Bay of Plenty in the region. Missionary activity in the region also increased during this time. In 1853, New Zealand was subdivided into provinces, with the Bay of Plenty incorporated into Auckland Province. Conflict returned to the Bay of Plenty during the 1860s with the New Zealand Land Wars. Initially this stemmed from Tauranga iwi supporting the Waikato iwi in their conflict with the government. In retaliation, British Crown and government-allied Māori forces attacked the Tauranga iwi, including at the famous Battle of Gate Pā in 1864. Further conflict with the government arose in 1865 when German missionary Carl Völkner and interpreter James
Bay of Plenty become a popular attraction as the number of whales such as blue whales and humpback whales migrating into bay waters began to recover. The Bay of Plenty has 227 km of rail network and 4,460 km of roads. The main rail line in the region is the East Coast Main Trunk Railway, which extends from Hamilton in the Waikato region to Kawerau via Tauranga, with the Murupara Branch Railway extending the Kawerau terminus to Murupara, and the Mount Maunganui Branch connecting the Mount Maunganui terminus with the East Coast Main Trunk. Rail networks in the region are used exclusively for