Joins the Forest Rangers
On his arrival in New Zealand, von Tempsky settled on the Coromandel Peninsula as a gold-miner and newspaper correspondent.
Upon the outbreak of war in 1863 von Tempsky moved to Drury, just south of Auckland, where he was a correspondent for The Daily Southern Cross newspaper. Here he quickly struck up a friendship with Captain Jackson and the officers of the Forest Rangers and was soon invited to accompany them on their patrols. Soon afterwards, on 26 August 1863, Governor Grey responding to a suggestion by Captain Jackson naturalised von Tempsky as a British subject and made him an ensign in the Forest Rangers.
The Forest Rangers were an irregular volunteer force intended to take the war into the bush and to fight the enemy Māori on their own ground. Jackson was a cautious officer who was determined to give his men thorough training. Von Tempsky relied more on dash and élan; he was also a tireless self-publicist, avid for glory and admiration.
Very early on it was realised that the weapons and equipment used by the British Army were unsuited to irregular warfare in the dense wet New Zealand bush. With only about 100 men in the Forest Rangers at any one time, it was relatively easy to gather special equipment although in the early period in the Hunua Ranges, they were fobbed off with second-hand revolvers, most of which were unserviceable. When von Tempsky formed his own 2nd company for service in Taranaki, he had 30 or more large Bowie knives made by a cutler in Symonds Street, Auckland, from the spring steel of a cart. Only one of these knives is believed to still exist. The standard long weapon was the Calisher and Terry .54 carbine, called the Terry by the Rangers. With its short barrel, light weight, breech loading and waterproofed cartridge unit, it was the ideal weapon for the mainly close quarter fighting. The Taranaki Rangers carried just one Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle for sniping. Von Tempsky himself carried two Colt Navy .36 pistols and was able to obtain more of these smaller calibre revolvers for his unit. The Rangers also used the .44 calibre Beaumont–Adams five-shot revolver. Von Tempsky, is often portrayed as carrying a sabre which he carried unsheathed when expecting battle. The uniform and equipment were chosen to match the mobile role of the Rangers. The unit frequently carried only three days' rations in the field, being expected to live off the land to some extent.
In November 1863, the Forest Rangers were disbanded, not because they were unsuccessful but because their period of enlistment was finished. However Jackson was immediately authorised to form a new company along similar lines.
A few days later, Tempsky, called "Von" by some of his men, was promoted to captain and was also commissioned to raise a second company of Forest Rangers. From then on, he and Jackson were always in competition for men, resources, and glory.
During the early stages of the Waikato War, the Forest Rangers were used to protect the army's supply lines from marauding Māori, patrolling mainly in the Hunua Ranges south of Auckland and trying to intercept enemy war parties before they reached the Great South Road. It was during this time that von Tempsky emerged as a very effective leader who was able to inspire great loyalty in his men. He was known to the Māori as Manurau, "the bird that flits everywhere".
Later, the Forest Rangers were moved to the front and took part in the siege of Paterangi. It was during this period that they were involved in a dramatic rescue of some soldiers ambushed by the Māori while swimming in the Waikato River. Both Jackson and von Tempsky received a Mention in Despatches and Tempsky later painted a well known water colour showing himself in a very dramatic light. However, it was another officer, Charles Heaphy, who was awarded the Victoria Cross as a result of his bravery in this action.
The Forest Rangers were involved in the siege of Orakau, and then heavily implicated in the massacre which followed the breakout of the defenders.
By 1865, Jackson had resigned his commission and von Tempsky, now a major, was in command of the Forest Rangers. They were soon involved in the Second Taranaki War. This was a frustrating period because of the conflicting loyalties and objectives of Government forces. The commanders of the British Imperial Troops had had enough of fighting what they saw as unnecessary wars on behalf of the New Zealand Government. On the other hand, the New Zealand-raised units such as the Forest Rangers wanted to pursue the war with vigour. The deadlock was only broken when Governor Grey personally took command of the New Zealand forces. Von Tempsky, however, missed the subsequent action, being laid low by rheumatism.
