NZHistory, New Zealand history online - ncea3

Classroom ideas - the Treaty in brief

This page gives a broad outline of how teachers and students of social studies and history can use material on the Treaty of Waitangi. There are many resources available to help teachers prepare for themes about the Treaty. The material given here is authoritative and accessible. It is written and organised to help users quickly find the information that is most relevant to their needs.

This is not an exhaustive list of teaching activities but some ideas to help busy teachers get started.

We welcome feedback. Please use the comments box at the bottom of this page.

The Treaty of Waitangi

Ever since its signing in 1840, the Treaty of Waitangi has continued to make an indelible mark on our national story. Different understandings of the Treaty have long been the subject of debate. During the 1940 Centennial, Sir Apirana Ngata stated 'I do not know of any year the Maori people have approached with so much misgiving as this Centennial Year ... In retrospect what does the Maori see? Lands gone, the power of chiefs humbled in the dust, Maori culture scattered and broken.' From the 1970s, protests about the Treaty increased as many Maori called for the terms of the Treaty to be honoured. An understanding of the Treaty, and its associated themes, is essential to gain a greater understanding of New Zealand history and society.

This material is valuable to teachers and students studying at various levels. It includes:

Additional topics on Pre-1840 contact are also recommended.

Social studies

The Treaty of Waitangi is an integral part of the social studies programme in many schools. The challenge is to avoid Treaty fatigue, which can result from the repetition of the same information year after year. I would often have Year 9 or 10 students tell me that they had ‘done’ the Treaty of Waitangi. I often asked what ‘doing the Treaty’ meant. Beyond a very basic narrative of events in February 1840, the answer was not a lot.

Teaching the Treaty in isolation is meaningless. The historical context is important, but for many students, starting with what they already know or think may be more useful and may help avoid the repetition of basic facts. They might be aware of conversations around the dinner table or in the media about the Treaty; any questions they have could be a good place to start.

Think about the age and knowledge of your students and what they might be able to understand. For classes below Level 4, the Treaty might be best dealt with as part of a study of celebrations and ceremonies. From your diagnostic work you will know what your class can handle, but be aware of other curriculum levels and what your students might learn about the Treaty in the following years. This can also help reduce repetition.

With a new curriculum just around the corner, it is perhaps questionable how much time and attention you want to pay to the old achievement objectives. This is still the official curriculum, so you might want to continue with the status quo. The new draft curriculum mentions the Treaty of Waitangi specifically at Level 5. It talks about how ‘the Treaty of Waitangi is responded to differently by people in different times and places' and confirms that any study of the Treaty really needs to address the present as well as the past.

In 'Time, continuity and change' at Level 4, students look at the Treaty as an event that has shaped the lives of a group of people. Key to this is examining cause and effect and how and why people experience this event in different ways. At Level 5 this strand develops thinking further by looking at how an event from the past has influenced the relationships within and between groups of people and, more importantly, how it continues to influence them. This is where it is essential to ensure that our teaching ideas explore the present. Students need to see how the Treaty is important to them and how it continues to influence New Zealand society. If we keep it as a 19th-century study, we fail to convey the important fact that the Treaty of Waitangi is a living document.

Examining the Treaty settlement process can be really helpful as it starts with the present and works backwards. A case study approach on a settlement allows students to bring the big story down to a more manageable and relevant level.

Te Ara: the encyclopedia of New Zealand is also a very useful online resource where you can find histories for each iwi that include information about their contact with Europeans.

For more detail about specific activities on this topic go to social studies, Treaty of Waitangi activities in The Classroom.

NCEA Level 3 history

For students studying New Zealand in the 19th century, the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications are key parts of this broad survey. This material provides students with a context for:

Achievement standard 3.4: Signing the Treaty of Waitangi was a significant historical decision, and it was one of the key decisions for life in 19th-century New Zealand.
Achievement standard 3.3: Students can analyse and evaluate evidence in historical sources as the different versions of the Treaty have been subject to ongoing debate and analysis.
For those schools not studying 19th-century New Zealand, this material could be used in a research assignment for achievement standards 3.1 and 3.2.

For more detail of specific activities relating to this topic go to Treaty of Waitangi activities NCEA Level 3 history.

NCEA Level 2 history

For students studying New Zealand history at NCEA Level 2, the Treaty of Waitangi is central to a number of topics and associated achievement standards, including:

Innovation and interference: Maori economic activity 1816
Maori participation in international theatres of war in the 20th century
From colony to nation: New Zealand government 1840-1947
The search for political unity: Maori socio-political structures 1900-90
Maori leadership of the 19th century
The growth of New Zealand identity 1890-1980
Tino rangatiratanga/sovereignty: New Zealand and the Maori nation 1984-99. This material could also be used in a research assignment for achievement standards 2.1 and 2.2.

