10 yards wide between the hill and the bush by treading the fern down, and the heads of the fern were pressed over in the direction of the line of march of the troops. This was done in order to enable the defenders of the hill to fire destructive volleys while the attackers were passing over the ground between the summit and the bush - a task of difficulty and slowness on account of the artful manner in which the fern had been pressed over. As the troops approached the hilltop the Hauhaus opened fire. Major Mair ’ s Arawa, who were leading, waited until the enemy had delivered a heavy volley, and then, before the Hauhaus could reload, charged and captured the settlement, and drove the Hauhaus into the bush. The force advanced and penetrated to Whakamarama, the headquarters settlement of the Piri-Rakau and their chief source of food-supplies.

Pirirakau and their allies retreated into the bush between the villages of Whakamarama and Te Irihanga. There was another skirmish involving “ tree to tree fighting ” between Pirirakau and their Arawa pursuers and several were wounded. Cowan commented:

It was typical bush warfare for a few minutes. Only the black heads of the combatants were to be seen now and again, and the muzzle of a gun showing for an instant, followed by a puff of smoke, then an instant dash for another tree. The Hauhaus presently broke and fell back on their main body at the Whakamarama village.

It was following this skirmish that Gilbert Mair followed one of the Pirirakau along the Poripori track and shot him in a cave. Cowan continued the narrative of this engagement in which there were several more casualties:

Ensign Mair soon overtook his brother William, who, with his Arawa, was hotly engaged with the enemy at Whakamarama. The contingent skirmished through the maize-fields, where the corn was higher than a man ’ s head, and forced the Hauhaus back to the western end of the clearing. Here, at their third position, Te Umu-o-Korongaehe, on the edge of the bush, the enemy made a further stand…

In this skirmishing, in which several hundred Hauhaus were engaged, most of the fighting was done by the Arawa; few of the Europeans got up in time. The crops were ordered to be destroyed, but the area was so large that the troops could only cut down or otherwise destroy a part of the maize and potatoes. The whares in the group of villages were destroyed, and the force marched back to Tauranga.

The final phase of the Tauranga Bush Campaign involved further expeditions to the villages of the Kaimai area as described by Cowan.

On the 19th February the Arawa moved on to Paengaroa and Kaimai; the latter village was found deserted. On the 2nd March Major Mair and his Maoris threw up breastworks at Paengaroa to cover the work of the survey-parties and to watch the Kaimai hostiles. On the 3rd March Gilbert Mair and four men, out foraging, followed up a trail near Te Kaki clearing, in very wild rough country, and suddenly were heavily fired on - “ a terrific close fire. ” A brave young Arawa, Mau-paraoa, fell severely wounded. Mair and the other three men kept up a smart fire until the rest of the small foraging-party