William Ray

From a standing start of little tank engines chugging along wooden rails, New Zealand built a vast rail network, made up of enough steel rail to wrap halfway around the moon. Video, Audio

Marine mammals were a source of food and clothing for Māori and Moriori, and valuable oil for Europeans. Hunting them brought cultures together, made fortunes and cost lives but today it's saving them… Video, Audio

These are the wars that cost more lives than any other in our history. Stretched over more than a decade & the entire country, these conflicts changed Māori warfare & much of what came next.

Moriori are the original people of Rēkohu (aka Chatham Island or Wharekauri) & they have a tragic and inspiring story. Unfortunately, that story's often been twisted into, well, utter rubbish. Video, Audio

In 1841 a few tiny islands of Pākehā settlement existed in an ocean of Māori land. Today, that picture has reversed & Māori own a fraction of Aotearoa. A big part of the reason? The Native Land Court.

The discovery of gold drew tens of thousands to New Zealand in search of fortune. It was a hard life, but diggers brought mateship, fashion & egalitarian ideas that changed the country forever. Video, Audio

New Zealanders have battled Covid-19 for more than two years, but if you think it's the first time disease has knocked us around, well, this one's for you. Epidemics have long been part of our story. 

The first 500 years of Māori settlement in Aotearoa saw significant, dynamic changes to how people lived; changes that challenge the idea of Māori culture as something carved in stone. Video, Audio

No-one knows for sure who first introduced rabbits to New Zealand, because no-one wanted to take the blame for what became one of New Zealand's biggest environmental and economic disasters. We start… Video, Audio

Queen Elizabeth's most important visit to Aotearoa came in 1953.

It marked the first time a reigning British Monarch had set foot in the country.

The occasion was a focus of intense celebration, but… Audio

The Aotearoa History Show is back with 14 new episodes diving deep into some of the key issues, events and characters that helped shaped our country. Video

Summer science continues with a play of a science related episode from RNZ's Black Sheep podcast. Invasive tells the story of one man who released thousands of invasive fish into New Zealand's rivers… Audio

A Mount Maunganui bakery has been forced to close for 14 days and throw out all their stock after a Covid-19-infected truck driver from Auckland visited twice.

There are 11 new cases of Covid in the… Audio

George Wilder is an accidental folk hero. He never sought the spotlight, but his three escapes from prison in the 1960s made him a national sensation. Black Sheep investigates his story. Audio

In the second of Black Sheep's two part episode on Sir George Grey, Aotearoa is launched into the worst conflicts of the New Zealand Wars. For more on the Waikato War, watch and listen to Stories of… Audio

Sir George Grey led Aotearoa into some of the worst conflicts of the New Zealand Wars. But at the beginning of his career many saw him as a defender of indigenous rights - including some Māori! So… Audio

Black Sheep returns for a Sixth Season! Audio

On his quest to research for another Black Sheep podcast, RNZ's William Ray came across the story of how a song about George Wilder was banned on public radio. He talks to Jesse about his… Audio

The war on Waikato reaches its climactic conclusion at the Battle of Ooraakau—but that's just the beginning of the struggle for Kiingitanga. Audio