Kimball Bent (24 August 1837,
Eastport, MaineEastport is a small city—-consisting entirely of islands—-in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by causeway...
– 1916,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
), 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 ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
. He served in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and his unit was posted to
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
in 1861. His record was dubious, and he was repeatedly disciplined for various military infractions including disobedience and drunkenness.
Kimball Bent (24 August 1837,
Eastport, MaineEastport is a small city—-consisting entirely of islands—-in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by causeway...
– 1916,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
), 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 ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and...
. He served in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and his unit was posted to
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
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
WellingtonWellington is the capital of New Zealand, at the southwestern tip of the North Island between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range. The Wellington urban area is the major population centre of the southern North Island and is New Zealand's third most populous urban area with residents. There are ...
, and receiving lashes in front of his company. Bent accordingly decided to desert in June 1865 while serving in
TaranakiTaranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island and is the 10th largest region of New Zealand by population. It is named for the region's main geographical feature, Mount Taranaki....
.
Bent was found by a local
MāoriThe Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand . The group probably arrived in southwestern Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300...
chief of the Ngāti Ruanui
iwiIn New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori populations. The word iwi means "people" or "folk"; in many contexts it may mean "tribe" or "clan", and sometimes a larger grouping of tribes...
in South
TaranakiTaranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island and is the 10th largest region of New Zealand by population. It is named for the region's main geographical feature, Mount Taranaki....
and eventually became accepted as a part of the local tribe. He fell in with
TitokowaruRiwha Titokowaru became a Māori leader in the Taranaki region and one of the most successful opponents of British colonisation anywhere....
's followers in 1867 and fought with them against the colonists in what has become known as
Titokowaru's WarTitokowaru
's War was a military conflict that took place in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island from June 1868 to March 1869 between the Ngāti Ruanui Māori tribe and the New Zealand Government...
until their eventual defeat in 1869. Bent then went into hiding in the backblocks of
TaranakiTaranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island and is the 10th largest region of New Zealand by population. It is named for the region's main geographical feature, Mount 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 ShadboltMaurice Francis Richard Shadbolt CBE was a New Zealand writer. He was born in Auckland, and educated at Te Kuiti High School, Avondale College and Auckland University College. In total, Shadbolt wrote 11 novels, four collections of short stories, two autobiographies, a war history, and a volume of...
in his 1990 historical novel
Monday's WarriorsMonday's Warriors is a 1990 historical novel by New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt.Set in mid-nineteenth century New Zealand, the story is a semi-fictionalized account of Titokowaru's War, told from the perspective of Kimball Bent...
.
Further reading
- Belich, James
James Christopher Belich, ONZM is a New Zealand revisionist historian, known for his work on the New Zealand Wars.Of Croatian descent, he was born in Wellington in 1956, the son of Sir James Belich, who later became Mayor of Wellington....
(1989). I Shall Not Die: Titokowaru's War, New Zealand 1868-1869. Wellington: Allen & Unwin New Zealand Limited.
- Oliver, W.H. "Bent, Kimble, 1837-1916: Soldier, deserter, Pakeha-Maori, character". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Retrieved 3 December 2005.
- Biography in 1966 New Zealand Encyclopaedia
- Shadbolt, Maurice
Maurice Francis Richard Shadbolt CBE was a New Zealand writer. He was born in Auckland, and educated at Te Kuiti High School, Avondale College and Auckland University College. In total, Shadbolt wrote 11 novels, four collections of short stories, two autobiographies, a war history, and a volume of...
(1990). Monday's WarriorsMonday's Warriors is a 1990 historical novel by New Zealand author Maurice Shadbolt.Set in mid-nineteenth century New Zealand, the story is a semi-fictionalized account of Titokowaru's War, told from the perspective of Kimball Bent...
. United Kingdom: Bloomberg Publishing, Ltd.
- Cowan, James
James Cowan was a New Zealand non-fiction writer, noted for his books on colonial history and Maori ethnography...
(1911) "The Adventures of Kimble Bent: A Story of Wild Life in the New Zealand Bush". full text online.