Sir George Grey, recalled from his governorship…

Sir George Grey, recalled from his governorship of Cape Colony for disobeying instructions, has returned to New Zealand in 1861 to quell the renewed Maori anti-colonial uprising that has come to be known as the Taranaki Wars.

Settler opinion is evenly divided by 1861 on Browne's stance against Māori and the fairness of the Waitara purchase and many believe  the British had little hope of wearing the enemy down with further military campaigns.

Even Pratt expresses doubts the war can be won.

The district has also suffered great economic hardship, with immigration all but coming to a stop and the destruction of three-quarters of farmhouses at Omata, Bell Block, Tataraimaka, and settlements nearer the town.

Kingite warriors have continued to travel between Taranaki and Waikato, providing a peak force of about eight hundred in January 1861, with weapons and ammunition being bought on the black market in Auckland, Waiuku and Kawhia, while in Taranaki posts at Omata, the Bell Block, Waireka and Tataramakia are garrisoned—with each of those often surrounded by a cordon of pā.