The Dawn Raids

The dawn raids were a series of raids carried out at random by the New Zealand police during the mid-1970s against Pacific immigrants. In New Zealand, intolerance towards Pacific migrants increased during the 1970s, particularly after a decline in the economy and the oil crisis of 1973. SCIS no: 1961716

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Tāmaki Makaurau Polynesian Panther mural
Tāmaki Makaurau Polynesian Panther mural
In 2021 a team of artists celebrated links between the Polynesian Panthers and the American Black Panthers. The result was a large, colourful and collaborative mural. Whakaako mural collective incl...
Articles
Teaching about the Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids - Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids
The new Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum provides a mandate for teachers to explore the exercise of power and the impacts of colonisation on all aspects of society. History associated with...
Articles
Once a Panther — our history our words
Stories of racism that led to a homegrown revolution and formation of the Polynesian Panthers in New Zealand
Videos
Government makes apology over Dawn Raids
Jacinda Ardern makes an apology for the 1970 Dawn Raids which occurred under both Labour and National governments.
Articles
Dawn Raids (New Zealand)
Dawn Raids (New Zealand)
In the 1970s the New Zealand police went to the homes of Pacific Peoples who they believed had overstayed their visas or work permits. Many people were sent back to the Pacific Islands. The police ...
Articles
Pasifika petitioner moved to tears by 'surprise' dawn raids apology
Josiah Tualamali'i was “moved to tears” by the Government's surprise announcement of a formal apology to the Pasifika community for the race-based dawn raids of the 1970s.
Stories
Dawn Raids: Tuia Mātauranga Curiosity Card
The curiosity card depicts a scene from the 2015 television programme Westside, dramatising the experience of a Pacific Island family during a dawn raid in 1976. The image below shows Anna Likio ...
Audio
Waking up to the Dawn Raids (Aotearoa) Untold Pacific History
Produced by Tikilounge, this recording features key people involved in the infamous New Zealand Government 'Dawn Raids' operation.
Articles
How the Polynesian Panthers gave rise to Pasifika activism
The Polynesian Panthers, credited with fighting racism against Pacific people in New Zealand and putting them on the map politically, is celebrating 45 years this week.
Images
Group of young Maori on steps of Parliament
Group of young Maori on steps of Parliament
The Māori student activist group, Nga Tamatoa (the young warriors), worked alongside the Polynesian Panthers in Auckland to highlight the plight of Māori and Pasifika peoples, and the realities of ...
Images
Photographs of a protest for the repeal of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act of 1982, Parliament Grounds, Wellington
Protest for the repeal of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act of 1982
Falema’i Lesa, a Samoan woman living in New Zealand, petitioned the Privy Council in England to be granted citizenship here. In 1982 this resulted in the Council not only granting her citizenship b...
Images
I said WOGS not dogs
I said WOGS not dogs!
This cartoon appeared in the National Business Review in 1976 during the height of the dawn raids and the racist slanders towards Pasifika peoples. It depicts the New Zealand Minister of Immigratio...
Images
Tongan overstayers deported
Ana Likio at her home in Waitangirua, surrounded by luggage
The original Evening Post caption for this photograph reads: "Anna Likio at the family's Waitangirua home surrounded by the luggage they had to leave behind. A family of Tongan overstayers deported...
Audio
Melani Anae:'We said we weren't going to take it anymore'
When the police started cracking down on Pasifika overstayers, a group of young people called the Polynesian Panthers started pushing back. Produced by Jamie Tahana.
Articles
Manase Lua — a son of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
Manase Lua — a son of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
Articles
Will ‘Ilolahia: Once a Panther, always a Panther | E-Tangata
Will ‘Ilolahia: Once a Panther, always a Panther | E-Tangata
Articles
Racism was all around us | E-Tangata
Racism was all around us | E-Tangata
Videos
RACE AGAINST TIME
RACE AGAINST TIME
This documentary is made available online courtesy of the Thomson whānau and Stewart Main. A documentary on the effects of racism in New Zealand. Features interviews with Māori and Pacific Islande...
Videos
Pacific Islanders arrive in New Zealand
Pacific Islanders arrive in New Zealand
In 1973, when this television clip was shot, the New Zealand economy was still booming and migrants from the Pacific Islands were coming to New Zealand in large numbers to fill the available jobs. ...
