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Kiwi of the Week

Te Rauparaha

Te Rauparaha was a Ngati Toa chief and warrior. Sometimes called the 'Napoleon of the Southern Hemisphere', he ruled the lower end of the North Island from his base at Kapiti Island for the best part of 20 years

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Today in History

3 December

1863 Land confiscation law passed

This law allowed for the confiscation (raupatu) of Māori land to punish North Island tribes which were deemed to have rebelled against the British Crown in the early 1860s. Pākehā settlers would occupy the confiscated land. more...

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Raupatu - Maori King movement 1860-94

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1960 Bluff Island Harbour opened

The 40-ha man-made Island Harbour, eight years in the making, is the centrepiece of the modern port facilities at Bluff, New Zealand's southernmost commercial deepwater port. more...