History of Aotearoa New Zealand
History of Aotearoa New Zealand is an independently produced podcast that tells the story of New Zealand's islands from before human arrival through to the year 2000. Hosted by Thomas Rillstone, it presents a homegrown narrative history of Aotearoa. The show has won multiple NZ Podcast Awards, including bronze for Best Indie in 2021 and silver awards for Best Educational, Best Indie, and Best History in later years. It is hosted on Acast.
Episodes
My Birb of the Year 2026
It's that time of year again! Time to vote for the bestest birb! As is tradition, I have picked a bird to tell you all about in the hopes that you might vote for it.I also provide a short update on what's going on with the podcast and why you haven't heard from me in 6+ months (it's nothing bad, I promise!)Vote in Bird of the Year here!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on
I'm not Dead!
Just popping in to explain why I've disappeared and to let you know that I am still working on things in the background!Apologies if there are a few plosives and other audio issues, I'm a little out of practice and I have a new microphone! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
185 - The End of the Beginning
We round off Cook’s first expedition with what they got up to upon their return, how Cook’s reports were received and how this set the stage for his next voyage.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
184 - Petri Dish
We see how Cook and company get on in the capital of the Dutch East Indies before we follow their journey back home. Many of them will not survive the journey.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
183 - One Last Push
The Endeavour limps her way to a spot where she can be temporarily repaired after her disastrious crash in the Great Barrier Reef.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
182 - The Great Barrier
Cook and his crew will continue up the eastern coast of Australia and end up in probably the most dangerous situation they have been in thus far.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
181 - Border Patrol
We left the Endeavour last time as she sailed away from Aotearoa on the last day of March 1770 so today we will see how hre crew got on crossing the ditch towards Australia.Guardian Article about spears being returned to Gweagal people of KamayCheck out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Spring 2025 Update
Just a quick update on the release schedule over the next few months as well as what you can expect to be coming up in the Patreon feed!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
180 - Here Be Dragons No More
Cook and his crew continue to gather supplies, clean the ship and talk some more with Māori in Tōtaranui before he finally does what both Tasman and de Surville failed to do.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
179 - Tōtaranui
As Cook and company begin to make their way down the west coast of the North Island they look for a place to stop and careen the ship. What they find is a place that Cook will return to again and again.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
178 - No Retreat (Cause We Done Goofed)
The Endeavour continues exploring the eastern coast of Te Ika a Māui and Cook ends up in a spot of bother...Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
177 - The Transit of Mercury
Cook continues to explore Te Ika a Māui, attempting to trade with Māori, getting into arguments with this crew and probably going blind by looking at the sun too much. You know, the usual.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
176 - Kidnappers
Everyone is trying to steal everyone else in events now immortilised in the naming of the landscape.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
175 - Knock Knock, It's Europe 3. Remember Us?
We left off when Cook opened his sealed orders which instructed him to head south in search of the Great Southern Land, Terra Australis, at the direct contradiction of Tupaia, who wanted to go west. Today the Endeavour heads south in search of the holy grail of European explorers in the Pacific.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!You find the Gisborne Port Authority report mentione
174 - Breaking the Seal
James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour no longer have a reason to remain in the Society Islands. As such, they need to decide where their voyage will take them next. To do this, Cook pulls out his secret, sealed orders from the Admiralty and cracks them open.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
173 - Island Holiday
Cook starts to explore more of the Society Islands, with Tupaia’s direction and knowledge proving invaluable.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
172 - Greener Pastures
Now that the Endeavour no longer has any need to remain in Tahiti, a bunch of people start making decisions about their future, some less well thought out than others.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
171 - The Transit of Venus
Cook finally does the thing he came halfway around the world to do: Observe the Transit of Venus.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
My Birb of the Year 2025
It's that time of year again! BOTY is back! As is tradition, I've picked a bird to tell you all about and hopefully pick up your vote. This year we are discussing the ngutu pare, the wrybill!birdoftheyear.org.nzCheck out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
170 - Will They, Won't They
We return to May 1769 where the quadrant, a vital piece of equipment for observing the Transit of Venus, was stolen and then recovered. In the course of this, Tutaha had been arrested against Cook’s orders, being handled rather roughly and in such a way to cause great insult. Today we see how this affected the pair's relationship.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast
169 - Twice as Nice
Tupaia is trying to navigate his way through the ever changing and deadly world of Tahitan politics as the two major leaders of the island clash. Can he come out the other side unscathed?Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
168 - Game of Thrones
Tupaia has escaped to Tahiti and soon realises that if he wants to survive he needs to make himself useful. The island is going through a rather chaotic time politically and Tupaia is known to be a smooth operator, in more ways than one, so he hitches his wagon to Purea.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
167 - Tupaia
