Notes

Radio New Zealand : Documentary series.
1 Video and 3 podcasts.
Duration: 47 minutes.


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 Kīngitanga) and resulting in land confiscations that continue to shape New Zealand today.

Part 1:
Through the 1840s and 50s Waikato Māori had been close allies of Pākehā settlers living in Auckland. So why did war break out between the two factions early in 1863? Together Mihingārangi Forbes and William Ray investigate the origins of the largest, most significant war between Māori and the Crown in New Zealand history: The Waikato War.

Part 2:
Governor George Grey launches his invasion of Waikato. Kīngitanga forces are heavily outnumbered and outgunned, but the invasion doesn't go smoothly for the British. Mihingārangi Forbes and William Ray tell the story of the most famous, and infamous conflicts of the war: Rangiriri and Rangiāowhia.

Part 3: The war on Waikato reaches its climactic conclusion at the Battle of Ōrākau. But that's just the beginning of the struggle for Kīngitanga. Mihingārangi Forbes and William Ray look at the aftermath of a war which changed Aotearoa forever.

New Zealand wars