Many of the people we interviewed were worried that fewer and fewer people spoke Maori in the area, and some of them were doing something about it, by trying to teach their children in the home. Others thought it was already too late to bring back a language which was now best suited for ceremonies on the marae. Some people said that Maori as a language for everyday use in the household and community had no chance against English which was spoken and understood by everyone in Ngongotaha. Maori would stay alive only if that was what enough people wanted, and if there were more Māori language and culture programmes on radio and TV to help students of all ages already learning Maori. Many parents were brought up in households where only English had been spoken, and could not teach their own children Maori. This added up to a lot of people who wanted Maori taught in schools, especially at the primary level.
Source: Read the full NZCER report here
Te Moana-ā-Toi | Bay of Plenty | Rotorua | 1970-79 | Story is by tangata whenua
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