Kōhine Te Whakarua Pōnika was born on the 28th of June, 1928 in Ruātoki. Her expertise includes the use of weaponry, being a skilled performer, as well as an orator and lyricist.

Tā Kīngi Īhaka was born in Te Kao on October 18, 1921. A New Zealand clerk, interpreter, Anglican minister, broadcaster and Māori Language Commissioner, excelling in various endeavors throughout his life to uplift the well-being of the Māori people.

Te Uruhete Phyllis Luke was prominent in carrying the kaupapa of Te Māramatanga in the tribal regions of Ngāruahine, around the town of Normanby and therefore the waiata became prominent in Ngāruahine.

Hirini Melbourne is of Ngāi Tūhoe and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, and a revered Māori composer, musician, educator and stalwart revivalist who played a key role in the regeneration and preservation of taonga puoro (traditional instruments).

The words of the first verse has its origins in the traditional lament ‘Kāore te Mokemoke’ by Harehare of Ngāti Manawa. The main body of the composition is by Bishop Max Mariu, and the tune is by Te Taite Cooper.

Te Tāwhiro Maxwell and Te Okeroa Huriwaka of Te Whakatōhea composed this song in 1987. The purpose of the waiata was to inspire and encourage Iwi Māori to speak Te Reo Māori.

It was cited in Ngā Waiata, a collection of waiata from the Tainui region, that Mārama Moutara and Tata Te Aira Muru wrote He Aha Kei Taku Uma after the death of Mārama's grandmother Hera Astle who passed away in 1928.

Paraire Tomoana, revered leader, orator, and respected figure among his iwi and hapū throughout Ngāti Kahungun, was born in Hawke's Bay in 1875. During WWI he organised a fundraiser for Māori soldiers, forming a kapa haka called Te Poi o Heretaunga.

Kīngi Te Ahoaho Tāhiwi was born in Ōtaki in 1883, to his parents Rāwiri Tāhiwi of Ngāti Raukawa descent and Keita Koa of Te Arawa. He came from a very musical background, and his whānau were skilled in singing and playing musical instruments.

Wiremu Te Tau Huata was born in Mohaka on September 23, 1917. He was the son of Hēmi Pītiti Huata and Rōpine Aranui from the various tribes of Ngāti Kahungunu, of Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāi Tamaterangi, and Te Aitanga-a-Hinemanuhiri.

Wiremu Te Tau Huata a minister in the Anglican Church. According to his daughter, Ngatai Huata, this song was composed in the 1950s while they were traveling past Lake Tūtira, between Te Wairoa and Napier.

Prominent figures in Māori performing arts and music, Honorary Doctors Ngāpō and Pīmia Wehi (nee Te Ua) were hugely influential in the kapa haka scene for more than four decades, having won numerous awards for their contributions to the artform.

According to Sir Tīmoti Kāretu the composer of this song is not widely known but the lyrics suggest that they may have originated from Maketū in the Te Arawa region.

This waiata ā-ringa was composed in 1980 by one of our most prolific songwriters and reo Māori champions, Ngoi Pēwhairangi. Ngoi was highly regarded for her songwriting skills, her dedication to teaching the language and her love of all people.

Piri Poutapu was born in Maungatautari in 1905. His parents were Pouaka Winikerei and Rangitaau Paraki. In 1921, he travelled to Ngāruawāhia with his whāngai mother, Te Puea Hērangi, to help fulfill her vision of establishing Tūrangawaewae Marae.

It is not widely known who the composer of this waiata is, although Sir Tīmoti Kāretu suggests it originated in the Te Arawa region, specifically Te Whakarewarewa.

Sir Apirana Turupa Ngata was born on July 3, 1874. He was a visionary Māori leader, scholar and politician who dedicated his life to advancing the rights and well-being of the Māori people.

This song is an adaptation from Lehar Franz’s opera ‘Gypsy Love’, composed around 1909. In 1954 Hoani Tuhimata Keepa composed ‘Tukua Ahau’ as a choral item for the Wairaka Youth Club, performed at a kapa haka festival held in Gisborne that year.

Composed by Richard Puanaki in the mid-1980s. Rīhari gave boundlessly to his whānau, communities, and many causes. He also acted in films, was a kapa haka tutor, a teacher, a principal and almost became a priest of the Catholic Church.

Te Rangi Pai Fanny Rose Howie nee Poata was a mezzo soprano to contralto and went by the stage name Princess Te Rangi Pai. In 1900 she traveled abroad to study concert oratorio and ballad singing.

Henare Waitoa was born in Te Araroa on April 13, 1910. This song was composed at the direction of Sir Apirana Ngata for Henare Waitoa and the Ngāti Putaanga group to celebrate the soldiers who returned from World War II.