Report conveying the thanks of the imperial government for assistance rendered by the colony to New Zealand

Date1859 - 1860

Object number00008349

NameParliamentary paper

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 345 mm

ClassificationsEphemera

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionA parliamentary paper from the Imperial Government in London thanking the Victorian Parliament for their naval support in the First Taranaki War in New Zealand.HistoryIn 1860 a contingent of 30 sailors and two officers from the Victorian Colonial Navy and the ship VICTORIA, took part in the siege of Maori forces at the pa (fortress) at Matarikoriko, Taranaki in New Zealand on December 29, 1860. The siege was a culmination of tensions arising from continual land disputes between the local European settlers and Maori inhabitants of the area. This parlimentary paper is in recognition of the support from the Victorian Navy and notes: "I have received your Despatch, No 5, of the 20th April last, in which you report the / measures adopted by your Government on recieving the application of the New Zealand / Government for assistance in meeting the difficulties in which that colony had been involved / in consequence of the outbreak on the part of the natives of Taranaki. Her Majesty's Government have seen with great satisfaction the cordial co-operation / offered by the Government of Victoria on this occasion, not only by their acquiescence in the / reduction of the garrison, but by the liberal manner in which they placed the colonial war steamer, VICTORIA, at the disposal of the Imperial Government." SignificanceWhen the Victorian Colonial Navy and the war ship VICTORIA became involved in the Taranaki Wars in New Zealand, it became the first British-built ship given to a colony of the British Empire and the first Australian warship to be deployed overseas.