Articles
The Terror of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
The Terror of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
Videos
A raid on Pacific Islanders
A raid on Pacific Islanders
From 1974, as the economic situation in New Zealand worsened and unemployment grew, there were raids on the homes of Pacific Islanders in an attempt to find overstayers (people whose permits to sta...
Videos
Children of the migration
Children of the migration
The stories of the Pacific Island immigrants who came to New Zealand from the 1950s-1980s.
Videos
Dawn Raids
Dawn Raids
This documentary chronicles a shameful passage in New Zealand race relations: the controversial mid 1970s raids on the homes and workplaces of alleged Pacific Island overstayers. Director Damon Fep...
Videos
Polynesian Panthers
Polynesian Panthers
In the 1950s thousands of Pacific Islanders came to Aotearoa to meet a labour shortage. They faced racism, and in the 1970s, notorious dawn raids by police. In 1971 a group of young gang members an...
Audio
Oscar Kightley - Dawn Raids revisited
Oscar Kightley - Dawn Raids revisited
Oscar Kightley is a Samoan-born, New Zealand-raised writer/actor and director. Some of the most popular work he has been involved in include the movie series Sione's Wedding and the TV series bro'T...
Audio
Tongan overstayers
Tongan overstayers
In the 1960s and 1970s many Tongans stayed on beyond their three-month work permit. In 1974 the New Zealand government announced an amnesty: they were to return to Tonga by a set time or be arreste...
Images
"Immigration - Important Notice"
"Immigration - Important Notice"
This government notice documents the controversial "Dawn Raids" period when Pacific migration to Aotearoa New Zealand had come under strict Government scrutiny. This notice was displayed in Post Of...
Images
Polynesian Panthers and Old House
Polynesian Panthers and Old House
Black and white photograph depicting trio seated on steps at the front of wooden home. 'Polynesian Panther Party' is painted on the front of the house and signs propped up reading 'We demand adequa...
Images
Mua Strickson-Pua and his granddaughter
Mua Strickson-Pua and his granddaughter
Many Samoans arrived in New Zealand in the 1960s on short-term visas. They came primarily to work in Auckland factories, but during the economic downturn from 1973, the tolerant approach towards ov...
Images
Action against racism, 1976
Action against racism, 1976
During the early 1970s there was a growing movement within New Zealand that was critical of past racist attitudes. This led to a review of immigration policy in 1974, and the introduction of a non-...
Images
Dawn raids
This pamphlet was prepared by ACORD (the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination) and published by Amnesty Aroha. It tells the story of a dawn raid on a family of Tongans for allegedly over...
Websites
WWW
The 1970s New Zealand Dawn Raids
1970's Dawn Raids in New Zealand were a series of events that exemplified racism against Polynesians.
Audio
Overstayers could have information used against them
In 1988, Pacific Islands Affairs Minister, Richard Prebble, said there will be no "dawn raids" for overstayers, but that information given to the Immigration Division by people who registered under...
Audio
Te Puna Wai Kōrero
One of the leaders of the Polynesian Panthers, Wayne Toleafoa, speaks about the origins of the movement and their work in the community, including a food programme and a free bus programme to Parem...
Articles
Remembering Mele Saiatua Lavulo (1916-2013) – a leader in the Tongan community
Saiatua talks about her experiences working with the Tongan community during the infamous ‘dawn raids’ of the 1970s.
Articles
The Dawn Raids apology | E-Tangata
The Dawn Raids apology | E-Tangata
Videos
Explore the dark history of the Dawn Raids in 1970s Aotearoa
The Dawn Raids: Educate to Liberate is currently on show at the Pātaka Art + Museum’s Gallery in Porirua. We spoke with Community Exhibitions Curator Emma Kitson on the significance of the exhibition.
Articles
An insight into a dark time in NZ history
The Dawn Raids – Educate and Liberate exhibition tour kicks off today at the Fresh Gallery Otara.
Articles
The Dawn Raids: Educate to Liberate exhibition
Powerful, insightful, the Dawn Raids – Educate to Liberate exhibition seeks to inform people about a little-known event in New Zealand history.
Videos
Talanoa: Polynesian Panthers on the Dawn Raids
Polynesian Panthers Will 'Ilolahia and Tigilau Ness speak about a new exhibition on the Dawn Raids - a horrendous time in New Zealand's history when Pacific people were singled out for their race.
