Maori Resources
Maori Services Librarian
/ Kaiwhakahaere Maori
Maori Services Librarian / Kaiwhakahaere Maori
Waitakere Libraries has its own Maori Services Librarian who promotes the use of
libraries to Maori and helps to improve accessibility to Maori resources in the
City's libraries.
The Kaiwhakahaere Maori acts as kaitiaki, or guardian, of the Waitakere Central
Library's Pukapuka section, which contains a large collection of Maori reference
books. Research produced by eminent local historians Graham Murdoch, Dick Scott,
George Graham and Jack Diamond can also be found in Waitakere Libraries.
Unfortunately at present the position is vacant, but should be filled in the New
Year (2007).
If you have any query, please do not hesitate to contact us at Waitakere Central
Library - reference room - Level 2 - 3 Ratanui Street, Henderson.
Official Government Publications
Official government
publications are of great value to Maori as
they contain a number of important resources, such
as whakapapa (genealogies), speeches from Maori
leaders, tribal histories and much more. Listed
below are a few from our collection:
Appendices to Journals of the House of Representatives (AJHR)
The appendices to these government documents
are a treasure trove of information and an
excellent resource for historians and genealogists.
They include such things as photographs of
Ohinemutu Pa and Whakarewarewa. Published
since the 1850s, the journals contain reports from
Government departments and commissions, including
petitions and letters from Maori and reports on
the sale and confiscation of tribal land. The most
useful information is found in the early volumes,
pre 1888.
Parliamentary Debates
Debates and speeches recorded from
Parliament since 1854.
New Zealand Gazette
Printed weekly since 1840, the gazette
contains proclamations and official notes of the
Government and a variety of supplements, including
a list of professionals, such as doctors and
engineers.
Te Haurapa
Te Haurapa is a guide that gives an
excellent introduction to researching tribal histories
and traditions. There are guidelines to help Maori
understand how archives and libraries are used and
how to source important material from them, such as
the Maori Land Court minutes, appendices to journals,
contents of the Raupatu (Confiscations) Document
Bank, land deeds, tribal histories and much more.
Newspapers and Periodicals
These contain vast amounts of information
concerning historical events. For example, the
newspaper Te Karere Maori o Niu Tireni devoted
entire issues to reporting the major hui at Kohimarama in 1860. Other hui
and events, such as wars, obituaries of leaders and discussion of government
policy were featured in the government newspaper.
Tribes and pan-tribal groups and movements
also had their own periodicals and newspapers.
The
King Movement published Te Hokioi and continues to
publish Te Paki o Matariki, the Ratana Church published
Te Whetumarama o Te Ata and the Kotahitanga (Maori
Parliaments) of the 1890s published their own
journals.
More than 20 modern Maori magazines
and newspapers, such as Mana
Magazine and Nga iwi o Aotearoa, are also
available at Waitakere
Libraries. The
Journal of the Polynesian Society was
established in 1892 and its journal is still
published today. Maori contributors have included
Sir Peter Buck, Sir Apirana Ngata, Henare Potae,
Hoani Nahe, Hamiora Pio and Pei Te Hurinui Jones. Subjects include tribal histories, dialects of the
Maori language, artefacts, crafts and cosmology.
Tribal Histories
 Over
the last 100 years, tribal
histories have been written and published with varying involvement by Maori
experts. Real authorship belongs to the tribal experts that writers received
knowledge from.
Tupuna Maori (Maori ancestors) quickly understood the power of the written
word, and began writing letters, journals, diaries and recorded events as part
of their heritage. It was important for Maori to record these histories,
as the old lore of the whare wananga (traditional school of higher-learning) was
slowly diminishing.
Tribal histories include genealogies, waiata
(songs), wars, inter-marriages, customs and much
more. It is well known that Tupuna Maori were far
more literate then the Pakeha of the 1830s-50s. There are many titles available from New
Zealand's traditional tribal areas, some of which
include:
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Taitokerau: The
Puriri Trees are Laughing; Nga iwi o Te
Taitokerau; Karanga Hokianga
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Tamaki Makaurau/Hauraki:
Maori Auckland; West Auckland Remembers;
The History of Howick and Pakuranga
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Tainui: Nga
iwi o Tainui; Potatau; Tainui
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Rotorua/Taupo: Tuwhare
toa; Te Arawa; Place Names of the Geothermal Regions
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Taranaki/Wanganui: Nga
Mahi Whakaari a Titokowaru; Maori Life
in Old Taranaki; Old Whanganui
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Tairawhiti: Wairehu;
Whakatohea of Opotiki; Tuhoe; Redemption
Songs
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Wairarapa/Whanganui: Takitimu;
An Old New Zealander Te Rauparaha; The
Kapiti Coast
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Te Waka a Maui: Maori
Place Names of Canterbury; Songs of
Waitaha; Tikao Talks
Other key books on Maori histories and customs:
-
Coming of the Maori - Te
Rangihiroa (Sir Peter Buck)
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The Old time Maori - Makereti
(Maggie) Papakura
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Carved Histories - Rogar Neich
-
The Maori - Elston Best
-
Maori myths and legends -
Margaret Orbell
-
Maori Art - A. Hamilton
-
Nga Moteatea - Sir Apirana
Ngata and Pei Te Hurinui Jones
-
Nga Pepeha o nga Tipuna -
Hirini Mead
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Local History Photos Photographed
in 1890, Whakaari, (now known as Lion Rock), was a fortified pa (village)
to the local iwi, Te Kawerau a Maki. It is one of many thousands of photos
in Waitakere
Libraries' local history collection. |
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Raupatu Document Bank
Waitangi
Tribunal researchers have brought a comprehensive range of historical
material together in the Raupatu (Confiscations) Document Bank. It consists of
140 volumes, comprising petitions' material from the statutes, gazettes and the
AJHR, reports and other documents from commissions of inquiry, Maori Affairs
papers and much more.
Maori and War
The art of war, as practised by Maori prior to European
settlement is documented in a number of useful publications.
Taylor's A
bibliography of publications on the New Zealand Maori and the Moriori of the Chatham Islands
includes a large number of references to the construction of defensive pa,
weaponry and tactics.
Also useful are Elsdon Best's Notes on the art
of war (also found under the search topic of Tribal
Histories), James Cowan's two volumes of The New Zealand Wars: a history
of the Maori campaigns and the pioneering period and James Belichís The New Zealand Wars.
In modern times, the story of participation by Maori in
the two World Wars is recorded in the following: Chris Pugsley's Te Hokowhitu
a Tu: the Maori Pioneer Battalion in the First World War, James Cowan's The
Maoris in the Great War (which covers both Gallipoli, France and
Flanders) and J.F Cody's 28 (Maori) Battalion.
To search for these in Waitakere
Libraries catalogue use: World War I, 1914-1918; World War II, 1939-1945;
and Maori - Warfare.
Maori Land Court Minutes
Te Kooti Whenua Maori - the Native
(later Maori) Land Courts - were established by the Government in 1865 to
investigate disputes over Maori land ownership. The courts have become infamous
for their part in the alienation of enormous amounts of tribal land. Under
British Law, no land could be sold without the consent of the owners. In New
Zealand this caused considerable problems for Pakeha land buyers, as all tribal
land was owned communally. The Land Courts were set up to establish the
ownership of tracts of land and to enable the assignment of the land to
individual owners. Counter-claims were also dealt with in the Land Courts. One
positive legacy of the Land Courts are their minute books, which contain a
wealth of information. Claimants submitted their evidence in the form of tribal
histories and traditions, all of which were recorded, usually in Maori
Useful Links
 Treaty
of Waitangi
Waitangi
Tribunal
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