History

Snippets of sound recalling life in South Canterbury in the 1950s, have been retrieved by Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision from rare and fragile paper recording tape. Sarah Johnston shares what she found.

The traditional image of women in colonial New Zealand is all buttons and crinoline, but such images may belie the reality. A new book written by Dr Catherine Bishop has taken a close look at the role… Audio

Through the final quarter of the 19th Century Pakeha settler numbers swelled. The immigrants sought land and started to create a new, distinct culture. But their land gain came at the cost of Maori…

After the wars, politicians had to figure out how to run the new country. Bold choices saw huge spending on infrastructure, the right of women to vote and the start of refrigeration, helping us out of…

Chinese-born British writer Jung Chang joins the show to discuss her latest book Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister and why she still remains optimistic about the future of her homeland. Audio

For over 30 years, philanthropist and author Christine Fernyhough has built an extraordinary collection of over 4000 everyday objects of mid-century New Zealand craft, design and folk art. Audio, Gallery

United States Navy officer Dr. Robert Ballard is confident he will be the man who finds Amelia Earhart's missing plane, despite coming up short in his latest expedition.  Audio

As British troops leave, settler militia enter the fray. Some Māori chose to fight alongside the Crown while others join new religious movements, which seem to promise a way out of the conflict. 

More than 50 years after women won the right to vote in New Zealand, we appointed our first woman Cabinet minister. Her name was Mabel Howard. Audio

Sir Edmund Hillary might be best-known for climbing Mount Everest, but one of his greatest, most dramatic adventures happened more than two decades later. Audio

Many people are familiar with Dr Zhivago - the epic love story set during the Russian Revolution. What they might not know is the story of how the novel, written by Boris Pasternak, finally came to be… Audio

A Russian cultural foundation has been in Papua New Guinea this month, exhibiting and teaching Russian culture, language and history. Audio

What is your favourite New Zealand television show and why? Audio

Never-before seen film of the immediate aftermath of the 1931 Napier earthquake is now on show at the National Library building in Wellington. Audio, Gallery

Joe Gillard has put together a handy guide of old timey linguistic gems that once gave colourful expression to the English language. Words like honeyfuggle (to flatter someone), ninnyhammer (fool) and… Audio

The battle for the world's steepest street is headed to court - kind of. Ffordd Pen Llech in the Welsh resort of Harlech dethroned Dunedin's Baldwin Street as the world's steepest street in July. But… Audio

Hunger for land and the rise of Kingitanga prompted Governor George Grey to invade Waikato in 1863. Fighting spread over years and into the Bay of Plenty, devastating Maori. But it was not as…

In Europe, factions debated the future of Aotearoa, while Māori had their own ideas how to handle the growing number of Pākehā here. In the end, Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed, but the early promise…

Abel Tasman and James Cook’s first contacts with Māori were complex and sometimes violent. Europeans brought new technologies, food and ideas, such as muskets, potatoes and Christianity. In some cases…