The Meeting Place - A New Zealand History Blog

Following on from the award-winning NZ Wars: The Stories of Ruapekapeka and NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara , NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui was released earlier this year.  Produced by Great Southern Television and Aotearoa Media Collective for RNZ, and presented by Mihingarangi Forbes, NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui tells the of the invasion of 1863 invasion of Waikato, a defining moment in Aotearoa New Zealand history. Centred on three key encounters; Rangiriri, Rangiaowhia and Ōrākau NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui is a bicultural retelling of “the biggest and most important campaign of the 19th century New Zealand Wars”.  The documentary recaps the events which led to the invasion of the Waikato and examines its consequences for future generations of New Zealanders.       Besides the documentary itself, extended interviews are also available to view with leading Tainui tribal historians Rahui Papa, Brad Totorewa, Tom Roa, Mamae Takerei and Kawhia Muraahi, along wit...

Following publication of The Great War for New Zealand I continue to write and publish on the Waikato War, including this article published in the latest Journal of the Polynesian Society that takes a more biographical approach, comparing Rewi Maniapoto of Ngāti Maniapoto and Wiremu Tamihana of Ngāti Hauā. Both were great rangatira in their own right but their reputations have contrasted significantly over time and my article critiques the still surprisingly prevalent notion of 'good' Wiremu Tamihana versus 'bad' Rewi Maniapoto (see the abstract of the article below). I was also delighted to have contributed the cover image for the journal, a photograph I took of the Tohu Maumahara at Rangiriri early in 2015. As discussed in my book, the monument was unveiled on the 149th anniversary of the Rangiriri battle in November 2012. Abstract: The depiction of Ngāti Maniapoto generally and Rewi Maniapoto in particular as extremists with an almost fanatical determin...

In my previous post I discussed the first part of a recent journey around sites associated with the Waikato War, ending with Rangiriri. For the most part it is possible to track these sites from a northern to southern direction, with the first part of the war progressing from the Queen's Redoubt at Pokeno in July 1863, south to Rangiriri by November of that same year. One site that does not quite fit this pattern is Pukekohe East Church, the scene of a significant engagement on 14 September 1863. It is some distance north of the Queen's Redoubt launching post for the invasion, indicating just how little progress the British made in the early part of the war. A war party consisting of Ngāti Maniapoto and other iwi attacked local militia holed up in the church but came off badly, suffering as many as forty killed. In 1929 the government erected a memorial boulder to those who died. Other memorial plaques, including one to those defending the church, were stolen in 2...

Over Waitangi weekend I spent four days touring sites associated with the Waikato War as part of research for my future book on the conflict. As I had only previously visited a handful of these sites before, the journey was important in helping me to develop a better understanding of the war. There is nothing quite like seeing with your own eyes. And some stops were completely unscheduled, like this street sign in Hamilton. Preparation is important for a trip like this: many of the key Waikato War sites are poorly signposted and finding them is not always easy. I took with me three guides. One was an excellent free guide written by Neville Ritchie for the Department of Conservation. Another was David Green's Battlefields of the New Zealand Wars: A Visitor's Guide (Penguin, 2010). And the third was the Heritage New Zealand app developed specifically as a touring guide to the Waikato War. Each included suggested itineraries. I chose to start (or rather end) my journey...