Māori–English Tutor and Vade Mecum

Book

Stowell, Henry Matthew, (1859-1944, also known as Hare Hongi)

1911

Although Māori (such as Tuai of Ngare Raumati) assisted missionaries to produce and translate early texts into te reo, this book was the first Māori language learning resource written entirely by a Māori author. Hare Hongi Stowell (aka Henry Matthew Stowell), was a Ngāpuhi interpreter and genealogist, who for many years wrote in newspapers and gave public lectures about the Māori language and traditions. He had spent a year in his youth learning with tohunga Ngā Kuku Mumu near Ahipara, and maintained a life-long interest in traditional Māori knowledge, especially mythology, genealogy and cosmology.
He is credited with probably being the first Māori speaker to have a regular programme on radio in Aotearoa. In 1929 and 1930 he presented a weekly "lecturette" on Māori place-names and correct pronunciation of te reo Māori.
The Macmillan Brown Library copy of his textbook, "Māori-English tutor and vade-mecum" is inscribed by the author. An online copy is available to browse online. ( 'Vade-mecum' is Latin for 'handbook' or 'manual'.)
His biography describes him as "one of many nineteenth-century New Zealanders who were genuinely bicultural and who moved easily between and within Māori and Pākehā communities." [P. J. Gibbons. 'Stowell, Henry Matthew', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3s38/stowell-henry-matthew

248p.
https://archive.org/details/maorienglishtuto00stowiala/page/n2/mode/2up

Te reo Māori
English

Whitcombe and Tombs, Christchurch