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Auckland Library’s Māori reference librarian says there are treasures to be found in Māori Land Court records for people researching their whakapapa.
In time for Family History Month, the library has bought a set of hard copy facsimiles of land court minute books and other records.
Margaret Ngaropo says the records are a rich and detailed record of whakapapa, and in many cases they are the only written recording of the Māori history of an area.
She says most of those researching whakapapa are kaumatua and kuia, and the hard copies are a big improvement on the microfilms held by the library which had put many would-be researchers off.
"It takes down a big barrier for those who are scared of looking at computers or microfilms, plus the hard copies are much clearer. They’re not so misty," Ms Ngaropo says.
As an ongoing project the library is cataloging and indexing its Māori records to make searching easier.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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