This page brings together a range of published sources, academic articles, postgraduate theses, and both edited and sole-authored non-fiction books.
These publications directly address the Dawn Raids or situate the period within broader historical, social and political contexts, supporting research and understanding.
Recommended publications
This section highlights recommended publications that support learning and research about the Dawn Raids. It brings together curriculum‑aligned texts for secondary students, key Pacific history writing that directly addresses this period, and selected postgraduate research for those seeking deeper scholarly engagement.
Dawn Raid
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Scholastic NZ
Part of the Scholastic series My New Zealand Story, Dawn Raid follows 13-year-old Sofia Savea in 1970s Porirua. Through Sofia's experiences, the book powerfully explores the impact of the Dawn Raids on Pacific families, highlighting themes of racism, politics, and community resilience.
Ideal for high school students, Dawn Raid is available at your local bookstore or online.
A New Dawn
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Mila's Books
Emeli Sione shares her Dawn Raid story to help us understand the real impact of this dark time in our history. With valuable lessons for all New Zealanders, A New Dawn provides us with hope on our journeys of equality, justice and healing as Pasifika in New Zealand.
You can also read the late author Emeli Sione’s reflections on the Dawn Raids in blog format at E-Tangata.
Tangata o le Moana
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Te Papa Press
An illustrated history centred on Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand, situating their histories, migrations, and communities within wider Pacific connections. While broad in scope, the book includes focused discussion of key moments in New Zealand history, including a chapter by Melani Anae examining the Dawn Raids and their impacts on Pacific communities.
- Tangata o le Moana: New Zealand and the People of the Pacific (Te Papa Press)
- Look inside Tangata o le Moana: New Zealand and the People of the Pacific (Te Papa Press)
Sione comes to New Zealand: a Samoan migrant’s story
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Whitcombe and Tombs
An educational resource developed in 1972 in response to changes in the Social Studies curriculum. Framed through the experiences of a young Samoan migrant, the book explores themes of migration, belonging, and social change as they were presented to students at the time.
In the foreword, the authors explain:
In this book you can find information to help you understand people who live in your country – and on neighbouring islands. This is the story of a boy of your age, Sione. It is about life in the society of Western Samoa where he was brought up – and about his life in our society, which he joins as a young man. The story of Sione is similar to the story of many island migrants from Polynesia, particularly from Western Samoa, the Cook Islands, Niue and the Tokelaus.
Read today, the publication is best understood as a historical educational resource that reflects prevailing attitudes and frameworks shaping early understandings of Pacific migration.
Recommended theses
Selected postgraduate theses are listed below for readers seeking more detailed research on the Dawn Raids.
- Ross, Tamara Brigid, ‘New Zealand's “Overstaying Islander”: A Construct of the Ideology of “Race” and Immigration’, MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 1994
With rich historical detail, Ross examines the causes, patterns and consequences of the politicisation of Pacific Island immigrants in New Zealand during the 1970s. This case study highlights how ideas of race and immigration have overlapped to develop an ideology that has had significant influence in shaping New Zealand society. - Liava’a, Sharon, ‘Dawn Raids: When Pacific Islanders were forced to go “home”’. MA thesis, University of Auckland, 1998
This dissertation examines the New Zealand government’s treatment of Pacific Islanders during the 1970s, with a focus on illegal police tactics and the legal challenges that ended the Dawn Raids. It includes a first-hand account by Joshua Liava'a, a police officer who participated in the 1976 raids. - Mitchell, James, ‘Immigration and National Identity in 1970s New Zealand’, PhD thesis, University of Otago, 2003
This thesis looks at how New Zealand’s identity has changed through the lens of shifting views on immigrants and immigration. Based in the 1970s, it uses the Dawn Raids era to argue that national identity isn’t fixed but is constantly evolving, shaped by ongoing discussions and debates. - Day, Samuel, ‘Acquiring a Pacific Consciousness: Pākehā Pressure Groups and Pacific Issues in 1970s Aotearoa New Zealand’, MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2023
Pākehā pressure groups addressed issues of race relations, with particular attention to Pacific migration and state responses during the Dawn Raids period. Focusing on organisations such as CARE, the Race Relations Council, and ACORD, it traces their advocacy strategies, collaborations with Māori and Pacific activists, and evolving understandings of racism, cultural pluralism, and humanitarian responsibility.
