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Robin King interviews broadcaster Ted Nepia about recording Māori elders. He says he began recording Maori hui and elders 'about seven years ago' [c.1960] as he felt it was important to continue Wiremu Ngata's work, so that sacred information they held was recorded and kept so it would not be lost.
He says many of the elders he interviewed were microphone-shy and he would have to spend many hours talking informally with them to gain their confidence, before they could be recorded.
He says at times some tribes were quite reluctant to part with some information as they did not want their history shared with other tribes. He says as a member of Ngāti Kahungunu he would normally not be able to get much information from other tribes, but being well-known through his radio work and spending time gaining their confidence helped overcome tribal differences.
He says the people from Tuhoe region in particular were often reluctant to speak to an outsider, but as history from other tribes started to be heard on air they would contact him with a view to being recorded. He says elderly women are often more reticent than the men, but once a rapport is established they can be wonderful interviewees.
Ted Nepia says he has learnt a lot himself about the history of various places and the meaning of different aspects of Māori art forms, such as carving. He says the plan is to establish a tape library of his recordings and those of Bill Ngata and others and he hopes universities will make use of the information in the tapes.
He says even people of his own tribe who had refused to share information, have changed their mind as they have aged, and recorded material quite freely and encouraged others to do the same.
He describes the reaction when he plays back recordings to some of his elderly interviewees, who can hear themselves for the first time.