The Meeting Place - A New Zealand History Blog

The History Programme warmly invites you to a seminar by Dr Vincent O’Malley (HistoryWorks / JD Stout Fellow): Kūpapa: Reconsidering Māori 'Loyalism' During the New Zealand Wars Although scholars such as James Belich have argued that 'kūpapa' fought on their own terms and for their own reasons during the New Zealand Wars of the nineteenth century, the origins of this term, and the way in which its meaning changed over time, are little understood. This paper charts the journey from 'kūpapa' as 'neutral' or 'waverer', through 'loyalist' or 'friendly', and finally to 'kūpapa' as a contemporary form of insult. Through examining local dynamics it sheds more light on the particular motivations of 'kūpapa' communities and asks whether their alliances with the Crown were ultimately beneficial. Vincent O’Malley (HistoryWorks) is the JD Stout Research Fellow 2014  ( http://www.victoria.ac.nz/stout-cent...

It is well known that Maori were major players in the New Zealand economy in the first two decades after the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. Many European settlers to the country during this period were reliant upon Maori for their basic supplies, while Maori labour was vital to the construction of new roads and other key infrastructure. But Maori were also contributing greatly to the colony's exports. By the mid-1850s many Maori communities were exporting vast quantities of wheat to Australia, via Auckland, to feed the huge influx of miners attracted by the gold rushes. It was a lucrative trade. But then, early in 1856, the price of wheat fell dramatically. Maori responded by withholding their produce from sale. That prompted the government's Maori-language newspaper, Te Karere Maori , to issue the following advice: Native readers will observe in the market prices current published in this journal every month, that the prices of wheat, potatoes, and other New...

Guest Blog by Paul Diamond  More than 90 years after they were first published, James Cowan’s accounts of the New Zealand Wars [1] continue to resonate.   The wars, and Cowan’s role as a chronicler, were key themes of Borderland [2] , an exhibition in the Turnbull Gallery curated by my colleague Ariana Tikao.   One wall of the gallery space was devoted to Ōrākau, the site of the iconic 1864 battle [3] and where Cowan’s family farmed from 1870. View of the Borderland exhibition in the Turnbull Gallery.   Photo: Mark Beatty. As Ariana noted in her exhibition text, Cowan believed the shared experience of these wars brought Māori and Pākehā closer together.   This theme was echoed in a tribute written by Prime Minister Peter Fraser after Cowan’s death: ‘He taught the larger lesson of mutual understanding; he saw the two cultures, Maori and Pakeha, meet and clash; he had a profound knowledge of the dignity and beauty of both, and his life was de...