In this Public History Talk recorded at the National Library on 4 June 2025, podcast producers William Ray (RNZ) and Kirsten Johnstone (Popsock Media) explored the art of creating captivating history podcasts, sharing storytelling and audio techniques from series like Black Sheep, The Lake, The Aotearoa History Show, Te Rauparaha Kei Wareware and The Magpie House.

They discussed the delicate balance of distilling complex history for an engaging auditory experience, using sound design and music to enhance storytelling, and offered insider tips and tricks from their award-winning work.

About the speakers

Kirsten Johnstone (Ngāi Tahu / Pākehā) co-founded award winning podcast production company Popsock Media in 2020. She honed her craft as a producer, editor, host, and content creator at RNZ.

William Ray (Pākehā) is an award-winning podcast producer at RNZ. He primarily works on history programming including Black Sheep and the Aotearoa History Show.

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In this podcast, Catherine Comyn reframes the financial colonisation of Aotearoa — a history of the joint stock company, a speculative London property market that romanticised the distant lands of indigenous peoples, and the calculated use of credit and taxation by the British to dispossess Māori of their land and subject them to colonial rule.

Finance was at the centre of every stage of the colonisation of Aotearoa, from the sale of Māori lands and the emigration of early colonists to the founding of settler nationhood and the enforcement of colonial governance.

Catherine’s Ockham-longlisted book, The Financial Colonisation of Aotearoa (ESRA, 2023), has been hailed by Jane Kelsey as “the most stimulating book I have read on the colonisation of Aotearoa from the exciting new generation of scholars”.

Catherine tells the story of the financial instruments and imperatives that drove the British colonial project in the 19th century. By illuminating the centrality of finance in the colonisation of Aotearoa, Catherine not only reframes the understanding of this country's history, but also the stakes of anti-colonial struggle today.

Catherine Comyn (Ngāti Ranginui, Pākehā) is a PhD candidate in International Political Economy at King's College London. Her research focuses on finance capital and colonisation, and possibilities for their overcoming.

The talk was recorded live at the National Library of New Zealand on 28 May 2024, as part of the Public History Talks series, a collaboration between the Alexander Turnbull Library and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

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In this podcast, Mark Derby talks about his recent book Frontline Surgeon: New Zealand Medical Pioneer Douglas Jolly, published by Massey University Press/University of Nebraska Press. Frontline Surgeon and related publications record New Zealand’s response to the Spanish Civil War, and its present-day significance.

Central Otago-born doctor, Doug Jolly, pioneered mobile emergency surgery during the Spanish Civil War. His surgical manual, based on battlefield experiences close to the front line, was widely used in later conflicts. Mark makes a case for Dr Jolly to be recognised as one of the most influential medical figures of the 20th century.

Frontline Surgeon is part of a long-running, unplanned, and ongoing project to record New Zealand's response to the Spanish Civil War and its present-day significance. The project began in 2006 when Mark edited a book of seminar papers — Kiwi Compañeros: New Zealand and the Spanish Civil War (ed. Mark Derby, Canterbury University Press, 2009.) This appeared in a Spanish translation as Compañeros Kiwis — Nueva Zealanda y la Guerra Civil Espanola (University of Castilla- La Mancha, 2011).

Mark later discovered a cache of letters by Christchurch nurse Dorothy Morris in the Alexander Turnbull Library. This resulted in a full-length biography, Petals and Bullets: Dorothy Morris, New Zealand Nurse in the Spanish Civil War (Potton and Burton Publishing / Leeds University Press, 2015.)

Mark has also written about this history for the Virtual Museum of the Spanish Civil War, a Te Ara-like online resource. The British publisher Bloomsbury has been recently contracted to publish a book based on the Virtual Museum’s content.

In this talk, Mark speaks about these inter-related projects, and how they were produced.

Virtual Museum of the Spanish Civil War

The talk was recorded live at the National Library of New Zealand on 7 August 2024, as part of the Public History Talks series, a collaboration between the Alexander Turnbull Library and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

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Dr Lisa Renard has a Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology / Museum Studies Docteure en anthropologie sociale et culturelle / Muséographe and is currently the Fyssen Postdoctoral Researcher at The University of Auckland. This talk was presented at the Stout Centre for New Zealand Studies at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington on 3 April 2024.

In France, the majority of the Māori taonga are housed at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac in Paris, where 268 taonga are registered in the collections of the museum. Based on previous research conducted during Dr Renard’s M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Strasbourg, France, she found that the oldest taonga in French museums travelled from Aotearoa to France in the late 18th and first half of the 19th centuries.

For many years, Māori specialists across Aotearoa have sought to access more information about taonga in museums around the world. Dr Renard’s postdoctoral research is intended to help meet these needs and to demonstrate the richness of the taonga tuku iho biographies and agencies, particularly in terms of their mnemonic qualities, when reunited with the tangata whenua of Aotearoa and other taonga tuku iho.

