HistoryWorks

04/05/2024

The fifth chapter of this series, presented by Mihingarangi Forbes and featuring Dr Vincent O'Malley alongside esteemed iwi historians, NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana recounts the events that unfolded in the Bay of Plenty and their far-reaching consequences for future generations of New Zealanders. NZ Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana is centered on two key encounters: the Battle of Pukehinahina Gate Pā and the Battle of Te Ranga. Extended interviews and extra scenes are also available, along with an accompanying podcast series.

NEW. The fifth chapter of this series recounts the events that unfolded in the Bay of Plenty and their far-reaching consequences for future generations. Made with the support of NZ On Air.

02/04/2024

"We know that there were multiple atrocities committed here, and it was a brutal, bloody and awful affair, and I think it's time New Zealand fronted up to that history"

In 1864, about 300 Māori defended the site from more than 1000 invading British soldiers.

17/11/2023

Dr Vincent O'Malley has been awarded the Humanities Aronui Medal for his contribution to the research, knowledge, and public understanding of New Zealand history, particularly of the New Zealand Wars and Māori-Pākehā relations throughout the nineteenth century.

Dr Vincent O'Malley has been awarded the Humanities Aronui Medal for his contribution to the research, knowledge, and public understanding of New Zealand history, particularly of the New Zealand Wars and Māori-Pākehā relations throughout the nineteenth century.

04/11/2023

Invasion and Resistance: Facing up to Parihaka

November the 5th is a day of grief for Hon. Mahara Okeroa and Ockham Book Awards shortlisted author, Rachel Buchanan, whose tūpuna were on the whenua when th...

27/10/2023

Why we should care about commemorating the New Zealand Wars.

"We need to be big enough to remember those aspects of the past that are bloody and brutal,” historian Vincent O’Malley says.

19/09/2023

This is Dr Vincent O’Malley.

He has recently given evidence on our behalf in Stafford v Attorney-General.

Dr O’Malley is a professional historian and a director of HistoryWorks, a public history consultancy in Wellington that specialises in the Treaty of Waitangi and related matters concerning historical Crown and Māori relationships.

He has a BA (Hons) in History (1st Class) from the University of Canterbury and a PhD in New Zealand Studies from Victoria University of Wellington. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of several nonfiction books addressing aspects of New Zealand history and especially the Treaty of Waitangi and Māori-Crown relations historically.

For the purposes of our case, Dr O’Malley was asked to address a number of instrumental questions, for example:

👉 Did the Crown reserve 15,100 acres of land for the benefit of the customary owners of the land obtained by the Crown following the 1845 Spain award? If not, how much land did the Crown actually reserve?

👉 Did the Crown exclude the pā, urupā and cultivations from the land obtained by the Crown following the 1845 Spain award?

👉 What was the impact of the loss of land on the customary owners? What evidence is there of the socioeconomic conditions in which they lived after 1845 and up to the present day?

He also prepared and presented meticulous reply evidence to the Crown witnesses.

Dr O’Malley is a pre-eminent New Zealand historian. We are thankful for his skill and knowledge in support of this kaupapa.

Ngā mihi Dr O’Malley.

26/08/2023

USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research

22/07/2023

Vincent O'Malley is an award-winning and bestselling historian who has published extensively on the history of Māori and Pākehā relations in nineteenth century Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2022, he won the general non-fiction category at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, and the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in Non-Fiction. He graduated BA Hons in History from in 1991, and next week will be taking part in the "History Homecoming" series of webinars in which former UC History students reflect on their time at uni, discuss their life since graduating and offer advice for those studying history today and in the future.
Register for Vincent's webinar on July 25th here: https://canterbury.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ULSHRXMiT82C0cWRPHF2cA

08/03/2023

HistoryWorks Director Vincent O'Malley receiving the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Non-Fiction from Chris Hipkins at Premier House yesterday.

30/01/2023

HistoryWorks director Bruce Stirling discusses the significance of the Treaty House at Waitangi and how its treatment over time is a metaphor for the way in which Crown has viewed Te Tiriti.

An old colonial home on the Waitangi Treaty Grounds played a significant role in the history of Aotearoa.

