In 1846 fighting broke out in the Wellington region as the Ngati Toa chief Te Rangihaeata backed local Maori opposed to European settlement in the Hutt Valley. The campaign claimed few lives and Ngati Toa resistance in the region was effectively ended as a result.
Like his father, King Tawhiao opposed the war in Taranaki. The government, however, remained unconvinced. In July 1860 Governor Gore Browne sought to isolate the Kingitanga and its supporters when he invited about 200 chiefs to a conference at Kohimarama near Auckland.
The invasion of the Waikato united the various factions within the Kingitanga, and during the war Kingitanga forces had some victories despite being overwhelmed in terms of manpower and resources.
The Waikato-Tainui people and the Crown signed a Deed of Settlement in 1995. It included a formal apology for Crown actions in the wars of the 1860s that had brought devastation to the iwi.
The Pai Marire religion divided Maori. Some supported it, but others mistrusted its political intent. Events on the Whanganui River in 1864 showed the conflict about the faith among Maori.
Rangiriri Historic Cemetery contains the graves of imperial soldiers; most of them are unnamed, but they are commemorated by central monuments. It also has an unmarked communal grave of Maori who were slain.
St. Paul's church at Rangiaowhia was built for Ngati Apakura before the Waikato War. It was a refuge for local people when fighting took place nearby on 21 February 1864.
An Armstrong RBL 9-pounder gun on a steel carriage. Armstrong guns were
used during the New Zealand Wars, most notably during the bombardment
of Gate Pa on 29 April 1864.
Te Whiti was a Taranaki leader and prophet. A resistance movement based at Parihaka was led by him and Tohu Kakahi. Te Whiti was arrested following the infamous raid on Parihaka by Armed Constabulary in 1881.
Te Kooti fought for the government in the New Zealand Wars before being exiled to the Chatham Islands on charges of espionage. On the Chathams he founded the Ringatu church, later escaping back to the main land where he fought a long guerilla war against government forces.
