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A former broadcaster, entertainer, teacher and counsellor is keen to see Dunedin transformed into a "city of peace".

Olly Ohlson was once known for his catchphrase "keep cool till after school".

Now, the former television presenter wants to rekindle an interest in a hidden philosophy with peace at its core - and he was delighted the University of Otago had a peace and conflict studies centre.

Maori philosophy, psychology and medicine were banned under the Tohunga Suppression Act between 1907 and 1962.

Maori MPs supported the move because it prevented people going to a tohunga or healer for European-introduced diseases such as chickenpox and measles, Mr Ohlson said.

However, as well as encouraging people to seek out Western medical treatment rather than herbal medicines for those illnesses, it meant Maori philosophy and astronomy were buried.

"My parents were holders - their parents held on to the belief system and the philosophy and just went underground," he said.

"I'm fortunate to be a recipient of that."

Mr Ohlson said the philosophy was one he was raised in as a child - and when he started working as a teacher and a counsellor he thought "Holy mackerel, there might be something to this after all".

His career as an entertainer - which took him around the world - had also been informed by the teachings.

Mr Ohlson spoke at the University of Otago on Wednesday night about "weapons of peace"; whether peace could be negotiated by force; and how peace strategies compared with military strategies when it came to preventing conflicts.

Mr Ohlson said weapons of peace were "our minds and our mouths".

"I got excited when I came here to Dunedin five years ago and saw that there was a peace and conflict studies centre here," he said.

"Nothing beats talking and discussing it rather than fighting it."

Physical and emotional abuse did not work - and the answer was talking and discussing and finding ways through, he said.

Because of the Tohunga Suppression Act, the meaning of the marae had also been lost - and that was something he wanted to revive.

Each marae had carvings and latticework, which had preserved Maori beliefs and philosophies, but today the carvings were seen as merely ornamental.

The marae itself represented Rongo, the female entity who personified peace.