Ko te manu e kai ana i te miro, nōna te ngahere
Ko te manu e kai ana i te mātauranga, nōna te Ao
The bird who feeds on miro has the forest
The bird who feeds on knowledge has the world
Nau mai, haere mai ki Tāmaki Herenga Waka.
Ka nui te mihi ki a Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei te iwi mana whenua.
Tihei Mauri Ora!
AHI Mission Statement
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is situated amongst many volcanoes on an isthmus that is flanked by the Manukau and Waitematā harbours. The cones punctuate the skyline and the ocean is never far from view. These iconic features of the whenua have not only shaped the landscape but also the many peoples who have settled in this unique environment over centuries.
Welcome to the Auckland History Initiative. This research collaboration focuses on understanding the physical and cultural development of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as well as the wider Auckland region extending from Northland to the Waikato, and Auckland’s connections with international and global networks of trade, governance and culture.
In order to advance that understanding the AHI takes several approaches. These include:
- To increase students’ engagement with Auckland history, to stimulate their interest in and knowledge of their immediate surroundings and to enhance their employability
- To build relationships between the University of Auckland and Auckland’s Iwi and GLAM sector (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums)
- To continue to establish relationships and research collaborations in the area of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland history across disciplines and faculties at the University of Auckland
- To enhance public outreach by hosting public events focused on inviting discussion on the history of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
- To promote and support research into Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland history through an online platform and associated social media.
Read our AHI Summer Scholars work below
1920s Fashion in Auckland, New Zealand
by Caitlin Kilpatrick*
“When, in future years, some energetic historian sets out to write the last word on the evolution of the world’s fashions, he or she as the case may be – probably he – will need to ponder seriously over Spring 1927.”
Prisoners to Patients – the Pre-Asylum State of Mental Health Care in Auckland
by Sasha Finer*
“A glance at the report of the inquest will show the evil of committing people of diseased mind to either the gaol or hospital. If any one ever required special treatment – medical, hygienic, or domestic – it is the lunatic.”
Opening the Door to the Private Spaces of Auckland’s Queer Communities
by Freiderike Voit*
In 1986, the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalised sex between men aged sixteen and over. This law change was the culmination of a decade and half of political discussion, and had mobilised New Zealanders to voice their opinions on homosexuality in over 1100 submissions to the Justice and Law Reform Select Committee.