This article reviews historical geography in New Zealand over the period 1987 to 2007. It indicates that research in the 1980s and 1990s has filled some of the gaps identified by earlier reviewers while more recent research has used new approaches to pose new questions such as those surrounding post colonialism. A feature of historical geography research over the last 15 years has been a number of collaborative projects, most notably a national historical atlas. The future for historical geography in New Zealand arguably calls for a stronger re‐engagement with human geography.