The 50th anniversary of the Dawn Raids of the 1970s in Wellington was partly commemorated at Te Papa over the weekend, with exhibitions and expert panels reflecting on those traumatic times for Pasifika people—and even Māori, who were often mistaken for being Pasifika.
The Dawn Raids were the government of the day’s promise to “get tough” on law, order, and immigration.
Nina Nawalowalo, co-founder of the theatre and film company The Conch, is currently working on a documentary about the Wellington experience of the raids, told from the perspective of community leaders of the time, many of whom are now in their 80s and 90s.
“You know it takes courage for people to even want to potentially come forward… you know a lot of trauma around of course the Dawn Raid times, so yeah just trying to piece together things – and piece parts of the puzzle,” says Nawalowalo.
Nina Nawalowalo’s late father, Ratu Noa Nawalowalo, was the first Fijian barrister and solicitor to graduate from Victoria University.
He represented many families affected by the Dawn Raids.
