NZ Wars: Stories of Wairau

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?

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.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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 is the second in a two-part, in-depth podcast companion to the visual documentary, NZ Wars: Stories of Wairau.

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.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

The NZ Wars series begins with the first shots fired between Māori and Pākehā... in the Wairau Valley in June 1843.

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.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details