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The Aotearoa History Show

19m

Deep dive into a rigorous romp through the history of New Zealand, from its volcanic beginnings, through settlement, wars, and social change, to the late 20th century.

Made with the support of NZ On Air & the Ministry of Education

14 episodes

Rabbits and 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.
Season 2/Episode 1
19m

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.
Season 2/Episode 2
24m

Teenagers

The 1950s saw an explosion of youth culture in Aotearoa. Stories about teens tearing up the streets on motorbikes, canoodling in the cinemas,. and hanging around in milk bars scandalised many Kiwi adults. Was it true, and what's a milkbar anyway?
Season 2/Episode 3
25m

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.
Season 2/Episode 4
24m

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.
Season 2/Episode 5
25m

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.
Season 2/Episode 6
26m

Moriori

Moriori are the original people of Rēkohu (aka Chatham Island or Wharekauri), and they have a tragic and inspiring story. Unfortunately, that story's often been twisted into, well, utter rubbish.
Season 2/Episode 7
28m

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.
Season 2/Episode 8
26m

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.
Season 2/Episode 9
27m

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.
Season 2/Episode 10
21m

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.
Season 2/Episode 11
24m

Women's Suffrage

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.
Season 2/Episode 12
27m

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.
Season 2/Episode 13
28m

New Zealand's Pacific Empire

New Zealand has had some big ambitions in the Pacific and mixed relations with our neighbours.
Season 2/Episode 14
29m

Trailers & bonus video

Season 2 Trailer

Deep dive into a rigorous romp through the history of New Zealand, from its volcanic beginnings, through settlement, wars, and social change, to the late 20th century.
Season 2/
1m

Awards

2023 NZ Radio Awards

Best Factual

2023 NZ Podcast Awards

Best History - Bronze

2023 NZ Radio Awards

Finalist - Best Documentary

Season 1 - Funded by

NZ On Air Digital Innovation Fund

Season 2 - Funded by

Ministry of Education

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Video section home

A half light purple and half yellow background with host, Josh Thomson, in the centre. Behind him are black and white images of six historical figures from various time periods. They have been superimposed so that they appear in a staggered star burst sort of pattern. Yellow text reads, "My Favourite Dead Person".
A person on a BMX bike jumping over the camera, silhouetted against a cloudy sky. Text reads, "No Limits".
One young woman sits on another who is in a wheelchair in a zany candid moment. Text reads "This is Wheel Life with Soph and Indy"
A bagpipe band stand in a field ready to perform. The text reads: "12,000 Miles from NZ to the Green."
A coastal scene of a land mass with cliffs leading down to a beach and the ocean. Text reads, "My Cyclone Gabrielle, Four Filmmakers Four Views".
A man wearing sunglasses and a tartan hat is looking out to the left. Text reads, "Our Other Islands".
A white pick-up truck drives up a winding country road, surrounded by dry New Zealand farmland. The text reads "The Turning Point"
A portrait of a child looking into the camera. On their head is a collection of blue and green strips of ribbon that intertwine with their long braided hair. They are wearing a blue shirt, a jacket and a bow tie. Text reads, "Loading Docs". Beside the text is a simple graphic circle meant to look like a roll of film.
6 people are seated around a long table, four of them are wearing hi-vis tops. On the table there are little traffic cones and signs. There are two flags hanging on the wall behind them, the flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand and the Maori flag. Orange text reads, "Hi-Vis".
An adult person is holding a young child in their arms and hugging them. Text reads, "Blind Bitter Happiness".
A birds'-eye view of some military items sitting scattered on a desk, including a map, a hat, playing cards, and a couple of coins. The text in the middle reads "Back to Timor."
Troy Kingi wearing a traditional red poncho sits in the rocky Californian desert beneath a light blue sky. The text reads "Troy Kingi's Desert Hīkoi"
Black and white faces of Helen Clark, Dame Jenny Shipley, Jim Bolger Geoffrey Palmer and Mike Moore, with the words 'The 9th Floor' underneath them. The background of the image is black.
Three ovals with images from the short films inside. One oval has two young children, another has a woman holding melting ice creams, the third is a man looking out of a window. Text reads, "Day One Shorts".
A background image made up of red orange and blue shapes. Text reads, "Shine One Katherine Mansfield" in the 'O' is a black and white photograph of Katherine Mansfield's face.
Piripi is wearing a shirt and a cap and looks into the camera smiling. He is leaning against the side of a vehicle. Text reads, "Oe, The Adventures of of Piripi Kaiwaru AKA Phillip! Narrated by his Mother" There is a small illustration of a truck under the text, as well as illustrations of deer horns and a kangaroo.
A large group of people protesting, they're all holding signs. Text reads, "Hīkoi, Speaking Our Truth".
An animated graphic of green trees and leaves in a forest, along with a red flower. The text in front reads "What Will I Be Today?"
Guyon Espiner on a black background, looking at camera with logo behind him
A group of people performing a haka outside amongst the trees. The person at the front is in focus and doing a pukana. Text reads, "NZ Wars: The Stories of Ruapekapeka".
Alice Snedden looking into the camera and holding a megaphone up to her mouth in her left hand. In her right hand she holds up a stack of paper, on the first page is a simple drawing of the beehive with a text bubble that says, "No voting for you!!!". Text reads, "Alice Snedden's Bad News". Both the text and Alice Snedden are on a bright blue background.
Foggy scene with silhouettes of a part of a person. Text reads, "Stolen Lands: Betrayal of a Chief".
Illustration of two women looking defiantly at the viewer. The background is yellow with illustrated yellow simple flowers. The text reads, "Conversations with my Immigrant Parents".
Black text on a beige background, text reads "Fight for the Wild". Behind the text are three illustrations, one is of New Zealand the other is a disembodied head of a Tūī and the third is a fantail.