British forces invade Waikato

On 12 July 1863 British troops invaded Waikato by crossing the Mangatāwhiri stream. The Kīngitanga had declared this to be an aukati (a line that should not be crossed). Any breach of it would be an act of war.

The Kīngitanga or Māori King Movement had been formally established in 1858. The settler government saw it as an anti-land-selling league and an impediment to the progress of European settlement. The involvement of Kīngitanga warriors in fighting in Taranaki in 1860–61 fuelled fears that it was a separatist movement which challenged British sovereignty in New Zealand. In January 1863, Governor George Grey announced his intention to ‘dig around the Kīngitanga until it fell’.

Rumours of an imminent Maori attack on Auckland from Waikato increased the tension. Settlers and missionaries fled Waikato after a number of violent incidents. Grey exploited the situation to convince the authorities in London to send him more soldiers.

When fresh fighting erupted in Taranaki in the autumn of 1863, the alleged involvement of Kīngitanga forces in an ambush at Ōakura gave Grey the excuse he needed. He now had thousands of troops at his disposal. In July he gave all Māori living between Auckland and the Waikato River an ultimatum: swear allegiance to the Queen and give up their arms, or be deemed to be in rebellion and face the consequences. Three days later, Lieutenant-General Duncan Cameron crossed the Mangatāwhiri stream with the declared intention of establishing military posts on the Waikato River. The Waikato War had begun.

Image New Zealand Wars map