Kua whakatuwhera Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau i ētahi o ngā tauira tuatahi o te reo Māori ā-tuhi
• April 29, 2026
Ko Robert Eruera te Kaitiaki Matua me te Pou Kōkiri I Ngā Taonga Tuku Iho ki Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau, e tango ana i ngā reta taketake mai i te kohinga Ngā Reta Māori. Whakaahua: Koromiko Jacob-Williams
This story is translated into English below
Kua whakatuwheratia a Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau i te kohikohinga, ko Ngā Reta Māori, ka taea te marea ki te kite i ngā tauira tāwhito, ngā tauira tuatahi o Te Reo Māori ā-tuhi.
I whakatuwheratia tuatahitia te whakaaturanga Kīnaki: Ngā Reta Māori, he Whakaaturanga Kohinga Taonga Tuku Iho, i te tīmatanga o te tau 2019.
Kei tō te kohinga ngā reta nā te Sir George Grey Special Collections, e whakaatu i ngā whakawhitinga kōrero i waenga i a Hōri Kerei me ōna hoa aropā o taua wā i Te Reo Māori.
Kua waihangatia he tārua o ngā reta taketake kia wātea ai te pānui ki Te Papa Taumata Taonga Tuku Iho ki te Whare Pukapuka Matua o Tāmaki Makaurau.
Kei te wātea hoki te kohinga o Ngā Reta Māori ā-ipurangi ki te Kura Heritage Collection Online.
Kei te wātea te kohinga o Ngā Reta Māori ki te tiro ki te Papa Taonga Tuku Iho o te Whare Pukapuka Matua o Tāmaki Makaurau. Whakaahua: Koromiko Jacob-Williams
E tītohu ana ngā reta nei i ngā whakawhitinga kōrero i waenga i a Kerei me ētahi rangatira pērā i a Rewi Maniapoto, Ruta Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, rātou ko Tāwhiao Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, te Kīngi Māori tuarua.
E torohia ngā reta mai i ngā tau o 1840 ki ngā tau o 1890, tata ki te mutunga o te oranga o Kerei.
Ko Robert Eruera (Ngāpuhi), te kaitiaki o te kohinga me te Pou Kōkiri o ngā Taonga Tuku Iho ki te Whare Pukapuka Matua o Tāmaki Makaurau, nāna i mahi piri tonu ki ngā reta taketake.
“Ngā reta Māori, he matapihi mō wētahi o ngā uri hakatipuranga, kia kite atu te ahuatanga o taua nei wā rā, e ora ana rātou.
“E taea ana mātou nei kia rongo mai ana ki tō ratou nei nawe, to ratou nei ahua reka nei, me to ratou nei hiahia o taua wa rā.” i kī mai ia.
He reta taketake nā Hōri Kerei ki a Tāwhiao Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero i te tau 1862, e kōrero ana mō te hokinga mai o Matutaera ki Māngere. Whakaahua: Koromiko Jacob-Williams
Ko te kohinga nui nei o ngā reta, me ētahi o ngā pukapuka tuatahi i tāngia i te Reo Māori, i tukua koha mai nā Hōri Kerei ki Ngā Pātaka Kōrero o Tāmaki Makaurau i te tau 1887.
Ka tiro a Ngā Reta Māori ki ngā hononga me ngā whakawhitinga kōrero i waenga i Ngā Iwi Māori, rātau ko Kerei i te wā o ngā panonitanga nui o Aotearoa, pērā ana ki te New Zealand Settlement Act i te tau 1863.
Kua 24 ngā tau i mahi a Eruera hei Pou Kōkiri o ngā Taonga Tuku Iho ki te Whare Pukapuka Matua o Tāmaki Makaurau, ā, e mōhio ana ia ki te hiranga o Ngā Reta Māori.
“Ko wēnei kohinga, ngā taonga whakahirahira mai ana, piripono ana ki tā mātou nei tīpuna, nō ngā hau e whā.
“Ka piripono ana ngā uri hakatipuranga ki ngā korerohia ana a tā rātou nei tīpuna, e taea ana rātou nei ki te hakauru ana ki wēnei kohinga.”
Ko tētahi atu tauira tuatahi o te reo Māori ā-tuhi, e noho i roto i te pukapuka ‘A Koroa no New Zealand’ nā Thomas Kendall i tuhi i te tau 1815.
I tuhia taua pukapuka hei whakaako, hei huri i ngā tamariki Māori ki te Karaitiana, mā roto i ngā rārangi kupu, ngā rerenga kōrero, me ngā akoranga whakapono.
He patapatai ki te taha o Robert Eruera e pā ana ki Ngā Reta Māori-
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Auckland Library showcases some of the first written examples of te reo Māori
Auckland libraries have opened their Ngā Reta Māori collection, offering the public access to some of the first written examples of Te Reo Māori.
Kīnaki: Ngā Reta Māori, a Heritage Collection Exhibition, originally opened in early 2019.
The collection consists of letters from the Sir George Grey Special Collections, which show communications between Sir George Grey and his contemporaries in Te Reo Māori.
Copies of the original letters have been made available at Te Taumata Taonga Tuku Iho (Heritage Floor) at the Auckland Central Library.
The Ngā Reta Māori collection is also available to access online at the Kura Heritage Collection Online.
The letters capture communications between Grey and significant Māori figures like Rewi Maniapoto, Ruta Tāmihana Te Rauparaha, and Tāwhiao Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, the second Māori king.
They span from the 1840s to the 1890s, towards the end of Grey's life.
Robert Eruera, senior curator at Auckland Central Library, pulls out the original letters from the Ngā Reta Māori Collection. Photo: Koromiko Jacob-Williams
Robert Eruera (Ngapuhi), the curator of the collection and Pou Kōkiri o ngā Taonga Tuku Iho at Auckland Central Library, has worked closely with the original copies of the letters.
“Ngā Reta Māori is a window into a generation, to see how they acted and how they lived in that time.
“We can hear and see their grievances, what they liked, and what they wanted in those times.”
The large collection of letters, aswell as some of the first books printed in Te Reo Māori, was donated by Sir George Grey to the Auckland Libraries in 1887.
Ngā Reta Māori looks at the relationship and communications between Māori and Grey during major historical changes in Aotearoa, like the New Zealand Settlement Act in 1863.
Eruera has worked as one of the library's Senior Curators for 24 years and recognises the importance of Ngā Reta Māori.
“These collections are highly important treasures; they show the alliances of our ancestors from every corner of the country.
“Generations of today can see what their ancestors spoke of; they can apply themselves to this collection.” Eruera said.
Another of the first recorded examples of written Māori was in the book ‘A Koroa no New Zealand’ by Thomas Kendall in 1815.
The book was written to educate and convert Māori children with its word lists, phrases, and religious instruction.
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Our journalists sometimes use AI tools, which are checked by humans for accuracy.
AI was used to help translate this story.
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