In 1986 the Waitangi Tribunal heard a landmark claim concerning the status and state of te reo Māori. The claim was lodged with the tribunal in 1985 by Te Huirangi Waikerepuru (Taranaki, Ngāpuhi) and Ngā Kaiwhakapūmau i te Reo (the Wellington Board of Māori Language).
This 1985 photo shows two members of the tribunal, chairperson Eddie Taihakurei Durie (Rangitāne, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa) and Paul Temm QC (right), with students of the kōhanga reo at Waiwhetū in Lower Hutt. The tribunal's decision on the reo Māori claim resulted in changes to the education system and legislation recognising te reo Māori as an official language of New Zealand.
Using this item
Alexander Turnbull Library, Dominion Post Collection (PA-Group-00685)
Reference: EP/1985/2942/15-F
by John Nicholson
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.