Te Kupu o te Wiki – The Word of the Week

Kia ora. To celebrate Te Reo Māori we are publishing weekly kupu (words).

Whakataukī

Te amorangi ki mua, te hāpai ō ki muri.
The leader at the front and the workers behind the scenes.

This is a reference to Marae protocol where the speakers are at the front of the meeting house and the workers are at the back making sure everything is prepared and that the guests are well looked after. It is important to note that both jobs are equally important, and are like the ying and yang, for without one, everything would fail.

Kīwaha (colloquialism)

Nāu te korikori.
You make the first move (I’ll follow you).

Kupu (word)

Hāmoa
Samoa

Ko Āpia te taone nui o Hāmoa.
Apia is the capital of Samoa.

Watch video of someone pronouncing this kupu.

• Browse our Te Reo Māori resources.
• Previous Te Kupu o te reo Māori posts.
• Weekly kupu videos from Māori Television.

This week in Christchurch history (1 to 7 June)

1 June 1862
Hospital opens on site in Hagley Park. But only after the first vigorous “Hands off Hagley” protests by irate citizens.

1 June 1961
Television transmission begins from CHTV 3, Christchurch.

2 June 1874
“The Press” publishes an evening paper, “The Globe”, to compete with “The Star”. It became “The Telegraph”, then “The Truth”, then “Evening News”. Publication ceased in May 1917.

4 June 1864
Serious fire in Colombo Street destroys buildings between Hereford and Cashel Streets.

4 June 1866
Refurbished Royal Princess Theatre re-opens as the first Theatre Royal.

6 June 1905
First electric trams in operation. Unique in Australasia, they had front fenders as a safety feature because of the density of cycle traffic in Christchurch.

An electric tram crosses the Ferry Bridge over the Heathcote River on the road to Sumner, Christchurch [1909], CCL PhotoCD 2, IMG0045

7 June 1877
New Canterbury College (University) building opens. Designed by B.W. Mountfort, the building is now part of the Arts Centre.

Canterbury College, Christchurch, showing clock tower and Great Hall [ca. 1882], CCL PhotoCD 1, IMG0012

More June events in the Christchurch chronology: a timeline of Christchurch events in chronological order from pre-European times to 1989.

Queen’s Birthday reading

Today, Queen’s Birthday, marks the last public holiday until Labour day which this year falls on 26 October. That’s nearly 5 months (147 days, to be exact) without a long weekend…so you’d better make this one count!

As is usual on public holidays our library branches are not open… however we always have digital goodies available, so if you find yourself short some reading material, look no further than –

• Magazines via Zinio. Blob out to your heart’s content with a huge range of magazine titles, including the birthday girl’s diamond jubilee souvenir magazine.
• Peruse the Queen’s Honours List in the weekend papers using PressDisplay.
•  Lie back and relax while someone else does the reading for you with one of our downloadable audiobooks. Whatever your tastes there’s something to please everyone including The uncommon reader, a novel about HRH accidentally discovering a mobile library in the Buckingham Palace grounds as a result of chasing a wayward corgi. Indeed!
• An abundance of eBooks, both fiction and non-fiction are also available. Read a biography of Elizabeth II or go completely fictional with a novel about Elizabeth R taking off, incognito, on a jaunt to Scotland in Mrs Queen takes the train. Or just browse our extensive range of eBook titles.

For more information on Queen Elizabeth II:

• Queen’s Birthday holiday [kids].
• Search for Queen Elizabeth II in our collection.
• The Queen’s page on the official website of the British Monarchy.