Te Kura Tuatahi: New Zealand’s First School: School Journal Level 4 November 2016

This article is about the opening of New Zealand’s first school in 1816 by missionary Thomas Kendall, who aimed to teach Māori to read and write the Bible. While Kendall sought to spread Christianity, Māori were primarily interested in the school to gain the mana associated with literacy and to secure strategic advantages through relationships with Pākehā.