After the ceasefire at the end of the First Taranaki War, a hui of over 1,000 Māori was held on 3 July 1861 at a meeting house called "Aotearoa", close to Waimate Pā. There, over a thousand members of Taranaki, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru and Whanganui iwi discussed the war, with most members pledging support for the Kīngitanga Movement.