Visiting National Poet Laureate Vince O'Sullivan says last night's poetic readings were just a warm-up to tonight's Gate Pa Poetry Competition.

The well-known poet has the competition's entries with tonight's final at Elizabeth Street Cafe & Larder, where six Tauranga finalists will recite their poem before a winner is announced among them.

Battle of Gate Pa commemoration project director Buddy Mikaere, singer Peri Kohu, Tauranga poet Jenny Argante, and well-known writer Vince O'Sullivan at last night's poetry function.

The poetry competition is part of a series of events happening in the city leading up to the 150-year commemoration Battle of Gate Pa – on April 29 this year.

Vince, who last night recited some of his own work at Mount Maunganui's Ivory Bar, along with Tauranga poet Jenny Argante, who also graced the audience with her work, while singer Peri Kohu entertained the gathering, says the competition's entries are 'very interesting”.

'The amount of passion and compassion that was in them – and understanding of the historical situation – and making no bones about that – but at the same time realising what a defining event it was and how ultimately it can quite reasonably be a seen as a symbol of the unity of the race, what was once a very sort of vicious conflict.”

'I read and judged the entries – and I chose about four finalists and made my choice.”

Asked to attend the warm-up event last night and judge tonight's competition, Vince believes Gate Pa battle is one of the defining episodes in New Zealand's history.

'It's a curious thing that colonialism is always a fairly brutal thing – and its remarkable that 150 years later there can be a commemoration of an event that in some ways is a fairly an unprincipled attack on the local people.

'And yet now the commemoration is further evidence – of how in the meantime – that NZ is being formed from the two opposing parties.”

Tauranga poet Jenny Argante and visiting National Poet Laureate Vince O'Sullivan both recited poems last night.

With more than 20 poems entered in the competition, Vince, who has interest in several kinds of writing, says there is a knack to a good poem.

'What makes a good poem is if it communicates its feeling directly with the audience and at the same time has certain formal qualities – it's a combination of things that makes a piece of writing worthwhile.”

The Battle of Gate Pa was part of the New Zealand Wars' Tauranga campaign, of British colonial forces fighting over Maori over issues of land ownership and sovereignty.

The Gate Pa battle saw British forces suffer a humiliating defeat on April 29, 1864, with 31 killed and 80 wounded despite vastly outnumbering their Maori foe.

Vince congratulates the Pukehinahina Charitable Trust, which is organising the 150th Commemoration of the Battle of Gate Pa activities, for organising the poetry competition.

Visiting National Poet Laureate Vince O'Sullivan, reciting his published poems last night.

'Because once a thing become part of our history, it can be approached in many ways – not just historians – but by imaginative writers, musicians etc. In other words, something of significance to the whole country can start to feed into other artforms; and I find that rather interesting.”

The public is invited to the finals night of the Gate Pa Poetry Competition, which is on at Elizabeth Street Cafe & Larder, 247 Cameron Rd, Tauranga, from 6pm.

To view a calendar of Battle of Gate Pa 150th Commemoration 2014 events, click here.

Poets Jenny Argante and Vince O'Sullivan mix with the audience last night.