In Aotearoa New Zealand, our ancestors all came from another place. Our society is a rich blend of origins, cultures, languages, traditions, religions and foods from all over the world. Early Māori sailed thousands of miles to reach Aotearoa New Zealand. Their routes were preserved in memory or recorded in song. Upon arrival they weaved place names and overland route descriptions into oral histories. These have been passed from generation to generation. Iwi mapping was therefore an oral tradition. The pepeha, for example, is an important form of introduction. It links individuals to their tribal roots and significant landmarks. The forerunner to the Global Positioning System (GPS)!
Join us as we explore the diverse heritage of a classroom, their stories and how they came to Aotearoa New Zealand. Meet with their parents and understand some of the challenges they faced in making this country their home. Your guides will be other students who have been using digital maps to create a record of their origins and the places that support their identity.
Curated resource collection
You can search this collection by using the search bar below.
A New Reading of Tupaia's Chart, by Anne di Piazza & Erik Pearthree→
/One of the most intriguing artefacts brought back to Europe from Cook’s voyages in the Pacific is a map, Tupaia’s Chart, catalogued in the British Museum as a “Chart of the Society Islands with Otaheite in the center July-Aug 1769”. After decades of close, focused work on Tupaia’s Chart, it still cannot be read as a Mercator projection.
Many islands, even archipelagos seem to be misplaced. Could it be that Tupaia simply failed to solve the problem of converting his view of the Ocean world onto a twodimensional map, with a scale and azimuths?
In this paper, we propose a different reading of his Chart, a reading that is in accordance with how traditional Pacific navigators conceived of their sea environment, i.e., through memorised lists of “relevant pairs of islands plus so-called ‘star courses’ between these islands”. We conclude that Tupaia’s Chart, while having the appearance of a map, is in fact a mosaic of sailing directions or plotting diagrams drawn on paper, similar to those made by master navigators tracing lines in the sand or arranging pebbles on a mat to instruct their pupils.
Tupapa→
/Our ancestors journeyed from Polynesia to Turanganui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne) more than 700 years ago. Tupapa: Our Stand. Our Story is a project to tell our rich, interwoven stories that have been passed down about the first people to navigate to and inhabit this place.
Barney Whiterats by Glenn Colquhoun→
/Barney Whiterats was a famous swagman who spent nearly forty years travelling the roads of Southland and Canterbury. At the time – from the 1870s right through until the 1930s – there were a lot of swagmen in New Zealand. They walked from place to place, looking for work and a meal, and maybe a bed for the night.
This aspect of our history brings to mind the homeless people in our society today, and the different way other people treat them.
The Remarkable Reti by Kiwa Hammon and Duane Culshaw→
/A reti is a fishing device, used by Ngāti Pāhauwera to catch kahawai on the Mōhaka River. The iwi regard the reti as a taonga, and the article provides a great example of how traditions, along with stories and waiata, are handed down through the generations.
Dawn Raids in NZOnScreen→
/This documentary chronicles a shameful passage in NZ race relations: the controversial mid-70s raids on the homes and workplaces of alleged Pacific Island overstayers. Director Damon Fepulea’i examines its origins in Pacific Island immigration during full employment in the 1960s, when a blind eye was turned to visa restrictions. As times got tougher, that policy changed to include random street checks by police, despite official denials. Resistance by activists and media coverage helped end a policy which has had a long-term effect on the Pacific Island community.
Tuia Mātauranga - Encounters 250 topic in Science Learning Hub→
/The topic page about Tuia Encounters 250 and Tuia Mātauranga in the Science Learning Hub website. Includes some resources for Tui Kōreroreo: Ngā Pātai.
Roadside Stories by Ministry for Culture and Heritage→
/Roadside Stories is a series of audio guides that follow major road trips in New Zealand. The stories cover the places you’ll pass along the way – their people, their history, their cultural and natural significance.
Kupe in the Hokianga - Roadside Stories by Ministry for Culture and Heritage→
/Hokianga Harbour was the departure point of legendary Māori navigator Kupe when he returned to his homeland of Hawaiki. Kupe is said to have left behind two taniwha (water spirits), which guided the safe landing of later Polynesian arrivals.
