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View: TVNZ's Live For Burial of Maori Queen or for MaoriTV's quicktime simulcast. ALSO:Maori TV Pays Special Tribute To Te Arikinui (Itinerary)
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18th August, 2006
Live Simulcast Planned For Burial of Maori Queen
TVNZ and Maori Television are to join forces to present a live simulcast of the ceremony surrounding the burial of the
Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
The coverage, which at this stage is expected to be on Monday morning, will run for at least 3 hours.
The exact timing may depend on the progress of deliberations by tribal elders from around the country who are gathered
at the Turangawaewae Marae in Ngaruawahia to choose Dame Te Atairangikaahu's successor. By custom, the burial does not
take place until the successor is chosen and crowned.
The coverage is expected to begin with the crowning of the new Maori monarch, and will follow the final stages of the
tangi and Te Arikinui's last journey down the Waikato River to her resting place on Taupiri mountain.
Presenters for the simulcast will be veteran television journalist Derek Fox, Maori Television presenter Julian Wilcox,
Professor James Ritchie, and TVNZ's ONE News reporter Tini Molyneux.
The broadcast will be relayed live to the Pacific nations through TVNZ's Pacific Service. As well, it will be streamed
live online on tvnz.co.nz.
The broadcast is to be made available to all networks through the TVNZ Outside Broadcast facilities operating at
Ngaruawahia.
The shared arrangements for coverage of the historic event have been made in collaboration with Dame Te Atairangikaahu's
family and the Marae, in order to reduce the intrusive impact of media technology.
TVNZ chief executive Rick Ellis says the partnership with Maori Television is a sensible and appropriate use of public
broadcasting resources.
"Our goal is to convey to the public of New Zealand the emotion and significance of the farewell to this much-loved and
respected leader, in a way that is as dignified as Dame Te Atairangikaahu herself," Mr Ellis said. "We are proud to take
a part in bringing this important occasion into the homes of New Zealanders."
ENDS