Since 1859, entrepreneur Josiah Clifton Firth (back row, second from left) had sought to acquire the fertile Matamata plains, and following the war in the Waikato, he negotiated with Wiremu Tamihana Tarapipipi Te Waharoa of Ngati Haua (back row, third from left) to lease substantial tracts. After Tamihana's death in 1866, Firth and others such as William Australia Graham (front row, right) were able to purchase the land at bargain prices.