In February 1887 an estimated 4,000 Māori and Pākehā attended a hui at Pakirikiri, at the mouth of the Waipāoa River in Poverty Bay, when a new meeting house dedicated to carver Raharuhi Rukupō was opened. The claims of different religions, including Te Kooti’s Ringatū faith, the possibility of Te Kooti returning to Tūranga, and land matters were all discussed. On the land question James Carroll criticised government plans, supported by the member of Parliament for Eastern Maori, Wī Pere, to limit Māori rights to manage and sell their own land; Wī Pere was already involved in trusteeship arrangements. Carroll defeated Pere in the election on 7 September. These Māori stand in front of a structure being erected for the hui. Piles of kūmara are in front of the women seated at right.