Te Reo Maori: The Past 20 Years and Looking Forward

Abstract

Waitangi with the British Crown, Mdori was the main ethnic group, with population numbering between 200,000 and 250,000. But by the turn of the century, swamped by land-hungry British colonists and the outbreak of wars and diseases, the Maori population had fallen to low of 42,000. A memorial stands on One Tree Hill in the City of Auckland dedicated to the memory of a dying race. The 1996 Census has shown, however, the resilience of the Miori. That census showed that close to 580,000, or 17.3% of the total New Zealand population said they were of Miori descent (Statistics New Zealand, 1998: 14). The Maori population increased the most during the 1950s and 196os and has slowed during the past two decades. The projected figures show that the Maori population will reach one million, or 22% of the total population, in about 50 years, despite the slowing of the M~ori growth rate from the current 1.9% to 0.7%. The population profile is important as an indicator of how future trends in the Maiori language may move.