On 10 April 1860, three weeks after the start of the Taranaki wars, deputations from west coast tribes Te Āti Awa and Ngā Ruanui attended a gathering of Waikato Māori at Ngāruawāhia and tendered their formal allegiance to the king. Discussions at that meeting, and at a second meeting at Peria six weeks later that attracted a large group of supporters from the lower Waikato, centered on hostilities in Taranaki and the question of whether the King Movement should intervene. A faction of moderates within the movement swung the decision against direct involvement, but news of the meetings led to panic in Auckland over the possibility of a Māori attack on the capital, in turn prompting what Dalton described as "a mood of savage vindictiveness towards all Māori". In late June 1860 large numbers of Waikato Māori travelled to Taranaki to reinforce Te Āti Awa chief Wiremu Kīngi's forces and joined in the plunder of abandoned farms, but the intervention was unorganised and on a limited scale, relieving Taranaki settlers of some fear of full-scale Kīngitanga involvement.