Story: Te reo Māori – the Māori language

Petition for Māori television

Petition for Māori television

Students from Mount Cook school in Wellington meet Te Reo Māori society patron Hēmi Pōtatau (Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Rākaipaaka) in June 1978. Pōtatau holds a petition calling for the establishment of a Māori television production unit. Māori language use in broadcasting became one of the key battlegrounds for Māori in the late 20th century.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PAColl-7327)
Reference: EP/1978/2230/7

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Rawinia Higgins and Basil Keane, 'Te reo Māori – the Māori language - Language decline, 1900 to 1970s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/41080/petition-for-maori-television (accessed 29 April 2024)

Story by Rawinia Higgins and Basil Keane, published 5 Sep 2013, updated 1 Sep 2015