Pai Marire disciples travelled around the North Island in the mid-1860s. Against a backdrop of war and land confiscations, the founding principle of Pai Marire was often subverted by violent elements.
In 1862 Te Ua Haumene established a new
religion, Hauhau based on the principle of pai marire – goodness and
peace. Most settlers viewed Hauhau as a anti-European
religion that became synonymous with ‘violence, fanaticism and
barbarism’.
Governor George Grey personally led a small force that captured the Pai Mārire (Hauhau) pā at Weraroa, Waitōtara. But this had long lost its strategic significance, and the small garrison had seemed willing to surrender.