Books and reports
A selection of key published reports and books relating to the dawn raids.
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Huia Publishers
- Anae, Melani, The Platform: The Radical Legacy of the Polynesian Panthers, Bridget Williams Books, 2020.
- Bassett, Michael, The Third Labour Government: A Personal History, Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, 1976.
- Ballara, Angela, Proud to Be White? A Survey of Pakeha Prejudice in New Zealand, Heinemann, Auckland, 1986.
- Baucom, Ian, Out of Place: Englishness, Empire, and the Locations of Identity, Princeton University Press, 1999.
- Belich, James, Paradise Reforged: A History of the New Zealanders from the 1880s to the Year 2000, Allen Lane / Penguin, 2001.
- Borrie, W.D., The European Peopling of Australasia: A Demographic History, Australian National University, 1994.
- Challis, L. D. Pacific Islanders in New Zealand: A bulletin for schools
- Conway, Dennis, Return Migration of the Next Generations, Routledge, 2009.
- Dunsford, Deborah, Julie Park, Judith Littleton, Ward Friese, Phyllis Herda, Pat Neuwelt, Jennifer Hand, Phillippa Blackmore, Sagaa Malua, Jessica Grant, et al., Better Lives: The Struggle for Health of Transnational Pacific Peoples in New Zealand, 1950–2000, 9th edn, Auckland University Press, Auckland, 2011.
- Fiu Kolia, Brian, Uncovering the Mat: Restorative Justice for the Dawn Raids?, Springer, 2024.
- Gibson, Stephanie, Matariki Williams and Puawai Cairns, Protest Tautohetohe: Objects of Resistance, Persistence and Defiance: An Illustrated History of Protest and Activism in Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Papa Press, 2019.
- Graves, Nancy and Theodore Graves, Culture Shock in Auckland: Pakeha Responses to Polynesian Immigrants, South Pacific Research Institute, 1972.
- Hager, Mandy, Protest! Shaping Aotearoa, OneTree House, 2021.
- Hiyama, Kaaren, High Hopes in Hard Times: A History of Grey Lynn and Westmere, 1991.
- Lafaele, Vitale, A Canoe Before the Wind: An Immigrant Son’s Story of Family, Adversity and Courage, Harper Collins, 2023.
- Lane, Jane, Young Children and Racial Justice: Taking Action for Racial Equality in the Early Years–Understanding the Past, Thinking About the Present, Planning for the Future, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2008.
- Lee, Helen and Steve Tupai Francis (eds), Migration and Transnationalism: Pacific Perspectives, ANU E Press, Canberra, 2009.
- McCarthy, Angela, Narratives of Migrant and Refugee Discrimination in New Zealand, Taylor & Francis, 2022.
- Mackley-Crump, Jared, The Pacific Festivals of Aotearoa New Zealand: Negotiating Place and Identity in a New Homeland, University of Hawaii Press, 2015.
- Macpherson, C., Melani Anae and Paul Spoonley, Evolving Identities of Pacific Peoples in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Dunmore Press, 2001.
- Morton Lee, Helen, Tongans Overseas: Between Two Shores, University of Hawaii Press, 2003.
- Randell-Moon, Holly (ed.), Incarceration, Migration and Indigenous Sovereignty: Thoughts on Existence and Resistance in Racist Times, 2nd edn, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, 2019 .
- Salesa, Damon, Island Time: New Zealand’s Pacific Futures, BWB Texts, 2017.
- Shilliam, Robbie, The Black Pacific: Anticolonial Struggles and Oceanic Connections, Bloomsbury, 2015.
- Spoonley, Paul and Richard Bedford, Welcome to Our World? Immigration and the Reshaping of New Zealand, Dunmore Publishing, 2012.
- Tecun, Arcia, Lana Lopesi and Anisha Sankar (eds), Towards a Grammar of Race in Aotearoa New Zealand, Bridget William Books, 2022.
