Growing up in a large working-class Irish Catholic family, he devoured stories of the Tudors, the Russian Revolution, and the US civil rights movement, but none of his own country. “I wasn’t taught any New Zealand history at school. It was only later that I stumbled on our history, and it amazed me that I hadn’t learnt any of this stuff at school. There was this idea New Zealand history was boring. But once I had some actual exposure to it, I realised that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
That discovery set him on a path that would eventually lead to a PhD at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s Stout Research Centre. By then, he had already been living in Wellington for a decade, having originally arrived for a short contract to research Treaty claims. One contract became another, and he never left. “I’d already had a brief sabbatical at the Stout Research Centre, knew and got on well with both my supervisors, Richard Hill and Richard Boast, and enjoyed the environment, so it was an easy choice.”
A decade after completing his PhD, he returned to the Centre as the JD Stout Fellow, using the year to tackle what he calls a daunting but defining project, his 2016 book The Great War for New Zealand: Waikato, 1800–2000. “It felt like a significant achievement, and it opened up new opportunities for me.” He also counts the role he played in advocating for the teaching of New Zealand history in schools “In the long term, that is going to be hugely transformative and a really positive step for our country.”
Over the years, O’Malley has worked closely with iwi and hapū across Aotearoa, learning from kaumātua and tribal historians, an experience he calls a privilege. “As a nation, over the past few decades, we have been on a massive journey of historical reappraisal in terms of how we engage with and think about our past, and it has been a real honour to be part of that process.”
The archives remain a source of discovery. “You never know what you might discover in that next file you open at Archives or the Turnbull Library. Years ago, I found a document that proved definitively that the government had lied about the date of an ultimatum to the Waikato tribes. Most finds aren’t that dramatic. But you are always learning new things and keen to share that with others.”
Sharing takes many forms—books, blogs, podcasts, TV documentaries, literary festivals—and for O’Malley, storytelling is at the heart of it. “Good history involves storytelling. Connecting with people about why they should care about our history matters to me.”
That conviction underpins his view that knowing our history is essential. “If we don’t know where we have come from, how can we know where we are going in the future? History gives us a sense of identity and grounding. It connects us to the places we call home. And it is also crucial in a broader process of reconciliation and healing that goes beyond simple Crown and Māori Treaty settlements.”
He is worried by recent cuts to historical scholarship. “So many New Zealanders either didn’t learn any New Zealand history at school or else got the rose-tinted version. We were just beginning to break that inter-generational cycle of historical amnesia, and now that is under threat. We should be expanding access to historical resources and understanding—not cutting them back.”
For those thinking of following in his footsteps, Vincent’s advice is both practical and encouraging—read widely and work out which historians you admire. “You still need to develop your own style and interests, but this is a good way of working out what those might be. And if you do go on to become a historian, you just might get to meet some of those historians you admired and looked up to earlier, as I have been lucky enough to do.”
This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award is one of many Vincent has received. He won the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in 2022, was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2024 and was a semi-finalist for New Zealander of the Year in 2023. But accolades are not what drive him. “I’m driven by a deeper desire to engage New Zealanders in conversations around why our history matters and why we should care about it. Recognition of this kind does signal that maybe that message is getting some cut-through. So, it encourages me to keep going with that mission.”
Looking ahead, there is no shortage of projects. He would like to explore the role of the Irish in colonising Aotearoa, though he acknowledges that research funding is scarce. “Regardless, I’ll be ploughing on with research and writing, and I’ve got several projects on the go.”