Kimball Bent

Kimball Bent

Kimball Bent (b. 24 August 1837, Eastport, Maine - d. 1916, New Zealand), also known as "Kimble Bent", was a soldier and adventurer.

At some stage Kimball Bent made his way to Liverpool, England and on 18 October 1859 enlisted in the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot in the British Army. He served in India and his unit was posted to New Zealand in 1861. His record was dubious, and he was repeatedly disciplined for various military infractions including disobedience and drunkenness. This discipline included a prison sentence in Wellington, and receiving lashes in front of his company. Bent accordingly decided to desert in June 1865 while serving in Taranaki.

Bent was found by a local Māori chief of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi in South Taranaki and eventually became accepted as a part of the local tribe. He fell in with Titokowaru's followers in 1867 and fought with them against the colonists in what has become known as Titokowaru's War until their eventual defeat in 1869. Bent then went into hiding in the backblocks of Taranaki.

In 1903 he was rediscovered, and a book was written about his life by James Cowan. Entitled "The adventures of Kimble Bent: a story of wild life in the New Zealand bush," it was something of sensation at the time.

More recently, his tale has been fictionalised by New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt in his 1990 historical novel "Monday's Warriors".

Further reading

* Belich, James (1989). "I Shall Not Die: Titokowaru's War, New Zealand 1868-1869". Wellington: Allen & Unwin New Zealand Limited.
* Oliver, W.H. [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1B19 "Bent, Kimble, 1837-1916: Soldier, deserter, Pakeha-Maori, character"] . Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 3 December 2005.
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/B/BentKimble/BentKimble/en Biography in 1966 "New Zealand Encyclopaedia"]
* Shadbolt, Maurice (1990). "Monday's Warriors". United Kingdom: Bloomberg Publishing, Ltd.
* Cowan, James (1911) " [http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-CowKimb.html "The Adventures of Kimble Bent: A Story of Wild Life in the New Zealand Bush"] ". full text online.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bent (surname) — Bent is a surname common in English speaking countries. It may refer to:* Amel Bent (born 1985), French singer * Arthur Cleveland Bent (1866 1954), American ornithologist * John Robert Bent died 3rd August 1993 Known as Bob Chairman of Blakedown… …   Wikipedia

  • David Patten Kimball — Born August 23, 1839(1839 08 23) Nauvoo, Illinois Died November 21, 1883(1883 11 21) (aged 44) St. David, Arizona …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand wars — New Zealand Land Wars Memorial in the Auckland War Memorial Museum for those who died, both European and Māori, in the New Zealand Wars. Kia mate toa can be translated as fight unto death or be strong in death , and is the motto of the …   Wikipedia

  • Monday's Warriors — is a 1990 historical novel by New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt. Part two of his New Zealand Wars trilogy. Set in mid nineteenth century New Zealand, the story is a semi fictionalized account of Titokowaru s War, told from the perspective of… …   Wikipedia

  • John Houston (New Zealand writer) — John Houston (1891 1962) was a New Zealand historian and writer who specialised in the history of Taranaki Maori, and of the Taranaki land wars. He spent 30 years studying and recording Maori history and lore, the result of which was the… …   Wikipedia

  • Eastport, Maine — Infobox Settlement official name = Eastport, Maine settlement type = City nickname = motto = imagesize = image caption = Washington Street image |pushpin pushpin label position =left pushpin map caption =Location within the state of Maine pushpin …   Wikipedia

  • New Zealand land wars — Infobox Military Conflict conflict = New Zealand Land Wars partof = caption = Memorial in the Auckland War Memorial Museum for those who died, both European and Māori, in the New Zealand Wars. Kia mate toa can be translated as fight unto death or …   Wikipedia

  • Pākehā Māori — is a term used to describe early European settlers in New Zealand (known as Pākehā in the Māori language) who lived among the Māori. Some were kept by the Māori as slaves, while others settled in Māori communities by choice, many being runaway… …   Wikipedia

  • American New Zealander — American New Zealanders are people who have migrated from the United States of America to New Zealand, and their descendants, if they choose to identify as such. American New Zealanders constitute a small minority of New Zealand s population. In… …   Wikipedia

  • 1. Maori-Krieg — Neuseelandkriege, 1868 Die Neuseelandkriege, auch The Land Wars und früher auch die Māorikriege genannt, waren eine Serie von Konflikten, die sich von 1845 bis 1872 in Neuseeland ereigneten. Verwickelt in die Kriege waren die Māori, die ersten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”