Tauranga Again
January to March 1867
The peace agreement of 1864 had been accepted by most of the Māori of the Tauranga district and the area was relatively quiet. However there was to be some confiscation of land and this was resisted by one small hapu or sub-tribe, the Piri Rakau led by a Hau Hau prophet, Hakaraia. Unlike most of the Hau Hau adherents he seems to have had some military wisdom. They were able to avoid either capture or destruction and for a brief time they had a considerable impact on the stability of the district particularly on the Arawa tribe. However the arrival of Colonial reinforcements forced them to retreat towards the King Country. Hakaraia later joined Te Kooti.
Similarly, south of Opotiki, the Tuhoe were not prepared to accept the arrival of Pākehā settlers on their northern border and made some raids on the farms being established in the area. Attempts by the militia to deal with the Tuhoe were largely unsuccessful because they could always retreat into the large rugged mountainous area of the Urewera Ranges.
Two factors kept the East Cape unsettled. The Government pressed ahead with the confiscation of Māori land from the rebels and this in its turn provided the Hau Hau with a constant flow of recruits. Then in June 1868 the situation changed drastically with the arrival in Hawkes Bay of Te Kooti.
Read more about this topic: East Cape War