The New Zealand Wars uncover the conflicts between Maori and Pakeha in the last century when a small group of tribal people clashed with the world’s largest empire. The struggle for British sovereignty over mana Maori is a story of racism and heroism, grief and triumph, flowering myths and stunted truths. For most New Zealanders, the story has not been told. Until Now. The East Coast Wars The East Coast Wars raged fromTaupo to East Cape. Hauraki to Hawke’s Bay, over seven years from 1865 to 1872, bringing fire and sword to a vast chunk of the North Island. This Seven Year War was a complicated triangle of at least eight intersecting conflicts. The East Coast Wars killed more non combatants than the rest of the New Zealand Wars combined.