The Battle of Ōhaeawai, part of the Flagstaff War, was fought in July 1845 at Ōhaeawai in Northland, New Zealand. The battle was between British forces and their allies from the local Ngāpuhi tribe of Māori on one side, and other Ngāpuhi, led by Te Ruki Kawiti, a prominent rangatira (chief), on the other side. The battle was notable for establishing that an appropriately built fortified pā could withstand bombardment from cannon fire, with a frontal assault by soldiers suffering heavy casualties. Kawiti's success at Ōhaeawai Pā After the Battle of Te Ahuahu a debate occurred between Te Ruki Kawiti and the Ngatirangi chief Pene Taui as to the site of the next battle; Kawiti eventually agreed to a request to fortify Pene Taui's pā, which was from the present settlement of Ōhaeawai and from Kaikohe. In the winter of 1845 Lieutenant Colonel Henry Despard led a combined force of troops from the 58th, 96th, and 99th Regiments, Royal Marines and Māori allies in an attack on Pene Taui's pā, which had been fortified by Kawiti. The British troops arrived before the Ōhaeawai Pā on 23 June and established a camp about away. On the summit of a nearby hill (Puketapu) they built a four-gun battery. They opened fire next day and continued until dark but did very little damage to the palisade. The next day the guns were brought to within of the pā. The bombardment continued for another two days but still did very little damage. Partly this was due to the elasticity of the flax covering the palisade. Since the introduction of muskets the Māori had learnt to cover the outside of the palisades with layers of flax (Phormium tenax) leaves, making them effectively bulletproof as the velocity of musket balls was dissipated by the flax leaves. However the main fault was a failure to concentrate the cannon fire on one area of the defences, so as to create a breach in the palisade. After two days of bombardment without effecting a breach, Despard ordered a frontal assault. He was, with difficulty, persuaded to postpone this pending the arrival of a 32-pound naval gun which came the next day, 1 July. However an unexpected sortie from the pā resulted in the temporary occupation of the knoll on which Tāmati Wāka Nene had his camp and the capture of Nene's colours—the Union Jack. The Union Jack was carried