Murray, as you may well know, this is contentious history. During the British attack on Rangiaowhia in February 1864, it is clear that a number of Māori were burned to death in a raupo whare. Whether the fire was deliberately lit or was a consequence of gunfire is not clear, but it is not disputed that unarmed women and children were amongst those who died. A good source is the recently published 'The Great War for New Zealand' by Vincent O'Malley (essential reading for anyone with Waikato history interests.) The cemetery you refer to is where three successive Catholic churches stood. There is a belief amongst some of the descendants that the Church was what was burned and that it was those seeking sanctuary inside it that died. It is fairly clear that that is not the case, it being a nearby raupo whare that was burned (which doesn't make it any better). The information sign in the cemetery says that 'after the war Rangiaowhia ceased to exist as a Māori centre of importance, and in 1871, Pompallier's successor Thomas Croke noted there was one Māori Catholic at the Mission. The Crown had confiscated and redistributed the land. Rangiaowhia took on a new life as a European settlement'. Whether the church you are referring to was subsequently destroyed by fire, or simply fell into disuse and was demolished, I haven't been able to establish. Catholic historians (or the Catholic archives) will know the answer. _______________________ Stuart Park Kerikeri