These communnities have traditionally spoken Maori, but English is more and more playing a greater part in people's lives, because that is the language of newspapers, radio and television, as well as the language of the larger towns and cities that the people visit. Parents and local elders have said how worried they were because fewer and fewer people used Maori in the home and the community. However, the example set by Hiruharama Primary School to stop Maori being lost altogether, by teaching in both Maori and English, is well worth a try in Te Araroa as well.
Te Tai Rāwhiti | Gisborne | Matakaoa-Waiapu | 1970-79 | 5% of Māori children can speak te reo. (1970-75) | Whānau & community
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