The Site — Queen's Redoubt

The Earthworks

A rare surviving fortification

Queen's Redoubt is one of very few large 19th-century military earthworks still legible on the New Zealand landscape. Three-quarters of the original 100 × 100 m fort — including some 60% of the length of the defences — sits on land owned by the Trust.

Most of what stood here in 1863 has gone: the 27 wooden huts were auctioned off in March 1867, the great ditch was filled in by a local farmer in the 1920s, and for nearly a century the site slept beneath the grass. But the trace of the redoubt remains, and careful restoration has begun to return parts of the ditch and parapet to their original form.

This page brings together what is being done on site — the earthworks, the archaeology, the long-term concept plan, and the research and reports that underpin all of it.

The site at a glance

1Land — 1.7778 ha (about 4.4 acres) freehold, plus 0.403 ha of paper road managed by the Trust under licence.

2Archaeology — Recorded as NZAA site S12/23, at 37° 14.80' S, 175° 1.53' E. Three excavations to date have uncovered around 600 m² of the interior.

3Zoning — Plan Change 42 (2008) created the Queen's Redoubt Special Heritage Zone, allowing the proposed developments on site.

4Vision — A New Zealand Wars Interpretation Centre and Memorial / Whakamaharatanga, to be developed over the coming decades.

Scale of the Defences

The most massive defences
of any New Zealand redoubt

Most New Zealand redoubts had a defensive ditch around 1.8 m deep and 2.7–3 m wide. Archaeological excavation at Queen's Redoubt has confirmed the original ditch was 2.4 m deep and approximately 5.5 m across, with the spoil thrown up on the inside as a parapet of similar height. The scale of these earthworks reflects the strategic weight of the post.

8,360 m²Internal area

5.5 mDitch width

2.4 mDitch depth

Site features & work

Restoration & the physical site

Six strands of work are taking the site, slowly, toward the long-term vision: a New Zealand Wars Interpretation Centre and Memorial.

Earthworks & restoration

The south-eastern portion of the ditch and parapet has been carefully restored. The ditch and wall between the house and Great South Road have been the major volunteer focus to date — pioneering techniques in the stabilisation of historic earthworks for New Zealand.

Read on →

Aerial photos & maps

Drone photography reveals the full square plan of the redoubt, the bastion corners, and the line of the cobbled road from the west gate to the east gate. A growing photographic record sits alongside historical plans by Captain Greaves (1862) and the 1864 sale broadsheet.

View gallery →

Land description

1.7778 ha (about 4.4 acres) of mostly level grassland, comprising the greater part of the historic redoubt. Owned freehold by the Trust since 28 March 2001, with an additional 0.403 ha of paper road on the south side managed under licence from Waikato District Council.

Site plan →

Concept plan

A long-term vision for the site as a national visitor destination — partial reconstruction of the defences and interior, a purpose-built Visitor Centre of international quality, and a New Zealand Wars Memorial / Whakamaharatanga.

Read the plan →

Research strategy

Archaeological, documentary and photographic research deepens our understanding of the redoubt and the wider district — Māori settlements at Mangatawhiri and Pokino, pre-war farms, Camp Pokino, the Bluff Stockade, and the camps at the Mangatawhiri crossing.

Research overview →

Reports & publications

A growing library of reports — Prickett (1992, published 2003), Gumbley (2004), Ritchie (2010), the Pokeno Flour Mill assessment (2010), and monitoring reports from sewage trenching in 2017 — alongside the Trust's books and brochures.

Browse publications →

A Recent Discovery

The cobbled road, uncovered

"After a dry summer the grass was unusually short, and three or four stones were just visible — in a straight line."

During a monthly working bee in 2022, a Trust volunteer noticed what looked like the edge of a stone-lined feature. Probing soon revealed a lot of stones — over an area about 3 metres wide and at least 20 metres long. At the next working bee the team systematically pulled up all the grass and uncovered a cobbled road inside Queen's Redoubt.

Further probing showed the road divides the redoubt in half, running from the west gate across to the east gate — a full 100 yards. There may be paved side tracks leading to buildings inside the redoubt, but these have not yet been found. A 5 m × 3 m section is now permanently open as an interpretable feature.

The stones were broken by hand and are remarkably chunky and angular. They almost certainly came from Austin's farm to the west — where the British Army quarried rock in late 1862 while the 12th and 14th Regiments built the southern end of the Great South Road. The cobbled road was probably laid at the same time the redoubt itself was being built.

Drone view of the redoubt — the exposed cobbled road runs from the west entrance to the east

Research Strategy

Three excavations, 600 m² of interior, and a wider district

Three archaeological excavations have so far been carried out at Queen's Redoubt. A two-week excavation in February 1992 was directed by Dr Nigel Prickett, then Curator of Archaeology at Auckland War Memorial Museum — a condition of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust granting an authority to the then land-owner. The work was published in Records of the Auckland Museum (2003), Vol. 40.

A second excavation followed in April 2004, directed by Hamilton-based archaeologist Warren Gumbley. About 425 m² of the south-west corner of the redoubt — the eventual site of the Visitor Centre — was stripped by machine and then hand excavated, with two trenches across the nearby ditch.

