Newspapers & Periodicals

Māori newspapers provide a valuable source of information about New Zealand's early history. Written from a Māori perspective, they contain a wealth of Māori language text that provides a unique record of a living language. Māori newspapers cover the period 1842 to 1933 and were published by independent Māori press, religious groups, and the government. Copies are now available on microfilm and microfiche at Auckland City Libraries and through the internet as an online database created by the University of Waikato.

The New Zealander was launched in Auckland in 1845 during the war between the Crown and Hone Heke in Northland. The newspaper aimed to represent the interests of both settlers and Māori and was so successful that by 1863 it had become a daily. Due to ideological differences between the newspaper's owners over the 'war against Māori', the rival New Zealand Herald began publication in 1863.

Māori magazines sourced for the exhibition include Te Ao Hou: The New World. Published by the Māori Affairs Department from 1952 to 1976, its aim was '… to provide interesting and informative reading for Māori homes … like a marae on paper, where all questions of interest to the Māori can be discussed.' It was bilingual in content, reporting in both Māori and English, and is now a sought-after publication.

We hope that visitors to the exhibition and library will gain an appreciation of the depth and scope of Māori language in print from the newspapers and periodicals shown here.