Wairau incident was a deadly skirmish between European settlers and the Maori in the Nelson district of the South Island of New Zealand. In 1843, a dispute arose when settlers of the New Zealand Company claimed land on the Wairau Plains. Te Rauparaha and Rangihaeata, chiefs of the local tribes, denied having sold the land. The Maori hindered the work of surveying. Some Nelson settlers armed themselves and tried to arrest the Maori. In the skirmish that followed, 22 colonists and at least 4 Maori were killed.