Introducing Mrs Cook: in search of history’s ‘other half’

Tuia 250 commemorations have pressed the mute button on sexual intimacy as part of the colonial encounter. The focus is on first encounters of a public and asexual kind, writes Katie Pickles. Who knew Captain Cook had a wife? The tales told agree that after a brief intense and romantic courtship twenty-one year old Elizabeth … Read more

The Bulletin: The activism that overturned a racist refugee policy

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How a racist policy ended up being overturned, new report paints grim picture of ‘locked-in’ youth facilities, and Porirua mayor under further spending pressure. This happened on Friday, but it was a long time coming so is worth covering properly. The government has announced that an … Read more

Making sense of Tuia 250 through Barry Barclay’s prescient work

The great filmmaker Barry Barclay (Ngati, The Kaipara Affair) also wrote books on Māori screen arts and philosophy. Miriama Aoake delved back into Mana Tūturu: Māori Treasures and Intellectual Property Rights, in which he reimagines Captain Cook’s landing in Aotearoa if cameras were present.  Two hundred and fifty years ago, a white man from England … Read more

Move over, James Cook: Māori and Pacific voices on Tuia 250

The first encounter between Māori and Captain Cook and his crew ended in the murder and brutalising of nine Tūranaga-nui-a-kiwa ancestors. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s intention to include Māori history and voyaging traditions in the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of that tragedy has prompted a mixed reception. This feature is made possible … Read more

The right to conquer and claim: Captain Cook and the Doctrine Of Discovery

On the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook arriving in Aotearoa, Tina Ngata looks at the whakapapa of colonisation in Aotearoa – the 15th and 16th century laws issued by the Catholic church that gave British and European monarchies permission to oppress and enslave indigenous people. This year’s TUIA250 Cook commemorations are New Zealand’s response … Read more

Comedian Jim Gaffigan peddles Moriori myth in US television special

The myth that Māori wiped out the Moriori people is the punchline of a new Jim Gaffigan joke.  Update 13/9: Jim Gaffigan has apologised on Twitter, saying he was “simply repeating what he was told”. On the day that the government announced New Zealand history will become compulsory in schools, one of the most pervasive … Read more