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Marae GIS

A marae is not an asset portfolio with a wharenui icon on top. GIS can still be very useful for everyday marae mahi: infrastructure, maintenance, hazards, access, taiao, planning, papakāinga and emergency response.

Start with practical questions​

Useful questions include:

  • Where are the buildings and services?
  • Where are water tanks, pumps, valves and wastewater components?
  • Which access routes are vulnerable during flooding or slips?
  • Where are emergency supplies, first-aid equipment or backup power?
  • Which areas need drainage, fencing, planting or maintenance?
  • What whenua questions are emerging around future development?
  • What has changed between historical and current imagery?

A useful layer structure​

Whenua and place​

  • project extent
  • relevant Māori land blocks
  • cadastral parcels where that context helps
  • access roads and tracks
  • ingoa wāhi used for the kaupapa

Buildings and facilities​

  • wharenui and wharekai
  • ablution blocks
  • offices, storage and sheds
  • parking and vehicle access
  • accessibility features
  • gathering or assembly areas

Wai and utilities​

Depending on the marae:

  • water source and tanks
  • pumps, pipes and valves
  • septic tanks or wastewater fields
  • stormwater routes
  • power supply
  • backup generator
  • communications equipment

Hazards and resilience​

Useful public context may include flood, tsunami, landslide, coastal, earthquake or wildfire information where relevant. Keep the provider, date and scenario visible.

For a complete resilience workflow use Marae emergency mapping.

Taiao and whenua mahi​

  • awa and drains
  • wetlands
  • planting areas
  • pest-control areas
  • erosion sites
  • monitoring sites

See Awa, wetlands, coast and moana.

Use a small asset schema​

Keep the structure maintainable. A useful starting set of fields is:

asset_id
asset_type
name
status
condition
last_checked
next_action
photo_ref
notes

Create these fields directly in the project spreadsheet, GeoPackage, Survey123 form, Field Maps layer or other system being used. The Marae emergency map worked example shows a fuller asset and access structure in context.

Take it into the field​

Asset mapping improves quickly once it is checked outside. Use Field GIS to collect condition, photographs, dates and observations with a phone or tablet.

A simple loop is:

Conceptual flow

Emergency mapping​

A marae may become an important local response centre during severe weather or other emergencies. Prepare separate outputs for different tasks rather than one overloaded map.

Useful products include:

  • access and alternate-route map
  • water, power and communications asset map
  • public-hazard context map
  • printed A3 overview
  • offline mobile copy

The Marae emergency worked example uses a fictional marae and synthetic assets.

Papakāinga and future development​

GIS can bring together whenua, parcels, terrain, flooding, access, services, planning and existing buildings. Use Papakāinga and housing GIS for the full workflow.

The useful output is usually a map of questions and constraints, not one prematurely declared best development area.

Photos and archives​

Photographs can support maintenance, condition records and historical comparison. Give assets stable IDs and keep enough context to know what each photograph shows.

For historical material use Archives to map, Whānau archives and maps and Georeferencing historical maps.

Names and local context​

Use the names and terminology that make sense for the marae and the kaupapa. National datasets can help with public context but do not need to dictate the labels used in local operational maps.

A practical first project​

A useful first A3 map might show:

  • current imagery
  • main buildings
  • water and wastewater components
  • access
  • one key hazard layer
  • date and source notes

Check it against what is actually on the ground, then decide which information is worth maintaining digitally.

Last reviewed: 3 September 2026

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