Classroom ideas - Waitangi Day

This is not an exhaustive list of teaching activities but some ideas to help busy teachers get started.

We welcome feedback. Please use the comments box at the bottom of this page.

The Treaty of Waitangi

This material is valuable to teachers and students studying at various levels. It includes:

Additional topics on Pre-1840 contact are also recommended.

Social studies

Te Ara: the encyclopedia of New Zealand is also a very useful online resource where you can find histories for each iwi that include information about their contact with Europeans.

For more detail about specific activities on this topic go to social studies, Treaty of Waitangi activities in The Classroom.

NCEA Level 3 history

For students studying New Zealand in the 19th century, the Treaty of Waitangi and its implications are key parts of this broad survey. This material provides students with a context for:

Achievement standard 3.4: Signing the Treaty of Waitangi was a significant historical decision, and it was one of the key decisions for life in 19th-century New Zealand.
Achievement standard 3.3: Students can analyse and evaluate evidence in historical sources as the different versions of the Treaty have been subject to ongoing debate and analysis.
For those schools not studying 19th-century New Zealand, this material could be used in a research assignment for achievement standards 3.1 and 3.2.

For more detail of specific activities relating to this topic go to Treaty of Waitangi activities NCEA Level 3 history.

NCEA Level 2 history

For students studying New Zealand history at NCEA Level 2, the Treaty of Waitangi is central to a number of topics and associated achievement standards, including:

Innovation and interference: Maori economic activity 1816
Maori participation in international theatres of war in the 20th century
From colony to nation: New Zealand government 1840-1947
The search for political unity: Maori socio-political structures 1900-90
Maori leadership of the 19th century
The growth of New Zealand identity 1890-1980
Tino rangatiratanga/sovereignty: New Zealand and the Maori nation 1984-99. This material could also be used in a research assignment for achievement standards 2.1 and 2.2.

Classroom activities - the death penalty

Level 5 social studies

Some suggested activities

In examining what is a highly controversial and potentially emotional topic, it is important to establish some boundaries and ground rules for discussion so that the views of students are respected. The topic may present some students with an opportunity to try and shock others, so you may need to remind students of the need to approach the work in a sensible manner.

Divide the class into groups of four, and ask each group to draw up a list of three arguments for and three arguments against the use of the death penalty for murder.
As a whole class, compile a list of the arguments that each group came up with. As a wider discussion you might want to consider things like the most common arguments.
Ask your students why they believe some people support the reintroduction of the death penalty as a punishment.
You could now use this discussion to hold your own class poll on the matter. You may wish to conduct the poll in a way where responses are anonymous. Ask the same question that was asked by TV One: Do you support the reintroduction of the death penalty (capital punishment) in New Zealand? It could be interesting not to reveal the results of the TV poll until after you have published the class results to ensure your students are not unduly influenced. You could display your class results as a graph.
Individual responses: students can write their own views on the matter either as a piece of personal writing, as a letter to the editor or as a letter to a politician. You may wish to give students an opportunity to read some of their responses to the class.
Static images: opposition to the death penalty has taken many forms and has involved personal protest and statements as well as opposition on an organised scale. Get your class to design posters that might be used by an organisation that opposes the death penalty and its possible reintroduction.

NCEA Level 3

The execution of Maketu can support the broad survey of 19th-century New Zealand at NCEA Level 3. It provides an opportunity to break the bigger themes, such as the establishment of British authority and maintenance of Maori sovereignty, into manageable bites for students. In particular it could:

support an examination of a significant historical situation in the context of change (practice essay)
offer a case study examining the issue of authority in the years immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

A. Establishing British authority

As a concerned settler living in the Bay of Islands in March 1842, write a letter to the local newspaper expressing your satisfaction with the outcome of Maketu's trial. In particular your letter should highlight what you believe is an acceptance of British authority on the part of local Maori.
You are Henry Williams. Having read a letter to the local paper expressing satisfaction that Maori have at last accepted British authority in the Bay of Islands, write a reply in which you outline your belief that Maketu's trial and execution can not be seen as a blanket acceptance of British authority.
Having considered both positions in the case of Maketu, do you believe the final outcome reflected a case of Maori behaving in their interests, or was it a case of acceptance of British law and order?

B. Mana as a defence

Maketu claimed that Thomas Bull and Mrs Roberton had offended his mana, and at his trial he pleaded not guilty. As Maketu's Crown-appointed lawyer, C.B. Brewer, prepare an opening statement to read to the trial for your client where you argue that Maketu was responding to a situation where his cultural values demanded that his mana be defended.

C. Practice essay

Using the story of Maketu, material provided by your teacher and anything that you have been able to find for yourself, write the following practice essay for achievement standard 3.5: examine a significant historical situation in the context of change, in an essay.

