Story: Māori Studies – ngā tari Māori

This 1820 painting shows Ngāpuhi chiefs Waikato (left) and Hongi Hika, and missionary Thomas Kendall. It was produced during a trip to Britain by these men to work at Cambridge University on  A grammar and vocabulary of the language of New Zealand. This book established the basic written form of the Māori language. Kendall later tried to publish a revised edition of his book, but was unsuccessful. However, the work pioneered the recording of the Māori language in written form, and is therefore an important early publication in the field of Māori studies.