Source: Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage
New stories, videos and personal accounts about the Dawn Raids are now available online, giving New Zealanders new ways to engage with this important chapter in our history.
Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) Senior Pacific Historian Rachel Yates says Dawn Raids material published on the NZ History website helps make this history easier to access and understand.
“Understanding Dawn Raids brings together a historical essay, newly digitised video clips from Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, and other resources that help people understand the causes, impacts and legacy of the Dawn Raids.”
The platform includes a talanoa section that draws on the Pacific practice of open, respectful storytelling and conversation. Through these community voices, people such as the late To‘alepai Lui Tautolo share their lived experiences of racism, migration, work, family, and Pacific community life. This helps audiences understand the Dawn Raids not only as historical events, but as experiences whose impacts and legacy continue to be felt today.
“The timeline and talanoa content give people multiple ways to connect with this history through key events, community stories, project stories, and teacher guides that support learning and discussion.”
Alongside the Understanding Dawn Raids platform, Pacific community contributors are writing a series of biographies of Pacific pioneers for the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. The latest profile, published recently, focuses on Pacific activist and community leader Vui Steve Niumata.
“Work on new biographies will continue, and a new print history of the Dawn Raids is planned for 2027. These projects build on ongoing work to record and share Pacific histories,” says Yates.
Dawn Raids Historical Account Package
Understanding Dawn Raids is part of a wider programme of work developed by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage following the Government’s 2021 Dawn Raids Apology. The programme is being delivered in partnership with the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and Pacific communities.