In the 1860s and early 70s, Māori and colonial forces clashed in a series of brutal conflicts across the central North Island. Tensions over land had been growing for 20 years, as numbers of British settlers soared.

Māori staunchly defended their lands and authority, but thousands were killed. The conflicts displaced and impoverished Māori for generations.

This exhibition explores the most explosive and sustained period of conflict in the New Zealand Wars: 1860–72.

Header image
William Strutt, View of Mt Egmont, Taranaki, New Zealand, taken from New Plymouth, with Maoris driving off settlers’ cattle, 1861, oil on canvas. Te Papa (2015-0042-1)