Alexandra Redoubt at Tuakau

Alexandra Redoubt was established by the 65th Regiment immediately after the invasion of the Waikato on 12 July 1863. The position above the river was to protect water borne military traffic and help to close off the South Auckland region to Maori forces.

The memorial remembers the battle and the troops, imperial and colonial. One hundred and fifty troops were stationed here under Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron, the intention being to guard the right side of the Waikato River at this point. Ngati Whauroa were friends of the government here, and the eventual hostilities here, in September 1863, involved Kingites from Ngati Maniapoto. Some detail of this is available in a story named "How Sgt McKenna won the Victoria Cross, a night in the Maori Bush."

There is a cemetery down the hill where some of those involved are buried.

The other Alexandra Redoubt is at Pirongia, and dates to 1872.

Image Credit: Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, AWNS-19161221-40-5