Worked examples
These projects begin with a real kind of question rather than a software feature. Each one follows the same sequence from evidence to useful output so the method is easy to reuse.
The examples use synthetic teaching situations where needed. They do not describe a real iwi, hapū, marae, Māori land block or cultural site. Public datasets are used only where the method can be reproduced safely.
The working fields, tables and checking structures are shown directly on each page. MāoriGIS.nz does not provide synthetic template packs for these exercises.
Choose a project
| Project | Particularly useful for | Main skills | Main output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Papakāinga investigation | whenua Māori owners, trusts, planners, GIS practitioners | terrain, hazards, access, services, transparent comparison | discussion map + unresolved-question register |
| Marae emergency map | marae committees, asset teams, resilience planning | asset data, field checks, hazards, print/offline outputs | overview, operational and offline maps |
| Historical ingoa wāhi | hapū/iwi researchers, Treaty and heritage teams | documentary evidence, Gazetteer, historical maps, provenance | source-linked research layer |
| Awa restoration | taiao and restoration teams | catchments, field observations, repeat visits, progress mapping | field + progress maps linked to repeat observations |
| Landlocked whenua | whenua owners, researchers, planners | parcels, legal-road evidence, imagery, access evidence | evidence map + unresolved access questions |
| Historical change | historical, taiao and planning researchers | imagery, georeferencing, digitising, change measurement | dated comparison map + documented measurements |
One common structure
Every example should answer the same seven questions:
- What is the actual research or operational question?
- What evidence is needed, and what does each source represent?
- What working tables or layers are required?
- What GIS operation or comparison is useful?
- What uncertainty, limitation or alternative interpretation remains?
- What output will actually be used?
- Can another person trace the result back to the source?
A map is not the end of the research. Each project separates observed or published evidence, mapped relationship, interpretation and unresolved question so a later reader can see how the result was reached.
Provenance pattern
For any source that materially affects the result, record at least:
| Field | What it records |
|---|---|
source_id | stable project identifier |
source_name | dataset, document, plan, imagery or local source |
source_org | publisher, repository or knowledge holder |
source_ref | URL, record ID, archive reference or controlled internal reference |
source_date | capture, publication or source date |
checked_date | when the source was last checked for this project |
purpose | what the source was created to represent |
authority_type | official, administrative, technical, historical, Māori-held, interpreted or model-generated |
processing | clipping, georeferencing, digitising, join, analysis or other important change |
limitations | uncertainty, scale, completeness or other known limits |
Use Provenance and source checking for the full pattern.
Project folders
Each example uses a simple project structure:
project/
01_source/ original downloads, records and source notes
02_working/ cleaned, digitised or derived data
03_project/ QGIS project and project notes
04_outputs/ PDF, GeoJSON, KML, images or reports
Keep original source material unchanged in 01_source. Derived data belongs in 02_working and should retain enough provenance to reproduce or audit it.
Evidence before precision
Do not create geometry simply because GIS expects geometry.
A record can remain:
- unlocated
- approximate
- represented as a broad area
- represented by several candidate locations
- non-spatial but linked to mapped evidence
Likewise, a visible line on imagery is not automatically legal access, an official name is not the only naming authority, a cadastral parcel is not automatically whenua, and a hazard intersection is not a planning decision.
Software
The examples use QGIS as the main reproducible desktop workflow because it is free and works with the public data formats used throughout MāoriGIS.nz. Equivalent ArcGIS Pro workflows are possible. Google Earth is used where KML, imagery comparison or simple sharing is the useful output rather than as a substitute for structured data management.
If the software steps are unfamiliar, use the QGIS practical course or Learning pathway first.
Last reviewed: 4 September 2026