Pōtatau was installed as King at Rangiaowhia in 1858, after which it became a target for government control. To guard against this the roads to Rangiaowhia were defended by a new chain of defensive pā at Paterangi, and at Rangiatea (near Te Rahu, north of Te Awamutu). However, General Cameron, in his Invasion of the Waikato, avoided them by taking 1,230 troops overnight from Te Rore via Waiari, leaving a large masking force in front of Paterangi and arriving in Te Awamutu at dawn.