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.
Grey assumed control on 18 November 1845. He believed FitzRoy’s
negotiations were ‘inconsistent with the interests of the British
Government’. Negotiations broke down in early December. Grey ordered Despard to move against Kawiti's new pa, Ruapekapeka.
Historian James Belich contends that Grey won the propaganda war and
Kawiti and Heke the real war on the battlefield. Others argue Belich’s
revisionism goes too far and maintain that Grey’s decisive action sent
a powerful message to Kawiti and Heke about the nature of their new
opponent.
In 1845 Grey was appointed Governor of New Zealand. He was given both the funds and the troops which had been denied the previous Governor, FitzRoy. And unlike FitzRoy, Grey was ruthlessly determined.
Captain George (later Sir George) Grey was New Zealand's most complex governor. He was governor, governor-in-chief and then governor again, serving from 1845 to 1853 and again from 1861 to 1868.
