During 1869, the Armed Constabulary under the Command of Colonel Whitmore sent a force to Lake Waikaremoana in an attempt to quash ebellion by a Maori tribe called the Hauhau led by a chief called Te Kooti. On one side of the lake were the Hauhau occupying two Pa sites and on the other was Herrick and his men. Herrick decided it would be too difficult to attack the Pa from around the lake and began the construction of two whale-boats with which he hoped to conduct a water assault. The whale-boats took about six weeks to to be made and were 12 m long with a beam of 3m.
Herrick was about to begin his assault, but a message was received that Te Kooti had fled to Taupo. His job was to destroy the Pa sites and prevent reoccupation by Te Kooti and the Hauhau. Before this was achieved, the Stafford Government was defeated. Sir Donald McLean ordered Herrick to withdraw. The whale-boats were taken out onto the lake filled with rocks and sank to prevent the whale-boats from falling into the hands of the Maori.
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