Ka tohungia ko Kerei i te tau 1845 hei Kāwana o Aotearoa. He nui ngā raruraru o Aotearoa - he koroni pōhara, e riri ana ngā iwi tētahi ki tētahi, tētahi ki tētahi. Heoi anō, ka tukuna ki a Kerei ngā moni me ngā hōia kāore rā i hoatu ki te Kāwana i mua i a ia, ki a Pitiroi.