Mihimihi
Ko Taranaki te Maunga
Ko Taranaki te Awa
Ko Ngati Mutunga te Iwi
Ko Tokomaru te waka
No Whare Kauri ahau
Tena koutou katoa
Kei te mihi nui tēnei ki a koutou katoa
Acknowledgment
The seeds for this project were planted in May 1999, the demand for information about local Māori history was growing rapidly and there just didn’t seem to be a resource available that would provide all the information in a format that was not only educational but also captured the imagination of those seeking it.
I decided to pursue the idea of developing a website as it offered the opportunity to utilise modern technology to produce a dynamic resource which would be a living reminder of the past. I began gathering resources and speaking to people who I thought would be interested in assisting me with this project, suddenly it was growing and so I became the supervisor for this wonderfully informative and educational resource.
I would especially like to acknowledge the following people for their passion, energy and commitment
- Helen Brown, my kai awhina (assistant) whose research skills and story telling abilities are quite evident throughout this site, tēnā rawa atu koe Helen.
- Kirk Hargreaves, who along with Helen used his photography skills to capture all the beautiful images throughout this site.
- Simone Hindin, who had the technology skills and patience to put all our gathered research into a presentable electronic package, by creating and developing the maps and working closely with Helen to add the images and text.
- The IT team at Christchurch City Libraries, especially Fraser Graham and Paul Sutherland who saw the possibilities and refined the project into the suite of web pages you now see.
- Terry Ryan, Manager of Ngāi Tahu Whakapapa unit for his knowledge, tautoko and belief that we could produce a resource that would not only acknowledge Ngāi Tahu as the Mana Whenua of our region but would also embrace Māori tikanga/values.
I now invite comment and additional information to ensure that this site continues to be informative and educational, as well as being a way of involving community participation in uncovering the significant Māori history of our region.
Haneta Pierce
Māori resources and Services Librarian