Essay question

Describe developments that occurred in the years immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840–43) regarding the establishment of British authority in New Zealand. Evaluate the ways in which these developments influenced the lives of people living in New Zealand at this time.

Remember structure is important

A good essay must have good paragraphs.
Each key or new idea in your essay must be a new paragraph.
Think of a paragraph as having a set layout:
- a sentence that outlines what the paragraph is about
- sentences that support the topic of the paragraph
- a sentence to conclude the paragraph.
Use the structure outlined below to help you write your answer.

Introduction – write an opening paragraph that:

identifies the situation you are writing about
introduces your argument about the significance of this situation.

Body – write structured and sequenced paragraphs that:

describe the historical context of your situation and apply terms, concepts and/or ideas related to this situation
examine changes (or continuity), trends and patterns over time related to this situation
evaluate ways in which this situation influenced people in the historical context.

Conclusion – write a concluding paragraph that sums up your main ideas and argument and links them back to the focus of the essay.

You should aim to write about 600–800 words.

For more detail on this achievement standard and criteria open this Word document from the NZQA site.

Classroom ideas - frontier of chaos?

This page broadly outlines how the feature a Frontier of chaos? could be used by teachers and learners in social studies and history. It is part of a section on pre-1840 contact and when used in conjunction with other features from this category will provide users with a concise summary of the pre-1840 period. This category examines the European exploration of New Zealand, contact between Maori and those who sought to profit from involvement with New Zealand, and the humanitarian interest taken by the Christian missionaries. All of this set the context for the British decision to formally enter into a treaty with Maori in 1840.

A frontier of chaos?

Several high-profile incidents in the period before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 gave the impression of poor relations between Maori and Pakeha. The British Resident from 1833, James Busby, painted a picture of 'extreme frontier chaos'. The impact on Maori of contact with Pakeha before 1840 was a significant issue in the 19th century.

Taming this 'frontier of chaos' became a concern of groups such as the Christian missionaries, after 1814, and of men such as James Busby. More is known of their views and efforts because they took the time to record their experiences, while many other Europeans who were in daily contact with Maori did not. These other Europeans, sometimes known as intermediaries were, however, an important feature of contact in the period before the Treaty.

This feature explores some of the events and people from the early contact period, highlighting some of the characteristics and issues that arose from contact between Maori and Pakeha.

This feature is of great value to teachers and students studying at a variety of levels.

Social studies

'Culture and heritage' and 'Time, continuity and change' are two strands that are supported by this feature. The feature helps set the context for any study of the Treaty of Waitangi or early contact in New Zealand as it examines the impact of the spread of new ideas, the effects of cultural interaction and the impact of contact on people's lives. Were the events of 1840 a direct result of this period of 'frontier chaos', or was this a period where violence and disorder were the exception not the rule?

NCEA Level 3 history

The reference to Kororareka as the 'hell-hole of the Pacific' contributed to a perception that New Zealand was a wild, lawless frontier society where Maori were at great risk from the excesses of European contact. The missionaries maintained the pressure for formal British intervention, which began with the arrival of James Busby as the Official British Resident in 1833. The reaction to this perceived lack of order culminated in the annexation of New Zealand by Britain in 1840, a key aspect of the broad survey New Zealand in the 19th century.

This feature can provide students with a context in which to prepare for the following achievement standards:

3.4: Examine a significant decision made by people in history, in an essay.
3.5: Examine a significant historical situation in the context of change, in an essay.
3.3: There are numerous excellent historical sources relating to missionaries and their activities that can be used as practice for final assessment.

For more detail of specific activities relating to this period go to Pre-1840 contact activities – NCEA Level 3 history.

Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1840-70 - NCEA 3 History

In 1840 the Maori population of 70,000 comfortably outnumbered the 2000 or so permanent European settlers. The Treaty of Waitangi paved the way for greater European settlement in New Zealand and by 1858 the settler population outnumbered Maori. In 1870 the non-Māori population passed 250,000. With this growth came greater demands for Maori land and settler control of politics.

The Treaty of Waitangi

The Treaty of Waitangi is regarded as New Zealand's founding document. It has also been a source of much debate and controversy in New Zealand society. It is nevertheless central to this broad survey. Many of the significant decisions made by people at the time were based on the competing perspectives and understandings of the Treaty. It was also one of the most significant historical situations of the period.

Putting the debate over the English and Maori versions of the Treaty to one side, the British believed that Article 1 gave them sovereignty over New Zealand. In Article 2 they guaranteed Maori control over their possessions (so long as that was their desire) and in Article 3 Maori were given the rights and protection due all British subjects. In effect Queen Victoria became their ‘mother and protector.'

Initially the Treaty of Waitangi changed little in terms of authority in New Zealand. The Crown took no action against Ngati Toa when 22 New Zealand Company settlers were killed at Wairau in 1843. Governor FitzRoy concluded that the settlers were at fault for what happened. The settler population was outraged. But the reality was that even had he wanted to punish Ngati Toa, FitzRoy simply lacked the resources to do so.