James Cook has now met Tupaia, high priest of Tahiti and advisor to the chief Purea. He is going to become very important to our story so it is worth going back a few years in the timeline to talk about his early life as well as the culture and history of the Society Islands through his eyes. This will set us up nicely for the next episode where we will explain the backstory of the conflict that t
166 - The Quadrant Catastrophe
Final preparations are underway for the Transit of Venus as the equipment is calibrated only to find shock a vital instrument is missing! Where did it go?! We also meet the other power player that Tutaha is competing against for control of the island of Tahiti; the supposed queen herself, Purea.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf
165 - Culture Clash
Now that they had made contact, Cook quickly sets to work establishing friendly relations with the Tahitians while also trying to assess who the movers and shakers are in their society.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
164 - Tahiti
The Endeavour crosses the Pacific and arrives at her destination, Tahiti. However, pretty quickly Cook is concerned that his crew will run amok so he puts procedures in place to ensure everything goes smoothly between them and the local Polynesians.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
163 - Crossing the Line
Cook's expedition finally gets underway as they sail across the Atlantic bound for the South Pacific. But not before they get into a spot of bother in Rio along the way...Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
162 - The Nerds
Just as he was about to head off, James Cook was told that he had to take on a new group of people on his expedition, which caused a number of issues. However, the Royal Society were adament they come along. The leader of these late arrivals was none other than famed botanist Joesph Banks, who will become a key player in our story. Today, we talk about who he was and why he wanted to sail to the S
161 - Welcome to the Crew
Now that we have looked at the HMB Endeavour, it's worth introducing the colourful cast of characters that will be sailing her. From lofty lieutenants all the way down to salty seamen!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
160 - Endeavour
We look more closely at the ship that will be taking Cook and his crew into the Pacific for his first voyage, such as how she was acquired by the Royal Navy, her overall physical characteristics and how she was modified to be fit for this expedition.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
159 - Scientific Struggles
What was Cook's first voyage actually hoping to achieve? What was the background of the collaboration between the Royal Society and the Admiralty? The answers to these questions and more in this episode!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
158 - Humble Beginnings
Here he is, the big one! Today we look at the childhood and early career of possibly the most famous person in New Zealand's history; James Cook.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
157 - Around the World in 1769: Sweden and Britain
For the final part of our tour across the globe we head to the chiller parts of Europe to see what was going on for them during this exciting period!Listen to A Flatpack History of Sweden Podcast here!Listen to Kingdöm here!Listen to Prime Factors here!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
156 - Around the World in 1769: Conclave
The pope is dead, time to elect a new pope!You can listen to Pontifacts here!You can listen to Popeular History and Cardinal Numbers here!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
155 - Around the World in 1769: France and the USA
Today we continue heading further west to hear about two great friends with rather exciting futures ahead of them!Check out the French History Podcast here!Check out We Effed Up here!Check out Imperfect Men here!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
154 - Around the World in 1769: India and Iran
Today we continue our world tour as we talk about what was going on in India and Iran in the year 1769 with the History of Fresh Produce and the History of Persia!You can find the History of Fresh Produce here and the History of Persia here! Of course you can also find them wherever you are listening to this episode!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acas
153 - Around the World in 1769: China
As we are approaching a rather pivotal point in Aotearoa's history, I thought it might be good to take some time to get some context of what else is going in around the world (and also give you something interesting to listen to while I work on the next set of episodes!). So over the next few weeks, we will be having a series of guests telling us all about their area of interest! This week we have
152 - Tinirau and the Whale
We haven't had one of these in a while! A Māori story about a man, his whale and the woman who saves the day.Warning: (spoilers) Involves animal deathCheck out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
151 - Tuna (Eels)
I'm currently in deep in the research of our next major explorer and I need a bit more time to get that all done since it's a big-un! To tide you over there is going to be some episodes that are a bit adjacent to what we normally talk about, such as today we will follow the style of our Bird of the Year episodes except this time we will talk about tuna, eels!Check out the website and shownotes!Bec
150 - An Eye for an Eye
Today we see what the French explorers on the St Jean Baptiste got up to in their final days in Aotearoa.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
149 - Tāwhirimātea Strikes Again
Today the atua of wind and storm returns for round 2, attempting to destroy the St Jean Baptiste and cutting of Second Lieutenant Pottier from his comrades.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
148 - Hounds of the Lord
Most of ariki Pawhero's people have left Doubtless Bay for a shark hunt so today we will see how Jean de Surville got on with other rangatira in the area. We also talk about wtf the St Jean Baptiste's chaplin, Father de Villefeix. was doing on this expedition.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat
147 - The Negotiator
The relationship between Ngāti Kahu of Doubtless Bay and the French of the St Jean Baptiste strains even further as both sides become concerned for their own wellbeing.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Christmas 2024 Update
Just a little update from me on what's been happening behind the scenes and where we are headed going forward! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
