Ngā Tamatoa: 40 Years On

The important thing is that the natives are daring at last to stand up and protest.

– Māori activist Syd Jackson in a 1975 television interview

I watched them coming across the bridge [Auckland Harbour] and it really was quite an impressive sight, and you could see the bridge swaying as they marched. People were quite scared, they felt it was the mana of their ancestors being displayed.

– Dr Ranginui Walker on the 1975 Land March over Auckland Harbour Bridge

A United Nations study found that te reo Māori remains at severe risk of becoming extinct. Only 1 in 4 of us can speak Māori and that's not good enough.

– Presenter Rawiri Paratene in 2012

I know that it embarrasses the Government to think for the first time that the Māori ever marched to Parliament.

– Dame Whina Cooper in a 1975 television interview

Our tohu at the time was tama tu, tama ora, tama noho, tama mate, tamatoa — meaning stand up and do something, don't sit and do nothing.

– Ngā Tamatoa member Taura Eruera reflects back to the group's beginning