The siege of Wanganui

A British military court sentenced four of those captured in the aftermath of the Gilfilan killings to death. They were hanged at the Rutland Stockade on 26 April. The fifth escaped execution because of his age (he was perhaps only 12) and was instead banished from the region for life. Despite the quick resolution to the crime the Gilfillan killings raised fears in the settler community that conflict would escalate.

Putiki Pa

The British military were convinced that Te Mamaku had intended to use the shooting of Ngarangi to provoke the British and the Putiki Maori into a fight. Unable to act quickly enough to save his condemned kinsmen, he showed that the matter was far from over when he and 700 Ngati Haua-te-rangi warriors arrived on the outskirts of Wanganui in May. Many settlers in outlying areas fled into Wanganui and the town's defences were strengthened.

On 19 May Te Mamaku attacked. With a numerical advantage he attempted to draw the British out of the Rutland Stockade. The British remained within the relative safety of the stockade while the abandoned homes of some outlying settlers were burnt and plundered. Some stock was also taken but the fighting was no more than ‘indecisive skirmishing'.

Fighting at St John's Wood

Governor George Grey sent in reinforcements from the 65th (Yorkshire) Regiment. By June 800 British soldiers were on hand to protect the 200 European settlers and the Maori at Putiki, who also bolstered the town's defences. The siege ended after inconclusive fighting at St John's Wood to the north of the settlement on 20 July. Two British soldiers were killed and 11 wounded. Maori suffered a similar number of casualties.

With neither side able to inflict a decisive defeat on the other, a truce was called. Having bolstered his mana, Te Mamaku returned to his upriver stronghold near Pipiriki. With the planting season approaching, the part-time Maori soldiers had other affairs to attend to.

Hori Kingi Te Anaua

Te Anaua, a strong ally of the government, acted as Grey's negotiator in February 1848 peace talks with Te Mamaku. Te Anaua had signed the Treaty of Waitangi and was close to the missionary Richard Taylor. Keen to help end the conflict, he was also present at a meeting a few weeks later at which Te Mamaku pledged peace.

Underlying tensions over land ownership were not so easily resolved. In 1846 the purchase of a further 40,000 acres for settlement to the north of the town had been negotiated. The government had been unable to finalise the transaction due to the fighting in 1847. By May 1848 Donald McLean managed to purchase more than 85,000 acres (35,000 hectares) on behalf of the government for £1000. A little over 5000 acres was set aside as reserve land for Maori. This deal, on top of the largely unresolved concerns over the New Zealand Company's original purchase, ensured that tensions over land would continue to dog Wanganui.