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...
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...
We received the very sad news on Monday 13 November that Rangikotuku had passed away. Rangikotuku Rukuwai lived in New Plymouth with his awesome wife, Ngaraiti. Rangikotuku was the inspiration for the book written about his great-grandfather, Te Whiti O Rongomai,...
Now also on TV, this recent movie by acclaimed New Zealand director Toa Fraser, The Dead Lands is a terrific film. The movie is totally recounted in Māori, too, appropriately since the action occurs in the days before Europe encountered New Zealand. The movie was...
Danny's PhD was completed in the Department of History, Massey University, Palmerston North in 1994. The thesis examined the activities of the Native Land Court in Taranaki from 1865 to about the 1880s. The PhD was entitled Haere Whakamua Hoki Whakamuri. Going Forward...
This movie isn't quite a New Zealand Wars movie; in fact, it's set in the 1990s. But it bears a lot of resemblance to the earlier movie UTU, released in 1984. In fact, Crooked Earth seems to be a modern retelling of UTU. Crooked Earth , released in 2001, was...
Frontier Tales was a documentary filmed in Auckland, in 2002. The interiors and interviews were shot at the Auckland Museum, with the exteriors filmed on a secluded film set just west of Auckland. The programme was produced by Kay Elmers and Ray Lillis, who also wrote...
The latest movie by acclaimed New Zealand director Toa Fraser, The Dead Lands is totally in Māori, appropriately since the action occurs in the days before Europe encountered New Zealand. The movie was released in New Zealand in 2014. James Rolleston (Hongi) and...
The movie UTU was first released on 27 June 1984. This was an international release, but was generally critiqued as too long and meandering, with, for example, its chief protagonist Te Wheke taking time out to read Shakespeare. However the movie did have its moments...
The Māori Franchise Māori people had to wait a long time, before they were awarded the vote. In 1867, Māori were finally awarded the franchise, 27 years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. It had taken that long for the Crown to grant Māori the...
RANGIRIRI - WHERE MĀORI LOST THEIR COUNTRY The Waikato War started with the British Army invasion at Mangatāwhiri on 12 July 1863. The most important battle of the Waikato campaign was fought at Rangiriri on 20 November 1863. Defeat at Rangiriri effectively meant the...