Vincent O'Malley

Guest writer

Vincent O’Malley is a founding partner of HistoryWorks, a Wellington consultancy specialising in Treaty of Waitangi research, and is the author of a number of books on New Zealand history including The Meeting Place: Māori and Pākehā Encounters, 1642–1840, Beyond the Imperial Frontier: The Contest for Colonial New Zealand and The Great War for New Zealand: Waikato 1800-2000. His most recent book is Voices from the New Zealand Wars / He Reo nō ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa.

Remembering the Waikato War, Te Riri ki Tainui

Remembering the Waikato War, Te Riri ki Tainui

'This was a defining and transformative conflict in the nation’s history … It is the story of how we got to where we are today.'

By Vincent O'Malley | 28th October, 2024

The 1863 assault on Rangiriri by Thomas Redmayne. Courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library

The war in Tauranga, which pretends history never happened there

The British entered the pā with ease, encountering minimal resistance. Suddenly, a tremendous but invisible fire was let loose upon them.

By Vincent O'Malley | 6th February, 2023

From left: Te Wairoa Piripi, Hekiera Te Rangai, Huihi
Pou-Patate, Te Huia Raureti, Mahu Te
Mona and Te Wharerangi Parekawa all fought in the Waikato War (Photo: James Cowan, c.1914,
Alexander Turnbull Library, 1/1-017975-g)

Remembering raupatu: A forgotten anniversary

'I am filled with horror,' wrote Henry Sewell, on learning of the 1863 legislation.

By Vincent O'Malley | 3rd December, 2021

Archives NZ’s Auckland Records Centre in the 1980s, from a personal collection of photos taken by Auckland Regional Office staff. Source: Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga via Flickr CC BY 2.0

Vincent O’Malley on the slashing of public reading hours at Archives NZ

Fresh off another Ockhams nomination, here's one of New Zealand's foremost historians on the realities of research – and the end of a golden era at our national archive.

By Vincent O'Malley | 5th February, 2020

Flags fly on the maunga at Ihumātao. Photo: Don Rowe.

Our trail of tears: the story of Ihumātao

The standoff at Ihumātao has deep roots in the legacy of colonialism and land confiscation. Historian Vincent O'Malley writes about how it was taken by the Crown, and why that matters today.

By Vincent O'Malley | 27th December, 2019

Flags fly on the maunga at Ihumātao. Photo: Don Rowe.

Our trail of tears: the story of Ihumātao

The legacy of colonialism and land confiscation is inescapable in the standoff over Ihumātao.

By Vincent O'Malley | 27th July, 2019

The New Zealand Wars: acknowledging ‘an almost incomprehensible level of loss’

The New Zealand Wars: acknowledging ‘an almost incomprehensible level of loss’

In this startling extract from his new book, The New Zealand Wars Ngā Pakanga o Aotearoa, Vincent O'Malley explains how the decimation of Māori in Tūranga "completely eclipsed" the country's losses in Gallipoli.

By Vincent O'Malley | 17th May, 2019

The 1863 assault on Rangiriri by Thomas Redmayne. Courtesy of Alexander Turnbull Library

Waitangi Week: the war in Tauranga, which pretends history never happened there

All week this week we feature tangata whenua writings to mark Waitangi Day. Today: Vincent O'Malley reviews a new history of the battle of Gate Pā.

By Vincent O'Malley | 5th February, 2019

The fight at Rangiaowhia. (Image: Alexander Turnbull Library / Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 1-W0475)

Learning (and not learning) about the New Zealand Wars

Historian Vincent O'Malley conducted his own survey over the weekend on what people did and didn't learn about New Zealand history at school. The results, no matter how unscientific, still paint a clear picture.

By Vincent O'Malley | 11th June, 2018

Remembering our forgotten war (WATCH)

Remembering our forgotten war (WATCH)

The Stories of Ruapekapeka is a special online project by RNZ and Mihingarangi Forbes about Northland’s most infamous armed conflict. Historian Vincent O'Malley writes about the importance of acknowledging the darker episodes of New Zealand's past.

By Vincent O'Malley | 26th October, 2017