Teu le Va - Dawn Raids History Community Fund Round One

The objectives of the fund were to: 

• Allow for a healing process, through mixed-media storytelling, for those impacted by the Dawn Raids 
• Increase understanding and appreciation of the history of Pacific communities in New Zealand 
• Inform educational resources about the Dawn Raids 
• Ensure Pacific languages, cultures, and identities in New Zealand thrive.
   

Preference was given to initiatives that: 

• Were ready or near ready to commence when funding was received
• Would work with people and/or communities that were directly impacted by the Dawn Raids.
• Would work with people who had their homes raided and/or were stopped on the street and asked to produce their passport or permit during the Dawn Raids period.
• Would work with, or be led by, Pacific persons or Pacific community groups directly impacted by the Dawn Raids.   

Applicants could apply by submitting an application for up to $5,000. There may have been exceptions where applications could receive more than $5,000 at the discretion of the assessment panel.  

From the 1950s to the 1970s, significant migration from the Pacific region to New Zealand was encouraged to meet domestic labour shortages in manufacturing and primary production industries. Many Pacific peoples travelled to New Zealand on temporary visas under various work schemes. Due to labour shortages at the time, the enforcement of these visas was largely relaxed. 

At the downturn of the New Zealand economy in the early 1970s, parts of society started viewing migrants as jeopardising their financial security and quality of life. These views were fuelled and perpetuated by less than favourable media portrayals targeting Pacific peoples, particularly, as the cause for job shortages and other social harms. 

Between 1974 and 1976, a series of rigorous immigration enforcement policies were carried out that resulted in Immigration and Police officials conducting targeted raids on the homes of Pacific families. The raids to find, convict, and deport overstayers often took place very early in the morning or late at night. This gave rise to the term the “Dawn Raids.” 

Throughout this period, a Police taskforce was also set up to carry out random checks in public, stopping and requiring people to provide evidence that they were legally in New Zealand. 

On 1 August 2021, the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern issued an apology on behalf of the New Zealand Government for the Dawn Raids. As a goodwill gesture of reconciliation, the Government committed to providing support to enable Pacific individuals, artists, historians, and community groups to work with communities to help develop a comprehensive historical record of account of the Dawn Raids period. 

The Teu le Va - Dawn Raids History Community Fund opened on Monday 15 November 2021. 

Applications closed at 5pm Friday 4 February 2022. 

To be eligible, applicants must have: 

• Been a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand. 
• Not had otherwise received funding, or approval for funding, for the same proposal. 

Teu le Va - Dawn Raids History Community Funding was available for one-off initiatives that: 

• Contributed to the Fund’s objectives. 
• Aligned with any or all of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples Pacific Aotearoa Lalanga Fou goals. 
• Generated, preserved, raised awareness, and/or passed on Pacific knowledge, experiences, and histories of the Dawn Raids.  
• Could be delivered successfully within 12 months of receiving funding (by 31 March 2023). 

Applicants were encouraged to share their initiative with the public where possible and/or appropriate.  

A range of methods were considered, such as: 

• Written and/or oral history collection – including audio and visual, and using ethnic-specific methods like talanoa 
• Music, dance or performing arts – including live or recorded 
• Visual or graphic arts, including sculptures, paintings, exhibitions, moving image 
• Other creative art forms. 
  
  

Applications that could demonstrate the following were preferred: 

• The initiative was ready or near ready to commence upon receipt of the grant. 
• The initiative would work with people and/or communities that were directly impacted by the Dawn Raids. 
• The initiative would work with people who had their homes raided and/or were stopped on the street and asked to produce their passport or permit during the Dawn Raids period. 
• The initiative would work with, or be led by, Pacific persons or Pacific community groups directly impacted by the Dawn Raids. 

Although it was encouraged, applicants were not required to share their initiatives with the public but were encouraged to consider preservation of appropriate histories within an archival setting. Consideration was given to how applicants proposed to store and preserve appropriate works when assessing proposals.  

Examples of archival storage settings included: 

• Donating a copy of a physical or digital initiative to libraries like the Alexander Turnbull Library, regional libraries or museums.
• Storing an initiative within a community archive. 

The Teu le Va - Dawn Raids History Community Fund was not available for: 

• Initiatives that only benefited or supported one individual. 
• For-profit activities. 

• Initiatives that were not aligned with the objectives and priorities of this fund. 
• Initiatives and services that duplicated existing work / services. 
• Work that had already been completed (the work on applicants' initiatives must have been ongoing after the closing date for applications). 
• Initiatives that were the general responsibility of other sectors (such as school and tertiary- based programmes, which are the primary responsibility of the Ministry of Education, NZQA and TEC). 
• Initiatives that were eligible for funding from tertiary institutions or for university theses. 

• Initiatives funded by institutions like museums unless they were largely volunteer run and minimally funded from regional or national sources. 
• Initiatives and activities delivered solely overseas, including the New Zealand realm countries. 
• Wages, salaries, infrastructure, fixed assets, travel, and capital expenditure. Note, applicants could use grants to purchase or hire relevant equipment, such as sound or video recording devices, and provide small amounts of koha to participants. 
• Debt repayment or debt servicing. 
• Staff from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

Successful fund recipients were asked to complete a six-month progress report and a final accountability report for their initiative that included:  

• Evidence of (progress towards) the achievement of their initiative’s outcomes 
• Community impact and reach of their initiative  
• Lessons learnt from their work  
• How their funds are being/were spent. 

Reporting templates were provided to successful applicants. 

If you need more information about the Teu le Va - Dawn Raids History Community Fund, please email [email protected]

Below are the recipients of funding from the Dawn Raids History Community Fund - Round One.