From Treaty to war

The Northern War that followed Hone Heke's fourth and final assault on the British flagstaff at Kororareka in March 1845 provoked a different reaction from the British. Heke was the first Maori to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. He attacked the symbol of British sovereignty because he believed that since the Treaty was signed Maori had lost their status and their country to the British. His beef was with the Crown and he did not want to harm settlers or trade prospects. FitzRoy referred to the flagstaff as ‘a mere stick' but as it was ‘connected with the British flag it [was] of very great importance'.

British troops and their Maori allies fought against Heke and his principal ally Kawiti. Following defeats at Puketutu and Ohaeawai, FitzRoy was replaced by George Grey. Grey was to become one of the dominant political figures of New Zealand history. He secured more manpower and resources and claimed victory at Ruapekapeka in January 1846. He then made peace with Heke and Kawiti.

Later that same year a New Zealand Constitution Act proposed a form of representative government for New Zealand's 13,000 colonists. Grey persuaded his political superiors to suspend its introduction. He argued that the settler population could not be trusted to pass laws that would protect the interests of the Maori majority and that the risk of war was too great. Settlers were angered by his actions, labelling him an autocrat. Constitutional Associations were formed which bombarded the Colonial Office with ‘memorials and petitions'.

A new constitution was finally introduced in 1852, leading to elections the following year and the meeting of New Zealand's first Parliament in 1854. Men who owned or rented individual property could vote but as Maori possessed their land communally almost all were excluded. Four Maori parliamentary seats were created in 1867 but they were very much in the minority in a parliament with 76 members. Responsibility for Maori affairs remained officially with the governor until 1865 when it was handed over to the New Zealand government.

Access to land remained the priority for the settler population, as did its retention for Maori. In 1846 the Colonial Office instructed that all Maori land ownership had to be registered and any lands deemed to be unused or surplus would become Crown land. Only the Crown could buy land from Maori and it was not obliged to pay the market rate. It also had the final say in any Maori complaints regarding deals.

The Kingitanga

The settler population eclipsed that of Maori for the first time in 1858. The demands for land intensified. That same year Te Wherowhero of Waikato (who had not signed the Treaty of Waitangi) became the first Maori King. The Kingitanga or King movement was formed to protect land from further sales and make laws for Maori to follow. Many Maori supported this attempt to unite their tribes but some chiefs refused to place their mana under that of someone else.

The Kingitanga did not consider itself as being in opposition to the Queen but rather as complementary. The colonial government disagreed. It viewed the Kingitanga as an anti-land-selling league and the King as a direct challenge to the Crown. In 1860 Governor Thomas Gore Browne attempted to isolate the Kingitanga and its supporters at the Kohimarama Conference. The 200 or so Maori present reaffirmed the Treaty of Waitangi and pledged not to act in any way that threatened the Queen's sovereignty.

The New Zealand Wars and land loss

The Kohimarama meeting took place against the backdrop of war. Fighting broke out at Waitara near New Plymouth. One faction of Te Ati Awa opposed an offer by another group to sell land to the Crown. The Governor declared martial law and moved troops in. Those fighting the Crown in Taranaki received assistance form the Kingitanga. A ceasefire ended the fighting in Taranaki in 1861 but warfare spread to other parts of the North Island between 1863 and the early 1870s. The Waikato War (1863-4) targeted the Kingitanga, which had been given an ultimatum to ‘swear allegiance to the Queen ... or face the consequences.' By 1864 British troops (with some Maori supporters) had occupied most of the Waikato. War continued sporadically for another decade. Hundreds of lives were lost during these campaigns and those that followed involving Te Kooti and Titokowaru. The second Maori King Tawhiao made a formal act of peace in 1882.

From 1865 the Native Land Court required that any given block of Maori land name no more than 10 owners. All other tribal members who may have been owners were effectively dispossessed. The newly designated owners held their lands individually, not communally as part of (or as trustees for) a tribal group. Essentially they could manage this land as they saw fit.

The government also passed laws to allow for the confiscation of land from Maori deemed to have been in rebellion against the Crown during the wars. Military settlers were placed on confiscated lands to act as a buffer between Maori and European communities. Even Maori regarded as ‘loyal' found themselves caught up in the process of confiscation. Approximately 500,000 hectares of land in Taranaki, Waikato, Tauranga, Eastern Bay of Plenty and Mohaka-Waikare was confiscated.

Though battered and bruised, the Kingitanga survived. A number of new Maori political and religious movements had also emerged. But Maori would face further challenges as the pace of the economic transformation of New Zealand increased in the 1870s.