Audio
Pauline Vaeluaga Smith: Dawn Raid (2019)
Author Pauline Vaeluaga Smith shares some of the true stories she gathered up whilst bringing this piece of history to life as a novel and discusses why the story matters.
Audio
Smart Talk: Pacific Sound
The 1970s dawn raids on overstaying Pacific Island workers were a pivotal moment in the development of Pacific consciousness in New Zealand.
Articles
The wood planks that hid Polynesian students from the police
At Seddon High School (now Western Springs College Ngā Puna O Waiōrea) random immigration checks were a common occurrence even up until the early 1980s.
Articles
Once a Panther School Journal Curriculum level: 4; Mar: 2019
This fictional comic is based on the true story of the Polynesian Panthers in 1970s New Zealand.
Articles
Bill Urale and the Overstayer Clothing Company
Slotting in between the release of his first and second King Kapisi albums, Bill Urale launched a clothing label, The Overstayer Clothing Company.
Other
My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid
Teacher toolkit for the book ‘Dawn Raid’ by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith.
Audio
Dawn raids remembered in exhibit
More than 40 years after the infamous dawn raids on Pacific islanders, those who were there are being asked to tell their story.
Videos
Polynesian Panthers reflect on 45 years
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Auckland-based rights group the Polynesian Panther Party.
Articles
Rise Up: The Story of the Dawn Raids and the Polynesian Panthers
School Journal, November 2018. The Story of the Dawn Raids and the Polynesian Panthers” recounts the story of the dawn raids that took place in Aotearoa in the 1970s.
Audio
Minister Aupito William Sio reflects on dawn raids after apology announcement
Minister Aupito William Sio reflects on dawn raids after apology announcement
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio wiped away tears yesterday when announcing his government will officially apologise for the Dawn Raids of the mid-1970s. The raids disproportion...
Audio
Pacific advocates want meaningful action alongside apology
Pacific advocates want meaningful action alongside apology
Pacific advocates are calling for meaningful action to accompany the government's promised an apology for the Dawn Raids era of the mid-1970's. Jacinda Ardern yesterday acknowledged the racist pol...
Audio
New mural marks the 50th anniversary of the Polynesian Panthers
New mural marks the 50th anniversary of the Polynesian Panthers
The Polynesian Panther Party were a huge part of the New Zealand civil rights movement in the 1980s, and their legacy is still strong today. Phrases like dawn raids, overstayers and the springbok t...
Articles
People are starting to talk about the Dawn Raids
50 years later, people are opening up about their experiences of the Dawn Raids, for the first time.
Videos
Untold Pacific History - Episode 1: Dawn Raids
In this critical examination of a time little-known in New Zealand’s social history, this piece features key talent involved in the infamous New Zealand government ‘Dawn Raids’ regime; from a Samoa...
Articles
Dawn Raids apology breathes hope of something new for Pacific families
Along with the apology, Christine Nurminen wants education, immigration and other policymakers to create a new discourse for Pacific families and others who call Aotearoa New Zealand home.
Articles
Sisterhood of the Raids: teine toa who led The Polynesian Panther Party
The women members of the Polynesian Panthers reflect on their contribution to fighting against the Dawn Raids, before New Zealand's formal government apology on Sunday.
Articles
The Dawn Raids of 1974 | E-Tangata
Articles
Anti-racism and Treaty of Waitangi activism: Organising against racism, 1970s to early 21st century
New anti-racist groups In the early 1970s new anti-racism organisations were formed to address the consequences of colonisation. Ngā Tamatoa, made up of young Māori, campaigned on issues such as th...
Articles
Mainstream media must do better after Dawn Raids apology
The Dawn Raids were an opportunity for the largely Anglo-centric media to attack a vulnerable population, according to a former RNZ journalist.
Other
Brave Flower poem
A poem vividly capturing experiences of the Dawn Raids in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1970s
Videos
Tala Pasifika - The Overstayer
Tala Pasifika - The Overstayer
In the 1970s Pasifika people bore the brunt of a rigid government policy towards so-called 'overstayers'. The infamous dawn raids and police aggression towards the community left deep scars. This d...
Articles
The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy - The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy
The 1974-6 dawn raids have been described as ‘the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand’s history’
Articles
Polynesian Panther Party founded
The Polynesian Panther Party was founded in Auckland by six young Pacific Islanders: Paul Dapp, Will ’Ilolahia, Vaughan Sanft, Fred Schmidt, Nooroa Teavae and Eddie Williams. The group included Sam...