This paper presents the state of Dr Renard’s research in relation to 4 kākahu, 2 hei tiki, 3 taonga pūoro, and 1 Rākau atua associated with the voyage of French explorer Jules César Sébastien Dumont d’Urville on board l’Astrolabe in 1827.

Due to cultural considerations related to the taonga, this is an audio only podcast with transcription provided for accessibility purposes.

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In this podcast, Professor Richard Shaw whose great-grandfather took part in the 1881 invasion of Parihaka pā and farmed land taken from Taranaki iwi, discusses the entanglement of the small histories of settler families with the large history of the colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand.

On the morning of 5 November 1881, an Irishman called Andrew Gilhooly formed up alongside other members of the Armed Constabulary at the entrance to Parihaka pā. He was there for the invasion, the occupation and — much later — for the farming of land taken from Taranaki iwi. But those events dropped out of the family stories handed down to Gilhooly’s descendants.

In this presentation, Richard Shaw, one of those descendants, explores the possible reasons for and purposes of this historical amnesia, and discusses the entanglement of the small histories of settler families with the large history of the colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand. He also discusses his book, The Unsettled: Small Stories of Colonisation (MUP, 2024), which features stories shared by New Zealanders who are trying to figure out how to live well with their own pasts, their presents and their possible futures explores the layered histories embedded in three landscapes in the city.

Richard Shaw is a professor of politics at Massey University, where he teaches New Zealand politics and undertakes research on political advisers in the executive branch of government. His publications include The Edward Elgar Handbook on Ministerial and Political Advisers (2023) and Core Executives in a Comparative Context (with K. Koltveitt, 2022). His work has been published in journals such as Governance, Public Administration, Parliamentary Affairs, and Public Management Review. He is also the author of two books that address matters of memory and forgetting amongst settler families in Aotearoa New Zealand — The Forgotten Coast (2021) and The Unsettled: Small Stories of Colonisation (2024) — both published by Massey University Press.

The talk was recorded live at the National Library of New Zealand on 1 May 2024, as part of the Public History Talks series, a collaboration between the Alexander Turnbull Library and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Download a transcript of this talk (PDF)

The new book Secret History: State Surveillance in New Zealand, 1900-1956 by Richard S Hill and Steven Loveridge (Auckland University Press, 2023) opens up the ‘secret world’ of security intelligence during a period in which counter-espionage and counter-subversion duties were primarily handled by the New Zealand Police Force.

This is the first of two volumes chronicling the history of state surveillance in New Zealand. It is the story of the surveillers who – in times of war and peace, turmoil and tranquillity – monitored and analysed perceived threats to national interests. It is also the story of the surveilled: those whose association with organisations and movements led to their public and private lives being documented in secret files. Secret History explores a hidden and intriguing dimension of New Zealand history, one which sits uneasily with cherished national notions of an exceptionally fair and open society.

At this session, recorded at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington in October 2023, the authors discussed the book’s revelations, methodology and implications with Malcolm McKinnon.  This was followed by a Q and A session with the audience.

Speakers:

Richard S. Hill is an Emeritus Professor at the Stout Research Centre. Among his outputs are four books in the History of Policing in New Zealand series, and two on Crown-Māori relations in the twentieth century. His co-authored book, Secret History, is the first of two volumes in a history of security intelligence in twentieth-century New Zealand.

Steven Loveridge is an adjunct Research Associate at the Stout Research Centre. His published work includes some major studies of New Zealand society during the First World War, and work on diplomatic history and security intelligence. He is currently co-authoring the second volume in the history of security intelligence in twentieth-century New Zealand which will cover the 1956-2000 period.

Malcolm McKinnon is an adjunct research associate in the School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka. He is the author of a number of works on the history of both New Zealand's foreign relations and its political economy.

Download a transcript of this talk: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/pdfs/secret-history-public-history-talk.pdf

Forced labour haunts the streets we walk today and the spaces we take for granted. From 1814 onwards, the unfree work of prisoners was used to forge roads, ports, buildings, harbour defences and other public works across New Zealand and its Pacific empire. Prisoners planted forests, cleared land and laboured on dairy farms. Their work was crucial to colonisation. Yet convict Australia and the myth of New Zealand exceptionalism has meant the history of prison labour has been largely overlooked.

In this Public History Talk, Jared Davidson discussed his latest book, Blood and Dirt: Prison Labour and the Making of New Zealand (Bridget Williams Books, 2023). He charted the hidden history of prison labour across New Zealand's urban and rural landscapes and into the Pacific, as well the challenges of researching history from the bottom up.

Jared Davidson is an archivist by day and an author by night, based in Lower Hutt. He is currently the Research Librarian Manuscripts at the Alexander Turnbull Library. Blood and Dirt is his fifth book.

These free Public History Talks are a collaboration between the Alexander Turnbull Library and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. They are usually held on the first Wednesday of the month March to November.

Download a transcript of this talk: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/pdfs/jared-davidson-transcript.pdf

In this month's Public History Talk, the authors of two recently published books discussed the profound impact of closed stranger adoption in New Zealand and the drive for change. Closed stranger adoption under the 1955 Adoption Act, still in force today, has deeply affected thousands of New Zealanders.

