Opepe was a settlement in New Zealand, a few miles southeast of

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town on the north-eastern shore of Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, in the central North Island. It is the largest urban area of the Taupō District, and the second-largest urban area in the Wai ...

. It was the scene of an attack on European militia by Maori on 7 June 1869, in which nine members of the militia were killed. The Opepe Maori settlement was at the intersection of two major pre-European walking tracks (Taupo- Napier and

Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...

Tokaanu Tokaanu is a small settlement close to Tūrangi at the southern end of Lake Taupō. The Tokaanu Thermal Pools and the easy access to Lake Taupo make it a popular lakeside holiday destination. A short walking track through the Tokaanu thermal ar ...

). It was the birthplace of the Maori leader Te Rangitahau. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...

gives a translation of "place of the moth" for ''Ōpepe''. During

Te Kooti's War Te Kooti's War was among the last of the New Zealand Wars, the series of 19th century conflicts in New Zealand between the Māori and the colonising European settlers. It was fought in the East Coast region and across the heavily forested centra ...

, in early June 1869

Te Kooti Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c. 1832–1893) was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatū religion and guerrilla fighter. While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Cha ...

and about 150 of his supporters moved towards

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; mi, Taupō-nui-a-Tia or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of the Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's nor ...

in the center of the North Island. At Opepe, just short of Taupō, they ran into party of fourteen Militia, who were camped in the abandoned village. Nine of the militia were killed with no loss to Te Kooti. One of the men, who was drying his uniform, escaped completely naked across rough country in mid-winter, and was awarded the

New Zealand Medal New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. A military stockade was built at Opepe in 1869 but closed in 1885. The township thrived for several years in the late 19th century. Today there is a very small cemetery on the Napier-Taupo road with five graves maintained by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Two of the graves hold the bodies of the nine members of the Bay of Plenty Cavalry who were killed on 7 June 1869 by Te Kooti's advance guard. The other three are the graves of later settlers.

New Zealand State Highway 5 State Highway 5 (SH 5), one of New Zealand's eight national highways, runs from State Highway 1 at Tīrau, in the south Waikato, to State Highway 2, close to the Hawkes Bay coast at Bay View, 10 km north of Napier. It is the second sho ...

passes through Opepe today. Little remains of the settlement.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opepe Taupō District Former populated places in New Zealand Conflicts in 1869 Military history of New Zealand