[1] Whisker's stay at Parramatta was short and reinforcements were needed to fight Hōne Heke and Kawiti's forces in New Zealand.

No 3 Company of the 58th Regiment arrived in Auckland on 22 April 1845 aboard the Slains Castle en route for the Bay of Islands.

Returning to Auckland, Whisker celebrated his survival in the local grog shops and as a result lost his soldier-servant position with all its privileges.

[1] Whisker remained in Auckland when the company was sent north in May 1845 and missed Colonel Henry Despard's disastrous attack on Heke's pa at Ōhaeawai in June and July.

In the following months, at his camp in Victoria and Wahapu Bay Whisker spent time composing a ballad about the campaigns out of boredom.