A third, week-long excavation took place in January 2010 (some sources give January 2007), directed by Trust Chairman Dr Neville Ritchie, with visiting students from the University of Wyoming. It investigated the south-east corner bastion.

What the digs have shown

The redoubt interior is characterised by rectangular patterns of shallow postholes — the footprints of the 27 numerous huts, carefully arranged to make best use of the available area. Drains, sparse scatters of broken glass, ceramics, bullets and military uniform buttons have been recovered, mostly from the bottom of the original ditch and the 1920s fill.

Beyond the redoubt

Research extends to the wider historic landscape: the Māori settlements of Mangatawhiri and Pokino, the flourmill on Tani Te Whiora Stream, pre-war farmhouses (Sagg, Selby, Austin), Camp Pokino on Helenslee Road, the Bluff Stockade at Te Ia, and the three redoubts at Koheroa.

Looking ahead

It is anticipated that for some years volunteer excavations will be a feature of the site's development — completing the plan of the redoubt interior, fully describing the defensive works, and exploring the area outside the fort before any future building would disturb it.

Land Description & Purchase

From private paddock to public trust

The property consists of 1.7778 ha (about 4.4 acres) and includes the greater part of the Queen's Redoubt site, lying between the Great South Road, the rear of houses along the east side of Selby Street, an unformed legal road, and State Highway 1. It comprises Part of Lot 14 (DP 13817) and Lots 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 (DP 21310).

The land is mostly level, under grass, with a slight dip toward the Great South Road on the west side. There is a house on Lot 14 DP 13817. The site is recorded in the New Zealand Archaeological Association site record scheme as S12/23 (formerly N46–47/188), at 37° 14.80' S, 175° 1.53' E.

In addition, since 21 May 2012, the Trust has held a licence from the Waikato District Council to occupy the paper road on the south side of the redoubt — an additional 0.403 ha. Since September 2012 the Council has vested management of this paper road in the Trust, which has formed a metalled road for vehicular access and parking.

February 1999

The Queen's Redoubt Trust is incorporated as a charitable trust under the Charitable Trust Act 1957, with the aim of raising funds to buy the historic site.

June 1999

The New Zealand Lottery Grants Board provides the Trust's first $100,000 toward a purchase price of $310,000.

March 2001

After almost five years of fund-raising and negotiation — with grants from the Lottery Grants Board and the ASB Bank Community Trust — the Queen's Redoubt Trust goes unconditional on its sale and purchase agreement, with settlement on 28 March.

2008 onward

Plan Change 42 (Franklin District Council, 2008) creates the Queen's Redoubt Special Heritage Zone, allowing the proposed site developments. Waikato District Council provides rate relief on the property.

Concept Plan

The New Zealand Wars Interpretation Centre at Queen's Redoubt

The long-term vision is a national visitor and educational facility — partial reconstruction of the redoubt, a purpose-built Visitor Centre, and a memorial to all who lost their lives in the New Zealand Wars.

Archaeological & historical research

Continued excavation to give a full and accurate plan of the redoubt interior, fully describe the defensive works, and explore the wider archaeological landscape — the precondition for any built development on site.

Earthworks reconstruction

The most pressing on-site work. Restoration of the great ditch and parapet to define the extent of the historic site and create the major focus for public interpretation. Significant progress has already been made on the south-eastern walls.

Replica buildings

The eventual erection of one or more replica huts inside the redoubt — replicating the original prefabricated buildings (made in Onehunga from Waitākare kauri, carted down the Great South Road) on their archaeologically confirmed footprints.

Interim Education Centre

Completed in 2015 in a form characteristic of 1860s buildings. Houses interpretive displays, a meeting room, and a small research collection — an interim measure while the major Visitor Centre is planned.

The Visitor Centre

A future purpose-built building of international architectural quality: museum and interpretation centre, NZ Wars research centre, café, Trust office, and information centre for travellers heading on through SH1 and SH2.

Memorial / Whakamaharatanga

A memorial to all Māori and Pākehā who were killed in the New Zealand Wars — the design subject to open competition. A quiet, reflective courtyard with plaques bearing the names of iwi groups and British and colonial soldiers who lost their lives.

Reports & Publications

A growing library of work on the site

Prickett (1992 / 2003)

"The history and archaeology of Queen's Redoubt, South Auckland." Records of the Auckland Museum, Vol. 40, pp. 5–37. The foundational published account of the 1992 excavation.

Gumbley (2004)

"Queen's Redoubt: report on the 2004 archaeological excavation." Unpublished report to the Queen's Redoubt Trust covering 425 m² of the south-west interior.

Ritchie (2012)

Report on the 2010 investigation extending the 1992 work and exploring the south-east bastion, with student volunteers from the University of Wyoming.

Hudson (2010)

"Pokeno Flour Mill Archaeological Assessment." CFG Heritage. Covers archaeological remains of the pre-war Mangatawhiri flourmill on Tani Te Whiora Stream.

Simmons & Associates (2017)

"Interim Report on Archaeological Work at S12/23, Queen's Redoubt, Pokeno." From monitoring of trenching required for sewage connection at the site.

Trust publications

Books, brochures and the periodic Trust newsletter — covering the Waikato campaign, the New Zealand Wars more broadly, and the ongoing story of the site.

Books for sale →

Thesite