Ten years ago today my most important book was officially launched. The Great War for New Zealand: Waikato 1800-2000, published by Bridget Williams Books,...

Rā Maumahara, the national day of remembrance for the New Zealand Wars, is coming up on 28 October and Te Awamutu Museum have organised a series of free...

Historians and archivists warn the cuts could see backlogs grow and items go neglected, as the Government says restructuring is needed for financial sustainability.

The ACT party’s newly-announced policy to abolish the Waitangi Tribunal once it has completed hearing all historical inquiries may be deeply ill-informed....

Historians count the cost of a proposed restructure at the National Library and Archives NZ

This newsletter was launched in March 2025. In my first post, I talked about how I saw this as an extension of my goal to help raise awareness of Aotearoa...

When it comes to AI, call me a sceptic. It doesn’t help that five of my books were illegally downloaded by Anthropic for AI ‘training’ purposes according to...

I am pleased to share the news that a new edition of The Treaty of Waitangi Companion will be published by Bridget Williams Books this November. To pre-order...

Weaving together voices, documents and images from centuries of cooperation, conflict and change, The Treaty of Waitangi Companion ranges from first contact between Māori and Europeans to today’s deba...

Last Saturday I travelled up to Tāmaki Makaurau to attend the premiere of NZ Wars: Stories of Waerenga-a-Hika at the iconic Capitol Cinema on Dominion Road...

On 9 July 1863 a proclamation was issued by the government addressed to 'the natives of Mangere, Pukaki, Ihumatao, Te Kirikiri, Patumahoe, Pokeno, and...

SATURDAY, 12PM. NZ Wars: Stories of Waerenga-a-Hika combines the accounts of iwi historians and Dr Vincent O'Malley to tell the story of Waerenga-a-Hika.

Back in 2022, when Archives New Zealand released its disastrous Collections search tool, many researchers despaired (or called for an inquiry). Collections...

Back in 2022, when Archives New Zealand released its disastrous Collections search tool, many researchers despaired (or called for an inquiry). Collections...

Over the years I have spent a fair bit of time researching Māori institutions of self-government, particularly in the nineteenth century. My first book, way...

The Waitangi Tribunal turned fifty last October, marking a half century since the passage of the Treaty of Waitangi Act in 1975. I posted about this at the...

Meridian encourages worried users to talk things through with the energy provider's team.

I am taking part in a roundtable event at the Stout Research Centre on 6 May to discuss Charlotte Macdonald’s excellent recent book Garrison World: Redcoat...

Vincent O’Malley writes that war in the Waikato between July 1863 and April 1864 ‘goes to the very core of who we are as a nation’. The crippling legacy was ...

On 21 February 1864 Crown forces attacked the settlement of Rangiaowhia. On the anniversary of that attack, this piece explains what happened that day and...

YouTube video by Featherston Booktown