Colonisation/immigration to Aotearoa and Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa | the NZ Wars

1841 painting of Lambton Harbour by Charles Heaphy showing settlement buildings, ships in the harbour, and Māori and early settlers on a hill overlooking the harbour

Image credit: Part of Lambton Harbour, in Port Nicholson, New Zealand; Comprehending About One Third of the Water Frontage of the Town of Wellington, April, 1841 by Charles Heaphy. Ref: C-026-001-b Alexander Turnbull Library.

Here are curated teaching and learning resources related to themes about the colonisation of, and immigration to, Aotearoa New Zealand, including Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa | the New Zealand Wars.

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Colonisation and immigration in 19th century NZ

These curiosity cards use images and fertile questions to spark student inquiry:

These topics from Topic Explorer have quality, curated resources, including websites, images, videos, books and more:

Explore these pages from Tuia Mātauranga to highlight people, places and events that have helped shape our nation:

These entries from Many Answers guide students to reliable and trustworthy resources:

Use the following He Tohu activity to explore cultural interactions in 1800s Aotearoa NZ:

Te Kupenga online has stories with images from the Alexander Turnbull Library and related resources to inspire student learning:

Some popular books related to this topic include:

  • Finding by David Hill, 2018

  • Pākehā Settlements in a Māori World: New Zealand Archaeology 1769–1860 by Ian Smith, 2019

  • Pioneer Women edited by Sarah Ell, 2019

  • The People and the Land / Te Tangata Me Te Whenua: An Illustrated History of New Zealand, 1820–1920 by Judith Binney, Judith Bassett and Erik Olssen, 2018.

Borrow books from our lending service

Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa | The New Zealand Wars

These topics from Topic Explorer have quality, curated resources, including websites, images, videos, books and more:

Explore these pages from Tuia Mātauranga to highlight people, places and events that have helped shape our nation:

These entries from Many Answers guide students to reliable and trustworthy resources:

Use the following He Tohu activity to explore cultural interactions in 1800s Aotearoa NZ:

Te Kupenga online has stories with images from the Alexander Turnbull Library and related resources to inspire student learning:

Some popular books related to this topic include:

  • A Short History of New Zealand Wars by Gordon McLauchlan, 2017

  • Kimble Bent, Malcontent: The Wild Adventures of a Runaway Soldier in Old-Time New Zealand: A Graphic Novel by Chris Grosz, 2011

  • Sleeps Standing Moetū by Witi Ihimaera with Hēmi Kelly, 2017

  • The Great War for New Zealand: Waikato 1800–2000 by Vincent O’Malley, 2016

  • The New Zealand Wars by Philippa Werry, 2018

  • The New Zealand Wars / Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa by Vincent O’Malley, 2019

  • Taratoa and the Code of Conduct: A Story From the Battle of Gate Pā by Debbie McCauley, 2014

  • Wars in the Whitecloud: Wairau 1843 by M.H. McKinley, 2016.

Borrow books from our lending service

Other resources and tools

Teaching and learning resources — free online teaching and learning resources, tools and guides.

Tools for primary source analysis — designed for ākonga (students) from years 1 to 13 in Aotearoa NZ schools.