When he returned to the Urewera, the settlement at Maungapōhatu was broken, divided, and the lands overgrown and much of the community having relocated. The Presbyterian Mission under Rev. John Laughton had moved into Maungapōhatu and was teaching Presbyterian Christianity and Pākehā value systems. This shocked Rua, as he had banned pākehā schools from the original community. The costs of defence at the various trials had ruined the community financially as it had to sell stock and land to meet the debt. The community was even ordered to pay the costs of the entire police operations and raid at Maungapōhatu . Even though the supreme court had found Rua's arrest illegal and a legal petition had been drafted to Parliament on 1 May 1917 on behalf of the Maungapōhatu people calling for a full public inquiry into the events of 2 April 1916, and the behaviour of the police there and later intimidating witnesses, no compensation was ever offered to Maungapōhatu.