The project

This project takes us directly into some of the tribal communities at the epicentre of large-scale military invasions during the 1860s. We will ask members of these communities how they remember the catastrophic impact of these wars and their aftermath today and how tribal memories and silences about these histories are passed on to younger generations within hapū. In parallel with these accounts, we look at how the nation’s violent colonial past was transformed in public memory; how official state accounts of these events changed over time and why some episodes were collectively forgotten or overlooked.

The project is supported by a grant from the Marsden Fund, administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand - Te Apārangi on behalf of the Marsden Fund Council.

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Image (top): Joanna Kidman conducting fieldwork at Ōmarunui. Photograph: Vincent O'Malley