Images
Tāmaki Makaurau Polynesian Panther mural
Tāmaki Makaurau Polynesian Panther mural
In 2021 a team of artists celebrated links between the Polynesian Panthers and the American Black Panthers. The result was a large, colourful and collaborative mural. Whakaako mural collective incl...
Articles
Teaching about the Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids - Polynesian Panthers and the dawn raids
The new Aotearoa New Zealand histories curriculum provides a mandate for teachers to explore the exercise of power and the impacts of colonisation on all aspects of society. History associated with...
Articles
Once a Panther — our history our words
Stories of racism that led to a homegrown revolution and formation of the Polynesian Panthers in New Zealand
Videos
Government makes apology over Dawn Raids
Jacinda Ardern makes an apology for the 1970 Dawn Raids which occurred under both Labour and National governments.
Articles
Dawn Raids (New Zealand)
Dawn Raids (New Zealand)
In the 1970s the New Zealand police went to the homes of Pacific Peoples who they believed had overstayed their visas or work permits. Many people were sent back to the Pacific Islands. The police ...
Articles
Pasifika petitioner moved to tears by 'surprise' dawn raids apology
Josiah Tualamali'i was “moved to tears” by the Government's surprise announcement of a formal apology to the Pasifika community for the race-based dawn raids of the 1970s.
Stories
Dawn Raids: Tuia Mātauranga Curiosity Card
The curiosity card depicts a scene from the 2015 television programme Westside, dramatising the experience of a Pacific Island family during a dawn raid in 1976. The image below shows Anna Likio ...
Audio
Waking up to the Dawn Raids (Aotearoa) Untold Pacific History
Produced by Tikilounge, this recording features key people involved in the infamous New Zealand Government 'Dawn Raids' operation.
Articles
How the Polynesian Panthers gave rise to Pasifika activism
The Polynesian Panthers, credited with fighting racism against Pacific people in New Zealand and putting them on the map politically, is celebrating 45 years this week.
Images
Group of young Maori on steps of Parliament
Group of young Maori on steps of Parliament
The Māori student activist group, Nga Tamatoa (the young warriors), worked alongside the Polynesian Panthers in Auckland to highlight the plight of Māori and Pasifika peoples, and the realities of ...
Images
Photographs of a protest for the repeal of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act of 1982, Parliament Grounds, Wellington
Protest for the repeal of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act of 1982
Falema’i Lesa, a Samoan woman living in New Zealand, petitioned the Privy Council in England to be granted citizenship here. In 1982 this resulted in the Council not only granting her citizenship b...
Images
I said WOGS not dogs
I said WOGS not dogs!
This cartoon appeared in the National Business Review in 1976 during the height of the dawn raids and the racist slanders towards Pasifika peoples. It depicts the New Zealand Minister of Immigratio...
Images
Tongan overstayers deported
Ana Likio at her home in Waitangirua, surrounded by luggage
The original Evening Post caption for this photograph reads: "Anna Likio at the family's Waitangirua home surrounded by the luggage they had to leave behind. A family of Tongan overstayers deported...
Audio
Melani Anae:'We said we weren't going to take it anymore'
When the police started cracking down on Pasifika overstayers, a group of young people called the Polynesian Panthers started pushing back. Produced by Jamie Tahana.
Articles
Manase Lua — a son of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
Manase Lua — a son of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
Articles
Will ‘Ilolahia: Once a Panther, always a Panther | E-Tangata
Will ‘Ilolahia: Once a Panther, always a Panther | E-Tangata
Articles
Racism was all around us | E-Tangata
Racism was all around us | E-Tangata
Videos
RACE AGAINST TIME
RACE AGAINST TIME
This documentary is made available online courtesy of the Thomson whānau and Stewart Main. A documentary on the effects of racism in New Zealand. Features interviews with Māori and Pacific Islande...
Videos
Pacific Islanders arrive in New Zealand
Pacific Islanders arrive in New Zealand
In 1973, when this television clip was shot, the New Zealand economy was still booming and migrants from the Pacific Islands were coming to New Zealand in large numbers to fill the available jobs. ...
Articles
The Terror of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
The Terror of the Dawn Raids | E-Tangata
Videos
A raid on Pacific Islanders
A raid on Pacific Islanders
From 1974, as the economic situation in New Zealand worsened and unemployment grew, there were raids on the homes of Pacific Islanders in an attempt to find overstayers (people whose permits to sta...
