The Aotearoa History Show
A deep dive into a rigorous romp through the history of New Zealand, from its volcanic beginnings, through settlement, wars and social change to the late 20th century.
Episodes
What to Listen to Next: NZ Wars Collection
Welcome to NZ Wars Collection, Kohikohinga o nga pakanga o Aotearoa, RNZ's latest superfeed. Each chapter zeroes in on one of the many wars, battles, and skirmishes that make up what are collectively known as the New Zealand Wars. Now, in this feed, we’re bringing all our New Zealand Wars stories together, right here on your favourite podcast app, with another chapter on the way.Go to this episode
New Zealand's Pacific Empire
New Zealand has had some big ambitions in the Pacific and mixed relations with our neighbours.Watch the video version of the episode here Through much of the 19th century NZ politicians and administrators dreamed of running a vast empire in the Pacific. Parts of that dream came true - although for some, it was more like a nightmare.Today, Aotearoa has fewer Pacific possessions that it once had, bu
Why isn't New Zealand part of Australia?
It seems an almost heretical question, but it’s gotta be asked! Why are NZ and Australia different countries? You might be surprised to know that we did consider joining up with our mates across the Tasman back in the late 19th/early 20th century, but it never worked out. And that’s just a small fragment of the fascinating history of our Trans-Tasman relationship with our mates across the ditch.
Women's Suffrage
NOTE: This episode has been reuploaded to correct some inaccuracies in the original version.
We all know New Zealand was the first country in the world where women could vote. But do you know how we got there? The path to suffrage is littered with alcohol, hidden heroes & dirty tricks.Watch the video version of the episode hereNOTE: This episode of The Aotearoa History Show has been re-uploaded
Number 8 Wire
New Zealanders like to think we have a "Number 8 Wire Mentality" - a rough and ready enthusiasm for fixing and building stuff with limited resources. New Zealanders like to think we have a "Number 8 Wire Mentality" - a rough and ready enthusiasm for fixing and building stuff with limited resources. From the first Māori arrivals who worked out how to grow tropical plants in our cold, wet
NZ Railways
From a standing start of little tank engines chugging along wooden rails, New Zealand built a vast rail network, made up of enough steel rail to wrap halfway around the moon.All aboard for a voyage into the history of New Zealand's railways! Watch hereFrom a standing start of little tank engines chugging along wooden rails, New Zealand built a vast rail network, made up of enough steel rail t
Whaling & Sealing
Marine mammals were a source of food and clothing for Māori and Moriori, and valuable oil for Europeans. Hunting them brought cultures together, made fortunes and cost lives but today it's saving them that unites people."Thar she blows!""Whales to starboard!"Watch hereMarine mammals have played a vital role in the history of Aotearoa. Māori and Moriori hunted seals in huge numb
The Musket Wars
These are the wars that cost more lives than any other in our history. Stretched over more than a decade & the entire country, these conflicts changed Māori warfare & much of what came next.For more than 30 years Aotearoa was beset by warfare as Māori hapū and iwi made use of new gunpowder weapons to settle old disputes with rivals. It's estimated 50 thousand people were directly affected - k
Moriori
Moriori are the original people of Rēkohu (aka Chatham Island or Wharekauri) and they have a tragic and inspiring story. Unfortunately, that story's often been twisted into, well, utter rubbish.Moirori history has often been twisted out of shape over the years, much like some of the trees on Rēkohu bending in the strong winds. The stories of these remote islands and the people who made their home
Native Land Court
In 1841 a few tiny islands of Pākehā settlement existed in an ocean of Māori land. Today, that picture has reversed & Māori own a fraction of Aotearoa. A big part of the reason? The Native Land Court.Large chunks of land changed hands through the Native Land Court; or as it was also known: Te Kooti Tango Whenua - The Land Taking Court. Created by the 1862 Native Lands Act, the court was meant to e
The Gold Rushes
The discovery of gold drew tens of thousands to New Zealand in search of fortune. It was a hard life, but diggers brought mateship, fashion & egalitarian ideas that changed the country forever.Gold! The mania for this shiny yellow metal swept all over Aotearoa in the second half of the 19th century and left the country, and many of its people, fundamentally changed. Watch the video version of the
Epidemics
New Zealanders have battled Covid-19 for more than two years, but if you think it's the first time disease has knocked us around, well, this one's for you. Epidemics have long been part of our story. During the Covid-19 pandemic we've heard people say stuff like "we're living in unprecedented times"... But every time they hear that, historians get extremely annoyed! Epidemics h
Teenagers
The 1950s saw an explosion of youth culture. "Bodgies and widgies' ' tearing round on motorbikes & hanging out in milk bars scandalised many Kiwi adults. Was "the teenager" invented in the 1950s? And what is a "milk bar" anyway?The 1950s saw an explosion of youth culture in Aotearoa. Stories about "bodgies and widgies' ' tearing up the streets on motorbikes, canoodling in the cinema
Māori: The First 500 Years
The first 500 years of Māori settlement in Aotearoa saw significant, dynamic changes to how people lived; changes that challenge the idea of Māori culture as something carved in stone.There's sometimes a temptation to think of Māori as a people "frozen in time" - that Māori culture and ways of life were unchanged between the time they arrived in Aotearoa sometime before 1300AD until
Rabbits & Other Pests
No-one knows for sure who first introduced rabbits to New Zealand, because no-one wanted to take the blame for what became one of New Zealand's biggest environmental and economic disasters. We start season two burrowing into the devastating history of rabbits and other pests.We start season two burrowing into the story of rabbits and other pests. What started with plenty of (h)optimism has led to
