Ngā Pounamu Māori Centre
Tena koutou katoa

The Ngā Pounamu Māori Centre is a community space with special emphasis on Te Ao Māori. It is located in Central Library Peterborough - Te Kete Wānanga o Peterborough.

The Māori collections in the Community Libraries are also called Ngā Pounamu Māori.

What sort of material is in the NPM collection?

There is a wide range of resources available covering many subjects important to Tangata Whenua. eg:

• Hahi - religion
• Hauora - health
• Mahi Raranga - weaving
• Mātauranga - education
• Moko - tattoo
• Tāngata Rongonui - prominent Māori
• Te Reo - language
• Tōrangapū - politics
• Whakairo - carving
• Whakapapa - genealogy
• Whakataukī - proverbs

The material in the Ngā Pounamu Māori Centre is mainly for lending, but there are also some items that can only be used in the Centre.

Special collections

Ngāi Tahu Collection / Ngā Rākau Teitei e Iwa

The Ngāi Tahu collection has material relating to the Ngāi Tahu claim and general books about Ngāi Tahu or written by Ngāi Tahu authors. The South Island, Chatham Islands and Tītī Islands Minute books are also part of this collection. All the items in this collection are identified by a Ngāi Tahu spine label.

The Ngāi Tahu claim now has an online index.

The newest addition to the Ngāi Tahu Collection is Pānuitanga Ngāi Tahu. This resource is based on articles about the people, places, mahi and taonga of Ngāi Tahu. The information has been sourced from books, magazines, newspapers and other documents and organised into broad categories to make it easy for you to use.

Audio visual

The video collection includes language resources, historical stories, documentaries and some films from the TVNZ series. There is also a good selection of music CDs, both traditional and contemporary, as well as a small collection of CD-ROMs to assist learning te reo Māori. Other useful language tools can be found among the cassette and book sets.

All AV material in this area is free of charge.

Fiction

A small collection of stories written by prominent Māori authors.

Magazines and Newspapers

We have a good range of Māori magazines on display with back issues bound for easy access.

Library Kaumatua — Dr Terry Ryan M.B.E.

The knowledge, expertise and guidance of Dr Terry Ryan from the Ngāi Tahu Whakapapa unit was essential to the successful development of the Ngā Pounamu Māori Centre. The added cultural benefits of the creation of the special Ngāi Tahu collection, Ngā Rākau Teitei e Iwa, has added another vital layer to the increasing wealth of taonga Māori.

Although Dr Ryan no longer acts as the Library Kaumatua, he continues to offer support and guidance to the Library Māori Services Team, Ngā Rātonga Māori.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koe Dr Ryan.

Distinctive logo

Kowhaiwhai Piko o Mātauranga - unity in knowledge is the name of the logo which is used to identify all Māori material in the Centre as well as other Māori collections throughout our network of Libraries.

The concept behind the logo reflects our special relationship with Ngāi Tahu and other Māori groups.