Videos
Children of the migration
Children of the migration
The stories of the Pacific Island immigrants who came to New Zealand from the 1950s-1980s.
Videos
Dawn Raids
Dawn Raids
This documentary chronicles a shameful passage in New Zealand race relations: the controversial mid 1970s raids on the homes and workplaces of alleged Pacific Island overstayers. Director Damon Fep...
Videos
Polynesian Panthers
Polynesian Panthers
In the 1950s thousands of Pacific Islanders came to Aotearoa to meet a labour shortage. They faced racism, and in the 1970s, notorious dawn raids by police. In 1971 a group of young gang members an...
Audio
Oscar Kightley - Dawn Raids revisited
Oscar Kightley - Dawn Raids revisited
Oscar Kightley is a Samoan-born, New Zealand-raised writer/actor and director. Some of the most popular work he has been involved in include the movie series Sione's Wedding and the TV series bro'T...
Audio
Tongan overstayers
Tongan overstayers
In the 1960s and 1970s many Tongans stayed on beyond their three-month work permit. In 1974 the New Zealand government announced an amnesty: they were to return to Tonga by a set time or be arreste...
Images
"Immigration - Important Notice"
"Immigration - Important Notice"
This government notice documents the controversial "Dawn Raids" period when Pacific migration to Aotearoa New Zealand had come under strict Government scrutiny. This notice was displayed in Post Of...
Images
Polynesian Panthers and Old House
Polynesian Panthers and Old House
Black and white photograph depicting trio seated on steps at the front of wooden home. 'Polynesian Panther Party' is painted on the front of the house and signs propped up reading 'We demand adequa...
Images
Mua Strickson-Pua and his granddaughter
Mua Strickson-Pua and his granddaughter
Many Samoans arrived in New Zealand in the 1960s on short-term visas. They came primarily to work in Auckland factories, but during the economic downturn from 1973, the tolerant approach towards ov...
Images
Action against racism, 1976
Action against racism, 1976
During the early 1970s there was a growing movement within New Zealand that was critical of past racist attitudes. This led to a review of immigration policy in 1974, and the introduction of a non-...
Images
Dawn raids
This pamphlet was prepared by ACORD (the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination) and published by Amnesty Aroha. It tells the story of a dawn raid on a family of Tongans for allegedly over...
Websites
WWW
The 1970s New Zealand Dawn Raids
1970's Dawn Raids in New Zealand were a series of events that exemplified racism against Polynesians.
Audio
Overstayers could have information used against them
In 1988, Pacific Islands Affairs Minister, Richard Prebble, said there will be no "dawn raids" for overstayers, but that information given to the Immigration Division by people who registered under...
Audio
Te Puna Wai Kōrero
One of the leaders of the Polynesian Panthers, Wayne Toleafoa, speaks about the origins of the movement and their work in the community, including a food programme and a free bus programme to Parem...
Articles
Remembering Mele Saiatua Lavulo (1916-2013) – a leader in the Tongan community
Saiatua talks about her experiences working with the Tongan community during the infamous ‘dawn raids’ of the 1970s.
Articles
The Dawn Raids apology | E-Tangata
The Dawn Raids apology | E-Tangata
Videos
Explore the dark history of the Dawn Raids in 1970s Aotearoa
The Dawn Raids: Educate to Liberate is currently on show at the Pātaka Art + Museum’s Gallery in Porirua. We spoke with Community Exhibitions Curator Emma Kitson on the significance of the exhibition.
Articles
An insight into a dark time in NZ history
The Dawn Raids – Educate and Liberate exhibition tour kicks off today at the Fresh Gallery Otara.
Articles
The Dawn Raids: Educate to Liberate exhibition
Powerful, insightful, the Dawn Raids – Educate to Liberate exhibition seeks to inform people about a little-known event in New Zealand history.
Videos
Talanoa: Polynesian Panthers on the Dawn Raids
Polynesian Panthers Will 'Ilolahia and Tigilau Ness speak about a new exhibition on the Dawn Raids - a horrendous time in New Zealand's history when Pacific people were singled out for their race.
Audio
Pauline Vaeluaga Smith: Dawn Raid (2019)
Author Pauline Vaeluaga Smith shares some of the true stories she gathered up whilst bringing this piece of history to life as a novel and discusses why the story matters.
