Tangata Whenua - Waikato

Television (Full Length) – 1974

Tangata Whenua was a groundbreaking six-part series from 1974, on Māori. Barry Barclay directed, and historian Michael King was writer and interviewer. Each episode (remarkably screening in primetime on Sunday nights) chronicled a different iwi and included interviews with kaumātua — a first for New Zealand screens. This episode looks at the people of Waikato, and focuses on the Kīngitanga (Māori King Movement), examining why a movement formed in the Waikato in the 19th century to halt land sales and promote Māori authority has contemporary relevance.

Like Broken Barrier, the series broke new ground: it put Māori perspectives on the small screen, in most cases without Pākehā interpretation. It was hoped by Māori all over the country that this series would be a forerunner to a greater Māori presence on TV, but it was not going to be that easy.
– Filmmaker Merata Mita on Tangata Whenua, in 1992 book Film in Aotearoa New Zealand,page 46

Key Cast & Crew

John O'Shea

Producer

Barry Barclay

Director, Writer

Michael King

Narrator, Interviewer, Writer

Ian John

Editor

Keith Hawke

Camera

Mike Hardcastle

Assistant Camera

See all 13 credits

Produced by

Pacific Films

Source

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision - TVNZ Collection

Acknowledgements

The makers of the programme acknowledged at the time: "Queen Te Atairangikaahu and the Waikato elders who authorised this programme also Waaka Kukutai, Tūrangawaewae Waiata Group, Tūrangawaewae Carving School, Morrinsville College Principal and staff"

This programme features (in order of appearance): Tumokai Katipa, Piri Poutapu, the elders and workers of Tauranganui Poukai, Ripora Kukutai, Whitiora Cooper, Winera Samuels, Tony Knight, Hopi Samuels, Norman Kingsbury, Te Uira Manihera, Dick Green, Waikato Elders who attended the Tauranganui Poukai

Presented with thanks to the New Zealand Film Heritage Trust – Te Puna Ataata