Title: The New Zealand Wars
Series: The NZ Series
Author: Matthew Wright
ISBN: : 978-0-947506-93-3
RRP: $29.99
Specs: 240 x 160 mm portrait, PB, 108 pp, colour
Published: 8 July 2021
For Teacher Resource: click here

Why did the New Zealand Wars occur? Who fought them and how did they proceed? And where were these battles fought? In The New Zealand Wars, Matthew Wright answers these questions in probing text supported by  fact boxes and illustrations that make navigating these protracted wars easy.

Building on his 2014 book on the same subject, Wright covers all of the wars’ major incidents, movements and people, including the Battle of Gate Pa, Pai Marire, and figures such as Colonel G.S. Whitmore and Te Kooti. He shows that the wars, which pitted British settlers and allied Māori against other Māori over a 30-year period, really ended up as a civil war fanning flames in many regions.

The book features glossaries that explain military terms, and sidebars that explore subjects like ‘Did Māori invent trench warfare?’, and ‘Food, horrible food’. There are over 70 colour images, including of battle sites that we can visit today.