146 - Knock Knock, It’s Europe 2: Electric Boogaloo
Captain de Surville has now made contact with Māori in Aotearoa and now needs to keep friendly relations with them if he intends to secure the supplies he needs to save his men and continue the expedition. However, Māori have their own concerns about these newcomers...Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
145 - Salvation
The St Jean Baptiste has finally found land after two desperate months of low supplies, scurvy and dying men. Today we will see how de Surville and his crew got on in the Land of the Long White Cloud.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
144 - Revelations
Captain de Surville has devised a plan to sail to New Zealand, last found by Tasman 127 years ago, to save his dying crew. However, for the first time since the voyage began he wanted a second opinion from Labé. Before we talk about what Labé thought about this plan, we need jump back to the meeting in Chandernagore in January 1769 to explain what they were even dying for.Check out the website and
143 - Reaper's Due
The crew of the St Jean Baptiste are now dying of scurvy. They desperately need to find somewhere safe to anchor, rest and gather supplies. The situation is becoming more and more dire by the day.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
142 - Guns, Germs and Spears
The St Jean Baptiste find a much needed island to resupply. However, not all is as it seems and by the end, the crew will find themselves in a worse position than when they arrived.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch!Music used in this episode:Track: "High Anxiety_Full Mix"Music provided by https://slip.streamDownload / Stream: https://get.slip.stream/CgwI29 Hos
141 - The Beast Within
Last episode we finished just after three men deserted the ship on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, just kinda making a run for it into the jungle. Today we will see how de Surville reacted to this and get a sense of how he intends to conduct himself going forward.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
140 - Malaysian Adventures
The St Jean Baptiste continues on her journey from India around the Malay Peninsula where her crew faces a few trials and tribulations!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Birb of the Year 2024
As we head towards the end of the year, it is time for the Bird of the Year competition run by Forest & Bird! As usual I have picked a bird to do some research on and tell you all about. This year it is the koekoeā/Long Tailed Cuckoo.We will be back to our regularly scheduled programming in a fortnight!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See aca
139 - Starting as They Mean to Go On
The 1769 expedition of the St Jean Baptiste gets underway! We talk about all the problems that came up pretty much immediately as they sailed down the eastern coast of India and we discuss how much the voyage cost. Which I know sounds boring but it's actually pretty interesting cause it cost waaaaay too much, but why?Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Aca
138 - Merchant, Sailor, Soldier, Captain
Today we cover the early life of the next European captain who would come to Aotearoa's shores, Jean Francois Marie de Surville. We also talk about how his ill fated expedition into the Pacific was conceived.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
137 - Pacific Enlightening
Europeans don't return to Aotearoa for over 100 years after the expedition of Abel Tasman so today we will be covering the broad strokes of what Europe was up to that would lead them back to exploring the South Pacific.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mid-Winter Check In
Just a short update on what I've been up to behind the scenes, where we are going and a couple of episode recommendations that came out from other podcasts recently that relate to us!80 Days EpisodePax Britannica EpisodeCheck out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
136 - Profitable Lands
Abel Tasman returns to Batavia after a 10 month expedition and his bosses give their final reports. How was Aotearoa's first European visitor to be remembered? Listen to find out!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
135 - Back Into The Blue
Abel Tasman and his crew were successfully scared off by Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri at Mohua/Golden Bay after a brief skirmish. Today we will follow the Dutch as they make their way north along Aotearoa's coast before leaving our shores for the wider Pacific.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
134 - I am the One Who Knocks
Abel Tasman has arrived in Mohua/Golden bay and the Māori of Taupo Point pā want to get the measure of these newcomers. It's time for the first meeting of Europe and Aotearoa.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
133 - Knock Knock, It's Europe
For the last few episodes you would be forgiven for thinking this was the VOC Podcast. It's taken us a bit of time but we finally make it back to the part of the world that we are interested as we continue to follow Abel Tasman's 1642 expedition.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
132 - Old Land, New Land
Abel Tasman finally gets his expedition underway in 1642, heading into the South Pacific in search of gold and glory. We also discuss a bit about our sources too!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
131 - Sailing Instructions
Today we discuss the instructions that Abel Tasman was given by the Batavian Council for his 1642 expedition. This included anything from what ships and supplies he would be given right through to how he should interact with indigenous peoples. This will help us understand Tasman's actions as well as give us a frame of reference for how the Council will judge the voyage upon its completion.Check o
130 - Shōgun
We continue Abel Tasman's story, this time in the lead up to his famous expedition in 1642, which sees him get caught up in the ongoing conflict between Europe and Japan.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
129 - Chasing Geese
Having covered the background of the Dutch Empire and the VOC in the previous episode, today we will be looking at the early life and career of our main character for the next little while, Abel Tasman. We talk about how he came to be part of the Dutch East India Company and take a look at his first major voyage.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. S
128 - What's a Europe?
