whenua

/ fɛnˈuə /

noun

1. land

Word History and Origins

Origin of whenua¹

Māori

Example Sentences

"When tangata whenua resist, colonial powers reach for the maximum penalty," it said in a statement on Wednesday, using a Māori phrase that translates to "people of the land".

Read more on BBC

The collaborative research, which also involved scientists from Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the University of Adelaide, used state-of-the-art ancient DNA techniques to extract the DNA from historical specimens of the extinct Auckland Island merganser and the critically endangered Brazilian merganser and "went fishing for their DNA."

Read more on Science Daily

As a child, Tāne Davis often visited Whenua Hou, the most important of the three kākāpō islands.

Read more on National Geographic

During school holidays, Davis’s father, a crayfisherman, brought him and his siblings along on fishing trips in the frigid ocean that kept Whenua Hou isolated and safe.

Read more on National Geographic

Ngāi Tahu signed a 1996 settlement giving the iwi a special role in the management of Whenua Hou and, in recognition of the tribe’s centuries-long relationship with the bird, in the conservation of kākāpō.

Read more on National Geographic