In the 1860s and early 70s, Māori and colonial forces clashed in a series of brutal conflicts across the central North Island. Tensions over land had been growing for 20 years, as numbers of British settlers soared. Māori staunchly defended their lands and authority, but thousands were killed. The conflicts displaced and impoverished Māori for generations. This exhibition—which marks the first national commemoration of the New Zealand Wars (Rā Maumahara or Remembrance Day, 28 October 2017)—explores the most explosive and sustained period of conflict in the New Zealand Wars: 1860–72.