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Image: Sāmoan Independence Day. 1 January 1962 (https://digitalnz.org/records/43538909/samoan-independence-day-1-january-1962) from Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga on DigitalNZ. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Image cropped.

Decolonising the Pacific

Regional Resources

This entry will help you find the best websites and collections to explore the decolonisation of the Pacific, including Aotearoa New Zealand's continued inte...

Entry last updated: 14/05/24

Image: Kawarau Gorge. Otago NZ (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kawarau_Gorge._Otago_NZ.jpg) by Bernard Spragg. NZ on Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Rivers (New Zealand)

A river is a large stream of moving water that flows into an ocean, lake, or another river. New Zealand has more than 70 river systems. A river system includ...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image: Canoe with sail at Festival of Sail 2011 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canoe_with_sail_at_Festival_of_Sail_2011.jpg) by Michael R Perry on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Senior Primary (Years 5 - 8)

Pacific navigation

Polynesian (Māori ancestors) and European voyagers journeyed to Aotearoa New Zealand for different reasons. They sailed by waka (canoes) and ships. They used...

Entry last updated: 27/05/26

Image: September 1988 Flood, Grey River in Flood, Greymouth (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:September_1988_Flood,_Grey_River_in_Flood,_Greymouth._CC339.jpg) by John Charlton on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Senior Primary (Years 5 - 8)

Floods

Floods happen when large amounts of water from rivers, oceans, seas and lakes overflow onto land. This can result in the loss of lives, and the destruction o...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image:Dusk view of the Valero Energy Corporation's oil refinery in Port Arthur, Texas (https://www.loc.gov/resource/highsm.29635/?r=-0.054,-0.169,1.111,0.926,0) by Carol M. Highsmith on Library of Congress. Public domain (https://guides.loc.gov/p-and-p-rights-and-restrictions/rights#482_high.html). Image cropped.

Senior Primary (Years 5 - 8)

Oil and gas (fossil fuels)

Oil and gas are fossil fuels which means they are formed from fossils, which are the remains of animals and plants that lived long ago. Fossil fuels are used...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image: Waiata performance at Uepohatu Marae (https://gg.govt.nz/image-galleries/10281/media?page=1) on The Governor-General of New Zealand. Public domain (https://gg.govt.nz/copyright-and-licensing). Image cropped.

Māori culture and customs

The arrival of Kupe in Aotearoa marked the beginning of Māori culture and customs in New Zealand. Māori established traditions and rituals before the arrival...

Entry last updated: 6/08/26

Image: Cook's Landing At The Mouth Of The Turanganui River (https://collection.tairawhitimuseum.org.nz/objects/4073/cooks-landing-at-the-mouth-of-the-turanganui-river) by F F C Huddleston. Collection: Tairāwhiti Museum. Ref: 1955.1134. Image use (https://tairawhitimuseum.org.nz/collections/image-use/). Image cropped.

Events of the East Coast

Regional Resources

Māori lived on the East Coast for a long time before the arrival of European settlers, traders, whalers, and missionaries. The region is well known for the a...

Entry last updated: 14/05/24

Image: Lake Matheson reflection of Mount Tasman and Aoraki Mount Cook (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lake_Matheson_reflection_of_Mount_Tasman_and_Aoraki_Mount_Cook.jpg) by Pseudopanax on Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. Image cropped.

Lakes (New Zealand)

New Zealand is a land of lakes. Lakes are home to birds, native fish, and small creatures such as worms, mites, dragonflies, snails, and mussels. Pollution o...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

World War One

World War One, also called the First World War, took place between 1914 and 1918. New Zealand fought as part of the Allies (the British Empire, Italy, France...

Entry last updated: 25/05/26