NZ Wars Collection

As relations between Māori and Pākehā sour in the years after the Treaty of Waitangi, Hone Heke makes his famous attacks on the flagstaff at Kororāreka/Russell in 1845. This sparks the NZ Wars proper, with the fight for sovereignty, development of trench warfare and inconclusive battles that would mark the conflict as it spread across the motu.

This episode was first released on 1 December 2017.

Watch the video documentary here.

By William Ray

A beginning and an end. A battle with no victor. A pā built to fend off a superpower - defended, then abandoned.

The Battle of Ruapekapeka is a tale of unanswered questions but 172 years on, what's clear is the importance of the Northern Wars and the impact they still have in Northland today. To help understand that impact, this podcast looks for answers to some of those key questions.

How were Māori able to adapt to gunpowder weapons so quickly? Where did Kawiti get his inspiration for the revolutionary pā and how did he survive 10 days of British bombardment? Was this really the invention of trench warfare?

The Battle for Ruapekapeka contains a host of mysteries. For one, nobody knows for sure where Ngati Hine chief Te Ruki Kawiti got his inspiration for the revolutionary design of the pā.

Some historians suggest the deep trenches and artillery bunkers dug inside the pā could be an evolution from earlier designs used in the Musket Wars.

"The Musket Wars from the 1810s to the 1830s brought a huge evolution in how māori fought," says Ministry of Culture and Heritage historian David Green. "Traditional pā were changed quite markedly in that period so they would resist musket fire and even artillery because artillery was used by many iwi during the Musket Wars."

Some of those earlier innovations included building thick palisades and covering whare inside the pā with earth. Kawiti was a veteran of the Musket Wars and would have seen how these designs performed in battle first-hand.

Ngāpuhi oral traditions have other explanations.

According to one story, Kawiti was hunting for tuna (eel) and took inspiration for Ruapekapeka (translated as 'bat's nest') from how the animals hid in tunnels under the riverbanks.

Ruapekapeka Trust Chair Peeni Henare, a descendant of Kawiti, says others have more mystical explanations.

"When I grew up our tupuna always talked to us about astral-travel and how our ancestor were able to do that, travel to distant places 'a wairua' - in spirit," Henare says…

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Tensions over land at Wairau, and injustices and insults against Ngāti Toa leaders reach their boiling point. Arthur Wakefield, the leader of the Nelson settlement decides to seize the land by force. But the former British Navy Captain has severely underestimated his adversaries... and there will be tragic results.

This episode was first released on 3 February 2023.

Watch the video documentary here.

Tensions over land at Wairau, and injustices and insults against Ngāti Toa leaders reach their boiling point. Arthur Wakefield, the leader of the Nelson settlement decides to seize the land by force. But the former British Navy Captain has severely underestimated his adversaries... and there will be tragic results.

In the first part of this podcast we heard the history leading up to the conflict at Wairau - a dodgy deed, duelling understandings of land rights and justice.

It will all reach a head on June 17th 1843, a date which many say marks the beginning of the New Zealand Wars.

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On June 17th 1843, a posse of European settlers head to the Wairau Valley planning to arrest renowned chief Te Rauparaha and his nephew, Te Rangihaeata. A gun battle breaks out and 26 people are killed, including several Pakeha prisoners executed in the aftermath. What started it all? And why?

This episode was first released on 3 February 2023.

Watch the video documentary here.

On June 17th 1843, a posse of European settlers head to the Wairau Valley - planning to arrest the renowned chief Te Rauparaha and his nephew, Te Rangihaeata. A gun battle breaks out and 26 people are killed, including several Pakeha prisoners executed in the aftermath. So... what happened? and why?

On June 17th 1843, a posse of European Settlers head to the Wairau Valley - planning to arrest the renowned chief Te Rauparaha and his nephew, Te Rangihaeata.

It's a disaster. A gun battle breaks out and 26 people are killed, including several Pākehā prisoners executed in the aftermath.

So... What happened? And why?

In the first episode of this two part podcast, hosts Justine Murray and William Ray take an in-depth look at the events leading up to the conflict at Wairau.

We'll explain how Ngāti Toa came to occupy Wairau in the first place, how a sneaky ship captain made a dodgy deal  for the land, and how that deed made its way into the hands of the New Zealand Company - which would try to take that land by force, with disasterous results.

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The NZ Wars series goes back to the first shots fired... to Wairau in June 1843.

This series was first released in February 2023.

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.

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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 on rnz.co.nz for more details