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Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand is a comprehensive guide to the peoples, natural environment, history, culture, economy and society of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Te Ara is a project of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, and aims to provide information on a range of topics important to our society.
The site is broken up into a range of sections ranging from “Earth, Sea and Sky” through to “Māori New Zealanders” and everything in between. Each section has a huge range of stories covering lots of interesting topics.
One of the highlights of the site are the multimedia resources, ranging from photos to texts to video that support the stories.
There is a huge range of Māori content on the site, all available in either English or Te Reo Māori.
The site also now incorporates the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, another great resource with biographies of our tīpuna.
The Māori material is also written by experts in the field, and so is a really credible source for information.
Director, Digital Māori products and senior historian at Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage
The Ngāti Porou article on Te Ara was written by Professor Sir Tamati Reedy is a highlight for me. He also wrote the te reo version in Ngāti Porou dialect. Ngāti Porou also features prominently in the East Coast region article written by Dr Monty Soutar. Many Ngāti Porou identities feature on the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography section of Te Ara. Tīpuna, politicians, warriors, soldiers, important leaders, composers, carvers all feature. From Hinematioro and Te Kani a Takirau to Rāpata Wahawaha. From Āpirana Ngata, Mihi Kōtukutuku and Materoa Reedy to Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngārimu. Tuini Ngāwai, Pine and Hone Taiapa, and Ngoi Pēwhairangi are present. A search for Ngāti Porou biographies reveal other prominent tīpuna. Resources and images include photographs of Hikurangi, a video of Whai McClutchie, the Ngāti Porou signatories of the Treaty of Waitangi and even footage of the Ngāti Porou East Coast rugby team.
