The Prow is a website that collects and shares local history stories from the Top of the South Island region of New Zealand, including the areas of Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough. It aims to preserve and provide access to the unique culture and stories of the local residents. The website launched in 2009 and has received over 16,000 visits, with most visitors from New Zealand. It continues to expand its collection of stories and engage the local community.

1. 3M Award for Innovation in Libraries 2009 finalist Top of the South Stories : Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Maui music friendly

2. The Prow features concise stories about the people , places and events unique to Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough. There are stories about explorers, early Māori life , the effect of European settlement on local iwi and the struggles and triumphs of the European settlers . Project Objectives The Prow, or Te Tau Ihu o Te Waka a Maui , is the Māori name for the top of the South Island : Te Tau Ihu is the mythical prow of Maui's waka, or canoe, from which he fished up the North Island. Funding Digital Strategy and Partner contributions The Prow aims to celebrate, preserve and make accessible the unique history, culture and stories of the Top of the South Island by creating a website of local digital stories that encompasses the anecdotes, stories and memories of our residents.

3. The Prow Timeline Identification of need for local history repository Initial community consultation October 2006 Funding approved $ February 2008 Website development & story creation started July 2008 view the future Feb-Jul 2008 Contracting of Services 2009 2006 2007 2008 February 2009 The Prow launched Community Partnership funding Application process Project development 2007 - 2008

4. Site overview

5. Rich content Researched stories Related Stories and resources

6. Rich content Story Resources and Bibliography

7. Rich content Good range of images and photos

8. Story of the day STORY OF THE DAY Random or can be selected Literary ramble Next months events

9. User-friendly navigation Interactive maps Click on the map to find stories

10. User-friendly navigation Search facilities – basic/advanced

11. Step 1: Login or register (new user confirmation required) Step 2: Read Guidelines for public submission Step 3: Add your story (text and images) and post/request publication Adding a new story is quick and easy! Copy and paste your story here

12. Your Story

13. User-friendly navigation Social bookmarking

14. Search content aggregated by Digital New Zealand

16. Comment and feedback examples Interaction with story readers

17. Comment and feedback examples Interaction with story readers kia ora, bro it's awesome to see our maori people get into our beautiful culture, well cuz the best resource for learning te reo is "Tewhanake.maori.nz" http://www.tewhanake.maori.nz / hope this helps cuz kia pai a ratou ako mauri ora (Posted by hehana) - - - I am from nz but i moved to aussie last year. and i never knew how much i would miss home so now i have been on the internet and searching maori stuff. im part maori and i love learning maori things. do you have any suggestions on how i could as my school to start maori culture? there are over 400 new zealanders at my school and over 10 teachers. any advice? Ed. I suggest you contact the Maori Language Commission (http://www.tetaurawhiri.govt.nz/). They should be able to provide you with information and resources. (Posted by Cassie)

18. Cooperation with different publishers Coming soon: Port Nelson’s journal (rePort) Nelson City Council heritage plaques Tasman District Council’s

22. Project Team Ian Littleworth (Project Sponsor) - Nelson Public Libraries Nicola Harwood (Project Manager) - Nelson Public Librar ies Susan Price - Nelson Public Librar ies Cathy Vaughan - Tasman District Librar ies Lisa Old h am – ex Tasman District Librar ies Dawn Smith – L ocal history researcher Chris Keyse - Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology Library Glenn Webster - Marlborough District Librar ies Cliff Riordan – The Nelson Provincial Museum Project Partners Writers/ Researchers Hilary and John Mitchell | Karen Stade | Joy Stephens Other contributing institutions Golden Bay Museum | Marlborough Museum | Motueka Museum The technical development of TheProw.org.nz website is a joint venture between @web one and Signetix Ltd of Nelson. The Prow site has been created using Silverstripe CMS, an open source framework, developed in Wellington. Special t hanks goes to Hirini Melbourne & Richard Nunns for their permission to use ‘ Te Kú Te Whé Remixed ’ as background sound. Slideshow presentation created by Aleš Vanek, Nelson Public Libraries, August 2009. The Prow team

23. 3M Award for Innovation in Libraries 2009 finalist start over