1874: Transit of Venus
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On December 9, 1874 an American observation party of 6 was led by Professor C. H. Peters to Queenstown. Time to observe the Transit of Venus across the sun and take photos! The scientist were very, very, well received by the community but no scientists were among them. No “formal” scientific “partnership,” as recently claimed. […]
Read more..March 25, 2025
1962: Maoris and Early Settlers
By AHNZ
In April, 1962, the Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing Company released a very historically interesting set of toys in every packet of cornflakes and puffed wheat. The Maoris and Early Settlers series consisted of 8 figures advertised (image, left) as follows: Colonial soldier- Maoris wars Maori girl with pois Maori Chief in dogskin cloak holding a mere […]
Read more..May 12, 2022
1964: Washday at the Pa
By AHNZ
A great New Zealand book burning took place from August 1964 by The State. Our Government, the National 2.0 Ministry was in fact recalling and destroying its own books! From May that year 38,000 copies of a picture book had gone to the government schools of the nation named Washday at the Pa by Ans […]
Read more..March 24, 2025
1864: Monmouth Redoubt
By AHNZ
The Monmouth Redoubt was built by the 43rd Monmouthshire Light Infantry Regiment who had arrived in Tauranga in January 1864. It provided a refuge for women and children who slept on the floor fully dressed during this time, emergency rations and a bottle of water within reach. This and other fortifications cut enemy supply to […]
Read more..March 22, 2025
1902: Maori Parliament Shut Down
By AHNZ
Today in history, 21 March, 1902, Te Kotahitanga, the Maori Parliament, shut shop forever. The Maori Parliament (1892 – 1902) had been an exercise of self-government by Maori ‘from the Bay of Islands to the Bluff.’ Essentially it was a great conference hosted at different locations over those years. The idea was to agree to […]
Read more..March 21, 2025
1000 Years of Te Reo?
By AHNZ
There is an unattributed meme floating around about the Maori language (see image.) Specifically it says that “And people who complain about Te Reo Maori should remember that Te Reo has been spoken here for nearly a thousand years….maybe more.” Is it true? ‘Maybe more than nearly a thousand years’ is a long time. How […]
Read more..March 16, 2025
1841: Breaking Up With Okiato
By AHNZ
Today in New Zealand history, 13 March, 1841, William Hobson’s Gang relocated to Auckland. He came on a summers day bringing gifts from far away. The settlement of Okaito was a fine girl. “What a good wife you would be,” said Hobson. Ah, but his life and love and lady was Auckland from the very […]
Read more..March 13, 2025
1840: The Ngati Whatua RFP
By AHNZ
Ngati Whatua had once been a successful Maori tribal brand with head office in today’s Auckland City. This territory, the Tamaki isthmus, had become such a competitive market that nobody in New Zealand could meet the operational fixed costs. Bracken and manuka took over where once there had been terraces and cultivations and so it […]
Read more..March 12, 2025
1550: The Coming of the Hawaikians
By AHNZ
The Austronesian Expansion out of Taiwan was a prehistoric migration that unfolded over many centuries. This migration has mostly moved humans east across the Pacific to populate the many islands along the way. It was not until about 1200 AD that one of the many forks decided they had made a wrong turn at Samoa/Tonga […]
Read more..March 7, 2025
1995: Mayor Georgina Beyer
By AHNZ
On 1 November, 1995, Georgina Beyer became the mayor of the Wairarapa town of Carterton. This political success lasted about 12 years after which Beyer, deprived of other people’s money, toppled into poverty followed by sickness and death (died today, 6 March, 2023.) The life of this Boomer makes for a very interesting and instructive […]
Read more..March 6, 2025
1844: The Quick and the Dead
By AHNZ
This week in history, on 26 February, 1844, Hugh Ross shot William Brewer dead in a Wellington street. The two lawyers had decided to settle their dispute over a case in the Wellington County Court outside of the law instead. This Hobson Honour Culture time period was characterised by people who took life personally and […]
Read more..March 1, 2025
