While the North Island was convulsed by the Land Wars of the 1860s and 1870s, the South Island, with its low Māori population, was generally peaceful.
Mentres que a Illa Norte foi convulsionada polas Guerras de terra de Nova Zelandia nas décadas de 1860 e 1870, a Illa Sur, coa súa baixa poboación maorí, era xeralmente pacífica.