Following the battle of Moutoa Island in 1864, Hipango pursued the retreating Pai Mārire (Hauhau) warriors. Fighting continued from fortified positions upriver near Hiruhārama.
The confusion and uncertainty that had surrounded the New Zealand Company’s land purchases in Whanganui erupted into violence in the autumn and winter of 1847. The conflict here also involved longstanding rivalries between upper and lower Whanganui River Māori.
