Rod Smith, family history researcher and writer, presents “Galway to the Waikato Land Wars - A Peerage Family’s Connections”.

Rod is a retired public servant, and former newspaper journalist and probation officer. His career included time crewing a cargo freighter, work in an English youth conference centre, and service in the Justice Department, Parliament, the Ministry of Defence, the Forest Service, and the Accident Compensation Corporation.

An avid family historian for over 35 years he has researched in depth his wife’s connections to landed Irish families, publishing his findings in two books – Guinness Down Under: the famous brew and the family come to Australia and New Zealand (2017) and Clancarty: the high times and humble of a noble Irish Family (2024).  While researching Clancarty he discovered reports of the family’s involvement in the Waikato Land War of 1863-64 and a revealing speech given by the 3rd Earl of Clancarty in the House of Lords in 1864 on the subject of New Zealand race relations.  Rod’s presentation will explore the events of 1863-64 and the several connections between the Earls of Clancarty and New Zealand.