Once a Panther: Stuff's new podcast about Polynesian Panthers - racism, dawn raids, and rising up

Thursday, 17 June 2021

Once a Panther is a Stuff podcast about the Polynesian Panther Party, a group of young New Zealand-born Pacific Islanders who stood up to institutionalised racism and helped change the course of history in Aotearoa.

Stuff has today released Once a Panther, a podcast series about a radical activist movement that helped give rise to a homegrown revolution.

On June 16, 1971, a group of young Pasifika and Māori men and women confronted state-sanctioned racism and formed the Polynesian Panther Party.

From Auckland’s Pacific Island in the city, the Panthers stood up for their community and vowed to wipe out systemic racism.

They dressed all in black with matching afros and berets; their counterparts in the United States inspired them to seize the time.

Reverend Wayne Toleafoa was once the Minister of Information for the Polynesian Panthers.

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Associate Professor Lupematasila Misatauveve Dr Melani Anae.

The movement’s executive assigned portfolios such as minister of finance or information; they started a military wing and ran community programmes.

Wayne Toleafoa and People's Union member Roger Fowler speak to the police in Auckland.

At that time, Pasifika were the targets of racist policies from successive Labour and National governments, including the shocking Dawn Raids.

The Pasifika who were invited to New Zealand in the 1950s to help build infrastructure were treated as second-class citizens when economic crises affected the general population.

Former minister of arts and culture for the Panthers, Tigilau Ness.

The series examines themes of identity, activism and sacrifice to provide a powerful commentary on events such as the Dawn Raids, Bastion Point, the 1981 Springbok Tour and race relations in New Zealand today.

The six-part series marks the 50th anniversary of the Polynesian Panthers first meeting on a cold winter’s night in Grey Lynn, Auckland.

Writers and producers Alex Liu and Brad Flahive spent the past six months creating rich, emotionally charged audio documentaries that give deep insight into life for the first generation of New Zealand-born Pasifika.

The podcast isn’t traditional in the sense of having a host; the Panthers themselves – Dr Melani Anae, Will’ Ilolahia, Tigilau Ness, Alec and Wayne Toleafoa – guide the listener through this shocking period in New Zealand’s history.

Appearing alongside the Panthers are other influential people including John Minto, Trevor Richards, Oliver Sutherland and Joris De Bres.

Stuff editor-in-chief Patrick Crewdson said: “What makes Once a Panther so powerful and so engrossing to listen to is that it’s told entirely by the people who were there, recounting their history in their own voices.

“It’s impossible to listen to this and not feel angry, frustrated and saddened by the injustice and racism on display, but there’s also a lot of humanity and humour here.”

Once a Panther was produced with funding from NZ On Air.

The first five episodes are available at stuff.co.nz/onceapanther or through podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or an RSS feed.

The sixth and final episode will be available on June 25.