1864 Pai Mārire defeated at Sentry Hill, Taranaki

In one of their first military efforts, up to 300 Pai Mārire warriors attacked a British redoubt at Te Mōrere (Sentry Hill) in Taranaki. Scores were killed or wounded.

In 1862 a new religious faith was spawned by the conflict over land in Taranaki. It was the first organised expression of an independent Māori Christianity. Te Ua Haumēne based the new religion on the principle of pai mārire – goodness and peace. He called his church Hauhau: Te Hau (the breath of God) carried the news of deliverance to the faithful. The terms Pai Mārire and Hauhau became interchangeable labels for those who followed this religion.

Pai Mārire disciples travelled around the North Island in the mid-1860s. Against a backdrop of war and land confiscations, the founding principle of Pai Mārire was often subverted by violent elements. Civil wars broke out as factions within iwi opposed its spread. Some Māori opposed Pai Mārire because they saw it as a pan-tribal movement that, in seeking to unify Māori, challenged the sovereignty of iwi.

Pai Mārire continued to attract converts, especially when the government began to confiscate Māori land. Pai Mārire converts aimed to drive Pākehā from Māori land. They supported Kīngitanga efforts to create a Māori nation under the Māori king, Tāwhiao.