English/ Māori •• 1840 - 1900 • 1900 - 1930s • 1940 - 1960s • 1970 - 1990 •• Sources

Tama tu, tama ora; Tama noho, tama mate
1970 - 1990

  • By the 1970s only 18-20% of Maori were fluent, and most of them were over 65.

Concerns for the Maori Language were being widely expressed by Maori groups including Ngā Tamatoa and the Te Reo Maori Society.

In 1972 a petition was presented to Parliament asking that Maori language be offered in all schools. The petition was signed by 30 000 people and brought about many positive initiatives in the area of Maori language education.

  • In 1978, Ruātoki School became the first bilingual school in New Zealand.
  • The first Kohanga Reo opened within a week of each other at Wainuiomata and Waiwhetu in 1982. From these beginnings grew the nationwide Kohanga Reo movement.
  • In 1985 the first Kura Kaupapa Maori, Hoani Waititi, was established to cater for the children emerging from kohanga reo. Kura Kaupapa Maori were formally recognised by the Government in 1989.

The push that began in the 1970s to have the language recognised and protected as both an official and a living language, was also gathering momentum.

  • The Te Reo Maori claim was put before the Waitangi Tribunal by Ngā Kaiwhakapumau i te Reo in 1984. It was estimated that the number of Maori speakers had fallen to about 50,000 or 12% of the Maori population.

In 1987, following the recommendations of the Waitangi Tribunal, the Maori Language Act was passed. The Act declared Maori an official language and established Te Kōmihana mō te Reo Maori, now known as Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori (Maori Language Commission).
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Awhinatia! The First Maori Language Day, 1972
[Archives Reference: MA, W2459/193, 19/1/605 Part 5]
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Memo forwarding the petition to the Maori Affairs Department
[Archives Reference: MA, W2459/193, 19/1/605 Part 5]
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Waiwhetū Kōhanga Reo, 24 May 1984
Photograph by Don Roy, Courtesy of The Dominion Post
[Archives Reference: AAMK, W3495, 31g]
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Opening of Te Kura o Hoani Waititi Marae, 1985
With John Bennett, David Lange, Paul Reeves and Pita Sharples,
Photograph by Gil Hanly
[Archives Reference: AAMK, W3495, 2/f]