Dawn Raids — the past on stage - Teacher Resources

This Internal Assessment Activity meets all of the requirements of the Achievement Standard. It may be used unchanged, or can be adapted by the teacher. If adaptations are made, teachers need to ensure that all achievement levels can be met in the activity and are reflected in the Assessment Schedule. Assessor judgements need to align with the Achievement Standard.

A learning programme that is founded on indigenous storytelling and theatre-making, or performance in the diaspora, could be well assessed through this Assessment Activity.

Note: this Assessment Activity refers to the drama by Oscar Kightley Dawn Raids (ISBN-13 9780908607631).

Dawn Raids was first performed in 1997: Dawn Raids | Playmarket (2023).

Restaged in 2022:

Review: Restaged Dawn Raids sets bar for unapologetically brown stories (Te Rito, 2022).
Review: Dawn Raids (Pacific Underground and Auckland Theatre Company) (Mitra, 2022).

It may be possible to get more information through Playmarket’s Playwrights in Schools programme: For Schools | Playmarket (2023).

The historical context for this drama is shared with other TV shows and has multiple documentaries available to view. It is important to distinguish for students that this Assessment Activity, while related, is focused on Oscar Kightley’s play Dawn Raids.

Possible resources to be used during Taeao

To help build on students’ knowledge of the context in which the play takes place:

Milk and Honey written and directed by Marina McCartney (short film).
- Milk and Honey | NZOnScreen (2012).
The Overstayer written by Ene Petaia, directed by Justine Simei-Barton (short film).
- The Overstayer | Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (1999).
Untold Pacific History | Episode 1: The Dawn Raids | RNZ (short documentary).
- Untold Pacific History | RNZ (2021).
Te Puna Wai Kōrero (radio special).
- Part 1: Te Puna Wai Kōrero (45290)| Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (Muru, 1976).
- Part 2: Te Puna Wai Kōrero (45291)| Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision (Muru, 1976).

Talanoa notes:

Talanoa check-ins are open conversations “where people can speak from their hearts and where there are no preconceptions” (Halapua, 2003, as cited in Farrelly & Nabobo-Baba, 2012, p. 2).

Stories shared are as sacred as the space created when they are being shared (Lewis, 2011).

These talanoa will be guided by questions, such as:

What have you experienced in your learning and can share?
What challenges can you share?
- What new learning have you gained?
- What understanding do you have of the history related to this drama?
- How does this knowledge affect your role and your selection of components?
How will you work towards meeting your challenges?
- Have others shared ways of working that you could try?
- What shared challenges can you work on together?

Questions to consider throughout the process

Before Taeao:

What are the cultural, social, and historical contexts of this play?
What happened prior to the dawn raids?
- Pacific migration to Aotearoa New Zealand during the 1950s and 1960s.

During Taeao:

What are the experiences being shared in this play?
Whose stories are being told? Who is being represented on stage?
How does this play help to heal the hurt caused by the dawn raids?
How does this play help to educate communities today about this significant time in our past?

Before and during Aoauli:

How do we use drama components to build and create our performance in a way that connects with the audience and effectively communicates the messages and themes of the play?
Is our portrayal of these characters considerate of who they represent?

Further references

Farrelly, T. & Nabobo-Baba, U. (2012, December 3-5). Talanoa as Empathetic Research [Paper presentation]. International Development Conference, Auckland, New Zealand.

Kightley, O. (1997). Dawn Raids. Playmarket.

Lewis, P. J. (2011). Storytelling as Research/Research as Storytelling. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(6), 505-510.

McCartney, M. A. (2012). Milk and Honey [Video]. NZOnScreen.

Mitra, A. (2022). Review: Dawn Raids (Pacific Underground and Auckland Theatre Company). Theatre Scenes.

Muru, S. (1976). Te Puna Wai Kōrero (45290) [Radio broadcast]. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.

Muru, S. (1976). Te Puna Wai Kōrero (45291) [Radio broadcast]. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.

RNZ. (2021, May 18). Untold Pacific History | Episode 1: The Dawn Raids | RNZ [Video]. YouTube.

Simei-Barton, J. (1999). The Overstayer [Video]. Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.

Te Rito, V. L. (2022). Review: Restaged Dawn Raids sets bar for unapologetically brown stories. NZ Herald.