In March 1860 war broke out between Europeans and Maori in Taranaki following a dispute over the sale of land at Waitara. It was the beginning of a series of conflicts that would dog Taranaki for the next 21 years, claiming the lives of several hundred Maori and Europeans and leaving deep scars that persist to the present day.
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.
Wiremu Kingi's opposition to the Crown's attempts to purchase land near the mouth of the Waitara River in north Taranaki in 1859 led to the outbreak of war in March 1860
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.
On 27 June 1860 the British suffered a heavy defeat near Waitara. The Te Atiawa chief Hapurona had strengthened defences on the twin pa sites of Puketakauere and Onukukaitara, which could be seen from Camp Waitara.
