Learning Media - Te Pou Taki Kõrero

Te Wharekura 1960-2010

This fiftieth anniversary edition celebrates five decades of publishing Te Wharekura.

This commemorative edition, He Kōrero Whakamaumahara 1960–2010, looks back at the writers and illustrators and the stories and articles that have inspired, informed, and entertained its audience over the past fifty years.

Hōne Apanui writes of how the series was started in 1960 to provide supplementary reading for the Te Rangatahi Māori language course. He tells of the commitment and inspiration of Hoani Waititi, who developed the course and guided Te Wharekura over its first five years.

The life and artistic career of Kāterina Mataira is the subject of an article by Kania Worsley. Kāterina’s illustrations and stories have appeared in Te Wharekura from its beginnings. Her work enriched Te Wharekura, and the series gave her opportunities to practise and publish her craft.

Two comic-strip stories “Ngā Raruraru O Mihi” by Llyn Richards, published in 1976, and “Maui” by Hirini Melbourne, published in 1978, are republished here. Their style of illustration may not have been favoured in educational publications of the time, but Dick Frizzell, who illustrated “Maui”, is just one of the series’ artists who went on to become “names” in the New Zealand art world.

A timeline, which is illustrated with covers of the journal, showcases the works of Selwyn Muru, Cliff Whiting, Phillip Paea, Kāterina Mataira, Ralph Hotere, Para Matchitt, and Andrew Burdan.

The cover is a fitting tribute to the series. An illustration of the four winds by Cliff Whiting is reproduced in black with gold metallic outlines and glossy black detail. The white feather across the front surface symbolises the mana of Te Wharekura.