Further information

New Zealand Wars
New Zealand Wars memorials (these include useful background history)
Treaty of Waitangi
The origins of the Maori King movement
The Maori King movement 1860-1894
Pai Marire

Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1870-1900 - NCEA 3 History

A significant demographic milestone was reached in 1886 - for the first time the majority of non-Maori people living here were New Zealand-born rather than immigrants. Most continued to see themselves as British and referred to Britain as ‘home'. But there were signs that they were also beginning to identify with this place. The term New Zealander now had a wider application. At the 1896 census the non-Maori population was just over 703,000. The Maori population was under 40,000. The transformation of New Zealand from a Maori to a non-Maori world was complete.

Gold and sheep

As New Zealand entered the final third of the 19th century the South Island dominated the economy, largely due to the impact of wool and gold. Canterbury lived literally on the ‘sheep's back' to became the country's wealthiest province. The discovery of gold in central Otago in 1861 helped Dunedin become New Zealand's largest town. Thousands of young men rushed to New Zealand hoping to make their fortune as they followed the gold from Otago to the West Coast and later to Thames in the North Island. Few struck it rich on the goldfields but the collective value of the gold that was discovered kick-started the economy.

A young, mobile and male-dominated population was typical of many frontier societies. Provincial and central governments believed that the country's future growth and progress required the order and stability offered by family life. Various schemes were developed to attract women migrants and families to New Zealand in a bid to help society mature.

The Vogel era

As the 1860s drew to a close gold production fell and wool prices slipped. One solution to the boom-bust nature of New Zealand's economy was to develop the national infrastructure. The Colonial Treasurer, Julius Vogel, believed that New Zealand could only grow if it was able to attract people and capital. In 1870 he embarked upon a massive loans-funded programme of public works which invested heavily in railways and roads. Government assisted immigration schemes also saw the settler population double during the 1870s to around 500,000.

Improved internal communications increased the sense that New Zealand was a single nation rather than a collection of separate settlements. The provincial governments that had been established in the 1850s were abolished in 1876 and national politics began to assume greater importance. Complementing this increasingly singular political vision was the conviction that New Zealand's future prosperity lay in the conversion of bush to farmland. There was an acceptance that the government had a responsibility in helping settlers realise their dreams and access to land became an important part of the political agenda. This was more than a matter of self-sufficiency. Owning land was an obvious sign of success.

The 'Hungry Eighties'

The confidence of the Vogel era was undermined by the economic depression that began in 1879. While the impact and pace of this depression was uneven across the country some argued that it had been made worse by the borrowing of the 1870s. Despite a brief revival in wheat, most farm products suffered from low prices. The market for land dried up. Unemployment grew in urban areas. Woman and children were exploited and evidence emerged of sweated labour and poor working conditions in a number of industries. People voted with their feet by leaving for places like Australia.

Hopes for a brighter future were raised with the first successful shipment of frozen meat to England in 1882. New Zealand was now able to position itself as ‘Britain's farmyard' by exporting meat, butter and cheese. With confidence restored in an economy based on agriculture, the transformation of the landscape from forest to farmland intensified.

The ‘Hungry Eighties' and concern over problems associated with the Old World saw the emergence of movements and people seeking social reform. There was no state welfare and questions were asked about what support could be offered to New Zealand's poor. These concerns also reflected the development of a more settled urban society. As a result questions were asked about the place of the family and women in New Zealand society.

A recurring theme in this debate was the place of alcohol in New Zealand society. Alcohol, it was argued, caused men to forget their responsibilities to their families. The temperance and prohibition movement gathered momentum here as calls were made to address the impact of alcohol on the lives of New Zealand families. From this movement grew the campaign for women's suffrage. This keenly fought and at times bitter debate culminated with New Zealand women becoming the first in the world to gain the right to vote in national elections in 1893.

'God's own country'

By 1890 an export-led economic recovery was taking hold. The North Island was beginning to assert itself economically, especially the cities of Auckland and Wellington. The general election that year brought New Zealand's first political party, the Liberals, to power. The Liberal era is synonymous with Richard John Seddon, Premier from 1893 until his death in 1906. The Liberals promoted themselves as the champion of the ‘ordinary New Zealander'. The large run-holders of the South Island in particular were taxed heavily in a bid to free up more land for settlement. The Liberals' vision for ‘God's own country' also saw more Maori land obtained for settlement. By the end of the century Maori held less than 15% of the land that had been in their possession in 1840.

New Zealand now gained a reputation as ‘the social laboratory of the world’. In addition to women's suffrage the Liberal government introduced a number of social welfare measures to protect New Zealand's most vulnerable. The 1898 Old-Age Pensions Act offered a small means-tested pension to destitute older people 'deemed to be of good character'. But Seddon's image of 'God's own' excluded ‘Chinese or other Asiatics’. He viewed the Chinese with considerable dislike, as did many in New Zealand's mining communities.

