Lot 2083

Description

New Zealand Medal, date removed. Patrick Martin No 3 Company 1st Waikato Reg. Impressed. Polished, very fine.

Officially re-named as should be all post 1895 issues to Colonials as unclaimed stock of pre-impressed medals was used up. With application papers. Patrick Martin arrived in Auckland Province in 1857. He established a small farm near Hunua, south of Auckland. On 4 July 1863 he enlisted as a Private in 3 Company of the 1st Regiment of Waikato Militia at Otahuhu Camp. This was 'Pitt's Militia' and was the first enlistment of this newly formed regiment. He was in action a short time later at Kirikiri on 22 July 1863. (This site is a short distance from present day Papakura and close to Martin's own farm.) As one of the settlers who had remained on his holding bordering the Hunua Forest he was alerted to the sound of gunfire coming from the property of a neighbour - Mr Hay. One of Mr Hay's workers had been killed by Kingite Maoris and the farm was surrounded by their warriors. Hay was on the roof attempting to protect the three women in the dwelling and it appears Martin and his fellow militiamen arrived with little time to spare. The Maori were engaged at the edge of the bush and were eventually driven to the hills. Imperial reinforcements in the form of a detachment of men of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment arrived from the nearby newly constructed Ring's Redoubt and for much of the evening the Imperials and Colonials engaged small Maori raiding and scouting parties. The following morning a detachment of men from the 65th Regiment arrived and at that stage the Maori were overwhelmed and fled. This was the first engagement of the Colonial Militia (during the Waikato Wars) and the relatively small number of men involved behaved with skill and courage in the conflict. Private Martin later suffered a broken collar bone as a result of being kicked by a horse. His injuries were such that he was no longer able to undertake heavy work. He therefore transferred to the Imperial Commissariat Corps with whom he was employed as a bullock driver. He was subsequently in action at Shepherd's Bush (Ramarama) in the vicinity of Williamson's Clearing (now Bombay). He took his discharge in early 1866 and remained in Hunua. He applied for his New Zealand Medal in order to receive a pension and received the medal on 18 May 1914. Patrick Martin died at Runciman on 25 October 1932 aged 90. The death notice in the New Zealand Herald on 26 October 1932 stated: 'On October 25 at Runciman, Patrick, beloved husband of Charlotte Martin, aged 90 years. Funeral leaves his late residence at 2:30pm tomorrow (Thursday) for Presbyterian Cemetery, Drury.'