List of massacres in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of events that have been called massacres that have occurred in New Zealand (numbers may be approximate). Massacres considered part of the campaigns of the New Zealand Wars are listed separately.
List
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 Auckland shooting |
20 Jul 2023 | Downtown Britomart Terminal, Auckland | 3 | Pump-action shotgun | Shooter among dead |
Christchurch mosque shootings |
15 Mar 2019 | Christchurch, Canterbury | 51 | Semi-automatic rifles, shotguns, lever-action rifle, bolt-action rifle | 51 killed and 40 injured. Occurred at two mosques in Christchurch: Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre. Australian-born perpetrator Brenton Harrison Tarrant pleaded guilty to murder and engaging in a terrorist act, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.[1][2][3] |
| Raurimu massacre | 8 Feb 1997 | Raurimu, King Country | 6 | Firearm (sawn off single-barrelled shotgun) | Also 4 wounded. Stephen Anderson found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.[4][5] |
| New Empire Hotel arson | 4 Feb 1995 | Hamilton | 6 | Fire | Alan Wayne Lory convicted of manslaughter.[6] |
Bain family murders |
20 Jun 1994 | Dunedin | 5 | Firearm (.22lr semi-auto) | David Bain convicted, but acquitted in a re-trial. |
| Ratima family murders | 26 Jun 1992 | Masterton | 7 | Hammer, knife | Raymond Wahia Ratima convicted of murder.[7][8] |
| Schlaepfer family murders | 20 May 1992 | Paerata, Auckland Region | 7 | Shooter (Brian Schlaepfer) among dead.[9] | |
| Aramoana massacre | 13–14 Nov 1990 | Aramoana, Otago | 14 | Firearm (scoped semi-automatic rifle)[10] | 3 (unofficially 4) injuries. Shooter (David Gray) among dead. |
| Bassett Road machine gun murders[11] | 7 Dec 1963 | Auckland | 2 | ||
| Noema Rika murders [12] | 27 May 1951 | Ōtaki, Kāpiti Coast | 5 | Shooter (Rika) among dead[13] | |
| Featherston prisoner of war camp strike | 25 Feb 1943 | Featherston, Wairarapa | 49 | 80 wounded | |
| 1941 Kowhitirangi shootings | 8–20 Oct 1941 | Kowhitirangi, West Coast | 8 | Shooter (Stanley Graham) among dead | |
| Henare Hona murders [Family Murders plus policeman.] | 21 Oct 1934 | Morrinsville, Waikato | 6 | Shooter (Hona) among dead | |
| Himatangi massacre | 6 Sep 1929 | Himatangi, Manawatu | 8 | Unsolved shooting and arson, possibly murder/suicide[14] | |
| Waikino schoolhouse shooting | 19 Oct 1923 | Waikino, near Waihi | 2 | Firearm (.32-cal pistol), also armed with 3 sticks of gelignite (not used) | Also 6 others wounded. Local farmer John Christopher Higgins sought revenge over alleged persecution[15][16] |
| Invercargill Tragedy [Baxter Family Murders] | 8 Apr 1908 | Invercargill | 7 | Stove scraper, firearm | Killer (James Reid Baxter) among dead |
| Maungatapu murders | 21 Feb 1866 | Maungatapu, Tasman | 5 | Three members of a gang led by Richard Burgess were hanged for the murders | |
| Finnigan family murders | Sep 1865 | Otahuhu, Auckland | 4 or 5[17] | Also spelt Finnegan in contemporary sources. James Stack was convicted and hanged in April 1866 | |
| Maketū Wharetōtara murders | 1841 | Kororareka, Northland | 5 | Maketū Wharetōtara, also known as Wiremu Kīngi Maketū, became the first person officially executed in New Zealand (7 March 1842)[18][19] | |
| Invasion of the Chatham Islands and Moriori genocide | Nov 1835 | Chatham Islands | 2000 | Part of the Musket Wars | The Moriori genocide was the systematic mass murder, ethnic cleansing, enslavement and cultural annihilation of the Moriori people, the indigenous ethnic group of the Chatham Islands (Rēkohu), by invaders from the mainland New Zealand iwi of Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Mutunga, from November 1835 for a disputed time onward. |
| Siege of Pukerangiora[20] | Nov 1831 | Waitara River, Taranaki | 1200 | Part of the Musket Wars | |
| Boyd massacre | Dec 1809 | Whangaroa Harbour, Northland | 66 | ||
| Reprisal attacks following death of Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne | 13 Jun 1772 to July 1772 | Bay of Islands, Northland | 250 | ||
| Death of Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne | 12 Jun 1772 | Bay of Islands, Northland | 26 | ||
Massacres during the New Zealand Wars
The following is a list of events that have been called massacres that occurred as part of the New Zealand Wars (numbers may be approximate):
| Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opepe Massacre | 7 June 1869 | Taupo | 9 | Part of Te Kooti's War |
| Mohaka massacre | 10 April 1869 | Mohaka, Hawke's Bay | 68 | Part of Te Kooti's War |
| Pukearuhe massacre | 13 February 1869 | Pukearuhe, Taranaki | 8 | Attack on Pukearuhe Redoubt by a Ngāti Maniapoto war party |
| Ngatapa massacre | 5 January 1869 | Ngatapa, Gisborne | 120 | Part of Te Kooti's War |
| Poverty Bay massacre | 10 November 1868 | Poverty Bay, Gisborne | 54 | Part of Te Kooti's War |
| Rangiaowhia massacre | 21 February 1864 | Rangiaowhia, Waikato | 11 | Part of the Waikato War |
| Gilfillan family killings | 18 April 1847 | Wanganui | 4 | An act of utu (revenge) for the killing of a Māori chieftain during the Wanganui Campaign |
| Wairau Affray | 17 June 1843 | Tuamarina, Marlborough | 26 | 8 wounded |