Description:

He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero is an innovative digital storytelling trail that weaves together the rich histories of six culturally significant sites around the Manawatū River in Palmerston North. Developed in close collaboration with Rangitāne o Manawatū, this project features an experiential website and mobile phone tour, including augmented reality, to preserve and share these stories. The experience encourages visitors and locals to traverse central Palmerston North, stepping back in time to the days of the tūpuna, when Tahuna-ā-Rua was a place of lush forests, pristine waterways, and bustling settlements.

Representatives of Rangitāne o Manawatū identified significant kōrero, places, and tūpuna to share in the project. Hours of oral histories were filmed and this kōrero was used to inform all content in the project.

The experiential website (heiarakorero.nz) features a beautiful, 3D-modelled aerial view of Palmerston North as it would have looked c.1600. By clicking on each site, users can explore each place through edited oral histories, family-friendly graphic novels, and detailed illustrated recreations of each site.

To explore sites on the mobile phone tour (hak.nz/tour), visitors scan QR codes on branded markers, to access audio overviews, articles and edited oral histories with filmed video recreations. The 360˚ augmented reality scenes reimagine the sites as they would have once looked and been utilised – including pā sites, kāinga, māra, and places for traditional ceremonies. Labelled hotspots interpret key people, items, and places in the scene.

The stories of prominent tūpuna are illustrated in a collection of animated graphic novels, integrating pūrākau shared during oral histories into beautiful, hand-illustrated portrayals of each kōrero. The family-friendly graphic novels explore key themes at each site in a light and playful manner, each complemented by a specially composed and recorded waiata.

In-depth education resources about each stop can be downloaded for tamariki and schools wanting to explore the content further in the classroom. Hapū can also access a special password-protected area of the website containing 65 oral history videos from eight speakers and hours of edited footage. The signage, website, and mobile tour are all translated into te reo Māori – including all audio narrations, which were recorded as dual English and te reo versions.

The result is an authentic multimedia platform designed for diverse audiences. It is an iwi/hapū-led project that functions as an engaging and accessible experience for visitors to learn about local history firsthand, as well as a resource that serves the community. It also resulted in the establishment of Ngā Tapuwae Kōrero o Rangitāne o Manawatū IP Trust, an entity that protects Rangitāne o Manawatū taonga tuku iho. Many of these sites are being interpreted and shared publicly for the first time. He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero offers unparalleled access and insight into the histories of Rangitāne o Manawatū for locals and visitors alike.