Founder Lecture 2024 – Dame Claudia Orange: The Treaty of Waitangi

The annual Friends of the Turnbull Library Founder Lecture is held on or near the 28 June to commemorate and celebrate the official opening of the Alexander Turnbull Library on 28 June 1920.

This year esteemed historian and author Dame Claudia Orange DNZM OBE CRSNZ delivered the 2024 Founder Lecture, reflecting 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.  Dame Claudia discussed recent research on Te Tiriti, and the impact and influence of the Waitangi Tribunal. She also commented on potential threats to 50 years of advancing Māori/Crown relationships.

Dame Claudia Orange DNZM OBE CRSNZ

After publishing her award-winning history The Treaty of Waitangi in 1987, which won ‘Book of the Year’ at the Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards in 1988, Dame Claudia 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).

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, including research for the He Tohu and Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi exhibitions. In 2021, she was awarded the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Literary Achievement (Non-fiction).

Original Notice:

We announce with great pleasure that the noted historian Dame Claudia Orange DNZM OBE CRSNZ has agreed to give this year’s Founder Lecture. Encouraging discussion on the Treaty of Waitangi is a vital part of continuing efforts to fulfil the promise of the 1840 agreement. Dame Claudia argues that a broad public understanding of the changes that have occurred in the Māori-Crown relationship is essential in order for those relationships to grow. She says that an understanding of history is vital, and informed vigilance is necessary.

Dame Claudia completed her PhD in 1984 at the University of Auckland, and her doctoral thesis, The Treaty of Waitangi: a study of its making, interpretation and role in New Zealand history, was published in 1987, becoming both a popular success and definitive reference book for interpreting the relevance of Te Tiriti.

After several years as General Editor of the Dictionary of NZ Biography and Acting Chief Historian of the Historical Branch, Dept of Internal Affairs, Dame Claudia became Director of History and Pacific Cultures at Te Papa Tongarewa in 2003 and then, in 2009-2016, Head of Research. She is now an Honorary Research Fellow of Te Papa.

Put Thursday 27 June, at 6.00 pm, in your diary now!