Following a period of apparently harmonious coexistence between colonists and indigenous Maoris, British impatience to conquer and rule led to the Maori insurrection and war of 1861-63 and finally to the Uriwera Campaign on the East Coast of the North Island, following the massacre at Poverty Bay, of which this is the most authoritative, detailed account, by the force commander.
The book looks at the wars in detail and includes chapters on the Uriwera Mountains and the outbreak at Poverty Bay, the opening of the West Coast Campaign, the reverse at Moturoa, the fall of Ngatapa, the capture of Te Ngaire, and the Uriwera Campaign.