When the New Zealand Wars broke out in 1860, the newspaper of the day states that Titokowaru (a Hauhau chief and freedom fighter against the Pakeha) desecrated the church. He tore up the floor and converted the church into a Wharenui (Maori meeting house). If this was the case, this did not happen until 1869, when Titokowaru arrived in the Ngati Maru rohe.