Maori Chants on Old Phonograph Records

Te Ao Hou, December 1956, Page 46

Maori Chants on Old Phonograph Records An attempt is to be made to preserve on modern recordings many hundreds of old Maori chants and speeches which were first recorded about the turn of the century and the years following. The chants were collected by the late Sir Apirana Ngata, Te Rangihiroa (Sir Peter Buck) and others on the old type of cylindrical wax phonograph records, but at present there is no phonograph suitable for playing this type of record in such a way that copies can be made. The Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Electronics Institute has now decided to see if it can devise some means of re-recording these cylinders. If the experiment is successful it will mean that a wonderful store of history which might otherwise have been lost will be opened. The cylinders have been in such condition for many years that it has been impossible to play them. At present they are stored in such places as the Turnbull library, museums and Maori Purposes Fund Board rooms. The re-recording is financed by the Maori Purposes Fund Board.