Third Waikato Militia

Cambridge’s first European settlers

The first Europeans to settle in the Cambridge area were soldiers — men of the 3rd Regiment of the Waikato Militia, who arrived during the New Zealand Wars, Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa.

Background to the conflict

By the late 1850s, pressure on land was mounting. As more and more immigrants arrived seeking land to farm, Māori resistance to further sales hardened. The Waikato tribes united, electing Te Wherowhero as their first Māori King — Kīngi Pōtatau I — in 1858. Mistrust between settlers and Māori deepened, and Governor Sir George Grey, while talking peace, prepared for war. He declared it on 11 July 1863.

The Militia

Recruitment for the Militia began quickly. The 3rd Waikato Regiment drew men from across the colony and beyond — around 47% from the South Island, 24% from Auckland, 17% from Australia, and 10% from regimental headquarters. They were tradesmen, labourers and farmers: about 18% were labourers, 13% miners, 10% in the building trades, and 11% in agriculture.

The Waikato campaign ended with the last battle at Ōrākau, near Te Awamutu, fought from 30 March to 2 April 1864. In its aftermath, the Crown confiscated — raupatu — approximately 1.2 million acres of Waikato heartland. Of this, 225,000 acres were set aside as native reserves and 50,000 acres returned to the tribes. Around 150,000 acres were subdivided for military settlements, with the remainder to be sold to meet the costs of the war.

The founding of Cambridge

Cambridge was named after Field Marshal Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army from 1856 to 1895. The site was chosen on 13 July 1864 because it was the closest point to the Confiscation Line (Aukati) accessible by river transport.

Camp Cambridge, under Colonel William Lyon, was established across a series of terraces. The Star Redoubt was built on 13 acres in Fort Street, overlooking the river towards Maungatautari — the significant maunga to the south associated with the Māori King Movement.

Settler life

Of the approximately 700 militia soldiers, around 11% were under 21 years of age and 57% were aged between 21 and 30. Each was granted 50 acres of confiscated farmland and a town acre. The Government’s intention was to establish these farms as a buffer between the Māori King Country and Auckland, with Cambridge serving as a military outpost.

It was not an easy beginning. The Cambridge district was mainly swamp. Many militia men walked away; some sold their land with the remainder of their three-year service attached. But others — particularly those with families — pitched in and built new lives. Poultry, pigs and cattle were their first livestock. A vegetable garden and orchard were essentials. Wheat and oats were the mainstay.

Scrub, fern and tī-tōia made for a fairly bleak landscape, and trees were planted early for shade and shelter from the bitterly cold southerly winds. Today, those early plantings have grown into the magnificent trees that remain one of Cambridge’s most distinctive and treasured features.

By 1867 the settlement had grown to around 200 men, women and children. With the passing of the Armed Constabulary Act on 10 October 1867, the Waikato Militia was disbanded.

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