'They don't know the history' - NZers know more about foreign wars than our own

Saturday is Te Pūtake o te Riri, the national day of commemoration for the New Zealand Wars.

But experts say the commemorations are at risk of passing by unnoticed outside of Māori circles.

The New Zealand Wars saw nearly three decades of conflict over land and sovereignty from the 1840s, between British forces and some iwi.

In 2016, the government set 28 October as a day of commemoration after a petition by students at Ōtorohanga College, but stopped short of creating a new national holiday.

The petition also called for New Zealand history to be taught in schools, which the government also agreed to. The curriculum was being rolled out this year.

Professor of Māori education at Victoria University Joanna Kidman said even after more than five years of Te Pūtake o te Riri, there were still a lot of people unsure of what the kaupapa was all about.

"For Māori this is a really important day, because these stories that we have carried with us are incredibly important - we live with the consequences of those wars now.

"I think there is a lot of uncertainty outside of [Māori] circles. We know that there are many Pākehā who are really interested in the history of this country but for many of them they don't know the history, so there are still a lot of people around who are not really sure about what all of this remembering the wars is all about."

Kidman said New Zealanders did not have the same level of knowledge of the conflicts as they do of wars fought abroad.

There were a few things which could be done to elevate Te Pūtake o te Riri in the national consciousness, starting with the teaching of history, she said.

"The new history curriculum is being rolled out for the first time this year. That is really important, what that means is that future generations of New Zealanders will be exposed to these stories."

Second, she said historical sites needed to be well maintained so visitors could get a sense of what happened there.

"In many cases, the places where battles occurred are now in private property, so there isn't access to all of those spaces - if you go to them you might just be standing in the middle of a paddock somewhere.

"So it's really important that people have identifiable places to go to so they can see where the conflicts took place."

Kidman said sites like Ruapekapeka near the Bay of Islands and Rangiriri in Waikato were well-maintained, and had good information telling the story of the battles that took place there.

Waikato kaumātua Tom Roa said it was sad these important events in our history did not seem to capture the public's attention, despite the efforts of the students who first brought the issue forward.

"If we are to really understand our history and what caused us to be how we are today, and lessons we might learn to not repeat the same mistakes moving into the future, then Te Pūtake o te Riri and its broader promulgation of that history... should be given a much better attention than it is today."

Roa said he was not hopeful that Te Pūtake o te Riri would be given a greater emphasis in the national consciousness under a new government.

Te Pūtake o te Riri commemorations were hosted in different parts of Aotearoa every year, roughly following the course of the wars. This year, the iwi of Tauranga Moana were hosts. Events included a mass haka powhiri performed by around 600 toa on the site of the battle of Pukehinahina Gate Pā.

Organisers Charlie Rahiri told Māpuna last week there was a desire in Tauranga to learn the region's history, especially among young people.

"I do believe that as a nation we are on the precipice of change, and things like Pūtake o te Riri, teaching our history in schools, contribute to us growing up and maturing as a nation. Because our children will know the true history of this country and will understand each other a lot more."

Te Pūtake o te Riri enabled Māori to tell their own stories and in the long run it would create a stronger sense of nationhood, Rahiri said.