Nga Iwi FM, Hauraki’s Māori-language radio station, has celebrated its 35th anniversary.
The week of March 3-7 saw the station celebrate everything it has achieved since its inception, with former staffers reminiscing on air, live giveaways, and a public hui.
When the Paeroa-based station first hit the airwaves, it was with the aim of giving iwi a place to stay connected to their language and culture.
“He taonga tēnei, mā te iwi, ko te iwi [this is a treasure, for the people, by the people],” Nga Iwi FM chairman Mike Baker said as he addressed the crowd who arrived to celebrate the milestone on March 7.
“Our radio station has always been a youth orientated, community based, and driven type of station that has been recognised as belonging to the people, and so we’ve seen a generation of language speakers who see us as belonging to them,” Mike later told The Profile.
“It survived 35 years of strong relationship… and that relationship can only grow and get better.”
Despite its successes, Mike said the station still struggles.
Funding is a major challenge, but he plans to keep pushing for parity within the broadcasting sector. Currently the station is only funded for eight or nine hours of broadcasting each day.
“It’s not funded equitably, and it’s not funded sufficiently, and while we’ve done a very great job with what we’ve got, [we want] that level playing field and the investment in iwi,” Mike said.
“We should be funded for the whole 24 hours. The industry has proven itself across the landscape of radio, and we’ve been a paramount driver.”
Even with limited air time though, Nga Iwi FM has done a lot within the Māori community, and not just by sharing stories. During Covid-19, for example, the station worked alongside Te Korowai to ensure the most vulnerable in the community were cared for.
“We were able to ensure that… all the food parcels, all those kaupapa [projects], were being made available by us,” Mike said.
“Our radio station has been the voice to get that out there.”
Former station manager Seini Nai was also at the hui to celebrate the station. She remembers her time there fondly.
“We say te reo me ona tikanga, which is the language and the culture. That was really at the heart of all of the [Māori-language] radio stations being established around that time,” she said.
“For Nga Iwi the focus was on Hauraki-tanga but I think the real success of the radio station has been to be a platform for the iwi, for the hapū, for the whānau, to feel connected and that’s why transmission was a major thing for us back then. We really put a lot of focus on ‘how do we extend our culture to all of our families, all of our people in Hauraki?’”
Programme director Rino Wilkinson, meanwhile, reminisced about the physical changes at the station. As one of its founding members, he has seen a lot of growth in the studio itself.
“In the early 1990s, how we gathered information for the radio station was a thing called Teletext. I’ve seen [the station] developed over the years. From the good old cart machines, to the reel-to-reels, to the cassette tapes, to the CDs.
“We used to have to be an announcer painting the picture, through voice, so the listener could see what was happening. These days pictures are everywhere, but it’s still a strong need, in my mind, for radio to be around.”
Decades on, one thing everyone is proud of is the station’s status as a stepping stone for its people.
“I’ve seen announcers grow over the years… it’s just nurturing them there in their career, but it’s also building their confidence as a young person getting ready to the big wide world, whatever career path. The radio station gives them that platform to grow,” Rino said.
“And I just can’t say enough about this place, the station, what it’s given me – it gave me the confidence to stand for council, and then to be elected the very first Māori ever [for Hauraki District Council].
“It’s just been a wonderful week sharing those wonderful memories. We’re a big family, you know? Ngā iwi, the people.”
