New Zealand Journal of History

New Zealand Journal of History
Title	New Zealand Journal of History
Discipline	History
Language	English
Country	New Zealand
Publisher	Royal Historical Society of New Zealand
History	1967–present
Frequency	Annual
Issn	0028-8644

New Zealand Journal of History is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarship on the history of New Zealand, the Pacific, and related comparative studies. It has been associated with the Royal Historical Society of New Zealand, the University of Auckland, the University of Otago, and the Alexander Turnbull Library through contributors and editorial activity. The journal regularly engages with topics connected to the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori leaders such as Hone Heke and Te Puea Hērangi, colonial figures like William Hobson and Governor Grey, and international contexts including the Colonial Office, the British Empire, and the ANZAC campaigns.

History and development

The journal was established in 1967 with founding editors linked to the University of Canterbury, the University of Wellington, the University of Auckland, and the University of Otago and drew on networks including the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Alexander Turnbull Library, the National Library of New Zealand, and the Department of Internal Affairs. Early issues featured work on Māori land issues tied to the Native Land Court, the New Zealand Wars involving Tītokowaru and Riwha Tītokowaru, and biographies of figures such as Captain Cook, Kupe, and Te Whiti o Rongomai, alongside comparative studies referencing the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, and the State Library of New South Wales. Through the 1970s and 1980s editorial boards included scholars associated with Massey University, Victoria University of Wellington, Canterbury Museum, and Otago Settlers Museum, while debates engaged institutions like the Waitangi Tribunal, the Privy Council, and the New Zealand Parliament. In recent decades the journal has reflected shifts prompted by the Māori Renaissance, bicultural initiatives linked to the Waitangi Tribunal, trans-Tasman dialogues with the National Library of Australia, and global debates featuring the British Library, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Australian National University.

Scope and content

The journal publishes original research on New Zealand history, Pacific Islands history, and comparative colonial studies that intersect with topics such as the Treaty of Waitangi, land confiscation cases adjudicated by the Native Land Court, and biographies of leaders like Te Kooti, Apirana Ngata, and Sir Āpirana Ngata. Articles situate New Zealand within imperial frameworks referencing the Colonial Office, the Admiralty, the British Army, and the Royal Navy, and connect to international events such as the First World War, the Second World War, the Gallipoli campaign, and postwar migration linked to the Commonwealth Immigrants Act and the Colombo Plan. The journal includes archival research drawing on collections at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Archives New Zealand, the Hocken Collections, and regional repositories like the Canterbury Museum, the Puke Ariki, and the Rotorua Museum, as well as engagement with oral histories related to leaders such as Dame Whina Cooper and Sir Ānaru Ranapia. Thematic coverage spans urban history of Auckland and Wellington, rural studies of Canterbury and Otago, labour history involving the Waterside Workers’ Union and the Red Feds, cultural history touching on artists like Rita Angus and Colin McCahon, and economic histories involving debates around the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company.

Editorial policy and contributors

Editorial practice emphasizes peer review and editorial standards upheld by editors drawn from the University of Auckland, Victoria University of Wellington, the University of Otago, Massey University, and Canterbury University College, with advisory input from scholars associated with the Royal Historical Society of New Zealand, the New Zealand Society of Authors, and the New Zealand Historical Association. Contributors include historians whose work intersects with figures such as Michael King, James Belich, Judith Binney, Angela Ballara, and historians connected to research centres at the Stout Research Centre, the NZCER, and the Institute of Historical Research. The journal welcomes submissions reflecting archival work in repositories like the National Archives (UK), the British Library, the Mitchell Library, and the State Library of Victoria, and methodological approaches referencing oral history practice associated with the Oral History Centre at the Alexander Turnbull Library and museum studies from Te Papa Tongarewa.

Publication details and circulation

Published annually and distributed through channels connected to university presses such as Otago University Press, Auckland University Press, and Victoria University Press, the journal has a circulation reaching subscribers at institutions including the National Library of New Zealand, the Alexander Turnbull Library, the Hocken Collections, the State Library of New South Wales, and the Australian National University. Institutional subscribers include the University of Canterbury Library, the University of Otago Library, the University of Auckland Library, the British Library, the Library of Congress, and the National Archives (UK). Back issues are held by museums and archives such as the Puke Ariki, Canterbury Museum, and Te Papa Tongarewa, and its ISSN and bibliographic records are indexed in databases used by the Royal Historical Society and research libraries.

Impact and reception

Scholars have cited the journal in debates involving the Waitangi Tribunal, Treaty of Waitangi jurisprudence, land rights claims engaging the Native Land Court, and reassessments of settler biographies including Governor Grey, Edward Stafford, and Julius Vogel. Reviews and critiques in venues linked to the New Zealand Herald, the Listener, the Dominion Post, and academic forums at the University of Auckland and Victoria University have engaged with contributions by historians such as James Belich, Michael King, Claudia Orange, and Anne Salmond, and with archival revelations from the Alexander Turnbull Library and Archives New Zealand. The journal has influenced museum exhibitions at Te Papa Tongarewa and regional institutions, curricular developments at universities including Massey University and Otago, and public history projects connected to ANZAC commemorations, Gallipoli interpretations, and bicultural heritage initiatives involving iwi such as Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Porou, and Waikato-Tainui.

Notable articles and special issues

Notable articles have examined the New Zealand Wars with reference to leaders like Hone Heke and Te Kooti, settler narratives involving Edward Gibbon Wakefield and William Wakefield, Māori political movements including the Kingitanga and Ratana Church, and analyses of migration linked to the Little Norway training base, Pacific Island labourer movements, and postwar migration policies. Special issues have focused on topics such as the Treaty of Waitangi anniversaries, the Gallipoli centenary, urban histories of Auckland and Wellington, Māori oral histories featuring Dame Whina Cooper and Te Puea Hērangi, and comparative imperial studies engaging the Colonial Office, the British Empire, and the Australian colonial administrations. The journal’s archival essays have drawn on sources from the Alexander Turnbull Library, Archives New Zealand, the Hocken Collections, and international repositories including the British Library and the National Archives (UK).

Category:New Zealand history journals