The New Zealand Wars (1845–72) had a decisive influence over the course of the nation’s history. Yet Pākehā have not always cared to remember them in anything approaching a robust manner, engaging at different times either in elaborate myth-making that painted the wars as chivalrous and noble or, when that was no longer tenable, actively choosing to ignore them Read more
The Anglican Church of Aotearoa is preparing to officially admit its role in the Crown’s confiscation of land from Tauranga Maori following the Battle of Pukehinahina (Gate Pa). The Anglican Bishop of Waiapu, the Right Reverend Andrew Hedge, said the church was complicit in handing over land given in trust by Maori. He was speaking Read more
Marist brother, (Antoine) Br Euloge Chabany, is the only European commemorated along side 15 kūpapa (Māori fighting on the government side) on New Zealand’s first war memorial. They died during a skirmish that took place on Moutua Island in the Whanganui river. The Society of Mary’s archivist, Elizabeth Charlton visited the memorial this month and Read more
Pupils of Ōtorohanga College have filled “a vacuum in our history curriculum” in respect of the New Zealand Land Wars of the 19th century. They have proposed a national day of remembrance for the New Zealand Wars. Last year College students gathered around 12,000 signatures in support of a New Zealand Wars Day and travelled Read more
Over 100 years ago, soldiers from New Zealand were engaged in a massive conflict, and shed much blood. Fighting for a cause they fiercely believed in, for some soldiers the survival of their community was at stake. Other soldiers found themselves in hostile, unfamiliar territory thousands of miles away from their loved ones. Should we Read more
A Māori Presbyterian Church leader says he will join the push for an annual national commemoration day to remember the New Zealand Wars. Reverend Wayne Te Kaawa, the moderator of the church’s Māori synod, backs the calls made last month by the Waikato-Tainui leader Tukoroirangi Morgan. Te Kaawa says, “This is no longer a Māori Read more