The NZ Wars series begins with the first shots fired between Māori and Pākehā... in the Wairau Valley in June 1843.

The violence erupted one summer's morning in 1843 on the Wairau Plains, at the top of the South Island. A posse of 49 or more settlers sent to arrest renowned rangatira Te Rauparaha and his nephew Te Rangihaeata had tracked them down to the Tuamarino Stream, about 60kms south-east of Nelson.

It was a stand-off. But before long tempers flared, and amidst threats, refusals and bible verses being read aloud, Nelson's magistrate Henry Thompson made a rash choice. The day would end with 22 settlers and four Māori killed; what some call the first conflict of the New Zealand Wars.

But the road to conflict started years earlier. Hosts Justine Murray and William Ray take you deep into that story.

NZ Wars: Stories of Wairau introduces you to Te Rauparaha, Te Rongo and Te Rangihaeata, Arthur Wakefield and John Blenkinsopp. The two-part podcast tells the story of a dodgy land deal, the earliest New Zealand settlement schemes, Ngāti Toa's crucial migration south, the creation of the world's most famous haka and much more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details