the title 'Heroine of Gate Pa'.