Matakohe kauri - Roadside Stories by Ministry for Culture and Heritage→
/Northland was once covered in magnificent kauri forests - but almost all were logged after Europeans arrived in New Zealand. Felling the giant trees was dangerous work, and dams were built so the logs could be floated down rivers. Today a museum at Matakohe showcases the history of kauri forests and their exploitation.
Hapuakorari - the lost lake→
/PDF downloadable and printable resource about Hapuakorari.
Hapuakorari - the lost lake→
/Heading southwest from Pukaha (Mt Bruce) there is a place of significance in a small lake that Maori know as Hapuakorari. It has been located near the headwaters of the Ruamahanga River in the Tararua Mountains for time immemorial. Few people have probably even heard of it but for those that have it is hard not to become fascinated. This is in no small part due to the many stories that have been attributed to the lake and the name Hapuakorari. Hapuakorari was said to have been a place of unparalleled beauty, a sacred place shrouded in mysticism. For a start a legendary bird, the Hokio, lived by the lake in the company of the Kotuku (white heron), Huia, Kereru, and Kaka. Living between beautiful Beech and huge Rimu trees were a variety of rare plants, all surrounding a pebbled beach on the water edge. Within the crystal clear waters massive two headed eels swam.
The Waikawa Rifle Range and Education Reserve 1911 - 1992, by Dion Tuuta→
/Another example of a research report prepared for the Waitangi Tribunal that may be of interest to teachers and others in that specific area - in this case, Waikawa near Picton in the Marlborough Sounds.
Arapawa The Path of Smoke, by Joy Hippolite→
/An example of a research report prepared for the Waitangi Tribunal that may be of interest to teachers and others in that specific area - in this case, Arapawa (Arapaoa) Island in the Marlborough Sounds.
Goldmining in the Coromandel→
/An online gallery related to goldmining in the Thames area, which involved negotiation with Māori who signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The albums include maps and plans, correspondence, company files, and warders notes.
Settlers, Squatters, and Surveyors: Shaping the Canterbury Settlement, 1848-1851→
/An online gallery about the Pākehā settlement of Canterbury with digital images and added description. The gallery includes digitised images of maps, correspondence, survey notes, minutes, and diary entries. Of use to Ngāi Tahu and those studying the colonisation in Canterbury; Kemp’s Deed of 1848.
Kā puna kōrero o Kāi Tahu→
/This website contains images of selected public archives held by the Christchurch office of Archives New Zealand relating to Ngāi Tahu communities in Canterbury and Westland. It is the result of a collaborative effort by Archives New Zealand staff and representatives of those communities to identify, digitise, and make available online significant local public archives documenting transactions between Ngāi Tahu and the Government in the region. Includes te reo Māori on the website and in the content itself. Includes Māori census information, population information, land information, correspondence, maps and plans.
Politicians' Papers→
/Archives New Zealand holds the papers of many former Prime Ministers and Ministers of the Crown. These are systematically being reviewed and where appropriate released for public access.
The Politicians Papers online galleries contain digitised images of relevance. ‘Elizabeth Pullman Māori Portraits’ includes 23 items of Māori, including Heta Te Haara, Rewi Maniapoto, and others; while the other albums also include sub-galleries on race, protest, colonisation, women’s suffrage etc.
Walter Nash exhibition→
/New Zealand and the world as seen through the Political Papers of the Rt. Hon Sir Walter Nash G.C.M.G. C.H, P.C. (1882-1968). From food to fascism, from world travel to World Wars, Walter Nash kept everything. His papers provide an insight into all aspects of the world in which he lived.
The extent of the collection is vast – several thousand “bundles” of papers, photos, and other items. They are currently being listed for placement on Archway. This is expected to take several years. The Walter Nash online galleries contain digitised images of relevance. The album ‘Māori’ contains 118 digitised records with added description. They cover rangatira, events, correspondence, culture, war, and more, and includes te reo Māori album names and te reo Māori content in the documents themselves. There are also other albums of use such as ‘Women’, ‘Pacific’ etc.
Provenance of Power – Constitutional Documents→
/A curated online exhibition that features twelve of the most important, historic, and significant constitutional milestones from our holdings. It includes Te Kara (the United Tribes Flag), He Whakaputanga, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, 1839 Letters Patent, the Charter of 1840, the 1852 Constitution Act, the Kohimarama Conference, the Māori Representation Act 1867, the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition, and others. Each document is described and available to download. Includes te reo Māori in the documents themselves, but not as part of the learning resource.