The current study is a preliminary investigation acoustic correlates of word stress in te reo Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand. Māori is described as having a complex system of word stress, however, acoustic evidence has not yet been established. An additional consideration is that Māori has undergone various sound changes due to contact with English, and it is likely that the production and distribution of stress has also changed. The aim of the current study is to determine if there was acoustic evidence for word stress in Māori prior to significant contact with English. This is done by using data from archival recordings of older Māori speakers born in the late 19th century. It investigates four potential acoustic correlates of stress: duration, spectral tilt, vowel quality and pitch. The results provide support for the production of word stress in Māori, as well as word positionality affects.