Moving Forward From Our Past

Second Edition - An Outline of New Zealand's Early History To Help Us Build a Better Future

The debate about the Treaty of Waitangi is polarising our country. Māori are claiming that they never ceded sovereignty while Pakeha are labelled as white colonisers who dishonoured the Treaty Partnership and stole Māori land.

What was the Treaty intended to achieve, and why were the rangatira willing to sign it? Did they really cede sovereignty? Why were there two versions of the Treaty? Why were the Land Wars fought and why was so much land confiscated? After a really positive start, what went wrong?

Join me on a journey back in time into a world without roads, cars or mobile phones.

Our history is filled with larger-than-life characters who have mostly been forgotten. There was competition for land and resources. There were astonishing friendships and violent battles. There was both honour and treachery in the many struggles to dominate or survive.

These men and women lived in a very different world to ours. Thanks to them, we have a history that should be celebrated for what has since been achieved, even though our nation is still very much 'a work in progress'.