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A monumental history of the Waikato War was presented to King Tuheitia at Saturday’s Waahi Poukai.
The Great War for New Zealand by Vincent O’Malley is published today.
The book covers not just the conflict in1863 and 1864 but origins and aftermath over 200 years from first encounters between Maori and Pakeha in the Waikato region through to settlement and apology in the late twentieth century.
Dr O’Malley argues the Waikato War, rather than Gallipoli or the Western Front, is the defining conflict in our history.
He told the poukai it is a history many Pakeha preferred to ignore over the years, but Waikatom Tainui has never forgotten.
Rahui Papa, the chair of Waikato-Tainui’s Te Arataura executive, says the book shines a spotlight on a dark period of New Zealand’s collective past and brings it into a modern conversation for the future.
He says it should be incorporated into the school curriculum.
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