The Aotearoa History Show
The story of NZ and its people from its geological origins to modern day.
S2 E14 · Sun, October 02, 2022
New Zealand's Pacific Empire
New Zealand has had some big ambitions in the Pacific and mixed relations with our neighbours.
S2 E13 · Thu, September 22, 2022
Why isn't New Zealand part of Australia?
It seems an almost heretical question, but it’s gotta be asked! Why are NZ and Australia different countries? You might be surprised to know that we did consider joining up with our mates across the Tasman back in the late 19th/early 20th century, but it never worked out. And that’s just a small fragment of the fascinating history of our Trans-Tasman relationship with our mates across the ditch.
S2 E12 · Sun, September 18, 2022
Women's Suffrage
NOTE: This episode has been reuploaded to correct some inaccuracies in the original version. We all know New Zealand was the first country in the world where women could vote. But do you know how we got there? The path to suffrage is littered with alcohol, hidden heroes & dirty tricks.
S2 E11 · Sun, September 11, 2022
Number 8 Wire
New Zealanders like to think we have a "Number 8 Wire Mentality" - a rough and ready enthusiasm for fixing and building stuff with limited resources.
S2 E10 · Sun, September 04, 2022
NZ Railways
From a standing start of little tank engines chugging along wooden rails, New Zealand built a vast rail network, made up of enough steel rail to wrap halfway around the moon.
S2 E9 · Sun, August 28, 2022
Whaling & Sealing
Marine mammals were a source of food and clothing for Māori and Moriori, and valuable oil for Europeans. Hunting them brought cultures together, made fortunes and cost lives but today it's saving them that unites people.
S2 E8 · Sun, August 21, 2022
The Musket Wars
These are the wars that cost more lives than any other in our history. Stretched over more than a decade & the entire country, these conflicts changed Māori warfare & much of what came next.
S2 E7 · Sun, June 12, 2022
Moriori
Moriori are the original people of Rēkohu (aka Chatham Island or Wharekauri) & they have a tragic and inspiring story. Unfortunately, that story's often been twisted into, well, utter rubbish.
S2 E6 · Sun, June 05, 2022
Native Land Court
In 1841 a few tiny islands of Pākehā settlement existed in an ocean of Māori land. Today, that picture has reversed & Māori own a fraction of Aotearoa. A big part of the reason? The Native Land Court.
S2 E5 · Sun, May 29, 2022
The Gold Rushes
The discovery of gold drew tens of thousands to New Zealand in search of fortune. It was a hard life, but diggers brought mateship, fashion & egalitarian ideas that changed the country forever.
S2 E4 · Sun, May 22, 2022
Epidemics
New Zealanders have battled Covid-19 for more than two years, but if you think it's the first time disease has knocked us around, well, this one's for you. Epidemics have long been part of our story.
S2 E3 · Sun, May 15, 2022
Teenagers
The 1950s saw an explosion of youth culture. "Bodgies and widgies' ' tearing round on motorbikes & hanging out in milk bars scandalised many Kiwi adults. Was "the teenager" invented in the 1950s? And what is a "milk bar" anyway?
S2 E2 · Sun, May 08, 2022
Māori: The First 500 Years
The first 500 years of Māori settlement in Aotearoa saw significant, dynamic changes to how people lived; changes that challenge the idea of Māori culture as something carved in stone.
S2 E1 · Sun, May 01, 2022
Rabbits & Other Pests
No-one knows for sure who first introduced rabbits to New Zealand, because no-one wanted to take the blame for what became one of New Zealand's biggest environmental and economic disasters. We start season two burrowing into the devastating history of rabbits and other pests.
Trailer · Mon, December 16, 2019
The Aotearoa History Show
RNZ presents The Aotearoa History Show - this time as an audio only podcast!
S1 E14 · Thu, November 07, 2019
Modern New Zealand
It's the final episode of the Aotearoa History Show! Rogernomics, Ruthanasia and the referendum on MMP saw the total restructuring of our economy and voting system. Plus a snapshot of the changing demographics of Aotearoa/New Zealand, the growth of dairy and tourism and the challenges still to come.
S1 E13 · Tue, November 05, 2019
Decades of Change
The 60s, 70s and 80s were rowdy decades. Kiwis were getting out in the streets and raising their voices about the rights of Māori, women and LGBT people, nuclear energy, the environment. Plus the most controversial sporting event in our history: The 1981 Springbok Tour.
S1 E12 · Sun, November 03, 2019
Post-War New Zealand
After the war came a new quest for security and identity. With it came new political debates and alliances. Maori and Pasifika moved to the cities. The way we viewed ourselves as a nation was changing.
S1 E11 · Thu, October 31, 2019
The Second World War
A second world war swept the globe, dragging New Zealand once more onto the battlefield, this time in the Pacific as well as Europe. In the likes of Crete, Greece and North Africa and on Pacific islands Kiwis served and died. At home, women joined those in reserved occupations to support the war effort until finally the Axis powers were defeated.
S1 E10 · Tue, October 29, 2019
Boom & Bust
With World War I and the flu epidemic past, the good times rolled through the 1920s. Then came the bust of the Great Depression, prompting widespread poverty - that was worse for some - and the rise of the first Labour government.
S1 E9 · Thu, October 24, 2019
The First World War
It's the war that claimed more New Zealand lives than any other. It's also the event that's often claimed as the "foundational moment" where we "became a nation". But is that really true? In this episode we take a dive into the First World War. Why we fought, what it cost us, and its long-term effects on Kiwi identity.
S1 E8 · Tue, October 22, 2019
Colonists & Courts
Through the final quarter of the 19th Century Pakeha settler numbers swelled. The immigrants sought land and started to create a new, distinct culture. But their land gain came at the cost of Maori, as new laws and courts changed ownership patterns. Plus, the story of Parihaka.
S1 E7 · Sun, October 20, 2019
Votes, Depressions & Refrigerators
After the wars, politicians had to figure out how to run the new country. Bold choices saw huge spending on infrastructure, the right of women to vote and the start of refrigeration, helping us out of The Long Depression. A new politics arose but old values remained.
S1 E6 · Thu, October 17, 2019
New Zealand Wars (Part 2)
As British troops leave, settler militia enter the fray. Some Māori chose to fight alongside the Crown while others join new religious movements, which seem to promise a way out of the conflict.
S1 E5 · Tue, October 15, 2019
New Zealand Wars (Part 1)
Hunger for land and the rise of Kingitanga prompted Governor George Grey to invade Waikato in 1863. Fighting spread over years and into the Bay of Plenty, devastating Maori. But it was not as one-sided as the British had expected.
S1 E4 · Sun, October 13, 2019
Te Tiriti o Waitangi
In Europe, factions debated the future of Aotearoa, while Māori had their own ideas how to handle the growing number of Pākehā here. In the end, Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, but the early promise leads ultimately to war.
S1 E3 · Thu, October 10, 2019
Early Encounters
Abel Tasman and James Cook's first contacts with Māori were complex and sometimes violent. Europeans brought new technologies, food and ideas, such as muskets, potatoes and Christianity. In some cases this worked out well for Tangata Whenua - but in other cases it was devastating.
S1 E2 · Tue, October 08, 2019
Tangata Whenua
Around 850 years ago Polynesian explorers found an empty land and the story of people in Aotearoa began. A new culture emerged; tangata whenua had arrived and started to thrive.
S1 E1 · Sun, October 06, 2019
Prehistoric New Zealand
Before people there was the land. We start the story of New Zealand 100 million years ago as tectonic forces tear apart Gondwana and Zealandia/Te Riu-a-Maiu is formed.
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