Notes

A collection of audio files and images from Nga Taonga Sound and Vision Archives relating to the Dawn Raids in New Zealand.

March 2024:
50 years ago this week, police carried out the first in a series of Dawn Raids on Pacific ‘overstayers’ in Auckland. The importance of the Dawn Raids is reflected in how often they appear in our audiovisual archive; news programmes, radio shows, films and music videos all explore the topic. Some of these recordings were made as the raids were happening, while others were made by people reflecting on them years or decades later. In addition to the items that have been digitised and made available on our website, we also hold many items that are not yet available online, including analogue recordings.

Some context is required to understand how the Dawn Raids came about, and why they remain a source of hurt for New Zealanders of Pacific descent. Throughout the Sixties and early Seventies, Samoans, Tongans, Fijians and Cook Islanders often arrived on temporary or holiday visas, to work in factories and at other industrial jobs. Pay for these roles was typically low and the visas were as short as three months, not enough to save a worthwhile amount. Unofficially, authorities were often happy to turn a blind eye to immigration status, especially during labour shortages. Employers benefited from ignoring expired visas and keeping people on if they wanted to stay longer, rather than recruiting and training new staff all the time.