People of New Plymouth

Which people can I learn about?

Here are some people related to New Plymouth you could find out about:

Tips: These are just some examples of people you could research. You may have someone different you're interested in finding out about. Just use their name or names as your search terms in the resources below.

Local iwi:

• Maniapoto

• Ngāti Maru

• Ngāti Mutunga

• Ngāti Tama

• Taranaki

• Te Āti Awa

Note: Iwi are listed in alphabetical order. This list was put together to the best of our knowledge. If there are any other iwi to be included, please let us know.

New Plymouth resources

This section has some collections and websites you could look at if you'd like to find out about individual people or groups of people from New Plymouth.

Te Āti Awa

This is the website of Te Āti Awa and has information about the iwi's history and people.

• Go to Marae & Te Ātiawa Iwi.

• Then go to History of Te Ātiawa.

Ngāti Tama

This is the website of Ngāti Tama and has information about the iwi's history and people.

• Go to the hamburger button (three lines in top right corner).

• Select Ngāti Tama and then Who are we.

Tips: Some websites have .iwi in their url. This tells you that the website belongs to an iwi and likely has Māori knowledge (mātauranga Māori).

Ngāti Mutunga

This is the website of Ngāti Mutunga and has information about the iwi's history and people.

• Select Urenui Pā for a history.

Ngāti Maru

This is the website of Ngāti Maru. It has videos that include some histories of the iwi.

• Go to About.

• Then select Our Videos.

• Choose a video to watch.

Taranaki Iwi

This is the website of Taranaki Iwi. It has information about their history and people.

• Select About Us.

• From the menu go to Taranaki Iwi and Our History.

• Choose an event from the menu.

Puke Ariki Heritage Collection

A collection of photographs, artworks, archives and interesting objects held at Puke Ariki Library and Museum.

• Enter the name of a person or group of people in the search bar.

• On the Object use the Refine results on the left-hand side to get fewer objects e.g., Collection type.

• Choose an item to have a closer look at.

• Or go to the Person tab and look for the name of the person you're looking for.

Tips: Before searching it can be useful to come up with a list of words to use. These are sometimes called keywords. They can be the name of a person, place, or event you are researching.

Rarau mai ki Te Rangi Aoao Nunui

This is a collection of historical and cultural stories from Taranaki's past and present. It has been put together by Puke Ariki.

• Enter the name of a person or group of people in the search bar.

• Or to browse stories go to Find a story.

• Then select Taranaki People or Taranaki Tāngata Whenua to filter.

• Choose a story to read.

Tips: Stories can be told in different ways. It’s a good idea to look at multiple information sources about a topic to help you put together your own narrative.

Taranaki Research Centre

There is lots of information about New Plymouth people at the Taranaki Research Centre including books, images and archives. Items can only be looked at in the library.

You can:

• Search Puke Ariki catalogue for the name of a person or group of people.

• Visit Puke Ariki Library & the Taranaki Research Centre on Level 2 and speak to a helpful librarian.

General New Zealand resources

These websites have good information about the history of New Zealand as well as New Plymouth.

NZHistory

NZHistory is a great website for information about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we go all the way down the page, we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Enter the name of a person or group in the search bar.

• Choose an article to read.

• Or go to Places and then Taranaki.

• Then choose New Plymouth.

• This will bring up some articles related to New Plymouth.

Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Te Ara is an excellent starting point for all questions about New Zealand Aotearoa. If we look down to the bottom of the page, we can see that the website belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, so the information is well-researched and reliable.

• Enter the name of a person, place or event into the search bar.

• Choose an article to read.

Tips: We like sites like this because they’re reliable. You can tell because of their web address – they have either .govt or .ac, meaning they are from government or educational organisations. They’re also New Zealand sites, so relevant for us.

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (DNZB)

This website contains over 3,000 biographies of New Zealanders who have ‘made their mark’ on this country. It does not include people who are alive. This site includes around 500 biographies that are in te reo Māori. DNZB is part of Te Ara The Encyclopedia of New Zealand and also belongs to the Ministry for Culture & Heritage.

• Use the names of the people as search words to read about their lives and what they achieved.

• Or go to Advanced Biographies search, then under Region look for Taranaki.

• This should bring up a list of well-known people from this region.

• Use the other filters to further narrow down your search.

Te Arawhiti | The Office for Māori Crown Relations

This government website has information about Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

• Select Te Kāhui Whakatau (Treaty Settlements).

• Then choose Find a Treaty settlement.

• Look down the page to find the Deeds of Settlement for the iwi you're looking for.

• This will have information about the historical background to the claim and how the government will redress (set right) iwi losses.

DigitalNZ

This is a search site that focuses on Aotearoa New Zealand's history and brings together results from lots of different websites such as New Zealand libraries, museums, universities, and government sites all at once.

• Use the name of a person or group of people as your search words.

• Look at a range of videos, audio, articles and images, and more about your topic.

Tips: Historical sources eg newspapers, articles, and videos can be useful for finding different perspectives on a topic. Keep in mind that they may not fairly show a wide range of views or experiences.

Books

Here are some books about New Plymouth history for you to look for at your school or local library. Your local librarian is a great person to ask for the best books about your local area.

• Ask that mountain : the story of Parihaka by Dick Scott.

• Ko Taranaki te Maunga by Rachel Buchanan.

• The New Zealand Wars by Philippa Werry.

• Māori Tribes of New Zealand by New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

More about New Plymouth