News

Te Ara launched

8 February 2005

Source:	Ministry for Culture and Heritage

On 8 February 2005 the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rt Hon Helen Clark, launched Te Ara's first theme, New Zealanders.

The event took place at midday in Soundings Theatre at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand in Wellington.

With the assistance of the Ministry of Education there was a video link to schools around the country. Students participated by contributing performances or items about the communities represented in New Zealanders.

"Te ara" in Māori means 'the pathway'. Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand offers many pathways to understanding New Zealand. When complete, it will be a comprehensive guide to the country';s peoples, natural environment, history, culture, economy, institutions and society.

Te Ara consists of 9 themes, appearing progressively:
2005: New Zealanders – the arrival and settlement of the people.
2005: Earth, Sea and Sky – shaping forces such as geology, tides and climate.
2006: The Bush – New Zealand's landforms, fauna and flora.
2007: The Settled Landscape – how people live in, use and change their environment.
2008: Trade and Exchange – the economy, business and city life.
2009: Connections – social groups, families and communities.
2010: Nation – systems of government and symbols of national identity.
2011: Daily Life – the customs, leisure activities and beliefs that make New Zealand unique.
2012: Creativity – arts, culture, invention and innovation.

In addition, between 2005 and 2008 there will be features on:
- 22 major geographic regions
- 50 iconic places such as Cape Rainga and Milford Sound.

An important feature of Te Ara is its Māori content. The Māori perspective is presented with each theme, and entries with substantial Māori content are available in the Māori language.

Online now
New Zealanders
The first theme of Te Ara introduces the peoples of New Zealand to each other and to the world. There are two sections:

- Māori New Zealanders, who arrived by 1300 AD
- New Zealand Peoples, the ethnicities and nationalities who have settled in the last two centuries.

Māori New Zealanders
Each major Māori tribe presents its own story; in some cases smaller tribes have been brought together into regional groupings. For example, the tribes whose home is around Tauranga are to be found in the Tauranga Moana tribes entry. The information that is seen as important to tribal identity includes:
- canoes
- ancestors
- tribal boundaries and resources
- cultural icons
- major events
- the tribe today.

New Zealand Peoples
There are 44 stories about the main national or ethnic groups who have settled New Zealand, including British, European, Pacific Island and Asian. These cover topics including:
- when they migrated
- where they came from and where they settled
- what they have contributed to New Zealand
- retaining their home culture.

Origins and arrivals
You can access these background entries from the New Zealanders home page. They give context and meaning to the story of New Zealanders.

For example, in Māori New Zealanders you can discover when the Polynesian ancestors of the Māori first settled New Zealand (When was New Zealand first settled?), or how they navigated across the Pacific to reach the new country (Canoe navigation).

Background information in New Zealand Peoples includes the story of successive arrivals from Great Britain and Ireland, Europe, Asia, the Pacific and elsewhere (History of immigration), and the long journeys immigrants have taken to reach New Zealand (The voyage out).

New Zealand in Brief
This links you to concise, up-to-date information about essential facts about New Zealand.