Justine Murray is the producer and presenter of Te Ahi Kaa at Radio New Zealand and she has compiled a podcast series, Ngā Taonga Kōrero, exploring the stories and history of Māori radio from the pioneers themselves.
“We had the likes of Dr Huirangi Waikerepuru, Piripi Walker and many more who were part of that group in '83, that paved that way and lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal and to start a radio station, which was the springboard for Te Ūpoko o te Ika,” says Murray.
The podcasts mark a hundred years since the first radio broadcast took place in Aotearoa. Seven years later, Te Reo Māori was broadcast for the first time in 1928, on Waitangi Day. The first iwi radio station, Te Ūpoko o te Ika in Wellington, officially began broadcasting in 1987.
“The series itself isn’t hugely archival, it starts with mentioning these important people and events in history as a launchpad to talk about what iwi radio is today.”
Murray says although the presence of Te Reo Māori on the airwaves is normal these days, it was a hard road to get here.
The podcast is live and available to listen to here