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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

10 April

1968 Sinking of the Wahine

The ferry Wahine, en route from Lyttelton and carrying 734 passengers and crew, struck Barrett Reef at the entrance to Wellington Harbour during a ferocious storm. Fifty-two lives were lost. more...

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New Zealand disasters timeline The Wahine disaster Rough crossings - Cook Strait ferries End of the line - Lyttelton-Wellington ferries 1968 - key events Cook Strait's dangerous waters - roadside stories Wahine disaster 45 years on

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1973 Labour government postpones Springbok rugby tour

Following police warnings of civil strife, Prime Minister Norman Kirk informed the New Zealand Rugby Football Union that the government saw ‘no alternative’ to a postponement of the planned tour by the South African Springboks. more...