Stories ranging from 1990s queer dance parties, a history of abortion care in Aotearoa and the experiences of Pasifika bus drivers in Ōtepoti Dunedin are among the topics which will be explored by recipients of this year’s Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho, Piki Ake! Kake Ake! New Zealand Oral History grants.

Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho New Zealand Oral History grants award funding annually to support community-led projects which record interviews and conversations around a topic significant to the study of Aotearoa New Zealand history and society.

“Once again, the recipients of Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho New Zealand Oral History grants represent a fabulously diverse range of projects that will enrich the cultural system and their respective communities,” said Glenis Philip-Barbara, Pou Mataaho o Te Hua, Deputy Chief Executive, Delivery at Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

“Oral history adds rich detail to our understanding of our past by preserving the words of individuals and their experiences and expertise. Oral histories can be recorded in any language, and include whakapapa, waiata, karakia, genealogical recitation, song, dance and prayer.

“The incredible power of oral history to cross-cultural divides is evident in this year’s recipients. This year, 14 projects will receive $108,540 to record oral histories across a range of communities and subjects such as interviews with buskers and street performers, and a 1996 rāhui on shellfish at Karekare Beach on Auckland’s West Coast.

“We were pleased to see applications from across the many different cultures that make up Aotearoa, with different funded projects exploring life in New Zealand for Korean, Indigenous Fijian and Zomi people.

“It is also exciting to see three different projects which will capture kōrero with kaumātua from Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō whenua, Hokianga and Rotorua, respectively, ensuring that the vital mātauranga held by our elders will be protected for future generations.

“A key condition of the funding is that recipients deposit the resulting recordings in an archival repository or pātaka to ensure that these recordings are available to communities into the future. It’s great to see another fascinating range of topics preserved for our future generations,” said Glenis Philip-Barbara.

To find out more about Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho New Zealand Oral History grants, get in touch at [email protected].

2022 Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho New Zealand Oral History grant recipients

1. Dr Margaret Pack on behalf of APGANZ (Abortion Providers Group Aotearoa New Zealand). A History of Abortion Care in Aotearoa New Zealand.
   • This project seeks to record the oral histories of a group of professionals who have worked in Aotearoa New Zealand to provide safe legal abortions, often while experiencing prejudice and discrimination. $8,800. Auckland based.
2. Joonseob Yi. Korean Diaspora in New Zealand.
   • Oral Histories of life experiences of people who settled in Aotearoa and formed the early Korean community after the change of immigration law in 1987. Some recordings will be in Korean language. $8,659. Auckland based.
3. Dr Te Manaaroha Rollo, Tōku reo o Hokianga e kore e mimiti (My language of Hokianga will never perish).
   • This project seeks to record 10 kaumatua/kuia/leaders who are still fluent in the language of Hokianga. $10,000. Te Tai Tokerau, Northland.
4. Liwei Fang, When Erhu meets Puoro.
   • This innovative project will document the creative practices of taonga puoro player James Webster and Erhu (Chinese traditional instrument) musician Liwei Fang. An exploration of two cultures, it will include instrument making as part of the process. $7,581.79. Waikato based.
5. Caren Wilton, Hopelessly devoted: the queer dance parties of the 1990s.
   • A project recording oral history with people involved in the annual LGBTQI+ dance parties and associated events held across Aotearoa. $10,000. Wairarapa based.
6. Sue Gee and Kim Conway, Wai Karekare – Bay of the Boisterous Seas.
   • A project focusing on a rāhui on taking shellfish enacted at Karekare Beach on the West Coast of Auckland in 1996. $8,000. West Coast Auckland based.
7. Lynette Townsend, The New Zealand Busker.
   • A collection of oral histories to be undertaken with buskers and street performers to reflex a diverse mix of experiences. $3,450. Wellington based project.
8. Prue Langbein, Seven by Eighteen – Voices of New Zealand children.
   • Oral history interviews following up two other series with the same seven children first recorded in 2012. These children are now eighteen years old. $8,959. Wellington based project.
9. Dan Kerins on behalf of Kaikoura Board Riders Club, Surfing History Series.
   • This project will capture some of the stories from the pioneers of surfing in the community.  $6,000. Kaikoura based project.
10. Dennis Maang, Oral History of Zomi settlement in New Zealand.
    • These oral histories will record the experience of Zomi people of Myanmar who have settled in New Zealand as refugees. $6,230. Wellington based project.
11. Elisapeci Samanunu Waqanivala, Nanumi Viti Memories of Fiji: Indigenous Fijian Diaspora in Aotearoa New Zealand.
    • Indigenous Fijian Oral Historian Elisapeci will take a ‘deep-dive’ into the lives of indigenous Fijians residing in Aotearoa New Zealand to explore language and cultural questions. $8,401. Wellington based project.
12. Rowena Smith, Ngā Ararau a Apa.
    • The intention of this project is to record the kōrero of iwi members, initially focusing on kaumātua to hear their narratives of place throughout Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō whenua. $10,000. Blenheim based.
13. Amie Taua, Boats to Buses: Pasifika Navigators of the Ōtepoti Bus Routes.
    • Collecting oral histories of Samoan, Tonga and Cook Island (and maybe other Pacific) bus drivers in Dunedin. $7,859. Ōtepoti Dunedin based.
14. Arapine K Walker on behalf of Te Tini o Tuiti Trust, Te Tini o Tuiti – He Pātaka Kōrero.
    • This project will undertake a series of in-depth oral histories with two kaumātua focusing on whakapapa, te reo Māori, te taiao and mātauranga Māori. $4,600. Rotorua based.