- Trotter, Chris, No Left Turn, Penguin Random House New Zealand, 2010.
- Tuiburelevu, Litia, Elizabeth Lotoa, Isabella Ieremia, Hugo Wagner-Hiliau and Gabriella Coxon-Brayne, Pacific Peoples and the Criminal Justice System in Aotearoa New Zealand, Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation, 2023.
Chapters in books
Articles about the dawn raids that appear in other books.
- Bedford, Richard, ‘International Migration and Globalization: The Transformation of New Zealand’s Migration System Since the Mid-1980s’, in Sovereignty Under Siege?, Routledge, 2005.
- Connell, John, ‘Paradise Left? Pacific Island Voyagers in the Modern World’, in Labour in the South Pacific, 1987.
- Fiu Kolia, Brian, ‘Uncovering the Mat: Restorative Justice for the Dawn Raids?’, in Restorative Justice for the Dawn Raids, Springer, 2024.
- Māhina-Tuai, Kolokesa, ‘A Land of Milk and Honey? Education and Employment Migration Schemes in the Postwar Era’, in Tangata O Le Moana: New Zealand and the People of the Pacific, Te Papa Press, 2012.
- McCarthy, Angela, ‘A Welcoming Nation?: Narratives of New Zealand's History of Hostility Towards Migrants and Refugees’, in Narratives of Migrant and Refugee Discrimination in New Zealand, Routledge, 2022, pp. 9–27.
- O’Donnell, David, ‘Re-claiming the “Fob”: The Immigrant Family in Samoan Drama’, in Performing Aotearoa: New Zealand Drama and Theatre in an Age of Transition, 2007, pp. 307–30.
- Ofe-Grant, Maulupeivao Betty, ‘Institutional Racism and Internalised Racial Oppression: Evidence from the Narratives of Samoans in the New Zealand Workplace’, in Narratives of Migrant and Refugee Discrimination in New Zealand, Routledge, 2022, pp. 50–69.
- Shilliam, Robbie, ‘The Rise and Fall of Political Blackness’, in The Black Pacific: Anticolonial Struggles and Oceanic Connections, 2015.
- Spoonley, Paul, ‘Polynesian Immigrant Workers in New Zealand’, in Labour in the South Pacific, James Cook University of Northern Queensland, 1990.
- Trlin, Andrew D., ‘New Zealand’s Admission of Asians and Pacific Islanders’, in Sovereignty Under Siege?, 1987.
- Yamamoto, Matori, ‘Heritage and Identity: Contemporary Art Practices of Pacific Peoples in New Zealand’, in Arts in the Margins of World Encounters, 2021, p. 81.
Theses
PhD
- Byers, Bronwen, ‘The Lived-in-Experience of Migration for Samoan Women: A Cross-Cultural Phenomenological Study’, PhD thesis, Massey University, 2003
- Duncan, B. K., ‘A Hierarchy of Symbols: Samoan Religious Symbolism in New Zealand’, PhD thesis, University of Otago, 1994
- Dunlop-Bennett, Emma, ‘Through Their Eyes: A Samoan Perspective on Child Wellbeing’, PhD thesis, University of Otago, 2018
- Enoka, Angelynne Josephine, ‘Under the Gaze: A Study of the Portrayal by the New Zealand Print Media of Pacific Island Workers in the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme, 2007–2012’, PhD thesis, Massey University, 2019
- Johnson, Linda, ‘Māori Activism Across Borders, 1950s–1980’s, PhD thesis, Massey University, 2015
- Katavake-McGrath, Filipo, ‘Our Way to Home: An Exploratory Study of Pasifika Gay Men in New Zealand, Their Lived Experience and Their Navigation of Sexual Orientation Related Legislative Change’, PhD thesis, Auckland University of Technology, 2021
- Loomis, Terrence, ‘The Counterfeit Savage: A Study of Cook Islands Migrants, Class and Racialisation in New Zealand’, PhD thesis, University of Adelaide, 1984
