For Years 1 - 3
Whakapapa me te whanaungatanga – Culture and Identity
Māori are tangata whenua. They were the first people of this land and have stories about their origins and arrival.
People in our area have come from a variety of places and some retain connections to those places.
| The Māori canoe by Elsden Best | An account of the various types of vessels used by Māori in former times, with some description of those of the isles of the Pacific, and a brief account of the peopling of New Zealand. | 397.21z BES |
| Polynesian navigation and the discovery of New Zealand by Jeff Evans | Polynesian navigation and the discovery of New Zealand offers a straightforward account of how and why Polynesian seafarers made their journey south to New Zealand shores. The first part discusses the origins of the voyages, legends of the homeland and the explorer Kupe. | 993.01z EVA |
| We, the Navigators – The Ancient Art of Landfinding in the Pacific by David Lewis | The Ancient Art of Land-finding in the Pacific is a 1972 book by the British-born New Zealand doctor David Lewis, which explains the principles of Micronesian and Polynesian navigation through his experience of placing his boat under control of several traditional navigators on long ocean voyages. | 623.89 LEW |
Useful Links
Discover stories of encounter between two great voyaging traditions, Te Moana-nui-ā-Kiwa (Pacific) and European, which led to the formation of a new nation here.
Information about the voyaging canoe
Te Toki Waka Hourua. Ways to navigate before GPS.
Voyaging the Pacific in Te Papa's collections.
Listen to the author interview with Jeff Evans, Reawakened: Traditional navigators of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa"
"Voyaging in the Pacific" resources from the Bishop Museum Education Team.
Tino rangatiratanga me te kāwanatanga – Government and organisation
This context focuses on the history of authority and control, and the contests over them. At the heart of these contests are the authorities guaranteed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi. This context also considers the history of the relationships between government agencies and the people who lived here and in the Pacific.
| The Easy Read book about the Treaty of Waitangi Nicolina Newcombe | The book answers many questions like What does the Treaty say? Who signed it? What does the Treaty say for Māori? What does it say for people from other places? What happened after the Treaty? What is a protest? It is appropriate for adults who prefer simple language, for newcomers to Aotearoa New Zealand, for school students and for reading aloud. | 993Z WAI [Ground Floor, Children’s Non-Fiction] |
| The Treaty of Waitangi/ Te Tiriti o Waitangi by Toby Morris, Ross Calman, Mark Derby, translated by Piripi Walker | Dual-language flip-book, graphic-novel-style, non-fiction, about the Treaty of Waitangi, developed for a general audience. | 993 MOR NZ |
Useful Links
A brief outline of the signing of the treaty with links to more information
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-treaty-of-waitangi-is-signed
William Hobson takes The Treaty "on the road" to gather signatures.
https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/maori/treaty-waitangi/treaty-close/treaty-waitangi-trail
Tūrangawaewae me te kaitiakitanga – Place and environment
Origins
How did Māori name places, establish mana and tūrangawaewae
How and why place names have changed
| Māori origins: from Asia to Aotearoa By Nigel Prickett | In the history of New Zealand there is no more interesting or significant subject, than the first human settlement of these Islands. Who were these people? | 993.01Z PRI |
| E Oho By Raimona Inia | This book is a collection of information given to the author by numerous elders and historians of Te Arawa. The book covers areas such as genealogy and the migration of the Te Arawa canoe. | 993.423 INI NZ |
| The first migration: Māori origins 3000BC – AD1450 | This text weaves together evidence from numerous sources: oral traditions, archaeology, genetics, linguistics, ethnography, historical observations, paleoecology, climate change and more. | 993.004 Z AND |
| The quest for origins: who first discovered and settled New Zealand and the Pacific islands? | This book is a thoughtful and devastating critique of such new learning, and a careful and accessible survey of modern archaeological, anthropological, genetic, and linguistics findings about the origins of Pacific Islanders. Professor Howe also examines the two-hundred-year-old history of Western ideas about Polynesian origins in the context of ever-changing fads and intellectual fashions. | 995.072 HOW |
| Tupaia: Captain Cook’s Polynesian navigator | Tupaia sailed with Captain Cook from Tahiti, piloted the Endeavour about the South Pacific, and was the ship’s translator. Tupaia was a star navigator, a brilliant orator, and a most devious politician. Tupaia drew a chart of the Pacific that encompassed every major group in Polynesia and extended more then 2,500 miles from the Marquesas to Rotuma and Fiji. | 910.92 TUP NZ |
| Polynesian navigation and the discovery of New Zealand | Polynesian navigation and the discovery of New Zealand offers a straightforward account of how and why Polynesian seafarers made their journey south to New Zealand shores. | 993.01Z EVA |
| Māori place names: their meanings and origins | From Ahaura to Whitianga, this is the definitive guide to the most common and notable places across New Zealand, with over 2,300 individual entries. Where do names like Whāngārei, Tauranga, Motueka and Timaru originate? What are the Māori names for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin?. | 993.REE NZ |
| Place names of New Zealand by John Lockyer | A handy glovebox-sized book covering the meanings and stories behind the place names of New Zealand. All the top tourist destinations are covered, including the unusual, the quirky and the historical. Examples of places include: - Mystery Creek - named after an unsolved murder in the Waikato region - Hataitai - named after the legend of two taniwha which live in Wellington Harbour - Vinegar Point - named when two early landowners, trapped outside on a cold night, opened a bottle of brandy to warm themselves up, only to find that it was vinegar! | 993Z LOC |
| Māori Place Names Explained: What’s in a name? By Murdoch Riley | A journey from the north of New Zealand to Stewart Island in the South containing stories and explanations about Māori place names. | 993Z RIL |
| Māori legends of the land: Māori tales and traditions | A collection
of Māori myths and legends of the land, particularly those of famous places and
landmarks, mountains, wild lands and sea coasts.
| 398.2Z GRA |
| Have
you ever wondered why a particular place has a certain Māori name? Was it
because of how the place looked, or was there an important historical event
that took place there? With this book you'll be able to answer all your
questions about Māori place names around Aotearoa New Zealand.
| 993Z REE |
Useful Links
https://teara.govt.nz/en/maori-origins-and-arrivals
https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/1585/theories-of-maori-origins
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/perspective/3964223/New-light-shed-on-origins-of-Maori
https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/genetic-link-brings-indigenous-taiwanese-and-maori-together
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-20026-8
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/maori-european-contact-pre-1840/pakeha-maori