It was such a relief to read R Patterson's comments (‘Overkill on Gate Pa battle?', The Weekend Sun, May 2) about the ridiculous amount of media exposure concerning the Battle of Gate Pa.

Thousands of ratepayers' dollars have been given to the Pukehinahina Trust resulting in more than one-week-long drawn out ‘commemorations'.

One has to ask why that battle?

Was it because Maori felt they had a victory - overtaken in June by Colonel Greer and his forces overthrowing Maori at the Battle of Te Ranga, which ended the Musket Wars and brought peace.

Surely this is of far greater significance?

It has been trumpeted Maori women were left to give water to the wounded.

This was a first for Maori, who usually killed the wounded.

The British took the wounded Maori at the Battle of Te Ranga to hospital. Considering the thousands of Battle of Britain pilots killed during World War 2, to say nothing of the civilians in the blitz and those in Japanese and German concentration camps, which are remembered on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, a one-day ‘commemoration' would be sufficient for Gate Pa.

M Brooks, Tauranga City.