Articles in ‘History’

The anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February is an appropriate time to reflect on the Treaty, and what it means for New Zealand today. The signing of the Treaty marked the beginning of the formation of the modern nation of New Zealand. Today New Zealand is a multi-ethnic liberal democracy where discrimination based on ethnicity, race or national origin is illegal. Like the Bill of Rights, the Treaty places ‘nga tangata…

Scientists have, for the first time, unearthed incredibly well-preserved stomach contents from within a fossilized skeleton of a young tyrannosaur, which has led to a curious discovery about the growing beast’s paleo palate. The preserved Gorgosaurus libratus specimen was found in Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada’s historic region that has so far unearthed the fossils of 58 different species. But it wasn’t until much later, after Royal Tyrrell…

December 13, 2023 While staff at Te Papa museum in Wellington ponder what to do with the treaty display that was defaced by protesters on Monday, I suggest that the Busby February 4 document, which is also known as the Littlewood treaty, is the perfect fit. · The protestors want a direct translation of the Maori text added to the display so that visitors could understand clearly what the Te Tiriti actually says. After all, Te Tiriti was the…

With the New Year having been brought in by any number of ways, its highly probably that you will have sung a familiar favourite at least once. That song is Auld Lang Syne and is a song written by Robert Burns in the 1780s, and today has become an anthem sung the world over at New Year. In 1788 Robert Burns sent the poem ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to the Scots Musical Museum, indicating that it was an ancient song but that he’d been the first to record…

The Te Ora report stated that the number of hospital admissions that could have been prevented by access to timely and competent general practice care (Ambulatory Sensitive Hospitalisation – the ASH figure) were 2171/100,000 for the non–Maori population, and 3686/100,000 for the Maori population between the years of 2007 and 2018. Taking the population at 5,000,000 with Maori being 16.5%, and non-Maori 83.5%, then the number of possible…

So, it becomes very clear what had happened with the various documents: (a) Reverend Maunsell had not been able to use his official document, sent to him from Government House in the Bay of Islands and signed by acting Lieutenant Governor, Willoughby Shortland, as it had arrived 3 days too late. He had used, instead, materials on hand to conduct his meeting on the 11th before 1500 Maori, conveniently gathered in for their hui business meeting.…

His words live on. This month we are observing the words of a man whose footprints across the pages of history are indelibly tattooed into the global psyche in such a manner as never before seen in modern history. · That the world is still fascinated by this man’s life and compellingly by his death lies not so much within the allegory of the mythic hero being cut down in his prime on his quest for the Holy Grail but more in the words that he…

Every year we celebrate the attempt by a group of English dissidents to blow up the English parliament over 400 years ago. · Every November the letting off of fireworks results in a flood of claims to ACC, sends horses through fences and terrorises cats and dogs, keeps fire brigades busy battling blazes and has insurance companies running for cover. Why do we do it? Well, fireworks are fun, as the Chinese discovered centuries ago. Many of us…

THIS IS THE ONLY TREATY DOCUMENT EVER ISSUED BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR USE IN THE TREATY PRESENTATION AND SIGNING ASSEMBLIES AT MANUKAU, PORT WAIKATO AND KAWHIA. NOTE: IT IS IN THE MAORI LANGUAGE! The foregoing is the ONLY official treaty document (handwritten by James Stuart Freeman in Maori) ever issued by the colonial government for use in the signing ceremonies at Manukau, Waikato Heads and Kawhia. These regions and districts, nominated for…

From the horses that powered commerce to the occasional whale spotted in the Thames, animals were as much a part of as the English capital as its people. Claire Martin explores the menagerie of creatures that kept medieval Londoners moving, fed and entertained… With a population that peaked at approximately 80,000 in 1300, and plateaued in the wake of the Black Death at around 40,000, London was never short of human residents. The merchants,…