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Image: The Fowler Traction Engine (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Fowler_Traction_Engine_(11167558985).jpg) by Bernard Sprag. NZ on Wikimedia Commons. CC0 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Inventors and inventions

People who discover new methods of doing things or technology which improve our lifestyle are called inventors. The new technologies which they develop are i...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image: Strongman Mine Disaster memorial MRD 02 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strongman_Mine_Disaster_memorial_MRD_02.jpg) by Mike Dickison on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Disasters (New Zealand)

This entry focuses on New Zealand disasters like shipwrecks, mining disasters and transport disasters. These disasters are often referred to as accidents and...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image: Field workshops in the Western Desert, near Sidi Rezegh (https://www.archives.govt.nz/images/field-workshops-in-the-western-desert-near-sidi-rezegh) by Peter McIntyre. Collection: Archives New Zealand, Ref: R22505114. CC by 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Image cropped.

World War Two (causes and impacts)

World War II started in 1939 when many countries, including New Zealand, declared war on Germany when it attacked Poland. The rise of fascism and Hitler's ne...

Entry last updated: 14/04/26

Netball

Netball was adapted from an early version of basketball in the 1890s in the United States. Today it is a popular sport for girls and women in New Zealand and...

Entry last updated: 10/07/25

Image: Ōtorohanga, Maniapoto Street (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C5%8Ctorohanga,_Maniapoto_Street.jpg) by Ulrich Lange on Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en). Image cropped.

Kiwiana (New Zealand)

The culture of New Zealand is unique. It includes bits of history from various sections of society that go to make up New Zealand. You can see it in items li...

Entry last updated: 22/04/26

Image: Glass Plate Negative: Kate W. Sheppard (https://collection.canterburymuseum.com/objects/243177/glass-plate-negative-kate-w-sheppard) by Henry Herbert Clifford. Collection: Canterbury Museum. Ref: S62/1/2. Image cropped.

Kate Sheppard (1847–1934)

Kate Sheppard was born in England on 10 March 1847. She and her family moved to New Zealand in the late 1860s. Kate was a founding member of the Women's Chri...

Entry last updated: 30/09/25

Image: Urbanesia weaving workshop at Pacifica Arts Centre (https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/48666) by Smita Biswas. Collection: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections URB-D-2015-059. Image cropped.

Communication

Historically people have been communicating with each other in many different ways. There is verbal communication, which uses sounds and spoken language, non...

Entry last updated: 14/04/26

Image: War veterans at the dedication ceremony for the Takapuna War memorial, The Strand, Takapuna (https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/31437/rec/161) by Fiona Henderson. Collection: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections T7394. Image cropped.

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Changing views on conflict

Regional Resources

This entry recommends resources to find out how New Zealand's involvement and views of conflict have changed over time, and how wars are commemorated. It als...

Entry last updated: 14/05/24

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Image: Massey and Ward inspecting Pioneer Maori Battalion Soldiers (https://digitalnz.org/records/35077492/massey-and-ward-inspecting-pioneer-maori-battalion-soldiers) by Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga on DigitalNZ. CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/). Image cropped.

Māori Battalion

Although there was a Māori contingent in the First World War, the 28th Māori Battalion was only established in October 1939. Part of the 2nd New Zealand Expe...

Entry last updated: 6/07/26