Unknown photographer



Unknown photographer


"The house of Colonel Greer"
possibly "High Trees" the residence of Col. Greer in Tauranga.

Colonel Henry Harpur Greer came to New Zealand in 1864 as commander of the 68th Durham Light Infantry. He led the division in the Battle of Gate Pa in which the British were resoundingly defeated. A few months later Colonel Greer was again in charge at the bloody battle at Te Ranga, a few kilometres inland from Gate Pa. This time the Maori resistance led by Rawiri was crushed. He was later promoted to a Lieutenant-General and died 27 March 1886 at his residence The Grange, Moy, Ireland aged 64 years.
Tauranga City Libraries.







Colonel Harpur Greer, Commander of the British troops based in Tauranga in 1864
A little bit of Greerton’s past came home recently. The great, greatgrandson of Colonel Henry Harpur Greer made the journey here from England to return some historic items to their “proper” place and to research his family. While it may be more common for New Zealanders to head to Britain for family research, Mike Dottridge and wife Jane combined a fact finding trip with a visit to their son in Wellington. The couple visited Tauranga Library’s New Zealand Room to discover more about his great, great-grandfather after whom Greerton was named. Colonel Greer came to New Zealand in 1864 as commander of the 68th Durham Light Infantry. He led the division in the Battle of Gate Pa in which the British were resoundingly defeated. A few months later Colonel Greer was again in charge at the bloody battle at Te Ranga, a few kilometres inland from Gate Pa. This time the Maori resistance led by Rawiri was crushed. Colonel Greer went back to Britain a Lieutenant –General. He died in 1886. Mr Dottridge has worked for many years with human rights agencies in Britain. His work focused on the rights of indigenous peoples so, he said, it was quite a shock to find out his great-grandfather played an important role in the colonisation of this area. When Mr Dottridge’s father died four years ago, he discovered various items that had been stored in family memento boxes for many years. Among the treasures were newspaper clippings and photographs. Also in the family were artworks Colonel Greer had brought back from New Zealand. Mr Dottridge believed the items should be returned to this country. He has given Tauranga Library the first photograph of Colonel Greer seen by staff and says it is a good way of making sure the records are in good hands. Mr Dottridge has now returned to England.


City Views - Issue 53 April 2003 News from the Tauranga District Council..3

The death has been reported from the county Tyrone of Lieut-General H. H. Greer, C.B., formerly commanding the 68th Regiment. He took a leading part in the New Zealand war pf 1864-6. General Greer was son to a well known Tyrone man "Joe Greer" commonly known as "Orange Joe" who held the office of Grand Master of the county Tyrone Orangemen for many year up to the time of his death ...
Bay Of Plenty Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1993, 1 June 1886, Page 3


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