Events

Public talk – ‘Owen Woodhouse: an unlikely revolutionary?’ by Jim McAloon (Wellington, 7 October)

Posted on October 3 2026

Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Seminar “How to write about a life: current (auto)biography and memoir in Aotearoa New Zealand”“Owen Woodhouse: an unlikely revolutionary?” Professor Jim McAloon Owen Woodhouse (1916-2014) was a Judge of the Supreme Court (now the High Court) from 1961 until 1974 and then of the Court of Appeal

Dunedin Heritage Weekend: 9-11 October

Posted on October 3 2026

Please see the notice below for information about Dunedin Heritage Weekend from 9-11 October. For more information, click here.

Auckland Heritage Festival 2026 – Tastes of Tāmaki: A Heritage Feast (26 September – 11 October)

Posted on September 26 2026

Auckland Heritage Festival 2026Tastes of Tāmaki: A Heritage Feast 26 September – 11 October This year’s theme, Tastes of Tāmaki: A Heritage Feast, centres our celebrations on the history and heritage of food and beverage in Auckland. Food is a universal language that tells rich stories of migration, resilience, innovation, and manaakitanga (hospitality). It connects us to our past and reflects

Book launch – ‘My Own Sort of Heaven: A Life of Rosalie Gascoigne’ by Nicola Francis (Wellington, 1 October)

Posted on September 8 2026

The New Zealand Portrait Gallery is hosting author and historian Nicola Francis on Thursday 1 October, where she will launch her new book, My Own Sort of Heaven: A Life of Rosalie Gascoigne, published by Australian National University Press. 5pm, Thursday 1 OctoberNew Zealand Portrait Gallery, Wellington Joining for the event is curator, poet, painter, essayist, and anthologist Gregory O’Brien

Celebrating Mahuru Māori: He wheako reorua o He Tohu and Pipitea walking tours (Wellington, 9 and 11 September)

Posted on September 3 2026

Mahuru Māori event series This Mahuru Māori, join a reorua (bilingual) He Tohu experience and hīkoi around Pipitea to celebrate te reo Māori and the unique hītori (history) of Pipitea. Deepen your understanding about ingoa tūturu (original place names) and the wāhi (space) whereHe Tohu currently sits. Note more than one tour date below: Date: Wednesday 9 September 2026 and Friday 11 September 2026Time: 12pm to 1:30pmCost: Free. Venue: Te Ahumairangi

Public talk – ‘‘That Glorious Night in Oxford’: David Lange and the speech that shaped a nation’ (Wellington, 15 September)

Posted on September 3 2026

Friends of the Turnbull event series If you remember the famous quote from David Lange — “And I’m going to give it to you if you hold your breath just for a moment … I can smell the uranium on it as you lean towards me,” make sure you don’t miss this engaging talk from author Greg Bruce on 15 September. Greg Bruce

Public talk by Graeme Aitken – ‘How to write about a life: current (auto)biography and memoir in Aotearoa New Zealand’ (Wellington, 9 September)

Posted on August 26 2026

Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Seminar Series “How to write about a life: current (auto)biography and memoir in Aotearoa New Zealand” Mining the Memories Graeme Aitken This seminar will trace the process I went through in the period leading up to and the writing of a memoir about my life, much of which was

Public talk by Tony Ballantyne – Wellington, 25 August

Posted on August 15 2026

Date/time: Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 6.00pm – 7.00pm Bridget Williams Books warmly invites you to attend a talk by Tony Ballantyne, author of Captain Cook and the Unsettled Afterlives of Empire. James Cook is one of the most contested figures in Aotearoa New Zealand’s past. Today, his name evokes not only exploration and scientific endeavour but also the violence of first

PHANZA social gathering – Wellington, 25 August

Posted on August 15 2026

Please join members of the Professional Historians’ Association of New Zealand Aotearoa for an informal social gathering following Professor Tony Ballantyne’s talk at the National Library about his new book Captain Cook and the Unsettled Afterlives of Empire. Tuesday, 25 August 2026, ~7pm If you can make it, please fill in this form by 23 August. We’ll meet in the foyer of

Public talk – The Rise and Fall of Seacliff (Dunedin, 26 August)

Posted on August 6 2026

Jonathan Howard of Heritage New Zealand will be giving a public talk, The Rise and Fall of Seacliff, on Wednesday 26 August. Visions for Dunedin: Our Heritage, Our FutureWednesday 26 August 2026 – 5.30pmDunningham Suite | Level 4 | Dunedin Public LibraryKoha welcome Speaker: Jonathan Howard (HNZPT Senior Project Advisor) Talk Title: The Rise and Fall of Seacliff Abstract: Seacliff Asylum, once the

Family History Month at Auckland Libraries: Events throughout August

Posted on July 31 2026

August is Family History Month at Auckland Libraries. Click on the links below to find out more about these events and public talks: Family History Workshop: Introducing DNA research and free family history resources – Tuesday 18 August, 2pm-3.30pm Our Objects, Our Stories – public talk, Saturday 22 August, 11am-12pm DNA 101 – public talk, Saturday 29 August, 11am-12pm Click on the links

We Read Auckland: Reading and Writing Festival (August)

Posted on July 31 2026

Auckland’s month-long local reading and writing festival is back this August! Celebrate the stories of our city with quick-access books, free author events and writing workshops featuring top writers from Tāmaki Makaurau. For information on events and author talks, click here.

Family History Workshop: The Hidden Women of 19th Century Ōtautahi Christchurch (8 August)

Posted on July 31 2026

Click here to find out more about this event. Who are the women behind the artefacts? Every archaeological object tells a human story, yet many of the women connected to these artefacts remain largely invisible in the historical record. Join Memories in Time and Christchurch Archaeology Project for a free, hands-on workshop where you’ll learn practical family history research skills and use them to

Public seminar by Yvette Russell – Indigenous alterity, sexual indifference? On the enduring separation of mana wahine and mana Māori in cultural anthropology (Wellington, 12 August)

Posted on July 24 2026

Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studiesa Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Seminar Indigenous alterity, sexual indifference? On the enduring separation of mana wahine from mana Māori in cultural anthropology Professor Yvette Russell In this kōrero I reflect on the treatment of mana wahine within the colonial ethnographies with a focus on the treatment of the ‘fecundity’ or generativity of mana. This

Highwic Winter Lecture Series, August 2026: Becoming Heritage (Auckland)

Posted on July 23 2026

Heritage New Zealand | Pouhere Taonga is hosting the Highwic Winter Lecture Series in Auckland this August. Speakers include: Julia Gatley – Modern Heritage: A Thing since the 1980sDr David Bade – Ceramic House, New Lynn and Auckland Unitary Plan SchedulingAlexandra Foster – Modern History and the New Zealand Heritage List / Rārangi Kōrero Every heritage place was once new, constructed to house

Queer History Month Pūmahara Ia Te Wā – events and exhibitions

Posted on July 2 2026

July is Queer History Month Pūmahara Ia Te Wā, and 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of the Homosexual Law Reform Act. The National Library in Wellington will be hosting a panel discussion, Untold Stories: Activists Reflect – 40 Years On, on Wednesday 8 July, and will be running an exhibition, Through the Collections: 40 Years of Homosexual Law Reform, on Saturday