Rotorua hosts oral history conference | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

An oral history conference attracting international guest speakers will give attendees a glimpse into the life and work of Te Arawa historian, the late Don Stafford.

Speakers from as far afield as the United Arab Emirates and the United States will be in Rotorua this weekend sharing their knowledge at the National Oral History Association of New Zealand conference.

Researcher of Aboriginal history, Australian Lorina Barker, will be the keynote speaker at the Association's two-day conference at the Distinction Hotel.

Mrs Barker is an associate lecturer at the University of New England in New South Wales. National Oral History Association of New Zealand president Rachael Selby said Mrs Barker's work was highly relevant to the conference theme - "Voices of Identity in a Globalised World".

'We chose this theme because people in many different cultures and communities seem to be looking back to their roots with growing interest and wanting to affirm their personal or local identity in a rapidly changing world," she said.

Other speakers at the conference will cover topics such as immigration and refugee experiences and Maori language preservation.

Te Arawa and Waiariki Institute of Technology kaumatua Ken Kennedy said oral history was extremely important for Maori and the conference would be worthwhile in comparing different cultures and how they retained their culture through passing on stories.

"I was very lucky that I was bought up on a marae where there were many elders who passed on their knowledge. A lot of them have now died and have taken that knowledge to their graves.

"I think it's natural for Maori to pass that knowledge down from their elders to the eldest child of the next generation ... without that Maori would not be where we are today," Mr Kennedy said.On Saturday night the conference will also offer a glimpse into the life and work of the late Don Stafford. He was regarded as an authority on the history of the Rotorua area and Te Arawa people and was the founding curator of the Rotorua Museum.

For more information about the conference and how to register, visit www.oralhistory.org.nz or email nohanzexec@gmail.com. Registrations are still being taken.