Kia ora, Welkam, Halo, Bula Vinaka, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Fakatalofa atu, Kia orana, Mālō e lelei, Mālō nī, Talofa lava, Tēnā koutou katoa, Noa‘ia, Halo olaketa, Gude.
Come and explore our vibrant cultures of Te Moana-nui-a Kiwa.
From pēpē to kaumatua, whanau history enthusiast to studious researcher, practitioners of traditional arts, language and waiata, we've got you covered.
Our well-resourced reference collections are here to support study and research in the library. Our comprehensive lending collections are available for you to enjoy at home.
Visit our City Centre Library and discover our resources about the tangata whenua of Porirua, Ngāti Toa Rangatira.
Download the Ngāti Toa resources sheet (543 KB PDF).
We partner together to honour our commitment to mana whenua and the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Matariki star cluster holds great importance for Māori and the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, but this cluster is seen and celebrated across the world. From times of old, it has been used to guide people from many different lands, and it goes by many different names, such as Makali’i, Pleiades, Mao, Krittika and Subaru. Beginning with the creation story of Ranginui and Papatūānuku, the book introduces the Māori gods and Maramataka, the lunar calendar, before going into detail about the Matariki cluster and each individual star as they are known by the Māori people of Aotearoa. The second half of the book provides examples of the stories told about the same star cluster in other cultures around the world: the Cook Islands, Tahiti, Hawai’i, Australia, Japan, China, India, Africa, Greece, Scandinavia, North and South America. The book is beautifully and soulfully illustrated and includes a glossary and index
He Puka Rapu Mahi - Māori (PDF - 2.6MB)
There is a lot of material out there, and it is easy to get overwhelmed. These resources actively teach and connect te reo with everyday life.
Te Whanake is a set of print and digital resources for learning and teaching te reo Māori. It also includes Te Aka Māori Dictionary. This website provides access to the full range of free online resources for independent learning and interaction.
Kōrerorero created by Auckland University of Technology. Users work their way through Kōrerorero’s eight lessons, each based around a different activity one would find in a typical day. Each lesson contains up to 10 parts with a series of interactive exercises. It focuses on spoken reo rather than written language.
Kupu a Spark-sponsored app that uses the camera in your phone to instantly translate objects into te reo Māori.
He aha tēnei? a drag-and-drop game where matching of letters and pictures teaches pronunciation of everyday words. Aimed at children, but enjoyable for all.
Taringa: learn Te Reo and tikanga Māori in a relaxed way with weekly episodes discussing either kupu (words), iwi (tribes), stories or tikanga (customs and protocols). From Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.
Tōku Reo: a Māori language learning course for absolute beginners. Designed by Professor John Moorfield, and structured as a series of short videos which build on the previous lesson.
Māori TV language learning: te reo Māori learning programming broadcast by Māori Television, and available on demand, online.
Up to speed with te reo Māori: a podcast series explaining Māori language phrases and words often heard in media, public addresses and everyday conversation in Aotearoa. Delivered by Stacey Morrison.
This collection of Pasifika linguistics bibles was gifted to the Australian National University in 2014 by the Australian Bible Society. It is a rare collection containing 337 publications and 11 supporting grammar folders.
The bibles range in size and feature many Pasifika languages. There is a growing movement in linguistics to investigate language structures through ‘parallel corpora’ – text collections which are semantically equivalent. Within this research movement, bible texts currently hold pride of place as no other texts of this length offer parallel translations across so many languages.
Te Puka Muna a Te Ulu o te Watu = A Dictionary of the Language of Pukapuka
The dictionary of the indigenous language of Pukapuka! allows you to navigate the dictionary, using the menu to toggle word and concept translations between the Pukapuka language and English, Rarotongan or the Northern Cook Island languages.
Pukut Se Famör Ne Ao Garue - Rotuman (PDF – 4.5MB)
Tusi Taiala Mo Ē Saili Galuega - Sāmoan (PDF – 3.7MB)
Online reading resources support second language acquisition.
Ana Bokinikaeti te tia Kareke Nakoa - Kiribati (PDF – 3.7MB)
Pepa Ngāue ma‘á e Kau Kumi Ngāué - Tongan (PDF – 4.0MB)
Tusi mo Tino Sala Galuega - Tuvaluan (PDF – 3.7MB)
Na i Vola Dusidusi ni Vaqara Cakacaka - Fijian (PDF – 3.9MB)
Let's Read, Asia foundation resource.
(Select your language from the top right search box.)
Pepa Gahua ma e Tau Tagata Kumi Gahua - Niuean (PDF – 4.6MB)
Tuhi Galue Mo Na Tino Hakili Gāluega - Tokelauan (PDF – 4.0MB)
Let's Read, Asia foundation resource.
(Select your language from the top right search box.)
Bloom Library resource.
Global Digital Library resource.
(Select your preferred language from the top right search box.)
Pijin books for all reading ages.
If you have any queries about our Māori and Pacific collections, please email
[email protected] or phone (04) 237 1533.
