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.
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.
