This website presents aspects of the New Zealand Wars fought between Māori and the Crown throughout most of the 19th century, emphasising Māori histories of these engagements in the global context of wars fought against native peoples.
Distorting the Treaty Principles The Act-National-New Zealand First government plans legislation which will egregiously distort the Crown Treaty Principles. Far from perfect when first compiled, the principles were then described by Professor Jane Kelsey as a crude attempt by the government to rewrite the Treaty. It’s like going from bad to worse. At that time, the government was being increasingly pressured by Māori and the courts to define – and… Read more »
Danny has 3 new books out this year, which are separate books but equally run in a sequence. The first book ‘Fate of the Land’, covers the years 1891-1912 and is a prequel of sorts to the other two books which focus on Māori farming and the Māori Trust Boards. These two later books are parallel histories, running alongside each other, covering the period 1922-2023. ‘Fate of the Land Kō… Read more »
The Pantheons Sculptures project is sponsored by the University of York and focuses on St Paul’s Cathedral, London. Fifty historians. authors, poets and writers from around the world have been invited to write/talk about one of the 50 statues at St Paul’s Cathedral. The writer of this site, Dr Danny Keenan, was asked to write about Sir George Grey. You can click here Pantheon Project if you’d like to see… Read more »
We were very sorry to hear of the recent passing of Dr Hazel Riseborough, now aged 90. Hazel was a lovely person who felt, and lived, her love of history with a passion. She especially felt the hurts inflicted on Māori. Hazel and Danny worked together at Massey University in the 1990s, teaching two papers together – at least, Hazel taught the papers, Danny assisted. When Hazel retired, Danny was… Read more »
During next year, 2020, we will commemorate many past events. One that might get overlooked is the Sesquicentenary of 1990 which of course was quite an event, at the time at least. New Zealanders were asked to reflect on what it meant to be a New Zealander, especially where relations with Māori were concerned. Strangely enough, the Land Wars rated barely a mention; they certainly didn’t have the profile they… Read more »
The essay below, which assesses some of the recent literature on Parihaka, was included in the original draft of the book Te Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka (Huia, 2015). However, at the request of the publisher, the first draft was substantially reduced to about 100,000 words; and, as a consequence, the literature review was removed. Below is a summary of that literature review. In 1993, a seminar series ‘open to the… Read more »
The shootings in Christchurch on Friday 15 March 2019 were shocking, of course. Our Muslim community has been rightly embraced as family, especially by Ngai Tahu rangatira and whānau of Te Waiponamu. The 1st April issue of TIME magazine has an awesome cover, designed by Ruby Jones of Wellington. The TVNZ symbol used during news coverage suggested unity and inclusiveness, simply expressed. French movie composer Georges Delarue, has composed this really nice piece of music, from… Read more »
A new book on the New Zealand Wars has been released – Tutu Te Peuhu, New Perspectives on the New Zealand Wars. This new book was launched at Parliament in Wellington on 23 October 2018. On hand to do the honours were Hon Ron Mark, Minister of Defence, and Hon Nania Mahuta, Minister of Maori Development. The book is edited by noted and prodigious military historians Dr Ian McGibbon and Dr John… Read more »
The sad passing of Koro Wetere on 23 June 2018 marked quite a milestone for Māori politics, and Māori history. As a Minister in the reforming Fourth Labour Government, Wetere had his hands on significant pieces of legislation, not least that affecting the Waitangi Tribunal. But the viability of Māori futures, independent of the Crown, was also in his sights. It was all a long way from the relaxed, rural… Read more »
Distorting the Treaty Principles The Act-National-New Zealand First government plans legislation which will egregiously distort the Crown Treaty Principles. Far from perfect when first compiled, the principles were then described by Professor Jane Kelsey as a crude attempt by the government to rewrite the Treaty. It’s like going from bad to worse. At that time, the government was being increasingly pressured by Māori and the courts to define – and… Read more »