- Mitchell, James, ‘Immigration and National Identity in 1970s New Zealand’, PhD thesis, University of Otago, 2003
- Terruhn, Jessica, ‘Being Pākehā: White Settler Narratives of Politics, Identity, and Belonging in Aotearoa/New Zealand’, PhD thesis, University of Auckland, 2015
MA
- Arthur, Lucy, ‘These Islanders: Pacific People in the New Zealand Print Media, 1960–1974’, MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2004
- Ross, Tamara Brigid, ‘New Zealand's “Overstaying Islander”: A Construct of the Ideology of “Race” and Immigration’, MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 1994
- Day, Samuel, ‘Acquiring a Pacific Consciousness: Pākehā Pressure Groups and Pacific Issues in 1970s Aotearoa New Zealand’, MA thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2023
- Flynn, Rose, ‘Harvest Architecture for Pacific Seasonal Migrant Workers in New Zealand’, MA thesis, University of Auckland, 2021
- Hamilton, Linda, ‘The Political Integration of the Samoan Immigrants in New Zealand’, MA thesis, University of Canterbury, 1974
- Iloilo, Veronika Ruby, ‘Overstaying or Overpromised: The Dawn Raids Apology and Its Impacts on Pacific Peoples’ , MA thesis, University of Auckland, 2023
- Kerslake, Taoa Delphina, ‘Samoa and New Zealand’s Special Relationship: More Than a Neighbour?’, MA thesis, University of Waikato, 2010
- Levick, Wayne, ‘Contract Labour Migration Between Fiji and New Zealand: A Case Study of a South Pacific Work Permit Scheme’, MA thesis, University of Canterbury, 1988
- Liava’a, Sharon, ‘Dawn Raids: When Pacific Islanders were forced to go “home”’. MA thesis, University of Auckland, 1998
- Mulder, Yvonne M. , ‘Western Samoa and New Zealand: Small State – Large State Relations’, MA thesis, University of Canterbury, 1980
- Savelio, Antonina Eimas Miriama, ‘Shut the Door – They’re Coming Through the Window: An Immigration and Citizenship Crisis Between the New Zealand Government and the People of Samoa, in 1982’, MA thesis, University of Auckland, 2005
- Underhill-Sem, Yvonne J. , ‘Population Mobility as a Household Strategy: The Case of Manihiki Atoll, Cook Islands’, MA thesis, University of Canterbury, 1989
- Whitehead, David Warwick, ‘Tongans in Auckland: A Preliminary Investigation of the Tongan Community in the Central Auckland Urban Area’, MA thesis, Massey University, 1974
Journals and articles
Selected articles about the dawn raids published over the past 50 years.
- Anae, Melani, ‘Towards a NZ-Born Samoan Identity: Some Reflections on “Labels”’, Pacific Health Dialog, 1997
- Asafo, Dylan and Litia Tuiburelevu, ‘Critical Race Theory and the Law in New Zealand’, Counter Futures, vol. 12, 15 Aug. 2022
- Bedford, Richard, ‘Immigration Policy and Migration to New Zealand from the South Pacific, 1986–87’, Asia Pacific Migration Journal, 1987
- Bedford, Richard and Wendy Larner, ‘Pacific Islanders in New Zealand in the 1980s’, Asia Pacific Migration Journal, 1992
- Bedford, Richard and Elizabeth Crampton, ‘Immigration and the Changing Ethnic Composition of New Zealand’, New Zealand Geographer, vol. 54, no. 2, 1998
- Bedford, Richard, Elsie Ho and Jacqueline Lidgard, ‘International Migration in New Zealand: Context, Components and Policy Issues’, New Zealand Population Review, vol. 28, no. 1, 2002, pp. 1––25
- Bedford, Richard, ‘Pacific Islander Migration Patterns to New Zealand’, Pacific Studies, vol. 35, no. 1, 2013.