In their recent book Adopted: Loss, love, family and reunion (Massey University Press, 2022), Jo Willis and Brigs (Brigitta) Baker shared the complexity of their reunion journeys, the emotional challenges they faced, and the ongoing impacts of their adoptions, with candour and courage. The stories of their birthparents, partners and children and the physical and emotional toll of adoption on them are also heard.  Jo Wills joined us for this Public History Talk. 

Anne Else and Maria Haenga-Collins’ comprehensive new eBook is A Question of Adoption: Closed Stranger Adoption in New Zealand 1944–1974 and Adoption, State Care, Donor Conception and Surrogacy 1975–2022 (Bridget Williams Books, 2023). It combines Anne’s original 1991 post-war adoption history with seven new chapters giving up-to-date accounts of state care, donor conception and surrogacy, alongside the ongoing story of adoption. Anne joined us for this talk.

The conversation was led by Professor Bill Atkin, recently retired from Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington Law School.

It was recorded live at the National Library of New Zealand on 28 August 2023. Some questions were submitted by audience members, and others were submitted online and read out by a staff member.

These free Public History Talks are a collaboration between the Alexander Turnbull Library and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Download a transcript of this talk: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/pdfs/adoption-panel-transcription.pdf

An explanation of the changing legislation which governed closed adoption records in New Zealand was provided by Anne Else, and is available here: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/pdfs/anne-else-closed-adoption-records.pdf

If you have questions about closed adoption, these organisations can help:

Adoption NZ is a support organisastion which provides advice for those impacted by adoption, including links to support groups, professional support, and advice about how to find records.

Community Law provides free legal help throughout New Zealand, and provides information about how to find adoption records.

Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children, provides information and support around finding your birth family.

Paul Diamond's book, Downfall: The destruction of Charles Mackay, examines the startling ‘Whanganui Affair’ of 1920, when the mayor Charles Mackay, shot a young gay man, D'Arcy Cresswell. The affair and subsequent events reveal the perilous existence of homosexual men at that time and how society conspired to control and punish them.

In 1920 New Zealanders were shocked by the news that the brilliant, well-connected mayor of Whanganui had shot a young gay poet, D'Arcy Cresswell, who was blackmailing him. They were then riveted by the trial that followed. Mackay was sentenced to hard labour and later left the country, only to be shot by a police sniper during street unrest in Berlin during the rise of the Nazis. Mackay had married into Whanganui high society, and the story has long been the town’s dark secret.

The outcome of years of digging by historian Paul Diamond, Downfall: The destruction of Charles Mackay shines a clear light on the vengeful impulses behind the blackmail and Mackay’s ruination. At its heart, the Mackay affair reveals the perilous existence of homosexual men at that time and how society conspired to control and punish them.

We recommend that you watch this presentation if you can on YouTube, so that you can see the images Paul discussed in his talk.

Downfall: the destruction of Charles Mackay (YouTube)

Since Paul gave this talk in December 2022, Duigan’s Buildings, in Whanganui, where the shooting took place, have been listed by Heritage New Zealand as a Category 1 History Place.

Duigan's Buildings (Heritage New Zealand)

This presentation was made at the National Library in December 2022. 

Paul Diamond (Ngāti Hauā, Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi) has been Curator Māori, at the Alexander Turnbull Library since 2011. A journalist and broadcaster he is also the author of A Fire in Your Belly: Māori Leaders Speak (Huia, 2003), Makereti: taking Māori to the world (Random House, 2007) and Savaged to suit: Māori and cartooning in New Zealand (NZ Cartoon Archive, 2018). His latest book Downfall: The destruction of Charles Mackay was published by Massey University Press in November 2022.

Download a transcript of this talk: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/pdfs/paul-diamond-pht-transcript-2022-12-12.pdf

For more than 150 years, five carved panels that once formed the back wall of a pātaka, slept in a small swamp just north of Waitara. The carvings, which uri of Taranaki now call the Motunui Epa, emerged from their long sleep in 1971 setting off an extraordinary chain of events that would take them around the world and back again.

In this talk, Dr Rachel Buchanan will discuss how unearthing the government records has changed the way she works as a historian, taking her much closer to the power of the underground and the sovereignty that exists, undiminished beneath our feet.  This work resulted in her book Te Motunui Epa (BWB Books, 2022).

This talk was recorded on 15 May 2023 at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa. 

Dr Rachel Buchanan (Taranaki, Te Ātiawa) is the author of three books that explore Taranaki histories, including the invasion of Parihaka. Her new book, Te Motunui Epa (BWB Books, 2022), was shortlisted for the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards in the illustrated non-fiction category. Along with Hana Buchanan and Debbie Broughton, Rachel is also member of Te Aro Pā poets. A former journalist, Rachel has also documented the collapse of newspapers in the history-memoir, Stop Press: the last days of newspapers.

Download a transcript of this talk: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/files/pdfs/new-lenses-history-talk-rachel-buchanan-transcript.pdf