The Aotearoa History Show
Deep dive into a rigorous romp through the history of New Zealand, from its volcanic beginnings, through settlement, wars and social change to the late 20th century.Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Modern New Zealand
It's the final episode of the Aotearoa History Show! Rogernomics, Ruthanasia and the referendum on MMP saw the total restructuring of our economy and voting system. Plus a snapshot of the changing demographics of Aotearoa/New Zealand, the growth of dairy and tourism and the challenges still to come.The 1984 election is a tumultuous tipping point; the start of a new New Zealand with a more open, le
Decades of Change
The 60s, 70s and 80s were rowdy decades. Kiwis were getting out in the streets and raising their voices about the rights of Māori, women and LGBT people, nuclear energy, the environment. Plus the most controversial sporting event in our history: The 1981 Springbok Tour.Through the 60s and 70s generations clashed and minority groups fought for their rights. Social issues such as women's rights
Post-War New Zealand
After the war came a new quest for security and identity. With it came new political debates and alliances. Maori and Pasifika moved to the cities. The way we viewed ourselves as a nation was changing. The 50s and 60s were decades of huge cultural change. Māori were moving into the cities in large numbers for the first time. Meanwhile, there were communist scares, industrial disputes, moral panic
The Second World War
A second world war swept the globe, dragging New Zealand once more onto the battlefield, this time in the Pacific as well as Europe. In the likes of Crete, Greece and North Africa and on Pacific islands Kiwis served and died. At home, women joined those in reserved occupations to support the war effort until finally the Axis powers were defeated.New Zealanders play a small but significant role in
Boom & Bust
With World War I and the flu epidemic past, the good times rolled through the 1920s. Then came the bust of the Great Depression, prompting widespread poverty - that was worse for some - and the rise of the first Labour government.It's the 1920s and kiwi prosperity is reaching a new high point. Yet the roots of another disaster are lurking beneath the surface... The Great Depression rips throu
The First World War
It's the war that claimed more New Zealand lives than any other. It's also the event that's often claimed as the "foundational moment" where we "became a nation". But is that really true? In this episode we take a dive into the First World War. Why we fought, what it cost us, and its long-term effects on Kiwi identity.The First World War changed New Zealand, but did we really become a nation on th
Colonists & Courts
Through the final quarter of the 19th Century Pakeha settler numbers swelled. The immigrants sought land and started to create a new, distinct culture. But their land gain came at the cost of Maori, as new laws and courts changed ownership patterns. Plus, the story of Parihaka. As the number of European settlers and a new Pakeha culture grew, so did the immigrants' demand for land. The govern
Votes, Depressions & Refrigerators
After the wars, politicians had to figure out how to run the new country. Bold choices saw huge spending on infrastructure, the right of women to vote and the start of refrigeration, helping us out of The Long Depression. A new politics arose but old values remained. The New Zealand Wars are over... what comes next? A whole lot of political wrangling over how to run the new colony - centralism or
New Zealand Wars (Part 2)
As British troops leave, settler militia enter the fray. Some Māori chose to fight alongside the Crown while others join new religious movements, which seem to promise a way out of the conflict. In part six, religious movements such as Pai Mārire & Ringatū arise to oppose settler expansion. While British troops withdraw, local militia take up the fight and we see atrocities committed by all si
New Zealand Wars (Part 1)
Hunger for land and the rise of Kingitanga prompted Governor George Grey to invade Waikato in 1863. Fighting spread over years and into the Bay of Plenty, devastating Maori. But it was not as one-sided as the British had expected.In part five, Governor George Grey send troops south from Auckland, invading the Waikato. But Kingitanga fight back and a new phase of warfare begins in New Zealand that
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
In Europe, factions debated the future of Aotearoa, while Māori had their own ideas how to handle the growing number of Pākehā here. In the end, Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, but the early promise leads ultimately to war.In part four, Māori and Pākehā wrestle with how to share Aotearoa, the New Zealand Company is formed and Te Tiriti o Waitangi is signed. But before long disputes arise, prompti
Early Encounters
Abel Tasman and James Cook's first contacts with Māori were complex and sometimes violent. Europeans brought new technologies, food and ideas, such as muskets, potatoes and Christianity. In some cases this worked out well for Tangata Whenua - but in other cases it was devastating. In part three, Tasman and then Cook visit and before long Europeans come to stay. Muskets, missionaries and internatio
Tangata Whenua
Around 850 years ago Polynesian explorers found an empty land and the story of people in Aotearoa began. A new culture emerged; tangata whenua had arrived and started to thrive.In part two, Polynesian explorers reach new shores far to the south; a land unlike anything they had seen before. It's a story of technological innovation, new horizons and becoming a new, distinct people. Watch the vi
Prehistoric New Zealand
Before people there was the land. We start the story of New Zealand 100 million years ago as tectonic forces tear apart Gondwana and Zealandia/Te Riu-a-Maiu is formed. In part one of The Aotearoa History Show, Zealandia is formed, volcanoes and ice ages make their mark and we ask what happened to our mammals.Watch the video version of the episode hereBy William RayI used to think that the Treaty o
