The Sir Francis Forbes Society Prize for Australian legal history has been awarded for 2023. This prize is awarded for the best presentation by a higher degree research student or an early career researcher at the annual conference. This paper will be published, subject to the usual refereeing process, in law&history.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the 2023 recipient of this prize is Ash Stanley-Ryan for the paper ‘Ka mua, ka Muri: He Whakaputanga, Concealed Indigenous Histories, and the Making of International Law’

This paper examines two competing histories of He Whakaputanga o te Rangatira o Nu Tireni, the Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand, that is well-known in the field of Māori studies as a significant challenge to the legitimacy of the British colonisation of Aotearoa New Zealand.  This study however, seeks to demonstrate how an understanding of international law is harmed by the systematic erasure of indigenous experiences and histories. It examines the pākehā stories of he whakaputanga as an act to secure Imperial interests; and Māori recollections of he whakaputanga as an affirmation of independence, in response to an ever-more intrusive world. 

This is a fascinating and engaging read that will interest a wide range of readers.  It makes a strong contribution to international law, comparative international laws and laws and histories, in its analysis of an encounter between indigenous and non-indigenous laws.