1863 – 65 War in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and East Coast

The war dominated this period. Fighting flared up again in Taranaki in May 1863. Further north, in July, Governor Grey ordered Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron to cross the Mangatāwhiri River (the accepted boundary to the Waikato) with his mixed imperial and colonial army. His stated justification for this action was a belief that the Kingitanga was the fount of Māori resistance to British authority and the fear of an attack on Auckland. The Waikato campaign lasted until the Māori defeat at the battle of Ōrākau in April 1864. The fighting then spread immediately to Tauranga, with the Māori victory at Gate Pā and their defeat at Te Ranga, where East Coast Māori, trying to help, were driven off by government forces. Historians have much debated the causes of the wars. Some suggest that the wars can be seen as an attempt by the British to impose "real" as opposed to "nominal" sovereignty over Māori. More specific factors, such as a hunger for land or the desire to impose British administration, law and civilization on Māori, can be seen as aspects of this over-arching cause. Other historians argue that land was the critical factor that lead to the outbreak of war.