George Augustus Preece NZC (c. 1845 – 10 July 1925) was an officer in New Zealand's Armed Constabulary who rose to prominence during Te Kooti's War.

His father, who arrived in New Zealand in 1829, was part of the Church Missionary Society and based at mission stations in the area around the Firth of Thames.

[2] Preece was attached to a contingent, commanded by Colonel James Fraser, of the Colonial Defence Force as an interpreter and served in this capacity until the end of the war in 1866, at which time he returned to his legal career.

Te Kooti was a Māori warrior of the Rongowhakaata iwi (tribe) who in 1865 had fought on the side of the New Zealand government against the Pai Mārire religious movement during the East Cape War in Poverty Bay.

This was a paramilitary law enforcement agency that formed New Zealand's main defence force at the time and which was led by Colonel George Whitmore.

At Makaretu, a pā (hillfort) where Te Kooti positioned a rearguard, Preece and his men linked up with a contingent of Ngāti Porou kūpapa—Māori who were aligned with the government— commanded by Ropata Wahawaha.

[10] For their actions at Ngatapa, Ropata and Preece were subsequently awarded the New Zealand Cross (NZC), the recommendation coming from Whitmore.

[12] Ngatapa was besieged by Whitmore's Armed Constabulary and allied kūpapa at the end of the month and the pā fell on 5 January 1869.

This negated the threat of Te Kooti for the short term, allowing Whitmore to focus on another prominent Māori warrior fighting against the colonial forces: Tītokowaru, in the South Taranaki.

[13] Whitmore transferred his Armed Constabulary to South Taranaki, and Preece, who would be mentioned in despatches on multiple occasions, served with him in the campaign against Tītokowaru.

[1][14] Te Kooti reemerged as a threat on the East Coast with raids on population centres in March and April 1869, prompting Whitmore, who had suppressed Tītokowaru's forces in South Taranaki to return to the region with his Armed Constabulary.

[15][16] Lieutenant Colonel Thomas McDonnell led a force of Armed Constabulary and kūpapa to Taupō in August, seeking out Te Kooti and his followers.

[1][21] His force fired the last shots of the New Zealand Wars on 14 February 1872, when they caught sight of Te Kooti and a party of his men and pursued them for a distance up the Waiau Valley.