Audio
Smart Talk: Pacific Sound
The 1970s dawn raids on overstaying Pacific Island workers were a pivotal moment in the development of Pacific consciousness in New Zealand.
Articles
The wood planks that hid Polynesian students from the police
At Seddon High School (now Western Springs College Ngā Puna O Waiōrea) random immigration checks were a common occurrence even up until the early 1980s.
Articles
Once a Panther School Journal Curriculum level: 4; Mar: 2019
This fictional comic is based on the true story of the Polynesian Panthers in 1970s New Zealand.
Articles
Bill Urale and the Overstayer Clothing Company
Slotting in between the release of his first and second King Kapisi albums, Bill Urale launched a clothing label, The Overstayer Clothing Company.
Other
My New Zealand Story: Dawn Raid
Teacher toolkit for the book ‘Dawn Raid’ by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith.
Audio
Dawn raids remembered in exhibit
More than 40 years after the infamous dawn raids on Pacific islanders, those who were there are being asked to tell their story.
Videos
Polynesian Panthers reflect on 45 years
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Auckland-based rights group the Polynesian Panther Party.
Articles
Rise Up: The Story of the Dawn Raids and the Polynesian Panthers
School Journal, November 2018. The Story of the Dawn Raids and the Polynesian Panthers” recounts the story of the dawn raids that took place in Aotearoa in the 1970s.
Audio
Minister Aupito William Sio reflects on dawn raids after apology announcement
Minister Aupito William Sio reflects on dawn raids after apology announcement
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio wiped away tears yesterday when announcing his government will officially apologise for the Dawn Raids of the mid-1970s. The raids disproportion...
Audio
Pacific advocates want meaningful action alongside apology
Pacific advocates want meaningful action alongside apology
Pacific advocates are calling for meaningful action to accompany the government's promised an apology for the Dawn Raids era of the mid-1970's. Jacinda Ardern yesterday acknowledged the racist pol...
Audio
New mural marks the 50th anniversary of the Polynesian Panthers
New mural marks the 50th anniversary of the Polynesian Panthers
The Polynesian Panther Party were a huge part of the New Zealand civil rights movement in the 1980s, and their legacy is still strong today. Phrases like dawn raids, overstayers and the springbok t...
Articles
People are starting to talk about the Dawn Raids
50 years later, people are opening up about their experiences of the Dawn Raids, for the first time.
Videos
Untold Pacific History - Episode 1: Dawn Raids
In this critical examination of a time little-known in New Zealand’s social history, this piece features key talent involved in the infamous New Zealand government ‘Dawn Raids’ regime; from a Samoa...
Articles
Dawn Raids apology breathes hope of something new for Pacific families
Along with the apology, Christine Nurminen wants education, immigration and other policymakers to create a new discourse for Pacific families and others who call Aotearoa New Zealand home.
Articles
Sisterhood of the Raids: teine toa who led The Polynesian Panther Party
The women members of the Polynesian Panthers reflect on their contribution to fighting against the Dawn Raids, before New Zealand's formal government apology on Sunday.
Articles
The Dawn Raids of 1974 | E-Tangata
Articles
Anti-racism and Treaty of Waitangi activism: Organising against racism, 1970s to early 21st century
New anti-racist groups In the early 1970s new anti-racism organisations were formed to address the consequences of colonisation. Ngā Tamatoa, made up of young Māori, campaigned on issues such as th...
Articles
Mainstream media must do better after Dawn Raids apology
The Dawn Raids were an opportunity for the largely Anglo-centric media to attack a vulnerable population, according to a former RNZ journalist.
Other
Brave Flower poem
A poem vividly capturing experiences of the Dawn Raids in Aotearoa New Zealand in the 1970s
Videos
Tala Pasifika - The Overstayer
Tala Pasifika - The Overstayer
In the 1970s Pasifika people bore the brunt of a rigid government policy towards so-called 'overstayers'. The infamous dawn raids and police aggression towards the community left deep scars. This d...
Articles
The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy - The dawn raids: causes, impacts and legacy
The 1974-6 dawn raids have been described as ‘the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand’s history’
Articles
Polynesian Panther Party founded
The Polynesian Panther Party was founded in Auckland by six young Pacific Islanders: Paul Dapp, Will ’Ilolahia, Vaughan Sanft, Fred Schmidt, Nooroa Teavae and Eddie Williams. The group included Sam...

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