Te Kooti desired to be left in peace but two weeks after their return to the mainland, members of his party found themselves being pursued by a force of militia, government troops and Māori volunteers.

Although initially fighting defensively against pursuing government forces, Te Kooti went on the offensive from November 1868, starting with a raid on Poverty Bay, in which selected European settlers, their families, and Māori opponents were murdered.

Te Kooti stayed clear of the faith and during the East Cape War, fought with kūpapa (loyal) Māori and Government troops against the Hauhau in the week-long siege of Waerenga-a-Hika, near Tūranga, in October.

[7][9] On 4 July 1868 Te Kooti led a carefully planned and executed breakout from their internment, overpowering guards, seizing arms and ammunition and commandeering a schooner, the Rifleman, which was moored at the settlement of Waitangi.

The Government also became aware of the situation, which was of particular concern since there had been an outbreak of hostilities with Māori of South Taranaki, on the opposite coast of the North Island, led by the prominent rangatira Tītokowaru.

He made it clear he did not wish to fight but would do so if he and his followers were forced to defend themselves or were hindered from travelling to the interior of the North Island, where he intended to establish a kingship to rival that of Tāwhiao, the Māori king.

[10][11][12] Biggs scrambled to assemble a force with which to confront Te Kooti at Whareongaonga—his militia volunteers, the Mounted Rifles under Captain Charles Westrupp, and some kūpapa , nearly 90 men in total.

On discovering he had missed Te Kooti, Biggs marched his 70-strong force to Paparatu via a more direct route through open country, intending to cut off his quarry as they crossed the Arai Stream.

Richardson claimed to have inflicted several casualties on Te Kooti's men but this was likely inflated while his own force had one man killed and another wounded, albeit in a friendly fire incident.

In mid-October Defence Minister Theodore Haultain directed that a message be sent to Te Kooti at Puketapu stating that if the prisoners surrendered themselves and their arms, no further proceedings would be taken against them and land would be found for them to live on.

Catholic missionary Father Euloge Reignier was chosen to act as the emissary and negotiator, but was prevented from reaching Te Kooti and instead passed the message on via Pai Mārire warriors.

[4] In early October, anger was roused in Poverty Bay when it was discovered that followers of Te Kooti had murdered some Ngāti Kahungunu leaders at Whataroa on the Mangaaruhe River near Ohuka.

The next day, Lieutenant Frederick Gascoyne of the Colonial Defence Force, who was one of the scouts watching the southern routes to Wairoa, took command at the redoubt having seen Te Kooti's men pillaging Matawhero when making his way to the town.

[43][44] Alerted by a woman's cry later that there were no men left in the pā, the kūpapa entered to find mostly several women and children, most of them Te Kooti's prisoners, plus some wounded warriors; the latter were promptly killed.

[46][47] Contrary to the expectation of their pursuers, who believed that Te Kooti and his remaining Ringatū followers would attempt to return to Puketapu, they retreated to the northeast to the outskirts of the Urewera mountains.

Basing themselves at Maraetahi, near Oponae, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Ōpōtiki in the Waioeka gorge, from January through to March, he had a dialogue with Tūhoe leaders who, stung by recent confiscations of their tribal land near Ohiwa, debated amongst themselves whether to support Te Kooti.

The raid netted Te Kooti enough ammunition to assault Hiruharama, but an attempted siege of the bigger pā collapsed when outside reinforcements led by Ihaka Whaanga of Ngāti Kahungunu arrived to help the defenders.

[52][54] Urged by Henry Clarke, in charge of Native Affairs at Tauranga, the government instructed Whitmore to mount an invasion of the Urewera to deny Te Kooti a base for operations into the Bay of Plenty and the East Cape.

His scorched earth strategy had achieved its aim; in late May Tūhoe chiefs turned on Te Kooti and demanded he leave their territory and early the following month he left for Taupō.

[63] Though there were radical elements in the Kingitanga movement who favoured a resumption of war, including Rewi Maniapoto and possibly Tāwhiao himself, moderates continued to warn the King that the Ringatū had little chance of success.

But though Te Kooti remained there for 15 days, with the village in a heightened state of tension as he continued to challenge the mana of the king, Tāwhiao refused to emerge from his home to meet him.

They then retreated to Moerangi, inside the relative security of the Rohe Pōtae or King's territory—an area the government considered too dangerous to attack, for fear of reviving Kingitanga aggression.

After striking from the densely forested hills of Te Ponanga saddle south of Tokaanu, they were driven back by a joint force of Henare Tomoana's Ngāti Kahungunu and Hohepa Tamamutu's Tuwharetoa.

As the fight raged, Captain John St George—who had fought since 1865 against Pai Marire and Ringatū forces—was killed while leading his force on a charge, and a bullet struck Te Kooti in the hand and severed a finger.

Topia's campaign against Te Kooti and his 30 immediate followers gained the approval of Tāwhiao, who now reversed his oath to sheath the sword, and the Whanganui chief sent out almost 400 scouts in search of his quarry.

Fox wrote to Pollen that Te Kooti was "a midnight murderer of defenceless women and helpless children ... a man of atrocious cruelty and outrage" who was "repudiated and abhorred by the bulk of his people".

[78] Fox continued preparations for a large-scale confrontation and within days substantial forces were closing in on Tapapa: McDonnell and 250 men approached from Tokaanu up the eastern side of Lake Taupō; Te Keepa, Topia and 370 Wanganuis moved up the west side; Lieutenant-Colonel William Moule and 135 constabulary and militia came south from Cambridge and Lieutenant-Colonel James Fraser with 90 constabulary and 150 Arawa moved to block Te Kooti's retreat to the Urewera.

[85] On February 28 Te Kooti struck south of Whakatāne, destroying a mill of an enemy chief, then a week later raided Opape, east of Ōpōtiki, seizing arms and gunpowder and capturing more than 170 men, women and children, intending to hold them ransom to gain more male fighters for his force.

[86] In July 1871 Ropata and his Ngāti Porou, joined by Mair and Captain George Preece leading a taua (war party) of Arawa, ranged through the Urewera Mountains, subjugating the Tūhoe and forcing them to hand over any fugitives they were sheltering.

[96] He was bound over to keep the peace but as he could not afford the fine or bond he was taken to Mt Eden jail in Auckland where he was persuaded by the Ladies Temperance Movement to take the pledge against drinking alcohol and imprisoned for a short time before being released.