History Matters

History Matters is a collection of videos, podcasts and radio features that tell the stories of Aotearoa and our Pacific neighbours. Explore all the chapters of the award-winning NZ Wars series, including the new episode NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana, the new series of Untold Pacific History and a new video and radio documentary All Blacks at War, releasing on Anzac Day as well as recent and archival history content from RNZ.

The Sheraton Hotel in its current overgrown and derelict state. ^{Photo: Faanati Mamea}

The Sheraton Hotel in its current overgrown and derelict state. ^{Photo: Faanati Mamea}

900-1200 - now

The Cursed Cook Islands Hotel (Rarotonga)
Untold Pacific History

This is a story of indigenous land rights gone awry, a makutu from an aggrieved family and the failed business ventures of an infamous 'haunted hotel' in Rarotonga. In pre-colonial times, it was the scene of bloody battles between rival tribes, and ancient spirits are said to patrol the area. It is also the subject of a bitter ownership dispute that dates back more than a century and gave rise to the curse that is still said to hang over the area.

This is the ‘cursed’ Sheraton hotel complex in Rarotonga, a long-abandoned luxury resort that has lain derelict for a quarter of a century. The stories of Italian mafia connections, failed government business dealings, and indigenous land rights come together in this episode of Untold Pacific History.

Ngāti Toa leader, Te Rauparaha ^{Image: Supplied}

Ngāti Toa leader, Te Rauparaha ^{Image: Supplied}

1843

Stories of Wairau
NZ Wars

The Wairau Affray in 1843 is considered the first of the NZ Wars conflicts, and the only one to take place in the South Island. NZ Wars: Stories of Wairau documents the clash between renowned Ngāti Toa fighting chiefs, Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata, and the notorious New Zealand Company, which resulted in the loss of life and land.

An image from NZ Wars: Stories of Ruapekapeka. ^{Photo: Great Southern Television}

An image from NZ Wars: Stories of Ruapekapeka. ^{Photo: Great Southern Television}

1845

Stories of Ruapekapeka
NZ Wars

Stories of Ruapekapeka is a documentary highlighting Northland's most infamous armed conflict. This is the first chapter in the NZ Wars series and was released in 2017 coinciding with commemorations of the New Zealand Wars.

NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui. ^{Photo: Great Southern Television}

NZ Wars: Stories of Tainui. ^{Photo: Great Southern Television}

1860

Stories of Waitara
NZ Wars

NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara combines oral histories, state-of-the-art animations, and powerful dramatic re-enactments to bring to life the narratives of Te Ātiawa in their epic battle against the military might of the British Empire. Winner of Te Māngai Paho Best Māori Programme at the NZ TV Awards.

A reconstruction of the crossing of the Mangatawhiri stream ^{Image: Kaleidoscope 3D}

A reconstruction of the crossing of the Mangatawhiri stream ^{Image: Kaleidoscope 3D}

1863

Stories of Tainui
NZ Wars

The 1863 invasion of the Waikato was the defining conflict of New Zealand, reinforcing the Crown’s power, entrenching one of Aotearoa’s oldest political institutions (the Kiingitanga), and resulting in land confiscations that continue to shape New Zealand today. Awarded Best Māori Programme at the NZ TV Awards.

A still from the filming of Stolen Lands. ^{Photo: Ten Canaries}

A still from the filming of Stolen Lands. ^{Photo: Ten Canaries}

1863–now

Stolen Lands: Betrayal of a Chief

This thrilling five-episode series uncovers the conspiracy against the 19th-century Māori chief Te Whakatōhea Chief Mokomoko who was wrongfully executed for murdering a German missionary Carl Völkner.

In keeping with the Settlements Act of 1863, the Crown also confiscated hundreds of thousands of acres of Mokomoko's tribal land.

In Stolen Lands, the story of Mokomoko's unjust (and now overturned) conviction for the murder of Carl Völkner is narrated by his direct descendants Jake Mokomoko and Summer Mokomoko in te reo Māori. Academics and Māori land experts fill in the facts, highlighting how and why this land was stolen.

Video ^{5 episodes}

An image from NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana. ^{Photo: Aotearoa Media Collective}

An image from NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana. ^{Photo: Aotearoa Media Collective}

1864

Stories of Tauranga Moana New
NZ Wars

The latest edition of the award-winning series NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana recounts the events of 1864 in the Bay of Plenty and their far-reaching consequences for future generations of New Zealanders. The video documentary is presented by Mihingarangi Forbes and produced by Aotearoa Media Collective and the podcast is presented by RNZ's Justine Murray. 

A Fijian Indian woman sits at her vibrant food stall at Suva Market ^{Photo: Afa Rasmussen.}

A Fijian Indian woman sits at her vibrant food stall at Suva Market ^{Photo: Afa Rasmussen.}

1879

Coup Culture (Fiji)
Untold Pacific History

In this episode we will examine how and why Indian populations were brought to Fiji, and how the inequities under the colonial government’s ‘Girmit’ system, created a society of instability and countless coups.