Maori had continued to resist the loss of land. From 1879 the Taranaki settlement of Parihaka became the centre of opposition to confiscation. The settlement's leaders Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kakahi encouraged their followers to uproot survey pegs and plough up roads and fences erected on land they considered to be theirs. There had been arrests and ongoing peaceful resistance before the government decided to act decisively in November 1881. An armed force ran amok in the undefended settlement. Te Whiti and Tohu were imprisoned and exiled to the South Island to serve their prison sentences.

Dominated by the values and the ambitions of the new settlers, New Zealand now resembled a nation in the modern sense of the word. It is the nature and consequences of these changes that are the basis of this broad survey of New Zealand in the 19th century.

Further information

Year 13 history seminar series

In 2010 and 2011 The Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Wellington Area History Teachers' Association organised a series of seminars aimed at Year 13 History NCEA 3 and Scholarship students. Each seminar was held at 4-5pm at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, 155 The Terrace, Radio New Zealand House, Wellington. All NCEA 3 history students and teachers were welcome. After each seminar was presented we added any related resources to this page.

2010

How to attack scholarship questions
Tuesday 7th September 2010
Gregor Fountain - Deputy Principal, Wellington College

Seminar PowerPoint slides (pdf)
Associated podcast (right click on links to save mp3s to your computer):
- Pt 1 - intro and scholarship requirements (3.5mb)
- Pt 2 - argument and historical relationships (1 mb)
- Pt 3 - evaluation of historical narratives (2.5 mb)
- Pt 4 - suggested approach to sitting the exam (2.8mb)
Scholarship History resources (NZQA). Scroll down to 'History resources' and you will find the 2009 exam materials file referred to in the presentation

No honour among thieves -The Maungatapu murders, 1866
Tuesday 14th September 2010
Steve Watters - Historian, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Governors and Premiers of New Zealand
Tuesday 21st September 2010
Gavin McLean - Senior Historian, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Podcast (right click on links to save mp3s to your computer):
- Pt 1 Introduction and constitutional background (2.5 mb)
- Pt 2 Governors and Governors-General (4.6 mb)
- Pt 3 Premiers and Prime Ministers (4.1 mb)
Premiers and Prime Ministers (NZHistory.net.nz)
The Governors (NZHistory.net.nz)

The paintings of the colonists
Tuesday 12th October 2010
Roger Doig - HOD Social Sciences, IB Co-ordinator, Scots College

History of New Zealand painting

Shame and scandal — women criminals in the late 19th Century
Tuesday 19th October 2010
Bronwyn Dalley - Chief Historian, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Podcast (right click on links to save mp3s to your computer):
- Pt 1 Introduction (7 mb)
- Pt 2 Wanganui Flossy and the Dark Lady (12 mb)
- Pt 3 The Flanagans of Christchurch (8.7 mb)
- Pt 4 How cases were told (8 mb)
- Pt 5 Questions and answers (1.7 mb)
Links
- 'The child murder case', Wanganui Chronicle, 1 May 1883
- 'The child murder case in Christchurch', Hawke's Bay Herald, 12 Jan, 1891 (PapersPast)
- 'The infanticide case', Star, 16 Jan, 1891 (PapersPast)
- Baby farmers
- Minnie Dean

Tasman, maps and myths: ways of looking at 19th Century NZ
Tuesday 26th October 2010
Sarah Dalton - Advisory Officer, PPTA

Notes from this seminar (pdf)

The peaceful conquest — the Vogel era
Tuesday 2nd November 2010
Neill Atkinson - Senior Historian, Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Podcast (right click on links to save mp3s to your computer):
- Pt 1 Introduction - the Vogel era (5.8)
- Pt 2 NZ in 1870 (7.8 mb)
- Pt 3 Why build railways? (6.5 mb)
- Pt 4 Implementing the Vogel plan (10 mb)
- Pt 5 Legacy of the Vogel era (7.3 mb)
Links

Drinking and voting: democratic rights or colonial ills?
Tuesday 9th November 2010
Charlotte MacDonald - Professor, Victoria University of Wellington

Links
- Temperance movement
- Women and the vote

An overview of NZ 1800-1900
Tuesday 16th November 2010
Steve Watters - Historian, Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Gregor Fountain - Deputy Principal, Wellington College

Podcasts (right click on links to save mp3s to your computer):
- Pt 1 19th Century colonisation and race relations (13mb)
- Pt 2 Māori population decline and land owenrship (8.6 mb)
- Pt 3 Notions of Māori sovereignty (7.6 mb)
- Pt 4 Pākehā migration (9 mb)
- Pt 5 Make up of 19th Century migrants (5 mb)
- Pt 6 Occupations of 19th Century migrants (5 mb)
- Pt 7 Land ownership (2.6 mb)
- Pt 8 Case studies and conclusion (5.3 mb)
Links

2011

Note that some of the seminars in this series are the same as in 2010.

