Georgina Bryant's Diary- 1852

30th March 1852

Tena Koe Diary,
Wanganui is a horrible place now. St John's Wood is the sight of a battle. There are corpses everywhere. The bodies make my stomach turn over when I see them. Instead of normal rain, Ranginui rains blood. All because of the Treaty Of The Waitangi. The unfairness of the unknown has caused all this death, all this pain and all this destruction. Today I killed 5 British Soldiers with my Taiaha. Also today our chief announced that this war would be called The Land War. The British are armed with guns and muskets. We have only Taiaha and Patu. The Maori population is falling quickly. We have barely 3000 men left now. We started with roughly 10000. We can't last much longer. I fell a burning in my heart. Not of hope, but of despair. Who will save us? Does Whiro, god of war, have no mercy? The war is a mystery for tomorrow
Ka Kite Ano Diary,
Goodbye.