By Bradford Haami
Foreword by John Tamihere
The first comprehensive record of Māori urbanisation told through the stories of those who came to the cities
“Urban Māori had to evolve and develop new tikanga. We had to develop new marae that celebrated our tribal diversity but
did not wallow in our tribal differences ...”
— John Tamihere, CEO, Te Whānau o Waipareira
The post-1945 migration to the cities by Māori transformed Aotearoa New Zealand forever. Before the Second World War 90%
of Māori lived in rural tribal communities; by the mid-1970s almost 80% lived in the cities —perhaps the fastest
movement of any population from traditional homelands to the cities.
Economic opportunity improved the lot of many but created huge disruption and challenges, making this a story of
expectation, need, loss, isolation and revival.
Exploring what being Māori means today, Bradford Haami looks back to the experience of the first migrants, and traces
the development of an urban Māori identity over the following years. Commissioned by Te Whānau o Waipareira, Urban Māori
intersperses first-person accounts of migrants with readable history and numerous photos, covering the full spectrum of
the migration experience — including ground-breaking accounts of urban marae, social deprivation, trade training schemes
and the Māori experience in Australia.
Brad travelled around Aotearoa to research the work, talking to urbanised Māori in different cities and building on
years of work in the field. Alongside striking profiles of whānau and individuals, he zeroes in on case studies such as
Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou’s move to Christchurch, the Ngāti Poneke experience in Wellington, and the development
of Auckland’s multi-faceted Māori communities across suburbs like Freeman’s Bay, Te Atatū and Ōtara.
As John Tamihere, CEO of Te Whānau o Waipareira, writes in his foreword:
"We have thousands of Māori, now buried in public cemeteries away from their tribal lands, who need to have their story
told. We need their grandchildren to know the difficulties and challenges that confronted their ancestors. This book
tells the sacrifices made and the obstacles overcome."
Urban Māori tells these stories from those who lived the experience, grounding rigorous academic research in the
real-life experience of Māori in the cities.
Publication Date: 1 February 2018 | ISBN: 978-0-947506- | RRP $39.99
Paperback with flaps, 234 x 153 mm, 304 pages b