Ngā Puna - Koro's Hat

Me and my cousins always knew they were talking about us when they started talking Māori.

– Babe (Stacey Taylor) reflects on her aunties switching to te reo Māori

I keep thinking that the last thing I said to you was, "Stay cool ‘til after school.” It’s so stupid — I swear I’ll never say that again as long as I live. I wish I’d said something real cool. Something in Māori. I love you Koro. That’s what I should’ve said.

– Babe (Stacey Taylor) regrets not speaking more te reo Māori with her koro before he died

I went to see him every day after school. Sometimes it was a real drag. I hated hospitals, and so did Koro.

– Babe (Stacey Taylor) describes visiting her koro in the hospital, where he experiences racism

You don’t learn Māori from a book, I told you. Listen — that’s how you learn ... Language is just a way of communicating thought. You’ve got to think right. You’ve got the heart, you just need the tongue.

– Koro (Bill Tāwhai) encourages Babe to learn te reo Māori through listening and feeling, rather than books