Source: New Zealand Government
A large crowd is expected to gather at Parliament in Wellington today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Māori language petition.
I tēnei rā, ka whakaeke mai tētahi ope nui ki te Pāremata i Te Whanganui-a-Tara ki te whakanui i te huringa o te 50 tau mai i te hainatanga o te petihana mō te reo Māori.
Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson said the day was a chance to remember the 1972 petition’s pivotal role in te reo Māori revitalisation in New Zealand.
Hei tā te Minita Whanaketanga Māori, hei tā Willie Jackson, he rā whakamahara tēnei i te wāhi nui o te petihana o te tau 1972 ki te whakarauoratanga mai o te reo Māori i Aotearoa.
“Te reo Maori is unique to Aotearoa and makes a significant contribution to our nation being a vibrant and diverse place to live.
“He reo motuhake te reo Māori nō Aotearoa, he wāhi nui tō te reo ki te hihiri me te kanorau o tō tātou motu.
“Fifty years on we will return to the steps of Parliament where rangatahi from Ngā Tamatoa, Te Reo Māori Society, and Te Huinga Rangatahi, along with kaumātua presented the petition.
“Nō te paunga o te 50 tau, kei te hoki tātou ki ngā arapiki o te Pāremata, ki te wāhi i whakatakotoria ai te petihana e ngā rangatahi o Ngā Tamatoa, o Te Rōpū Reo Māori me Te Huinga Rangatahi i te taha anō o ngā kaumātua.
“Those 30,000 plus signatures represented both Māori and non-Māori who wanted to fight for te reo Māori and saw it as the taonga that it is,” Willie Jackson says.
“He tohu aua hainatanga, e 30,000 te nui, mō te hiahia o te Māori me tauiwi ki te whawhai mō te reo Māori, arā, i kitea he taonga tonu te reo,” te kī a Willie Jackson.
The He toa reo Māori, 50 years on event will run from 11am–1pm. TV presenter and musician Moana Maniapoto will MC the public event and there’ll be formal speeches, and the Māori Language Moment at midday will be to sing waiata Ngā Iwi E. This will be followed by free kai, and a performance by award winning musician Rob Ruha.
Ka tū te hui He toa reo Māori, 50 years on mai i te 11am–1pm. Ka whakahaerehia ngā kōrero e te kaitātaki pouaka whakaata, e te kaipuoro hoki, e Moana Maniapoto, ka tūtū mai ngā kaikōrero, ā, i te tūhoetanga o te rā, ka tū te hui ki te waiata i te waiata o Ngā Iwi E. Ā muri tata atu, ka kai, ā, ka waiata tētahi o ngā toa o te ao puoro, arā, ko Rob Ruha.
Willie Jackson said today is a celebration of the progress being made to ensure te reo Maori is once more a living language.
Hei tā Willie Jackson, koinei te rā ki te whakanui i ngā kokenga whakamua ki te whakarauoratanga mai anō o te reo Māori.
The day began at dawn with the blessing of the Māori language petition exhibition “Tōku reo, tōku ohooho” and the opening of a four-day Māori language festival in Wellington at the National Library.
Nō te aonga ake o te rā, ka whakatuwherahia te whakaaturanga mō te petihana reo Māori, arā, mō “Tōku reo, tōku ohooho” me tētahi taiopenga nui mō te reo Māori ki Te Puna Mātauranga i Te Whanganui-a-Tara. E whā ngā rangi te roa o te taiopenga.
“It is also a humble day as there is much left to do in the next 50 years. But rangatahi and kaumātua, Māori and Pākehā, are taking up the challenge as did their predecessors,” Willie Jackson said.
“E tū whakaiti ana hoki mātou i tēnei rā i te nui o ngā mahi e toe ana hei te 50 tau e heke mai ana. Heoi, kei te hīkina te mānuka e ngā rangatahi, e ngā kaumātua, e te Māori me te Pākehā,” te kī a Willie Jackson.
In this spirit, Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, the Māori Language Commission has released its interactive Stories of Te Reo website to collect the stories, images and memories that trace the Māori language revival history.
I runga i tērā whakaaro, kua whakaputaina e Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori te pae tukutuku pāhekoheko o Stories of Te reo hei whakakao mai i ngā kōrero, i ngā whakaahua me ngā mahara e whai ana i te hītori o te whakarauoratanga o te reo Māori