Overview – NZ in the 19th century
Steve Watters (Historian, Manatu Taonga, Ministry for Culture and
Heritage)
Thursday, 11th August

The Church and the Crown: one and the same? Seeing the past
through a nineteenth century tribal lens
Monty Soutar (Project Manager 28th Maori Battalion website project,
Manatu Taonga, Ministry for Culture and Heritage)
Thursday, 18th August

The peaceful conquest - the Vogel era
Neill Atkinson (Chief Historian, Manatu Taonga, Ministry for Culture
and Heritage)
Thursday, 25th August

Don’t Mention the (Taranaki) War
Peter Adds (Victoria University of Wellington)
Thursday, 1st September

Pt 1 introduction (2.8mb)
Pt 2 the Taranaki history (8.7mb)
Pt 3 Wiremu Kingi (7.6mb)
Pt 4 confiscation (14.2mb)
Pt 5 sovereignty and transformation (5.4mb)
Pt 6 summary and questions (8.2mb)

Governors and Premiers of the 19th century
Gavin McLean (Senior Historian, Manatu Taonga, Ministry for Culture
and Heritage)
Thursday, 8th September

Gender in Nineteenth Century New Zealand
Charlotte MacDonald (Victoria University of Wellington)
Thursday, 15th September

Preparing for your history exams workshop – advice and strategies
Alice Wards (HOD social sciences, Wellington East Girls College)
Thursday, 22 September

Download PowerPoint for this workshop

NZ in the 19th century - NCEA 3 History

The broad survey of New Zealand in the 19th century provides a context within which to prepare for the three external achievement standards offered in NCEA Level 3 history namely:

Analyse and evaluate evidence in historical sources
Examine a significant decision made by people in history and
Examine a significant historical situation in the context of change

Three key themes are explored:

Maori-Pakeha relations

The relationship between Maori and Pakeha underpins the entire topic. This relationship involves complicated struggles surrounding land, law and sovereignty as New Zealand was transformed from a Maori world to a European one.

Economic and social change

The economic transformation of New Zealand was achieved via the acquisition of large quantities of Maori land. The political and economic aspirations of the settler population quickly overrode those of Maori.

Society and attitudes

The migration to New Zealand of tens of thousands of settlers in the 19th century had a significant impact on their lives and those of Maori. The physical and social landscape was transformed as towns and cities developed. Maori, settler Pakeha and new migrants responded to the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

Content coverage

This broad survey presents students with the challenge of studying a time period longer than any they have previously studied in NCEA history. One suggestion is to break the content down into three broad time periods. This approach makes the process of ‘compare and contrast' easier. Some suggested time periods are:

The period up to 1840, sometimes referred to as the 'race relations apprenticeship', in which New Zealand is very much a Maori world.
The 1840s through to the 1860s. The Treaty of Waitangi and war dominate this period. The settler population increases and seeks greater political power and more land for settlement.
1870-1900. New Zealand is transformed economically and socially and is now very much a European world.

Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1800-40 - NCEA 3 History

New Zealand in 1800 was a Maori world. Maori society was based on hapu and iwi and was organised and maintained by a number of core beliefs. These pre-determined how Maori would interact with Europeans and also determined Maori expectations from contact. Any talk of ‘New Zealander’ in the first half of the century was in reference to Maori only.

Maori society was on the verge of massive change. The population in 1800 was estimated at anywhere between 100-120,000. The European population generally numbered in the hundreds. The inter-tribal Musket Wars of this period had a dramatic impact on the Maori population with as many as a fifth killed and many thousands captured by rival tribes. On the eve of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi the Maori population of between 70-90,000 still comfortably outnumbered the non-Maori population of 2000.

'Europe's explosion outwards'

In December 1769 Captain Cook and the French explorer Jean-François-Marie de Surville unknowingly passed within a relatively short distance of each other during a storm off Cape Maria van Diemen, Northland. They were the first European visitors to New Zealand since Abel Tasman's brief encounter in 1642. New Zealand's isolation was at an end. By 1830 a thousand European ships would visit New Zealand shores.

Europe's ‘explosion outwards’ during the 18th and 19th centuries reached New Zealand in three distinct waves. Before 1840 Europeans arrived here in their hundreds, in the 1840s and 1850s in their thousands, and from the 1860s in their tens of thousands. Some argued that the non-European worlds crumpled ‘under the weight of expanding Europe’. Fatal-impact theorists spoke of the end of Maori civilisation as their population fell from perhaps 100,000 in 1840 to a little over 40,000 by the end of the century. Yet Maori and many other indigenous peoples survived in what historian James Belich has described as ‘the great survival story of modern times’.

Initial contact was largely confined to the Far North or isolated parts of the ‘Deep South’. The heavily populated interior largely had little or no contact with Europeans before 1840. Early contact was often ‘strained through Sydney first’. A number of Maori were also exposed to the wider world as crew on ships operating between Port Jackson (Sydney) and the Bay of Islands.

