As the first Māori woman to hold one of our government’s most pre-eminent posts, the appointment of Nanaia Mahuta to Minister of Foreign Affairs evoked mixed reactions. However, it’s a role she’s prepared for longer than you think, writes Carrie Stoddart-Smith for RNZ. For many, her appointment signalled the advancement of the progressive and inclusive … Read more
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te Atua Urupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on the Waikato Regional Theatre … Read more
Auckland will soon be receiving an additional 75 million litres of water per day from the Waikato River as an interim measure to help ease the worst water shortage in 25 years. A Ngāti Whātua historian says this sharing of resources between Tāmaki Makaurau and Waikato goes back a very long way. For Ngāti Whātua … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Agreement reached in principle for Auckland to take Waikato water, beneficiary debt to MSD balloons, and Opportunities Party lose candidate in key seat. An agreement has been reached in principle for Auckland to take water from the Waikato River. As Radio NZ’s Jordan Bond reports, it is an … Read more
A centuries-old māra kai site at risk from a housing development in Ngāruawāhia is a vital part of the town’s identity, protesters say, and the fight to save it has united generations. The peaceful protest at Ngāruawāhia starts at 10am each day with a karakia. Each day ends with one too. It’s clear that tikanga … Read more
Review copies of Tina Shaw’s pandemic novel Ephemera landed in letterboxes just as the country went into lockdown. Here, she reflects on this strange new reality. These new times have the uncanny feeling of fiction – of science fiction, or post-apocalyptic fiction. In other words, the unreal has become real. I keep thinking of Station … Read more
Summer reissue: The standoff at Ihumātao has deep roots in the legacy of colonialism and land confiscation. Historian Vincent O’Malley writes about how it was taken by the Crown, and why that matters today. First published 27 July, 2019. The New Zealand Wars may have ended nearly 150 years ago. But their consequences continue to … Read more
A bus stop, a soap dish, beer crates and a pile of rubbish: in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the National Contemporary Art award, we look at the media beat-ups, lessons learnt and collateral damage from the competition’s first two decades. Congratulations! Ayesha Green is the winner of the 2019 National Contemporary Art Award … Read more
The current standoff at Ihumātao has deep roots in the legacy of colonialism and land confiscation. Historian Vincent O’Malley writes about how it was taken by the Crown, and why that matters today. The New Zealand Wars may have ended nearly 150 years ago. But their consequences continue to be felt today. Nowhere is that … Read more
Last week some of the world’s brightest indigenous minds converged in Waikato for NAISA 2019. Te Nia Matthews reported from the frontline of the revolution. During the lunch break on the second day of NAISA I sat in a theatre with about 70 other people at a screening of Hepi Mita’s documentary Merata: How Mum … Read more
Thanks to a rapidly increasing population and some savvy young returnees, these days the Tron oozes quiet self-confidence. Follow the motorway south from New Zealand’s biggest city, past the fertile vegetable-growing soils of Pukekohe, the Hampton Downs race track and the historic battle site at Rangiriri, along the mighty Waikato River (where at every bend … Read more
All week this week we feature tangata whenua writings to mark Waitangi Day. Today: Vincent O’Malley reviews a new history of the battle of Gate Pā. Head up Cameron Road, one of Tauranga’s main arterial routes, a few kilometres out of the city centre and you drive over one of New Zealand’s most important historical sites. … Read more
Since 1981, a pioneering Dutch immigrant has been developing a distinctive New Zealand style of cheese, and now the world is starting to sit up and take notice. But for Albert Alferink, he’s just doing what he’s good at: working. Waikato: home of the Tron, the mighty river, Hobbiton, Waikato Draught and Jacinda Ardern. The … Read more
When Gordonton’s Aaron Hopa died in a tragic diving accident off Whangamatā on December 8, 1998, he left a legacy shaped by rugby, whānau, and aroha. Ben Stanley tells the story of the greatest All Black you never knew. This story was made possible by The Spinoff’s Longform Fund for major journalism projects, and in … Read more
Horatio Robley witnessed the most famous battle of the New Zealand Wars, he fathered a child with the daughter of a sworn enemy, his sketching helped end a war and his book helped save the art of Māori tattooing. But mostly he’s famous for his grotesque collection of nearly 40 human heads, writes William Ray for RNZ. If … Read more
No other road in New Zealand is as rich in history, suffering, war, immigration, hope and hard, hard work as the Great South Road that joins Auckland to the Waikato. Scott Hamilton walked its length and felt its pulse. For the last five years I’ve travelled the Great South Road. My journeys have been spasmodic, erratic, circuitous. They began when … Read more
Sir William Gallagher has been called a massive, massive racist… but what if all the people saying that are wrong? As the country enjoyed the clement spring weather this past weekend, word broke that manufacturing magnate Sir William Gallagher had addressed a group of Hamilton business people in a somewhat controversial manner. As well as … Read more
All the political parties say regional development is A Good Thing. But which of them has much of an idea how to make it happen? Simon Wilson suggests they take a good look at a brand new proposal for Regional Rapid Rail. Morrinsville has never known so much attention. Between a semi-automatic weapon callout and … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Simon Wilson orbits a State Highway One showpiece. Ah, the Waikato, where NZTA sends its maddest roading engineers to do their worst. Which they certainly do: absurdly over-engineered exchanges at Te Kauwhata and Rangiriri, giant new motorways leading in and … Read more