Story: Kāwanatanga – Māori engagement with the state

Beneath the snow-capped peak of Mt Taranaki (Mt Egmont) stand the flags and tents of the British Army's 65th Regiment in this 1860 painting by the regiment's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gold. These troops were assembled to occupy a block of Māori land which the district's paramount chief refused to sell to the government. In the ensuing battles 3,500 government and British troops fought 1,600 Māori, resulting in 238 casualties among the former and 200 among the latter.