Kimball Bent (24 August 1837 – 22 May 1916), also known as Kimble Bent, was a soldier and adventurer, who deserted from the British Army during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

and lived for several years among the

Māori people Māori () are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of Māori migration canoes, c ...

of New Zealand.

Biography

Bent was born in

Eastport, Maine Eastport is a city and archipelago in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Eastport the least-populous city in Maine. The principal island is Moose Island, Maine, ...

USA. He ran away to sea at 17 and spent three years travelling the Atlantic seaboard as a sailor/ gunner in the US Navy. He returned to Eastport but was restless and sailed to

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

. Penniless and seeking adventure on 18 October 1859 he enlisted in the

57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot The 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of line infantry in the British Army, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 77th (East Middlesex) Regiment of Foot to form the Middlesex Regiment in 1881. His ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. He served in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and his unit was posted to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and receiving lashes in front of his company. Bent accordingly decided to desert in June 1865 while serving in

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

. Bent was found by a local

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

chief of the

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori people, Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki Region, Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the rohe, traditional ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

in South Taranaki and eventually became accepted as a part of the local tribe. He fell in with

Tītokowaru Riwha Tītokowaru (born Riwha, 1823– 18 August 1888) was a Taranaki Māori rangatira, military commander, general and religious leader. He is considered to be one of the most capable and influential military strategists in New Zealand hist ...

's followers in 1867 and fought with them against the colonists in what has become known as

Tītokowaru's War Tītokowaru's War was a military conflict that took place in the South Taranaki District, South Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island from June 1868 to March 1869 between the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāruahine Māori people, Māori tribes ...

until their eventual defeat in 1869. Bent then went into hiding first in the backblocks of Taranaki and later in Wairau, Blenheim. He spent his remaining years working in several trades including as a builder, fisherman, horticulturist, tattooist, traditional healer using Māori medicine and even a confectioner. He remained a wanted deserter with a reward on his head for many years, but eventually the authorities stopped looking for him. 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. He died in Wairau Hospital on 22 May 1916. and was buried in an unmarked grave in the

Omaka Cemetery Omaka Cemetery (also known as Blenheim Omaka Public Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Blenheim, New Zealand founded in the 1850s. It consists of over 10,000 burials and is the largest cemetery in Marlborough due to its proximity to the region ...

. The location of his grave in this cemetery is only known to descendants of the family whom he lived with in his final years. More recently, his tale has been fictionalised by New Zealand author

Maurice Shadbolt Maurice Francis Richard Shadbolt (4 June 1932 – 10 October 2004) was a New Zealand writerRobinson and Wattie 1998 and occasional playwright. Biography Shadbolt was born in Auckland, and was the eldest of three children. He had a younger bro ...

in his 1990 historical novel ''

Monday's Warriors ''Monday's Warriors'' is a 1990 historical novel by New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt. It is 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 ...

'' and in the 2011 graphic novel, ''Kimble Bent Malcontent: The Wild Adventures of a Runaway Soldier in Old-Time New Zealand'' by Chris Grosz.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bent, Kimball 1837 births 1916 deaths People from Eastport, Maine American emigrants People of the New Zealand Wars British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars Burials at Omaka Cemetery

Biography

References

Further reading

External links