Pani Taiapa and her two children, Brodie and Anita, pose by the fence of their state house at Waterview, Auckland. Māori families undoubtedly had a higher household income in the early 2000s than similar families a century before. They also probably received a better education and had more comfortable housing conditions. But not all was perfect for this family – they had just been told that they were to be relocated because their house was in the route of a new motorway extension. A question remained as to whether despite their comparative economic wealth, Māori were ‘better off’ and happier than families a hundred years earlier, and how far they retained their culture and identity.