It's a new year and this time we are beginning a new chapter in the story of Aotearoa! Today we talk about some people on the other side of the globe that call themselves Europeans and give a bit of backstory to what they were up to just before these Pacific islands were added to their maps.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy f
HANZ Season 2 Trailer
A new era of HANZ is dawning, the eyes of the world a turning eastward as the engines of empire grow hungry. Our adventure is just getting started. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
127.5 - Q+A 2023
To end our chapter on the pre-European period of Aotearoa's history I asked for your questions and you delivered! You guys sent in so many/I spoke too much that I had to split the episode into 5 parts.I messed up the audio a little bit in these episodes and it was gonna be a huge hassle to fix it so I've decided to leave it as is. It's not awful, just not as good as I'd like so apologies for that!
127.4 - Q+A 2023
To end our chapter on the pre-European period of Aotearoa's history I asked for your questions and you delivered! You guys sent in so many/I spoke too much that I had to split the episode into 5 parts.I messed up the audio a little bit in these episodes and it was gonna be a huge hassle to fix it so I've decided to leave it as is. It's not awful, just not as good as I'd like so apologies for that!
127.3 - Q+A 2023
To end our chapter on the pre-European period of Aotearoa's history I asked for your questions and you delivered! You guys sent in so many/I spoke too much that I had to split the episode into 5 parts.I messed up the audio a little bit in these episodes and it was gonna be a huge hassle to fix it so I've decided to leave it as is. It's not awful, just not as good as I'd like so apologies for that!
127.2 - Q+A 2023
To end our chapter on the pre-European period of Aotearoa's history I asked for your questions and you delivered! You guys sent in so many/I spoke too much that I had to split the episode into 5 parts.I messed up the audio a little bit in these episodes and it was gonna be a huge hassle to fix it so I've decided to leave it as is. It's not awful, just not as good as I'd like so apologies for that!
127.1 - Q+A 2023
To end our chapter on the pre-European period of Aotearoa's history I asked for your questions and you delivered! You guys sent in so many/I spoke too much that I had to split the episode into 5 parts.I messed up the audio a little bit in these episodes and it was gonna be a huge hassle to fix it so I've decided to leave it as is. It's not awful, just not as good as I'd like so apologies for that!
126 - Matau the Giant of Wakatipu
As is tradition at the end of a topic, here is a Māori legend! This one talks how Lake Wakatipu in the lower South Island got its distinctive shape, as well as a unique feature that you may not have known about!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
125 - Peace In Our Time
We talk about what happens in the immediate aftermath of a battle and how peace was made in our final episode on the pre-European Māori era of Aotearoa's history.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
124 - The Element of Surprise
We discuss how pā, fortified settlements, were captured during military campaigns, in particular how surprise and deception played a huge part in Māori warfare.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
123 Part 1 - My Bird of the Century 2023
It's that time of year again! The Forest and Bird competition to see who is Aotearoa's Bird of the Year is back on! Every year I pick a native or endemic bird to talk about to teach you about some of the weird and wonderful birds we have.This year it is extra special because Forest and Bird turn 100 years old this year and to celebrate they have added new contenders into the election that are exti
123 Part 2 - My Bird of the Century 2023
It's that time of year again! The Forest and Bird competition to see who is Aotearoa's Bird of the Year is back on! Every year I pick a native or endemic bird to talk about to teach you about some of the weird and wonderful birds we have.This year it is extra special because Forest and Bird turn 100 years old this year and to celebrate they have added new contenders into the election that are exti
Request for Questions!
I'm going to be doing a Q+A episode at the end of the year to answer any burning questions you may have about any topics we have covered over the last five years! I want to be able to fill any gaps that you have been wondering about but to do a Q+A episode, I need your Qs! So please send me your questions to historyaotearoa@gmail.com. Thanks in advance! :D Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo
122 - The Field of Battle
Today we will continue on the journey to battle looking at the strategies Māori employed and how they engaged in battle.Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
121 - Lighting the Beacons
We start to look at the process of how Māori went to war, firstly with how they prepared and then go on the journey with them as they gather allies and begin to march.Become a Patron!Buy some merch! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
120 - Te Rā with the Early Māori Textiles Team
A very exciting interview with the team that brought home the only known pre-European Māori sail from the British Muesum. We talk about not just Te Rā herself but also the process of talking to the British Museum and organising the exhibition along with the responses from the New Zealand public.You can see Te Rā in the Christchurch Art Gallery until October 2023 at which point she will be moved to
