Inspiring tauira to learn te reo Māori at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa

Stella beach, standing next to Rakataura by Mac Bell that greets all those who enroll at Te Wananga o Aotearoa to study te reo Māori. Photo / Matai O'Connor

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air

As part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, kaupapa Māori reporter Matai O’Connor spoke to a teacher of the language to hear about what it’s like to guide tauira on their journey.

“If people want to learn te reo Māori, then they will show up,” is the whakaaro (thought) from tutor Stella Beach.

Beach has taught around 2000 students over 14 years at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa Whirikoka campus in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa.

She grew up surrounded by the language which led her to becoming a qualified teacher with a te reo Māori degree from Waikato University.

“Every day is like Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori for my whānau and I,” she says.

When someone asks where to go to study te reo, the reply is often: “Go see Stella at The Wā.”

“All sorts of people come to learn - tauiwi [non-Māori/foreigner] who come to Gisborne; Māori who want to reclaim their language; and Pākehā who want to know more,” she says.

“If you want to know more and delve deeper into te reo me ōna tikanga and our continuous fight for tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake, then you would just turn up.”

Beach is Gisborne-born-and-bred. She was raised in kōhanga reo, surrounded by her nannies and aunties, who started the kōhanga reo movement in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa.

She began at Te Poho-o-Rāwiri, followed by Whakaruruhau, and over time ended up at Manutūkē with her mother.

“You moved around with the different aunties and nannies in those days.

“They were the ones who came to kōhanga with their reo tipu - the reo they had been spoken to by their elders and what they know.”

Beach’s grandmother would speak only te reo Māori to her, her sister and their cousin.

“She would sing waiata all day. That was how we learnt. A lot of te reo Māori is learnt through repetition.”

Beach attended Waikirikiri School and Lytton High, where she stayed in the whānau Māori units.

“Every morning we would gather to do karakia, waiata and then get any panui before going to form class.”

When she was growing up, people questioned why she would keep speaking te reo Māori and told her she would never get a job with it.

But her job now is teaching the language to others and keeping it alive for future generations.

When she became a teacher, her old teachers found it funny as she was so nervous and quiet when having to speak in front of people.

“I remember when it would come to my turn to talk - especially in Ngā Manu Kōrero (speech competition) - I would be so terrified that I would end up crying.”

She managed to overcome those nerves when she discovered other students were dealing with their own issues.

“I realised none of the other students were actually listening to me, or they were freaking out about having to speak themselves, or if they had finished, they just wanted to leave.

“There was no point ever in being anxious about it, but that’s why I became a teacher because I didn’t want any student who felt like I did to be forced into doing it.”

She stresses that if you are not comfortable to speak, or are nervous, just let her know.

“I want to help those who are nervous like I was.”

Matai O’Connor, Ngāti Porou, has been a journalist for five years and Kaupapa Māori reporter at the Gisborne Herald for two years.