- Bertram, I.G. and R.F. Watters, ‘New Zealand and its Small Island Neighbours: A Review of New Zealand Policy Toward the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Kiribati and Tuvalu’, Journal of Pacific History, 1984
- Bowie, Helen, ‘The Ombudsman and Immigration’, Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, 1982
- Brookfield, F.M., ‘New Zealand Citizenship and Western Samoa: A Legacy of the Mandate’. Otago Law Review, 1983
- Brown, Georgia and Adele N. Norris, ‘Pacific Peoples, New Zealand Housing-Related Political Rhetoric and Epistemic Violence’, MAI Journal, 1 Sept. 2023
- Brown, Teena J., ‘Turangawaewae/Tu’ungava’e: Echoes of a Place to Stand and Belong’, Journal of Māori and Pacific Development: He Puna Kōrero, 2002
- Brown-Acton, Phylesha, ‘Hands and Feet: A Reflection on Polynesian Navigation –– a Niue Fakafifine Community Practitioner Perspective in Aotearoa-New Zealand’, Te Kaharoa, vol. 13, no. 1, 2020
- Chan, Yvonne, ‘Overstaying – Challenge Followed by Change’, Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, vol. 11, 1981
- Chapman, Murray, ‘Pacific Island Movement and Socioeconomic Change: Metaphors of Misunderstanding’, Journal of Pacific History, 1991
- Connell, John, ‘Paradise Left? Pacific Island Voyagers in the Modern World’, Journal of Pacific History, 1987.
- Connell, John, ‘In Pursuit of Moving Targets: New Zealand Population Geography in the South Pacific’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, vol. 39, no. 3, 2008, pp. 273–89
- Connell, John, ‘Migration and Development: The Niue Case’, Journal of Pacific Studies, vol. 32, no. 2, 2008
- Connell, John, ‘Niue: Embracing a Culture of Migration’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 34, no. 6, 2008, pp. 1021–40.
- De Bres, Joris and R.J. Campbell, ‘Temporary Labour Migration Between Tonga and New Zealand’, International Labour Review, vol. 112, 1975
- Douglas, Edward M.K., ‘New Polynesian Voyagers: Migrants in New Zealand’, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, 1997
- Dunsford, Deborah, ‘Pacific Migration and Health Issues’, New Zealand Medical Journal, vol. 127, no. 1390, 2014
- Enari, Dion and Innez Haua, ‘A Māori and Pasifika Label – An Old History, New Context’, Genealogy, vol. 5, no. 3, 29 Jul. 2021
- Fresno-Calleja, Paloma, ‘Between Marginality and Marketability: Contesting Representations of Diasporic Pacific Identities’, Studies in Australasian Cinema, vol. 10, no. 2, 2016
- Grainger, Andrew, ‘From Immigrant to Overstayer: Samoan Identity, Rugby, and Cultural Politics of Race and Nation in Aotearoa/New Zealand’, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, vol. 30, no. 1, 2006, pp. 45–61
- Heard, David, ‘Western Samoans as New Zealand Citizens’, Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, vol. 14, 1984
- Johnson, Miranda, ‘The Land of the Wrong White Crowd: Anti-Racist Organizations and Pakeha Identity Politics in the 1970s’, New Zealand Journal of History, vol. 39, no. 2, 2005
- Kupa, Lealofi, ‘Alofa Fai Tamāmanu, Giving Yourself Wholeheartedly: Education that Matters to Tokelau People in Aotearoa NZ’, Waikato Journal of Education, 2022
- Lee, Helen, ‘Return Migration and the Transnational Experience’, International Migration Review, vol. 44, no. 3, 2010
- Levick, Wayne and Richard Bedford, ‘Fiji Labour Migration to New Zealand in the 1980s’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, vol. 29, no. 1, 1988, pp. 75–89
- Loomis, Terrence, ‘The World Economy, New Zealand Restructuring and Pacific Migrant Labour’, Journal of Intercultural Studies, vol. 12, no. 2, 2010
- Luafutu, Fa'amoana John, A Boy Called Broke: My Story, So Far.Occasional Paper no. 2, Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, 1994.
