Pacific: Videos

This episode explores the landscape of Aotearoa in the 1970s and the global political factors that led to the economic decline that turned the tide of public sentiment against ‘illegal immigrants'. [15 minutes]

What led Commissioner Larsen, the New Zealand administrator of Niue in the 1950s, to be murdered in his bed by three locals hell-bent on justice and revenge? In an extraordinary story of the trauma suffered by indigenous people at the hands of an alleged tyrant, a dramatic chapter in NZ and Niuean history is unravelled. Niuean family members, politicians and historians give their perspectives on the little-known New Zealand colonial history of the ‘realm nation’ of Niue.

The Mau became a revolutionary movement for Samoa’s independence against New Zealand’s brutal period of colonial administration. In what is possibly one of the most significant stories of New Zealand’s little-known history in the region, this episode looks at the events that led to the rise of the ‘Mau’ resistance movement and the fatal consequences of New Zealand’s rule in Samoa.

This is a story of indigenous land rights gone awry, a makutu from an aggrieved family and the failed business ventures of an infamous 'haunted hotel' in Rarotonga.In pre-colonial times, it was the scene of bloody battles between rival tribes, and ancient spirits are said to patrol the area. It is also the subject of a bitter ownership dispute that dates back more than a century and which gave rise to the curse that is still said to hang over the area.

In this episode we will examine how and why Indian populations were brought to Fiji, and how the inequities under the colonial government’s ‘Girmit’ system, created a society of instability and countless coups. Delving into the legacy of the colonial history that underpins much of the racial disharmony in modern day Fiji, this episode examines some of the fraught factors that have led to the migration of Indo-Fijian and indigenous Fijian communities to Aotearoa.