Marae - John O'Shea on Tangata Whenua

In this excerpt from Marae, Elle Hughes interviews John O'Shea about producing groundbreaking documentary series Tangata Whenua. Prior to its 1974 screening in primetime — significant, in a time of single channel TV — Māori "lacked a voice" on the Pākehā medium of television. O'Shea says the aim was "a better understanding. We wanted to listen to what the Māori people said". Tangata Whenua captured interviews with kaumatua from different iwi for posterity, and increased Pākehā understanding of land grievances, including the Tainui-led occupation in Raglan in the 1970s.

I think it was an eye-opener for most...for Pākehā people. Māori people at last felt they had a voice, that people were listening to them.

– Producer John O'Shea on the impact of the Tangata Whenua series

Key Cast & Crew

Elle Hughes

Interviewer

Greg Mayor

Director

John O'Shea

Subject

Derek Wooster

Producer

Tainui Stephens

Executive Producer

Tini Molyneux

Presenter