Young Lieutenant McKillop arrived at the Bay of Islands in 1845, just in time for battle with Hone Heke over supposed breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. McKillop describes his encounters on the battlefield with other tribesmen, as well as some of the lighter activities of pioneers in Wellington and Auckland. He also recounts the capture of the legendary Te Rauparaha, a Maori warrior described as the “Napoleon of the South”.