At the time of the survey, there were no school-age children in Waihaha who could speak Maori well or understand it easily. More than three-quarters of this age group knew practically nothing of the language, while half the people under 24 knew little more. It was the kaumatua over the age of 45 who had the most knowledge of Maori. Although English seems to have taken the place of Maori as the main language in Waihaha, Maori was the language that the kaumatua of the area preferred to speak. Some of them talked about the loss of the language, especially among younger people. The widespread use of English on television, radio and in newspapers (and in the community itself), has made people worried about the future of Maori. Several families knew that the language was being spoken less and less, and were now speaking Maori and teaching it to their children and mokopuna. But some people said that it was already too late for this to make any difference.
Waikato | Taupo | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Story is by tangata whenua
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