Delving into the legacy of the colonial history that underpins much of the racial disharmony in modern day Fiji, this episode examines some of the fraught factors that have led to the migration of Indo-Fijian and indigenous Fijian communities to Aotearoa.

Siliga Sani Muliaumaseali’i in Samoa. ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions}

Siliga Sani Muliaumaseali’i in Samoa. ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions}

1882–1965

I’Iga Pisa: Samoa’s Unsung Hero New
Untold Pacific History

This is the story of I’iga Pisa. A man who witnessed all of Samoa’s most recent major historical events. He was exiled to Saipan by the Germans, navigated the Pacific to find his way home to Samoa, where he walked a fine line between the NZ administration and his own people, but would eventually help usher Samoa through to independence.   

The story of Pisa is told through the eyes of his great grandson, celebrated opera singer Sani Muliaumaseali’i, who returned to Saipan to visit the memorial plaque that the Chamorro people resurrected in I’iga Pisa’s honour.   

New Zealand suffragist Kate Sheppard.

New Zealand suffragist Kate Sheppard.

1893

Beyond Kate

Beyond Kate is a podcast that traverses stories from past to present, exploring themes across 8 episodes that address women's suffrage in New Zealand and the complex, hidden and nuanced challenges that women face in a society where the rules continue to shift.

Producer Sonia Sly meets contemporary women who share their thoughts on education, work, diversity, gender and more. She meets historians, archivists and descendants of women who signed the 1893 petition to unlock the history of the suffrage petition that won women the right to vote in the 1893 election.

Podcast^{8 episodes}

Mau House in Samoa ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions}

Mau House in Samoa ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions}

1908-1962

NZ’s Colonisation of Samoa and the Mau Movement
Untold Pacific History

‘The Mau’ became a revolutionary movement for Samoa’s independence, against New Zealand’s brutal period of colonial administration. In what is possibly one of the most significant stories of New Zealand’s little-known history in the region, this episode looks at the events that led to the rise of the ‘Mau’ resistance movement and the fatal consequences of New Zealand’s rule in Samoa. Hosted by Oscar Kightly.

Soldiers stand at attention (dramatic re-enactment). ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions / Tuki Laumea}

Soldiers stand at attention (dramatic re-enactment). ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions / Tuki Laumea}

1914

The Forgotten Soldiers of Niue New
Untold Pacific History

This is the little-known story of The Forgotten Soldiers of Niue. One hundred and fifty men who were plucked from their island paradise and sent 17,000kms away to the cold frontlines of France during World War I.  

The Niuean soldiers however never made it to the frontline and were instead to die en route with the abrupt introduction to diseases that they had never been exposed to.   

Andrew Mehrtens at Jum Turtill's grave. ^{Photo: Homegrown TV}

Andrew Mehrtens at Jum Turtill's grave. ^{Photo: Homegrown TV}

1914–1918

All Blacks at War New

13 former All Blacks died in WWI. All Blacks at War brings their stories to life through former All Black Andrew Mehrtens, domicile in France in 2023. He travels the Western Front, grave to grave. Along the way he connects with others who have connections to these men - be they schools in NZ, former All Blacks playing in France, or a town that was liberated by Kiwi soldiers in WWI and has never forgotten.

Video ^{44 mins}

Papa Tom. ^{Photo supplied.}

Papa Tom. ^{Photo supplied.}

1917–2007

Papa Tom Davis from the seas to the stars New
Untold Pacific History

Papa Tom's quest for truth, history and culture has taken him around the world and even out of space, but it was in Aotearoa and the Cook Islands that it all began. This extraordinary Kiwi- Cook Islander who was the first person from New Zealand to work for NASA, was one of the grandfathers of traditional vaka sailing in the Pacific, and who revolutionised economic reform in the Cook Islands, is still little known to many generations of young Pacific people and to the New Zealand public in general. 

Video ^{22 min}Podcast ^{35 mins}

Sunnyside Hospital in Christchurch, in 1977. ^{Photo: Supplied / Kevin Hill, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0}

Sunnyside Hospital in Christchurch, in 1977. ^{Photo: Supplied / Kevin Hill, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0}

1930s & 40s

The Story of New Zealand’s Mental Institutions New
Black Sheep/Nellie's Baby

"It looks terrible, but what would you have done under the same circumstances"? That's how a former psychiatric nurse explained the neglect and brutal treatment of mental health patients at Porirua Lunatic Asylum in the 1930s and 40s. In this bonus episode, hosts William Ray and Kirsty Johnston investigate the history of institutionalisation. Together with historian and disability advocate Hilary Stace, they explain how eugenic attitudes and a lack of understanding committed thousands of New Zealanders to a lives of isolation and abuse at the hands of the state.

