Recording a Māori speaker, 1923

Ethnologists Elsdon Best (third from left), Johannes Andersen (left) and Hēnare Balneavis (second from left) record an unidentified Māori speaker at the Dominion Museum in 1923. The recording is being made on an Edison cylinder. The photographer was James McDonald, who also took photos and film footage of Māori during museum field expeditions. New technologies for recording sound and images greatly assisted anthropological studies.

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Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: MA_I173858

by James McDonald

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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Comments

Raewyn J Graham
22 November 2016

The unidentified Māori speaker at the Dominion Museum I believe to be Great Grandfather Tumorehu Hapi aka Tu hapi. Tu hapi was known as an expert on tukutuku and thatching whom worked for Auckland War Memorial Museum carver, Thomas Heberley. This link below from paperspast display's my Great Grandfather working at the Museum. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19290604.2.11.12?query=tumorehu%20hapi%20museum%20working%20tukutuku Tu hapi was the brother in-law of my Great Grandfather George Samuel Graham, who was a life member of the Auckland Institute and Museum. Graham was the founder in 1922 of its Anthropology and Maori Race Section. Warm regards Raewyn Graham

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Story: Anthropology and archaeology