Henry Harpur Greer (1821-1886)

Henry Harpur Greer was an Irish born British Army officer whose career lasted more than forty years, most notably in the New Zealand Wars. He was born at Moy, County Tyrone, Ireland (24 February 1821), and educated at the Royal School, Dungannon. The eldest son of Major Joseph Henry Greer and Mary Harpur, his father was a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for County Tyrone and a leading member of the Orange Order. This tradition of loyalty to the Crown and sectarian politics of nineteenth century Ireland likely shaped his character considerably. In 1850 he married Agnes Isabella Knox, daughter of the Venerable Edmund Dalrymple Hesketh Knox and granddaughter of the Lord Bishop of Limerick. They had four children: Joseph Henry “Harry” (later Sir Henry Greer), Agnes Mary, Emily Charlotte, and Isabella Knox, who died in infancy.

Henry joined the 68th Durham Light Infantry as an ensign (10 September 1841). Promotion came steadily: lieutenant in 1844, captain in 1847, major in 1854, lieutenant colonel in 1859, brevet colonel in 1864, major general in 1869, and honorary lieutenant general in 1881. With the 68th Regiment, he served in Malta, the Ionian Islands, and Burma, commanding troops in Rangoon and guarding the exiled Mughal royal family. During the Crimean War he was mainly in Malta on logistical duties. In December 1863 he and his family sailed from England on the Silver Eagle, arriving in Auckland on 3 March 1864.

From Auckland he was sent to Tauranga where the 68th built the Durham Redoubt on the former Taumatakahawai Pā site. The Greers lived nearby at a house called High Trees. Henry commanded the 68th at the Battle at Pukehinahina (Gate Pā) in April 1864 and led the full British force at the Battle of Te Ranga in June, where Māori resistance was decisively broken. The assault at Te Ranga was on an incomplete defensive position, leading to the deaths of over 100 Māori fighters, with many more wounded. Accounts describe the fighting as short and one sided, with the British using bayonets in close combat against largely unprepared defenders. Māori survivors later recalled it as a slaughter rather than a battle.

For the British military establishment, such an action was considered strong and decisive and made up for some of the shame the defeat at Pukehinahina had caused. Greer was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and the formal surrender of Māori arms in July 1864 took place at his home. 

Life in Tauranga was marked by illness, Agnes and daughter contracted typhoid, later recovering, but the premature birth of Isabella Knox Greer was followed by her death just a few months later. The family returned to Britain two years after the Tauranga campaign. Henry retired from command in 1869, managed a depot in Ireland, and left the army in 1881. He served as Deputy Lieutenant for Tyrone.

Henry Harpur Greer died on 27 March 1886 at The Grange in Moy, County Tyrone. The Tauranga suburb of Greerton and Greerton Road are named after him