Podcast ^41mins

1937–1945

Farewell Guangdong

Farewell Guangdong is a documentary series launching on rnz.co.nz/series on Wednesday coincide with Chinese New Year, bringing to life seven first-hand accounts of the original women of our Chinese community who called Aotearoa home.
Based on author Lily Lee’s publication Farewell Guangdong the series uses dramatic re-enactments, interviews, and historical archive, showing the harrowing first-hand accounts from some of the wives and children who fled Guangdong, China, during the second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945.

Video ^{8 episodes}

An image from the Coastwatchers series.

An image from the Coastwatchers series.

1941–1945

Coastwatchers – Operation Pacific

They are the unsung heroes of the New Zealand war effort. From tin huts dotted across the remote islands of the South Pacific, local men, women, and in some cases entire villages, supported the covert intelligence network for the New Zealand war administration during WWII. They were the eyes and ears of the Pacific Ocean, watching for strange ships and aircraft, listening into radio activity, and diligently reporting any activity back to New Zealand headquarters. Their native tongue gave the Pasifika Coastwatchers an added advantage: they leapfrogged secret encryptions from one island to the next, before it was sent using Morse code to Fiji and on to New Zealand.

An actor as Commissioner Larsen. ^{Photo: Tuki Laumea}

An actor as Commissioner Larsen. ^{Photo: Tuki Laumea}

1953

The Murder of Commissioner Larsen (Niue)
Untold Pacific History

What led Commissioner Larsen - the New Zealand administrator of Niue in the 1950s to be murdered in his bed by three locals hell-bent on justice and revenge? New Zealand's representative to Niue, Cecil Hector Larsen, was killed by Niuean locals, the first New Zealand diplomat to have been killed abroad. In an extraordinary story of the trauma suffered by indigenous people at the hands of an alleged tyrant, a dramatic chapter in NZ and Niuean history is unravelled.

Helicopters became a big part of the battle against the red deer. ^{Supplied by Paul Roy}

Helicopters became a big part of the battle against the red deer. ^{Supplied by Paul Roy}

1956-1995

Deer Wars

Deer Wars  explores an era before workplace health and safety, when the battle against the exploding population of invasive environmental pest, the red deer, became a 'wild west' industry. Lives were lost and fortunes made, all before breakfast.

Deer Wars  tells the story of the hard-knock men and women making a living in the New Zealand bush, and the 50-year struggle to control New Zealand's red deer population. Numbering in their millions, the deer were causing serious and escalating damage in the backcountry. The estimated two million deer shot by ground cullers made little impact. It took the arrival of helicopters with deadly shooters onboard and then a dramatic switch to live capture to get the numbers down.

Podcast ^{9 episodes}

Reverend Alec Toleafoa talks about the Dawn Raids period in NZ's history ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions}

Reverend Alec Toleafoa talks about the Dawn Raids period in NZ's history ^{Photo: Tikilounge Productions}

1974

Waking Up to the Dawn Raids (Aotearoa)
Untold Pacific History

Of the many real life events of Pasifika people in Aotearoa, the Dawn Raids period in our recent history, is a story that is overdue to be told. Long whispered about in secret family conversations, people have heard the words‘Dawn Raids’ but not about what really happened.

In this critical examination of a time little-known in New Zealand’s social history, this piece features key talent involved in the infamous New Zealand government ‘Dawn Raids’ regime; from a Samoan policeman who was at the forefront of the raids; to the personal stories of families impacted in this time.

1985

The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior

You probably know about the last moments of the Rainbow Warrior. But what do you know about the Greenpeace ship’s last voyage before it was bombed by the French in New Zealand in 1985? Where had it come from, why was it there and what was it doing? Find out in The Last Voyage of the Rainbow Warrior.

Podcast ^{6 episodes}

Newspaper article covering the case.

Newspaper article covering the case.

1990s

Conviction: The Christchurch Civic Creche Case

In the early 1990’s Aotearoa’s garden city Christchurch was torn apart by accusations of child sexual abuse at a creche owned by the City Council.

The story begins when a four year old boy makes the comment “I don’t like Peter’s black penis”. This comment would propel 30-year-old childcare worker Peter Ellis into a nightmare which saw him spend seven years in prison for crimes he says he did not commit. Yet the children and families who accused Ellis remain convinced of his guilt that the results of his actions will be with them forever.

Podcast ^{12 episodes}

2004

Shrek the Sheep

It has been 20 years since New Zealand - and the world - fell in love with a rugged, rural, hirsute South Islander.

Shrek the Sheep ('the sheep' necessary thanks to the Dreamworks legal team, more on that later) found overnight fame in April 2004, after musterer Ann Scanlan found perhaps the only farm animal that will ever be described as a "rock star" on John Perriam's Otago high-country farm.

Audio ^{15 mins}

Tino Rangatiratanga. ^{Photo: Jos Wheeler/ Scottie Productions}

Tino Rangatiratanga. ^{Photo: Jos Wheeler/ Scottie Productions}

2015-2020

Ake Ake Ake

The story of SOUL and the land occupation at Ihumātao, through the voices of the cousins intimately involved in the actions that took place.

Video ^{3 episodes}

History that matters,
then and now