In April the Māori of Te Ranga returned from the interior after assisting the Waikatos and began to reoccupy pās in the area, including two on the neck of a peninsula housing the Te Papa mission in Tauranga Harbour. The 68th were concentrated in Auckland and sent to reinforce Tauranga accompanied by detachments from other regiments, arriving on 21 April. Two redoubts were built at Tauranga, Monmouth redoubt by the 43rd Regiment and Durham redoubt by the 68th, the latter's location commemorated by 'Durham Street' in the city today. The commanding officer Maj. General Cameron wanted the Māori pās quickly reduced, so on the evening of 28 April some 720 men of the 68th crossed to the rear of the Māori line via the mud flats of the harbour and deployed around the neck of the peninsula while another 700 men and artillery pieces prepared to assault from the front.