The prophet and the policeman

In April 1916, John Cullen, the Commissioner of the New Zealand Police Force, personally led a raid on the Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana's spiritual community at Maungapohatu, deep in the Urewera mountains. The raid, which was based on trumped-up charges, left two of Rua's followers dead and a number of others wounded, and is often described as the last battle of the New Zealand Wars. The outcome of this raid was disastrous for race relations in this country and a historic low point for the New Zealand Police. This book is an account of this dramatic, tragic and profoundly symbolic event in our history, told by recounting the life stories of its two principal antagonists. John Cullen was a farm labourer born in rural Ireland, who rose through the ranks to head the police force and was famously violent, devious and authoritarian. Rua was notably gentle and inspirational, although often mysterious and contradictory.