Hokianga Blog

As part of the Hokianga exhibition Te Rōpū Ratonga Māori created Auckland City Libraries' first web-blog, a virtual diary or journal. A blog is a collaborative space where links, 'posts' or personal conversations are shared and published. This allows the digital community and Māori staff to talk to each other online. Although it is an informal forum, we believe it operates as an innovative access point to resources and collections held at Auckland City Libraries. The use of Te Reo Māori is an added bonus.

This vibrant virtual space featured stories focussed on the Hokianga and led up to the physical exhibition. Our team was actively involved in adding to the web-blog, posting live links and encouraging all people to contribute to discussions and make personal comments. The range of responses was hugely encouraging. One of the stories posted on the blog was titled 'A claim to land and fame: Charles Phillipe Hippolyte de Thierry.' We chose de Thierry because he was connected politically and socially with Hokianga and also because Auckland City Libraries holds material published by and about him. In his Address to the 'white residents', printed in 1837, de Thierry claimed ownership of the Hokianga and outlined his intentions to form a settlement, appointing himself as sovereign chief. He conferred protection on his Māori subjects and required all land dealings to be addressed to him. The address caused quite a stir in its time and may even raise a few eyebrows in the exhibition. The posting on the web-blog gathered a lot of feedback, including a response from a de Thierry descendant.

Hokianga blog: aclhokiangarocks.blogspot.com