Dame Claudia Orange: The Treaty, the Government and Aotearoa New Zealand: Where are we now?

Acclaimed historian and author Dame Claudia Orange reflected on her four-decade career of Te Tiriti o Waitangi scholarship, beginning with her doctoral thesis, The Treaty of Waitangi: A Study of its Making, Interpretation and Role in New Zealand History in 1984. In talking about the Treaty, and more broadly about history-making, Dame Claudia explained how her personal background led her into researching and telling the story of the Treaty. She then discussed more recent developments and the situation we appear to be in now. How has our understanding of the Treaty changed? And what is the Treaty’s relevance today in everyday life?

Her history The Treaty of Waitangi (Bridget Williams Books, 1987) won ‘Book of the Year’ at the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards in 1988. Dame Claudia then became General Editor of the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, released in five volumes with the Māori biographies also in te reo Māori (now online). As a director at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa for many years, and later research associate, Dame Claudia has received many awards and honours for her contribution to a wider understanding of our history. In 2021, she was awarded the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Literary Achievement (Non-fiction).