Te reo Māori is one of the treasures of New Zealand culture. The Māori language is a taonga, or treasure, something that is indigenous to Aotearoa and is an expression of living here. A younger generation of people, from all backgrounds, are increasingly interested in learning to speak the language.

CBHS is currently playing host to Anton Matthews amazing te reo events, “Te Reo Māori for Absolute Beginners”. This is not so much a lesson as a cultural phenomenon. When I attended last Monday night the hall was packed with members of the public—people from all walks of life who are interested in learning a little bit of te reo Māori for use in everyday life. Anton draws a huge crowd with his charisma and style. The former teacher of te reo at CBHS is passionate about the preservation of te reo Māori in our society. He also runs a fish and chip shop. One day, he asked on Facebook whether people would be interested in free lessons at his shop. When interest skyrocketed, he needed to find a bigger venue.

Anton is accessible and encourages people to ask questions. He does a live Facebook Q&A after every session. I particularly enjoyed the focus not only on the language but the culture. I also enjoyed the hot chips and other kai provided, along with a lot of other Christchurch people.