Nga Toanga
Alexander Turnbull Library
The Alexander Turnbull Library is one of the best research collections in the country.
It has all sorts of material relevant to Ngati Porou, from books to historic documents through to whakapapa manuscripts. See below for examples from the amazing staff.
It is based in Wellington, and has excellent staff who can help with your research needs.
Click here to find out how to start your research journey.
Below, staff from the Alexander Turnbull Libraryshare some of the Ngati Porou taonga held in the collection.
Cellia Joe
Heritage Advice Coordinator, Outreach Services,Alexander Turnbull Library
Mokena Kohere to Donald McLean, 1867
The Alexander Turnbull Library holds the largestsurviving collection of 19th century letters in te Reo Maori. These are the Sir Donald McLean Papers. MSGroup-1551 and are a part of his inward letters in Maori (1820 – 1877)
This beautiful handwriting belongs to MokenaKohere.
This group of letters have been transcribed and translated through a collaborative effort. E Ma: Nga Tuhituhinga ki aMakarini, or the E Ma Project was established in 2005 to transcribe and translate the nearly 3,000 Maori letters from the McLean Papers.
A blog about this collection and who E Ma are can be found here
Here is the transcribed and translated piece fo rthe above letter.
Reel 111a/248 Folder 0691F
Poneke
4 o nga ra o Hepetema 1867
Ki a Te Makarini
E hoa,
Tena koe. Tenei taku pouri mo te mahi o TeWikiriwhi, mo te he e rua wahine, he ateha, ko Henare Potae e rua wahine, heateha.
He kanga tenei i nga ture, e rua. He aha te pai o nga moni a te Kawanatanga i moumouria ai mo nga tangata penei, hei whakamanawareka mo
ngawahine puremu? Ko taku whakaaro me whaki atu ki a Te Kemara, me mutu te hoatu inga moni.
Na Mokena Kohere
Port Nicholson
4 September 1867
To McLean
Friend,
Greetings to you. This is about my disappointment with Te Wikiriwhi, with his having two wives, and he is an assessor, and Henare Potae who has two wives, is also an assessor. This is an insult to the law, these two [wives]. What is the good of the Government’s money being wasted for such men, and for the pleasure of adulterous women? In my view, you should speak to Cameron, and stop their pay.
From Mokena Kohere
Mereana Taungapeau
Heritage Programme Adviser, Maori Outreach Services
I like this photo, the whole collection in factfrom John Dobree Pascoe - this particular photo shows the parents of Te Moananui a Kiwa Ngarimu being awarded his VC posthumously. This photo struck a chord with me as it shows a coming together of whanau, hapu and Iwi to honour a young man who fought for our country with valour and honour. My grandfather served in the Second World War so I have a great interest in the stories of these young men and their families they left behind. I was fortunate enough to visit Ruatoria last year for mahi, and saw where this massive hui took place all those years ago, even now, it was very moving.
Ariana Tikao
Research Librarian, Maori, Arrangement &Description team, Alexander Turnbull Library
Te Kani Te Ua Kōrero, 1958-1966
Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of NewZealand
Record Title : Te Kani Te Ua
Display Dates : [1954-1973]
Reference Number : 77-014-6/04
Collection Record : Fowler, Leo, fl 1938-1972 : Papers (MS-Group-2244)
Issue Restriction : Unrestricted
Collection Status : PART OF COLLECTION
Issue Status : Issuable ITEM
Quantity : 1 folder(s)
Scope and Contents : Correspondence, whakapapa,articles, research notes and photographs. Most of the letters are from Te KaniTe Ua to Leo Fowler between 1958 to 1966, plus some undated material. There isalso a detailed whakapapa book relating to East Coast whakapapa and histories.Articles relating to Maori history and culture and Maoritanga. Alsocorrespondence from A H & A W Reed.
Illustrations : Two black and white photographicprints of a kapa haka group - possibly Waihirere Maori club
Names : te Ua, Hetekia Te Kani-a-Takirau KerekereTuhoe, 1892-1966 (Contributor)
A H & A W Reed (Firm) (Contributor)
Halbert, Rongowhakaata Pere, 1894-1973 (Contributor)
Iwi/Hapu :
Ngati Ira
Te Aitanga a Mahaki
Ngati Porou
Ngati Kahungunu
Subjects :
Wananga
Tohunga
Tikanga
Maoritanga
Karakia
Tapu
Koha
Whakapapa
Ao wairua
Places : Gisborne Region
Language : Maori - whakapapa in Maori
Institution : Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand
Kia ora,
I have chosen the Leo Fowler papers, which have notbeen digitised, but there is some significant material in there relating toNgati Porou. I did some enhancement to the records in this collection which wehave had for quite a while now, but just last year I put some more in-depthdescription on to the collection. I have singled out this folder which has somewhakapapa and kōrero which Te Kani Te Ua sent to Leo Fowler. As you can seefrom the record, this item relates to Ngati Porou and some other iwi from TeTai Rawhiti.
You could access this material by visiting theAlexander Turnbull Library Collection in Wellington
Paul Diamond
Curator, Maori, Alexander Turnbull Library,National Library of New Zealand
There are some wonderful images of Maori in thecollection of photos taken by John Dobree Pascoe. I like this one, because it’s a reminder that photos of Maori aren’t always in the rohe wherethey are from. In this case, children from Tokomaru Bay were snapped byPascoe during their visit to Wellington Zoo. It’s fortunate that the children’s home town was recorded, so it comes up on a catalogue search. It’d be great to know who these whanau are; anyone with any ideas can let the library know using the ‘Ask a librarian’ button at the top of our website’s homepage: http://natlib.govt.nz/
Chris Szekely
Chief Librarian, Alexander Turnbull Library
My favourite is Pounamu, Pounamu by Witi Ihimaera. Published in the early seventies, I still remember having these stories read to me at primary school, especially 'A game of cards.' Ihimaera's writing was a breakthrough in contemporary New Zealand fiction, providing aMaori world view through a distinctly Ngati Porou lens. It was possibly also the first book of its type to be translated into Te Reo and published commercially.
Papers Past is an online collection of historic newspapers. Click here for more...
