pacific peoples

Events In History

Articles

New Zealand in Samoa

  • New Zealand in Samoa

    New Zealand was ill-equipped to cope with the Western Samoa mandate it was allocated by the League of Nations in 1920. The Mau movement's passive resistance culminated in the violence of 'Black Saturday', 28 December 1929, which left 11 Samoans and one New Zealand policeman dead.

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  • Page 2 – Background

    When war broke out in Europe in August 1914, Britain asked New Zealand to seize German Samoa as a 'great and urgent Imperial service'.

  • Page 4 – Sowing seeds of discontent

    By 1926, anti-New Zealand feeling was strong throughout Samoa.

  • Page 5 – The rise of the Mau movement

    Samoa has a history of opposition to European rule, but the opposition that emerged in the late 1920s was organised and widespread.

  • Page 6 – Stepping up the Mau campaign

    In January 1928 Mau policeman, dressed in a uniform of a purple lavalava with a white stripe, began enforcing a sā - ban - on European stores in Apia.

  • Page 7 – Black Saturday

    One New Zealand policeman and up to 11 Samoans, including Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, were killed in Apia on Black Saturday - 28 December 1929.

  • Page 8 – Towards independence

    On 4 June 2002 Prime Minister Helen Clark offered 'a formal apology to the people of Samoa for the injustices arising from New Zealand's administration of Samoa in its earlier

Pacific Islanders in the NZEF

Pacific aftermath

Anzac Day in the Pacific

  • Anzac Day in the Pacific

    Armistice Day was the initial focal point for commemorations in the Cook Islands and Niue after the First World War. But because men from both countries had served in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, observances gradually shifted to Anzac Day in April

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  • Page 2 – Early commemorative efforts

    During the 1920s war memorials provided a focus for commemoration services in the Cook Islands, where the first Anzac Day service was possibly held in 1927. On Niue, Armistice

  • Page 3 – The growth of Anzac Day

    By the end of the Second World War military commemorations in the Cook Islands and Niue centered around Anzac Day. Services in both countries followed the pattern of those in

  • Page 4 – Present day commemorations

    In the new millennium there has been increasing interest in the story of Pacific Island involvement in the First World War. In the Cook Islands there have been efforts to

  • Page 5 – Further information

    Books and further reading relating to the history of Anzac Day in the Pacific Islands of Niue and the Cook Islands

The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy

  • The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy

    The 1974-6 dawn raids have been described as ‘the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand’s history’

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  • Page 1 - The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacyThe 1974-6 dawn raids have been described as ‘the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand’s

Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids

Government apologies

Capture of German Samoa

  • Capture of German Samoa

    When war broke out in Europe in August 1914, Britain asked New Zealand to seize German Samoa as a ‘great and urgent Imperial service’. Although the tiny German garrison offered no opposition, at the time it was regarded as a potentially risky action.

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  • Page 3 – Seizing German Samoa

    With hindsight, New Zealand's capture of German Samoa on 29 August 1914 was an easy affair. But at the time it was regarded as a potentially risky action with uncertain

  • Page 4 – Wartime administration

    German officials were replaced by New Zealand military officers, civilians, or British residents. These often lacked the experience or qualifications to do the job.

State housing

  • State housing

    New Zealand's first state house was formally opened on 18 September 1937. But the government has provided rental housing for New Zealanders for more than a century. Explore the history of this country's various state housing schemes and their contribution to the New Zealand way of life.

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  • Page 6 - Making ends meetFor low-paid workers and beneficiaries, making ends meet has always been a constant struggle.  Life can be even tougher for those without a home of their