Waikato, Invasion of

The Invasion of Waikato is a campaign during the middle stages of the New Zealand Wars, fought in the North Island of New Zealand from July 1863 to April 1864 between the military forces of the Colonial Government and a federation of rebel Māori tribes known as the Kingitanga Movement.

Forty four chiefs from this area had signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 which gave the British sovereignty over the land and the people.

By launching multiple unprovoked attacks on soldiers and settlers Maniapoto warriors defy the wishes of the Maori king for peaceful relations with the government.Initiated by the Government in response to an unprovoked rebel attack on British soldiers escorting a soldier to New Plymouth in the Taranaki Region, it ends nine months later with the retreat of the Kingitanga Māori into the rugged interior of the North Island and the confiscation of about 12,000 km² of Māori land.

Originally 1.2 million acres is confiscated but six months after the war, 314,364 acres is returned to loyal kupapa Maori who had supported the Government during the rebellion.

Although one of the government's main aims is achieved – the Waikato is returned to government control – the King Movement itself is defeated on the battle field and its influence is severely reduced.

For more than 15 years, the king will live in isolation in the rohe potae, with no political influence beyond the approximately 3000 inhabitants and ignored by the government until they wish to put a railway through Maniapoto land.Following the defeat and the subsequent confiscation of 1.2 million acres of their homelands, the King Movement tribes are left with a legacy of sadness, poverty, and bitterness that will last for generations, which will be partly assuaged in 1995 when the Waikato Tainui tribe completes negotiations with the NZ government and accepts a settlement package worth approximately 1 percent of the value of the lands confiscated in 1863.

The crown will cede that the 1863 invasion and confiscation was wrongful and apologize for its actions, while the tribe will accept a compensation of cash and some government controlled lands amounting to a total of approximately $171 million NZD.

Later that year, the tribe will receive an apology for the historical grievance by HM Queen Elizabeth II during a private meeting with the Maori Queen, Te Atairangikaau.

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