Whare Taonga - Te Pā o Parihaka

Television (Full Length Episode) – 2012

Due to an influx of Māori sympathetic to their passive resistance, Parihaka became the largest Māori community in Aotearoa. It became a haven for the dispossessed of the country.
– Narrator Scotty Morrison on the status of Parihaka leading up to the 1881 raid

We had to find ways to make this place work for its future. And this is also how we get information about Parihaka out to the people. People need to be invited and that's not our custom ... people are meant to come to us and this way they can...
– Marae caretaker Maata Wharehoka on Ti Niho marae being used as a learning hub, Taranaki Daily News, 24 May 2011

Taranaki mountain was confiscated. Taranaki lands were confiscated. Taranaki people were dispossessed. Therefore, to you the viewers, this is what happened. Thank you very much. I believe that you are now aware, despite being dispossessed, strong is the mana of the tribe and marae, under the shelter of our sacred mountain.
– Taranaki kaumātua Mahara Okeroa on the enduring mana of both his iwi and Parihaka, late in this episode

Taranaki is the mountain, Taranaki is the eponymous ancestor, Taranaki is the tribe: the spring from whence we came.
– Taranaki kaumātua Mahara Okeroa, early in this episode

I remember those kuia and their determination to bring Te Niho back during the most trying times. Who performed the poi at Te Niho? They all did. The poi draws on their spirit and strength. It's not the poi we're familiar with today. And so, to my dear matriarchs, my elders of that time, I am forever in awe of your strength and your skills to build this house of ours...
– Kuia Whero O Te Rangi Bailey pays tribute to the female elders who kept Parihaka pā going

Whare Taonga was a collaboration, with hapu and iwi involved in the storytelling process for their whare.
– Press release for the Whare Taonga series, Scoop website, 15 May 2012