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Story: Intermarriage

Books and movies: To love a Maori

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Books and movies: <em>To love a Maori</em>

Rudall and Ramai Hayward's 1972 feature film To love a Maori dealt with Māori–Pākehā intermarriage, still a contentious subject at that time. Tama, played by Val Irwin of Wairoa, moves from his rural marae to Auckland and falls in love with a Pākehā student dancer, played by Marie Searell. Her parents strongly object to their relationship.

Using this item

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, Hayward Collection

Reference: PO03897

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How to cite this page

Angela Wanhalla, Intermarriage – 20th-century intermarriage, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/ephemera/30255/books-and-movies-to-love-a-maori (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Angela Wanhalla, published 29 March 2011.