Tangata Whenua - Waikato

This episode of Barry Barclays groundbreaking 1974 series focuses on the area and iwi of the Waikato. Much of the episode delves into the education of Māori culture; a teacher from Morrinsville College discusses the importance of teaching Māori Studies, and Methodist Minister Te Uira Manihera leads a Māori Language Seminar. The episode also looks at the Kīngitanga (Māori King Movement) formed in the Waikato in the 19th century to halt land sales and promote Māori authority, and examines why it has contemporary relevance. Plus a number of local kaumātua share their stories. In 2023 the series was restored by Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision. Read more about Tangata Whenua here. 

Tangata Whenua broke the monocultural mould of New Zealand television. It gave Māori an opportunity to speak for themselves about their lives. It went some way to informing Pākehā New Zealanders about Māori attitudes and values, it whetted a Māori audience's appetite for more documentaries reflecting Māori viewpoints, and it opened the way for later programmes, such as Koha and Te Karere, produced by Māori.

– Tangata Whenua interviewer and co-writer Michael King, in his 1999 book Being Pākehā Now

Key Cast & Crew

John O'Shea

Producer

Michael King

Writer, Narrator, Interviewer, Script Coordinator

Ian John

Editor

Keith Hawke

Cinematographer

Barry Barclay

Writer, Director

Michael Scott-Smith

Executive Producer