Background
After the second European ‘discovery’ of New Zealand by Captain James Cook in 1769 the Maori population was joined by an increasing number of European settlers. Over the next 50 years, first the sealer’s and whalers moved in followed by the missionaries. By the 1840’s mass immigration from the United Kingdom had started.
There had always been conflict between Maori tribes prior to European (Pakeha) settlement. With the arrival of Pakeha muskets Maori found a more devastating way of settling old scores with their enemies. From around 1818 through to the late 1830’s the ‘Musket Wars’took place where tribes that obtained large amounts of muskets were able to defeat other tribes. The casualties were high in this Maori v Maori conflict.
With more and more Pakeha settlers arriving in New Zealand there was a lot of pressure to buy more land. Many Maori were reluctant to sell. Eventually the tensions flared up into warfare in the Wellington and Marlborough areas and later on to Taranaki and the Waikato. This series of battles became known as the land wars. They were Pakeha v Maori.
In the mid-1860’s a new type of warfare came to New Zealand. The rise of the Pai Marire (Hauhau) religion and later the Ringatu religion of Te Kooti crossed tribal lines and attracted many Maori who were unhappy with Pakeha settlement and control. Fighting broke out in the Wanganui and Southern Taranaki and later in the East Coast. This conflict was very different from what had happened before. It was Maori (Hauhau/Rigatu) v Maori/Pakeha. It was also a very violent conflict where both sides ended up killing civilians and unarmed prisoners.
Armed Constabulary Soldiers from late 1860’s.
The New Zealand Government was supported in the East Coast wars by ‘loyal’ tribes such as Te Arawa and Ngati Porou. Forces from these tribes did a lot of the fighting against the Hauhau and Ringatu war parties. The loyal tribes were called Kupapa Maori.
The East Coast wars were unique in that one man (Te Kooti) with only a few hundred followers was able through his violent tactics to put fear into the whole of New Zealand. The fear he created led government forces and Kupapa Maori to invade the Urewera and force him to retreat to the central North Island and eventually the King Country. Even long after the fighting ended many people were still afraid of Te Kooti.
The bitterness that the fighting on the East Coast created lasted for many years. It was only in 2013 that the bad feeling between Tuhoe and Ngati Porou was put aside.