Click to watch scenes from the 1988 opening of Waipapa Marae.
20 February 2018 marks 30 years since the opening of the whare whakairo, Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi, on Waipapa Marae, located at the University of Auckland.
The Archive of Māori and Pacific Music houses both the analogue and digitised audio and audio-visual content capturing the historic occasion which took place on 19-20 February 1988.
The opening was attended by iwi leaders and representatives from throughout New Zealand and the Pacific as well as many past students. Some of the guests seen in the video featured here include King Tāufa’ahau Tūpou IV, Koro Wētere, Wharetoroa Kerr, Judge Mick Brown, Sir James Hēnare, Sir Pita Sharples, Selwyn Muru, Dame Whina Cooper, Dr Pakariki Harrison, Sir Paul Reeves and Helen Clark.
The soundtrack used in the video is titled ‘He Oriori Mō Tūteremoana‘, also known as ‘Nau Mai e Tama‘. This lullaby was composed by Tūhoto Ariki (Ngāi Tara) for his grandnephew Tūteremoana (Ngāi Tara) and is represented in the stained glass window at the entrance of the whare. The waiata exhorts Tūteremoana to retain the specialised knowledge and customs of his people.
Early images of Waipapa Marae are included in the Anthropology Photographic Archive. You can access the images via this Library homepage search and adding further keywords, e.g., opening ceremony or construction, will provide images for specific events.
Until 23 February, archival video footage of the opening will be playing in the foyer of Rehutai, Te Wānanga o Waipapa – Department of Māori Studies (Building 253, 16 Wynyard Street).
A waiata for Judge Mick Brown (then University of Auckland Chancellor) during the 1988 Waipapa Marae opening. Credit: Andree Brett, Anthropology Photographic Archive, University of Auckland.
About the Archive of Māori and Pacific Music
The Archive houses a significant ethnographic sound and moving image collection relating to the Pacific, with recordings dating back to the mid-1950s. The unit was established in 1970 to advocate research into the music and oral histories of the indigenous people of New Zealand and the surrounding Pacific Islands.
To ensure current and future access to the collection, preservation work aims to conserve and duplicate its content, maintain the integrity of the original recording, capture important and relevant metadata, and provide secure and safe storage conditions.
To find out more about the recordings of the Waipapa Marae opening or other parts of the collection, contact the archive staff.
Thanks to the Department of Anthropology for use of the images from the Anthropology Photographic Archive, to the Taurima and Kaiāwhina of Waipapa for their assistance in celebrating the opening of Tāne-nui-ā-Rangi, and to the Faculty of Arts Administration for screening the video in the Rehutai.
Archive of Māori and Pacific Music staff