Summer Learning Journey

Day 5: The Dawn of a New Era…

From the 1840s onwards, many European settlers came to live in New Zealand. It was a difficult period in New Zealand’s history. As the settlers began to outnumber the Māori, a great war erupted between the two groups as they fought for access to land to build homes and establish communities.

Activity 1: Translating Phrases

Unlike the Māori, many of the European settlers didn’t speak Te Reo Māori. Instead, they spoke English. As you can imagine, it was very difficult for the two groups to communicate because they did not have a dictionary or a translator. These days we are able to use the Internet to translate words and phrases from one language to another.

Use Google Translate to translate the following five phrases from English to Te Reo Māori or from Te Reo Māori to English. Post the translations on your blog. Be sure to include the phrase in both the English and Māori to earn full points.

Phrases:

1. Nau mai ki Aotearoa.
2. Poitirere is my name.
3. What is your name? Poitirere
4. He pai taku ki te takaro i te whutupaoro. Yes I do like to play rugby.
5. Where do you come from? Auckland.

Activity 2: The Treaty of Waitangi

On 6 February 1840, a very special document was signed by the Māori chiefs and the British settlers in New Zealand. It was called the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) and it outlined how the two groups would live together and work together in New Zealand. It was the first document of its kind to be signed in the entire world. The Treaty was signed in a place called Waitangi in northern New Zealand.

Follow this Waitangi village link to read about the village of Waitangi.

On your blog, tell us three fun things that you can do as a visitor in Waitangi. Which one would you like to do the most?

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1. I would go for walks around the place.

2. Try out new food at different places.

3. Last of all I would want to go to a beach.

Bonus Activity: #EarnTheFern

After the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, New Zealand became a British colony. Many other countries in the world are also British colonies including Canada, South Africa, Australia, India and Malaysia. As a group they were, and still are, called the ‘Commonwealth’ countries. Years ago, a man named Melville Marks Robinson was asked to organize a sporting competition for people living in the Commonwealth countries. It is called the Commonwealth Games. The first ever event took place in Hamilton, Canada in 1930.

Athletes from New Zealand have competed in the Commonwealth Games for years. In the most recent Commonwealth Games event in Glasgow, Scotland New Zealand athletes won a total of 45 medals. The next Commonwealth Games will be held in 2018 in the Gold Coast, Australia. Hundreds of athletes are competing for the chance to represent NZ at the games (to 'Earn the Fern').

One of New Zealand’s gold-medal-winning Commonwealth athletes was a man named Bill Kini. Bill won a gold medal at the 1966 Commonwealth Games for being the best heavyweight boxer. He was a man of many talents! He played rugby in Ōtāhuhu in the 1960s and later moved to Whangarei.

Imagine that you could interview Bill. What would you ask him about his time at the 1966 Commonwealth Games. What would you want to know? I’d like to know how he had time to train for two sports at once.

On your blog, write four questions that you would ask Bill Kini.

If I was to ask Bill Kini a question I would ask if he is ever go back to rugby and if he does go back to rugby what team would he be in. Also many years he would play fo