Māori publishing has a long history

(Part of an article published in Tu Tangata (33) Dec 86/Jan 87 p.40-41

Before Te Karare became required viewing for those wanting to keep in touch with news in the Māori world, our tupuna had their way of gathering information.

Communication in the realm of man was handled kōrero-a-waha, orally, and safely bound up in whakapapa, ngā moteatea. tauparapara, whakatauki, whaikōrero and waiata. It was also embodied in the day to day living through carving of utensils and ceremonial taonga and the necessary karakia that accompanied the various craft forms developed to meet aesthetic and more practical needs.

Even though Iwi were scattered around Aotearoa, they retained their kinship links through their tribal waka and the intermarriage that took place with other Iwi. This whakapapa was an essential element in communication between people.

Also their were those Māori who were intrepid travellers, like Tamateapokai-whenua, an ancestor of the Kahungunu people but known by many for his exploits. Some North Island Māori to get greenstone from Te Waipounamu by long waka voyages, while others carved out paths through the Southern Alps to the Arahura River, the primary source of pounamu.

All this suggests that the pre-European Māori knew how to keep in touch with their world. But with the arrival of the traders and missionaries, began the introduction of the written word, in particular the written English word.

Māori people took to this learning, and it is said that many Māori of the 1800's were so accomplished in reading and writing Māori as well as English, that their Pakeha neighbours were illiterate by comparison.

Its in this background that the introduction of newspapers, magazines and periodicals should be seen. Apparently the Government saw things differently though. And it sponsored these publications to promote "the beneficent laws of civilisation" brought by the Treaty of Waitangi. Civilising the natives was the aim, never mind whether they needed it or not.

The first periodical was Te Karere o Niu Tirene (1842-1846) printed by the Government Printer and edited by the Chief Protector of Aborigines, Mr George Clark. It included old history, letters from Chiefs and was written all in Māori ."

Christchurch City Libraries has several original editions of early Māori newspapers, these are held in the Aotearoa New Zealand Centre on the second floor.

• Te Waka Māori o Niu Tirani
  Published: Napier; Wellington; Gisborne, 1863-1884.
• Te Wananga: he panuitanga tēnā kia kite koutou
  Published: Pakouhai, 1874-1878.
• Te Pihoihoi mokemoke i runga i te tuanui
  Published: Otawhao: I taia ki te Perehi o te Kura, 1863. Edited and published by Mr John Eldon (Sir J E ) Gorst, Native Commissioner in the Upper Waikato, to counteract the mischievous native newspaper, Te Hokioi, of the Māori King, which was printed at Ngaruawahia.
• Te Hokioi (e rere atu-na): he tauira whakamahara mona. He maimai aroha hoki ki ngā kaumatua rangatira o ia iwi o ia iwi, o Aotearoa me Te Waipounama, 1862-3: Ngaruawahia, Hune 15, 1862.
  Published: Auckland, NZ: Free Press, 1922.
• Te Toa takitini
  Published: Hastings, 1921-1932.
• Niupepa 1842-1933: Māori newspapers on Microfiche
  Published: [Wellington, NZ]: National Library of New Zealand, 1996.

This is a set of approximately 1000 microfiche containing over 40 titles of Māori newspapers, some in Te reo some in English and some bilingual. It is also now available on the Internet through the Waikato University