Maori response to contact

Maori responded to contact with Europe largely on their own terms. They were willing and able participants in the trade that quickly developed with the various sealers, whalers, traders and missionaries who arrived during the opening decades of the 19th century. Hapu and iwi often competed with each other in their access to trade items such as muskets and potatoes. Maori were also receptive to many of the new ideas that came with contact. Literacy introduced by the Christian missionaries became an increasingly important feature of Maori culture in the 1830s.

Intermediaries or kaiwhakarite - people from one culture who lived with the other culture - were important in bridging the cultural gap. They played an important role in establishing and maintaining trade networks. Maori women were often used as a means of keeping Pakeha in the community. Their presence offered Europeans a degree of protection although on occasion violence did occur. Generally speaking, though, violence was the exception to the rule as it was, quite simply, bad for business.

Britain's first steps

By the early 1830s the missionaries were increasingly calling on Britain to formally intervene in New Zealand affairs. If they were to ‘save Maori’ they needed official support. The major point of contact at Kororareka (Russell) had earned a reputation as a ‘Gomorrah, the scourge of the Pacific’. But Britain was initially reluctant to intervene. Colonisation was expensive and it was argued that as New Zealand did not exist as a sovereign state any formal arrangements were difficult.

In 1833 James Busby was appointed as the first official British Resident to New Zealand. He was given little official support and was provided with no means of enforcing his authority. Any help he might need was to be secured from the Governor of New South Wales (who was equally reluctant to spend any money or time on New Zealand). Maori nicknamed Busby 'Man-o-war without guns' due to his lack of real power. Undeterred, Busby set about taming what he believed to be the 'frontier chaos' that afflicted New Zealand. He helped established an official identity for New Zealand through the selection of New Zealand's first official flag in 1834 and the 1835 Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand. In this Declaration 34 northern chiefs called upon King William IV of Britain to become their 'father and protector'.

By 1837 the British Colonial Office was becoming sufficiently concerned about the impact of unregulated colonisation, especially land transactions that defrauded Maori. In mid-1839 William Hobson was appointed as consul to New Zealand. He was instructed to obtain sovereignty over all or part of New Zealand with the consent of a sufficient number of chiefs. New Zealand would come under the jurisdiction of the governor of New South Wales.

The British Crown was not alone in turning its attention to New Zealand. In May 1839 the New Zealand Company was preparing to send the Tory to New Zealand. The company had ambitious settlement plans. Company agents aboard the Tory were to buy land at Port Nicholson (Wellington). The first shiploads of company emigrants left for New Zealand in September 1839.

Further information

Reading the Treaty of Waitangi - NCEA Level 3 history

The Treaty of Waitangi was prepared over just a few days in February 1840. On the day that it was first signed, there were versions in English and Maori. Given the intense debate that surrounds the Treaty, questions have been asked as to whether the Treaty was drafted too quickly. Some have even asked if the Crown officials knew what they were doing. William Hobson was a naval officer, not a lawyer or bureaucrat. Was the translation into Maori rushed, ambiguous or misleading?

Use the section Read the Treaty to help you complete the following activities.

Who was involved in drafting and preparing the Treaty for presentation to Maori at Waitangi?
Outline Henry Williams's role in preparing the Treaty for presentation at Waitangi.
What did the British believe they had gained as a result of the Treaty of Waitangi?
What did Maori believe they had agreed to?
What were some of the key differences between the Maori and English versions of the Treaty?
In your opinion, was the translation of the Treaty into Maori rushed, ambiguous or misleading? Explain your answer.
If you had been Hobson, what might you have done differently?
Why did most Maori gathered at Waitangi agree to sign the Treaty?

NZHistory, New Zealand history online - ncea3

Classroom ideas - the Treaty in brief

The Treaty of Waitangi

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NCEA Level 2 history

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Classroom ideas - Waitangi Day

The Treaty of Waitangi

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NCEA Level 3

A. Establishing British authority

B. Mana as a defence

C. Practice essay

Essay question

Classroom ideas - frontier of chaos?

A frontier of chaos?

Social studies

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Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1840-70 - NCEA 3 History

The Treaty of Waitangi

From Treaty to war

The Kingitanga

The New Zealand Wars and land loss

Further information

Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1870-1900 - NCEA 3 History

Gold and sheep

The Vogel era

The 'Hungry Eighties'

'God's own country'

Further information

Year 13 history seminar series

2010

2011

NZ in the 19th century - NCEA 3 History

Overview of NZ in the 19th century: 1800-40 - NCEA 3 History

'Europe's explosion outwards'

Maori response to contact

Britain's first steps

Further information

Reading the Treaty of Waitangi - NCEA Level 3 history