Nau mai ki te pānui
o Ngā Taonga
Welcome to our newsletterIn this edition we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2026 and welcome the new season. We also share an exhibition that unwraps the story of Whittaker’s chocolate and unearth a 1951 film about the discovery and reconstruction of moa bones. Kātahi
te wiki hirahira ko tēnei! In celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, we reflect
on communities who have kept the embers burning and continued to nurture the
flame of te reo Māori through generations.
He hokinga mahara, he koanga ngākau ki te tau 2000, te mano tau i tūmanakohia
ai e ngā iwi e toru, a Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, a Ngāti Toa Rangatira, rātou
ko Te Āti Awa, i ngā 25 tau ki muri.
In 1975, Whakatupuranga Rua Mano, a 25-year tribal development plan, was
launched by three local tribes: Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and Te Āti Awa. It aimed to revitalise and prevent the decline of te reo Māori
and tikanga Māori among their people.
Fifty years on, the vision of Whakatupuranga Rua Mano continues to inspire
people across the motu. We look back on this time in celebration of what was
achieved and what is to come – ake, ake, ake!
Two Waka Huia episodes about Whakatupuranga Rua Mano are available to
watch on the Ngā Taonga website now. To celebrate the new season, we’re spotlighting a vibrant family
film in the collection that captures the colours and sights of spring in New
Zealand.
The 1967 footage, credited to Rupert Parr, features scenes
of family daffodil picking, playful newborn farm animals, assorted garden and
wildflowers, and much more springtime goodness.
The film is a joy to the senses and available to watch now on
the Ngā Taonga website. In 1937, North Canterbury farmer Joseph Hodgen and his son
discovered moa bones in a swamp on their property in Pyramid Valley. Following
the discovery, Canterbury Museum led excavation works to recover the bones, which
belonged to the country’s largest moa species and date back thousands of years.
The film Treasure of
Pyramid Valley (1951) shows the excavation work carried out in this swamp
and the careful reconstruction of the moa bones at the museum. Another task was
to painstakingly piece together over 200 fragments of shell, which formed an
18-inch moa egg.We were
pleased to work with Pataka Art + Museum in Porirua on their current exhibition
about local success story Whittaker’s. Among the historical treats on display are
19 Whittaker’s TV ads from decades past, which are sure to provoke nostalgia. The
ads also help explain how Whittaker’s became such a well-trusted brand, so if you
need a further excuse to go you can always claim you’re there to study marketing.
Lovers of chocolate – and advertising history – have until 28 February 2027 to
visit. News briefs- Our friends at the National Library are
currently hosting a special
event series for Mahuru Māori, an initiative that promotes the use of te
reo Māori through the month of Mahuru (September).
- We were saddened to learn of the passing of
Michael Chadwick, football enthusiast and campaigner for the Chatham Cup. In 2022,
we were please to collaborate with Michael to mark 100
years of the Chatham Cup.
IMAGE CREDITS
1) Thumbnail image from Spring (1967). Collection ref. F38447. 2) Thumbnail image from Waka Huia - Tupuranga - Part One (2000). Collection ref. TZP227533. 3) Thumbnail image from Treasure of Pyramid Valley (1951). Collection ref. F1784. 4) Whittaker’s and Human Dynamo, Whittaker’s Chocolate Time Machine, detail, 2022.
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