The war started after a building of tensions over land and the specific event where, in 1859, Te Teira a Maori from Taranaki sold his Waitara River land without permission from his tribe.

Maori fortresses, called 'pas',  were under siege from the British Army and militias.  

Maoris still mounted a serious threat including a surprise attack on the British at Puketakaure Pa but were beaten back in successive battles at Orongomai and Mahoetahi.  The Te Arei Pa surrendered in March 1871 but retained European occupied land Tataraimaka.

Peace came in 1872 as the Maori tribes and European forces (progressively British) supported by increasing numbers of native Maori became exhausted by conflict.

Patrick Doolan born into a Roman Catholic family around 1830 in Frankford, Kings County (now Offaly) Ireland, he had travelled and had spent some time in Quebec in Canada where he had married his wife Margaret Clifford from Limerick, Ireland in 1850.  Back home, aged 30 years and probably fed up of being a servant, he enlisted into the British Army at his local depot in Birr on 5 September 1859.  He joined as Private 281 in the 65th Imperial Infantry Line Regiment.

The 65th wore a forage cap in dark blue with a black band, regimental numerals were in brass.  The cap would have has a pompom or tuft in white over red (battalion coy) or white for a grenadier.  His shell jacket was dark blue with brass buttons and his trousers were navy blue with red welt down the outer seam.  He would also have worn white shoulder and waist belts with brass fittings.  Black ammunition box with white regimental numerals, black bayonet and scabbard, white canvas haversack, light blue or grey canteen, dark grey great coat rolled over his shoulder, black shoes.

He went out on Captain Bond's ship "Nugget" leaving Woolwich Arsenal Dockyard on the River Thames, London on 21st March 1860.  

The 65th, commanded by Colonel Wyatt, served through much of the fighting of the Maori Wars including at the Waikato War where troops built  an attack road into that area driving back the Taranaki Maori from the Tatataomaka block.  This was in 1863 as the European forces concentrated on their main targets the King Movement tribes.

Source for Patrick is Patricia Homan living in sunny Tairua in New Zealand who would be interested in any more information on the family.