- Macpherson, Cluny, ‘Pacific Islanders’, Asia Pacific Viewpoint, vol. 42, no. 2, 2001
- McCarthy, Angela, ‘Discrimination and Integration of Migrants in New Zealand’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, vol. 34, no. 5, 2021
- McDonald, Caroline J., ‘An Exemplary Leader? New Zealand and Decolonization of the Cook Islands and Niue’, Journal of Pacific History, vol. 55, no. 2, 2020
- McDowell, Tiopira, ‘Ka Hoki a Kupe? The Political Career of Matiu Rata, 1963–1979’, New Zealand Journal of History, vol. 49, no. 1, 2015, pp. 105–25.
- McNeill, Henrietta, ‘Oceania’s “Crimmigration Creep”: Are Deportation and Reintegration Norms Being Diffused?’, Journal of Criminology, vol. 54, no. 3, 2021, pp. 305–22
- McNeill, Henrietta, ‘Deportation as a Neo-Colonial Act: How Deporting State Influence Extends Beyond the Border’, Political Geography, vol. 102, 2023
- Manuela, Sam, ‘Ethnic Identity Buffers the Effect of Discrimination on Family, Life, and Health Satisfaction for Pacific Peoples in New Zealand’, Pacific Health Dialog, vol. 21, no. 7, 22 Jun. 2021, pp. 390–8
- Park, Julie, ‘Pacific Island Migrants in New Zealand: A Historical Overview’, Journal of Pacific Studies, vol. 28, no. 1, 2005.
- Park, Julie and Judith Littleton, ‘Here to Stay – Tracing Through Health the Development of New Zealand as a Pacific Nation’, Journal of New Zealand & Pacific Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, Oct. 2014, pp. 173–89
- Paulsen, Michael, Ron Johnston and James Forrest, ‘Ethnic Enclaves in New Zealand?’, International Journal of Population Geography, vol. 6, no. 5, 2000
- Salesa, Damon, ‘Travel-Happy Samoa: Colonialism, Samoan Migration, and a “Brown Pacific”’, New Zealand Journal of History, vol. 37, no. 2, 2003
- Simon-Kumar, R., ‘Neoliberalism and the New Race Politics of Migration Policy: Changing Profiles of the Desirable Migrant in New Zealand’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 41, no. 7, 2014, pp. 1172–91
- Simpson, Abigail, ‘A “Pacific Reset”? Locating Patterns of Race and Colonisation in New Zealand’s Pacific Labour, Trade and Aid Relationships’, Journal of Pacific History, 2023
- Spoonley, Paul, ‘Polynesian Immigration and the Impact on New Zealand Society’, Pacific Viewpoint, vol. 24, no. 1, 1983
- Spoonley, Paul, Richard Bedford and Cluny Macpherson, ‘Divided Loyalties and Fractured Sovereignty: Transnationalism and the Nation-State in Aotearoa/New Zealand’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2010
- Taylor, John, ‘Transnational Pacific Communities: Social and Economic Impacts’, Journal of Migration Studies, vol. 29, no. 3, 2009
- Thomsen, Patrick Saulmatino, Lana Lopesi and Kevin Lujan Le, ‘Contemporary Moana Mobilities: Settler-Colonial Citizenship, Upward Mobility, and Transnational Pacific Identities’, The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 34, no. 1, 2022, pp. 116–44
- Trlin, A.D., ‘New Zealand’s Admission of Asians and Pacific Islanders’, Center for Migration Studies Special Issues, vol. 5, no. 3, 1987, pp. 199–227.
- Turner, Elizabeth, ‘One Brotherhood in Aotearoa New Zealand: Protest, Resistance and Pacific Reggae’, Music and Politics, vol. 12, no. 2, 2018
- Vaa, Leulu Felise, ‘The Future of Western Samoan Migration to New Zealand’, Asia Pacific Migration Journal, vol. 1, no. 2, 1992
- Williams, David V., ‘New Zealand Immigration Policies and the Law – A Perspective’, Otago Law Review, 1977
- Yan, Roger, Ririwai Fox, Wetini Atutahi Rapana, Waikaremoana Waitoki, Tim McCreanor and Angela Moewaka Barnes, ‘Police Ten 7 Feeds Racial Stereotypes of Māori and Pasifika Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand’, New Zealand Journal of Psychology, vol. 52, issue 1, Apr. 2023.