

History of Aotearoa New Zealand Podcast
Thomas Rillstone
In this “unashamedly homegrown” podcast we tell the story of our islands from the time before people arrived all the way up to the year 2000. Winner of the bronze award for Best Indie Podcast in the NZ Podcast Awards 2021, Silver for Best Educational and Best Indie in 2022 and Silver for Best History in 2023 and 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 2, 2025 • 30min
165 - Culture Clash
Now that they had made contact, Cook quickly sets to work establishing friendly relations with the Tahitians while also trying to assess who the movers and shakers are in their society.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 26, 2025 • 29min
164 - Tahiti
The Endeavour crosses the Pacific and arrives at her destination, Tahiti. However, pretty quickly Cook is concerned that his crew will run amok so he puts procedures in place to ensure everything goes smoothly between them and the local Polynesians.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 19, 2025 • 32min
163 - Crossing the Line
Cook's expedition finally gets underway as they sail across the Atlantic bound for the South Pacific. But not before they get into a spot of bother in Rio along the way...Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 12, 2025 • 40min
162 - The Nerds
Just as he was about to head off, James Cook was told that he had to take on a new group of people on his expedition, which caused a number of issues. However, the Royal Society were adament they come along. The leader of these late arrivals was none other than famed botanist Joesph Banks, who will become a key player in our story. Today, we talk about who he was and why he wanted to sail to the South Pacific.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jul 5, 2025 • 30min
161 - Welcome to the Crew
Now that we have looked at the HMB Endeavour, it's worth introducing the colourful cast of characters that will be sailing her. From lofty lieutenants all the way down to salty seamen!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 28, 2025 • 30min
160 - Endeavour
We look more closely at the ship that will be taking Cook and his crew into the Pacific for his first voyage, such as how she was acquired by the Royal Navy, her overall physical characteristics and how she was modified to be fit for this expedition.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 21, 2025 • 29min
159 - Scientific Struggles
What was Cook's first voyage actually hoping to achieve? What was the background of the collaboration between the Royal Society and the Admiralty? The answers to these questions and more in this episode!Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jun 14, 2025 • 34min
158 - Humble Beginnings
Here he is, the big one! Today we look at the childhood and early career of possibly the most famous person in New Zealand's history; James Cook.Check out the website and shownotes!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 17, 2025 • 25min
157 - Around the World in 1769: Sweden and Britain
For the final part of our tour across the globe we head to the chiller parts of Europe to see what was going on for them during this exciting period!Listen to A Flatpack History of Sweden Podcast here!Listen to Kingdöm here!Listen to Prime Factors here!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 23, 2025 • 21min
156 - Around the World in 1769: Conclave
The pope is dead, time to elect a new pope!You can listen to Pontifacts here!You can listen to Popeular History and Cardinal Numbers here!Become a Patron! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.