In the winter of 1860 the mission buildings were lent to the Governor, Colonel Thomas Gore Browne, who organised the historic Kohimarama Conference. The conference was attended by 200 rangatira from a large number of iwi throughout New Zealand and aimed at convincing Māori leaders to reject the Māori King Movement and justify the Government’s war in Taranaki, which had broken out over a disputed land transaction. The conference lasted a month. A wide range of issues were discussed. It gave southern Maori in particular an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of the meaning of the treaty. In the last week Paora Tuarere (Ngati Whatua) proposed that the treaty should be endorsed by the conference as a "fuller ratification". Tuarere was one of the principal chiefs who sold land to the government in Auckland on the Auckland isthmus. Maori then affirmed the treaty thus reassuring the government that Maori would, in general, support the government rather than the new Maori king. The kingite Wiremu Tamahana attended the conference. The Kohimarama Conference is said to be unique, since it was the first time Māori had been given the opportunity to hold a rūnanga with Pākehā officials, which was a first step towards representation in the Government of New Zealand.