13/12/2022

Congratulations to our own Vincent O'Malley on being named a semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year, alongside an incredible group of people.

01/12/2022

Ka rawe! Congratulations to Vincent O'Malley of HistoryWorks on receiving the Prime Minister's award for literary achievement in non-fiction for 2022.

The winners of the annual awards get $60,000 each, and will attend a lunch with the prime minister next year.

23/11/2022

A story on Christchurch connections to the New Zealand Wars from one of our team, Dr Vincent O'Malley.

It is often assumed that the nineteenth-century New Zealand Wars fought between the Crown and various groups of Māori were exclusively a Te Ika-a-Māui North Island story. But in addition to the violent clash that took place at Wairau, Marlborough, in June 1843, there is a much deeper, if largely u...

12/08/2022

Dame Claudia Orange dropped in to visit us at HistoryWorks today. 😀

03/07/2022

We’re proud to announce Dr Vincent O’Malley as the inaugural Auckland Museum Institute Humanities Lecturer for 2022. In his lecture, Dr O’Malley will describe how the Great War for New Zealand, begun from the invasion of Waikato in 1863, played out in Tāmaki Makaurau, and the legacy it left b...

12/05/2022

Many congratulations to Vincent O'Malley from HistoryWorks on his Ockhams victory.

Major congratulations to Vincent O'Malley who wins the 2022 General Non-Fiction Award. “In bringing together these voices, O’Malley creates a coherent history of the New Zealand Wars, gives greater attention to wahine than earlier historians have, and deals carefully with contested events. The excellent book production is a credit to the publishers,” said the judges.

Bridget Williams Books - BWB

01/05/2022

“We’re living in the aftermath of those histories where the implications are still being lived by people, they’re living with the realities today”

https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/02-05-2022/difficult-history-how-we-remember-and-forget-the-new-zealand-wars

When it comes to traumatic events in our history, whose memory counts?

24/04/2022

"It has not been about creating discord or division but rather binding us together as a nation that can honestly confront its own past...It is just about taking ownership of our history."

Confronting our history is not about creating discord, but rather about binding us together as a nation

24/04/2022

The new school curriculum of Aotearoa's history is in the process of making its way into practice. And it's likely to ruffle a few feathers along the way. Joanna Kidman and Vincent O'Malley are with us to discuss.

05/02/2022

Ka rawe!

Seems appropriate to be proof-reading this series of reflections on the ways in which is remembered and forgotten over Waitangi weekend.

28/12/2021

A little-known pamphlet, published for the first time in Vincent O’Malley’s latest book, sheds fresh light on one of the most tragic events in New Zealand history.

18/12/2021

A never-before-published poem about the invasion of Parihaka forms part of the latest book by a historian whose recent works have shone a light on the war history of Aotearoa.

10/12/2021

Historian Vincent O'Malley goes deeper into our defining conflict.

04/12/2021

A debate about the conflict that started out in the pages of the Waikato Times 30 years ago has found a new audience.

02/12/2021

"Friday December 3, 2021 is the 158th anniversary of the passing of the New Zealand Settlements Act – the primary legislative mechanism for raupatu, the sweeping land confiscations that punished Māori for defending their lives and their homes."

https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/03-12-2021/remembering-raupatu-a-forgotten-anniversary

'I am filled with horror,' wrote Henry Sewell, on learning of the 1863 legislation.

28/11/2021

“For Kīngitanga supporters who had been urged to fight in a ‘civilised’ manner, the assault on Rangiaowhia was an almost incomprehensible act of treachery.” — New Zealand Wars historian Vincent O’Malley.

02/11/2021

"The history syllabus claim was filed in April 1992. It states that ‘the history of Aotearoa is a taonga [treasure] under the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi and that its teaching must be given priority over the teaching of the history of any other country’."

A more truthful understanding of history is largely dependent on education. A lot is riding on the success of this new curriculum

02/11/2021

The New Zealand Wars of the mid-19th century profoundly shaped the course and direction of our nation's history. Voices from the New Zealand Wars – He Reo nō ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa takes us to the heart of these conflicts with a series of first-hand accounts from Māori and Pākehā who either f...

27/10/2021

01/10/2021

Congratulations to our project team member Dr Vincent O'Malley, now a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.