Wedding Anniversary Weekend Away

 We are just back after spending three days/two nights in the sunny Hawkes Bay, named by Captain Cook in honour of a contemporary Royal Naval Admiral and an area we haven't been to in thirty years! The neighbouring cities of Napier and Hastings and surrounding countryside are the centre of stone fruit production in New Zealand - apples, pears. plums and peaches being the most popular. The cities are also well known for their art deco architecture, due to having a massive rebuild after a devastating earthquake (New Zealand's worst ever) in 1930. 

There is a passing connection with wargaming and military history, in that the city of Napier was named after Sir Charles Napier, the hero of the Battle of Meeanee in the Indian province of Scinde. The creator of the town, Alfred Domett, fourth premier of New Zealand, named many of the streets in this settlement to commemorate the great colonial era of the British Indian Empire. Indeed, there is a small settlement in the area actually named Meeanee! 

Additionally, the adjacent town where we were staying, Havelock North, was named after British general Sir Henry Havelock to commemorate his role in suppressing a rebellion against British power in India.

According to my friend, Mr. Wikipedia, the Battle of Miani (Meeanee) was a battle between forces of the Bombay Army of the East India Company, under the command of Charles Napier and the Baluch army of Talpur Amirs of Sindh, led by Mir Nasir Khan Talpur. The battle took place on 17 February 1843 at Miani, Sindh, in what is now modern-day Pakistan. Napier commanded 2,800 HEIC troops against an estimated 30.000 and emerged victorious, with 200 odd casualties against over 2000 of the enemy. Units on the British side were

1st Troop Bombay Horse Artillery,
9th Bombay Light Horse,
12th Bombay Native Infantry,
21st Bombay Native Infantry,
25th Bombay Native Infantry,
22nd Cheshire Regiment of foot

Poona Irregular Horse

The Battle of Meeanee 1843

Over the next couple of posts, I will share images of our trip.

The journey from home to the Air BnB booked for us by our daughter in Havelock North

Upon arrival at around 2pm, we headed straight to the first walk my wife had planned for us, the Mata Peak, which is part of Te Mata Estate vineyard (wine production is another major industry in this region!)

A view down over the surrounding countryside

You have been warned!

The path to the summit brought out a significant level of fear in my wife. It was steep but I didn't find it particularly worrisome - I think it was just the exposed nature of the countryside that worried her, If this had been one of our more usual bush walks, and she could not have seen the view back down into the valley below, I don't think it would have worried her- but the mind is a funny thing, and she really was not happy!

Views above and below from the very top of the peak

Of course, we could have just driven up and taken just as many impressive photos!

A couple of views on the way down

We had followed the red trail in the map below

Later that evening, we enjoyed a very nice Tapas style meal at Deliciosa Restaurant in Havelock North, again booked for us by our daughter Amy. 

Ruth had the Ovation Lamb dish, I had the fried chicken (below), and we shared the Patatas Bravas

A great start to our three-day break - pics from day two will appear here soon!

Recent ECW Game

 I had not intended to go to the game at Barrys place on Sunday 30 October, as another exhilarating bush walk was anticipated. However, the weather Gods intervened, and it was a miserable wet day in Auckland, so the plans changed. After a mid-morning visit to a cafe with my dear wife, I informed her I didn't intend to just sit around the house for the rest of the day doing nothing much (okay, I would have been in the garage painting toy soldiers probably, but that's beside the point!) and headed off to West Auckland to catch up with the guys.

I arrived just at the conclusion of the lunch break and stayed till the bitter end - around about 3pm. For those who want more background on the game, check out Marks 1866 blog here 1866 and all that: English Civil War Game (stracmark.blogspot.com). Suffice to say, the Royalists, Mark, John and Barry, were trying to spirit King Charles I away, whilst the Parliamentarians, Chris, Paul and Julian, were attempting to capture him.

The table as it appeared upon my arrival at Barrys. Parliamentarian mainly to the bottom and left of the table, Royalists to the right and top.

The local pub had been the Parliamentarian HQ - sensible lads!

Parliamentarian Infantry shadow the Kings movements

The Kings coach and an escort head for the road to Oxford

Up ahead, Parliamentarian guns await

The manor of Sir Edmund Verney, where the King and his party had passed the previous evening

Opposing cavalry clash at the opposite end of the battlefield

Dismounted Parliamentarian dragoons after successfully facing and seeing off a full-blown Royalist cavalry charge - not something you see every day!

Ooops, Parliamentarian cavalry charged frontally and from the flank simultaneously

Royalist infantry at the mill pond

Lady Margaret Verney worrying about her husband and the King

Sir Edmund Verney, the Kings standard bearer, accompanies the royal coach (its pre-Edgehill, 1642, and hence Sir Edmund is still in one piece!)

Another flank attack by Royalist cavalry

The Kings coach approaches the bridge - note, the Parliamentarians mission is to capture the King, not kill him, so artillery fire on the coach was a no no!

Royalist cavalry in the ascendency 

Just WHO exactly is in that coach, anyway?

Cavalry advance across the bridge to clear the way for His Majesty

But in that formation, they were easily seen off by their Parliamentarian counterparts

Parliamentarians close in on the coach from front and rear as the defending Royalist troops are caught between two superior forces

But who is this mysterious, mounted figure, quietly riding round the flank of the Parliamentarian position, miles from the Royal coach??

None other than King Charles! He has avoided the trap, although most of his escorting troops have been killed or captured...

.... including his personal coach, now completely surrounded by his Parliamentarian foes

Great game, even though I played no part in it, and as Mark suggested to the scenario writer, Rick, perfectly set up for a follow up game, where the Parliamentarians scour the Oxfordshire countryside for the evasive monarch!

The game, and all the figures, buildings etc were provided by Rick, who spent hours on the previous day setting up the table, apparently - bloody good job he did too!

Work Trip Including Some Local Military History

 Today, a colleague and I drove around two hours southeast from Auckland to visit our branch in Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. After we had completed all our work-related activities and grabbed a rather nice lunch with the branch manager, I dragged my unfortunate companion off course to visit the small historic reserve that marks the location of one of the most significant engagements in the Maori or New Zealand Land Wars. (Actually, he didn't really mind too much!)

We actually travelled both routes, the grey one down and the blue one back

The location of the reserve - right in the middle of the city of Tauranga, as you can see. Located nearby is a Gate Pa School and also a Gate Pa Shopping Mall!

Entrance to the reserve with Maori carvings along the side of Cameron Road (named after the commanding British general)

There were several information signs, I only photographed a couple

Memorial area with flagpole etc - I assume the church may have been built on the site of the actual Pa

Some cool carvings done from the natural base of a tree

Memorial plaque

Second set of impressive carvings

Click on the images below for the full story of the battle.

Thats my lot for tonight - I have some images of a game I watched but did not participate in to post next, plus some more recently painted figures to transition through the photo booth, so likely to post again in a couple of days.