Historian Vincent O’Malley writes that the nine months’ of fighting in the Waikato between July 1863 and April 1864 is a tragic tale that ‘goes to the very core of who we are as a nation’. The Mangatāwhiri River was the declared boundary between Kīngitanga
territory and areas controlled by the Crown. When British troops deliberately crossed it at dawn on 12 July 1863 it was seen as a declaration of war by the Crown on Queen Victoria’s Treaty Partner — ‘a well-orchestrated and deliberate land grab’. The crippling
legacy was loss of life, economic and cultural deprivation, significant land confiscation and more than 150 years of ignored hurt and anguish. This kōrero — featuring historians and academics
Tom Rua (Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto), Joanna Kidman (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa),
James Belich, Vincent O’Malley and moderator Peter Biggs — will share perspectives on how the Waikato War was transformative for our country, and the way its consequences continue to be felt today.