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Whakapapa me te WhanaungatangaOrigin, Culture & Identity
Tūrangawaewae me te KaitiakitangaPlace & Environment
Kōwhiringa Ohaoha me te OrangaEconomic Activity
Tino Rangitiratanga me te KāwanatangaGovernment & Organisation

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Whakapapa me te WhanaungatangaOrigin, Culture & Identity
Tūrangawaewae me te KaitiakitangaPlace & Environment
Kōwhiringa Ohaoha me te OrangaEconomic Activity
Tino Rangitiratanga me te KāwanatangaGovernment & Organisation

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Pre 1700s (17)
1800s (16)
1900s (15)
2000s (10)

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Economic Activity

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Origin, Culture & Identity

Place & Environment

Pre 1700s

1800s

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Aotearoa, New Zealand’s Histories Curriculum

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Tī kōuka | Cabbage Tree

The cabbage tree served many purposes. Its strength and durability for fishing, its medicinal use to heal open wounds. The white berries also lured kererū for an easy catch.

Hīnaki | Fishing net

Hīnaki were traditionally made using vine and lashed together with muka. They were commonly used in rivers to trap eels and kōaro.

Harakeke | New Zealand Flax

An important plant used by Māori to create an abundance of resources,
from clothing and woven baskets, to lash canoes and bind houses.

Waharoa | Gateway

An entrance gateway where visitors gather before they are welcomed on to the marae complex.

Takurua

Sirius

Kūmara | Sweet Potato

The sweet potato was brought to New Zealand from the Polynesian islands by early Māori settlers. Kūmara are grown in warmer climates throughout Aotearoa. There are various types of Kūmara that are traditional to Māori.

Matariki Stars - Pleiades

Matariki has long held an important place throughout the Pacific. The star cluster is important for navigation, migration and growing and harvesting food. Click here to learn more about each star in the cluster.

Pā Tūwatawata | Palisade

Palisades were used to protect the village from an enemy invasion.
They generally consisted of a single wooden palisade that circled the entire village, with several elevated layers.

Pātaka | Storehouse

Pātaka/storehouses were used to preserve cultivated and harvested food sources. They were often lifted off the ground to keep mice and rats away.

Kōrero tuku iho | People

Oral transmission of traditional knowledge from an elder to a younger generation.

Puanga

Rigal

Takurua

Sirius

Tarāpunga | Red-Billed Gull

This seagull is usually seen on the coast line, but a small group live in Rotorua. They are a sacred bird to Te Arawa, being recognised as guardians of the people and Mokoia island, which is situated in the middle of Lake Rotorua.

Tautoru

Orions Belt

Te Kaiaia

Betelgeuse

Te kakau

The three stars of the belt of Orion (The Pot) is known as Tautoru, but Te Kakau includes these three and another row extending out from them at an angle, suggesting a ‘handle’.

Te Kōkōtā

Hyades

Waka | Canoe

This traditional carved war canoe is more compact in design than the double-hulled canoe. It is designed for speed and agility.

Wharenui | Meeting House

An ancestral meeting house. The design of this sacred house is based on human anatomy. The ridgepole/tāhuhu represents the spine: the backbone of the wharenui and the tribe. The rafters/heke represent the ribs, reflecting the connection between past and present. A meeting house is used for sacred and social gatherings.