Shifting perspectives about colonial conflict: Wairau

This talk, by Dr Liana MacDonald, focuses on two significant conflicts between mana whenua and British and settler militia during the early stages of the New Zealand Wars and how they are remembered today. The Wairau Affray (1843) and the Battle of Boulcott's Farm (1846) are remembered differently by settler and indigenous people.

Perspectives of historical events
This talk looks at how two conflicts from the New Zealand Wars are recalled.

Interviews reveal how the Wairau Affray (1843) is remembered differently by settler and indigenous people from the Marlborough region. And researcher observations are the basis for thinking about how sites associated with the Battle of Boulcott's Farm (1846) reflect settler perspectives about the past.

The research in this talk is part of a large-scale ethnographic study called He Taonga te Wareware? Remembering and Forgetting New Zealand’s Colonial Past.

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Public history talks
These free Public History Talks are a collaboration between the Alexander Turnbull Library and Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage. They are usually held on the first Wednesday of the month, March to November.
The talks are recorded and you can find them at the Apple store, Spotify and Podbean #newzealandhistory.

About the speaker
Dr Liana MacDonald (Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Koata) is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Victoria University of Wellington. She is interested in how racism, whiteness, and settler colonialism manifest in national institutions. Her current research explores possibilities for decolonial transformation in schools, particularly through land education. Liana is a co-author of Fragments from a contested past: remembrance, denial and New Zealand history, recently published as part of the BWB Texts series.