TE AO HOU No. 23 (July 1958)

 

– 9 –

A WAVE OF GATHERINGS

Over the last few months there has been a rare flush of Maori gatherings. There has hardly been a weekend without a truly major hul. Some of them were occasioned by visits from the Rt. Hon. W. Nash or the Hon. E. T. Tirikatene, but most of them marked some important Maori occasion as well.

The huis certainly showed a great upsurge of interest in Maori questions. The attendance was large and enthusiastic at all of them: the entertainment gave full scope to many action song groups and youth clubs; many new compositions were launched; many matters of importance raised with the prominent visitors. Of these, land claims and land development projects were, as usual, the most important, but there were also discussions about wardens, about a national conference of tribal executives and about the place of the Maori language in schools. We shall give brief notes on seventeen of the huis, in the order in which they occurred.

The annual conference of the Maori Women's Welfare League and the Centenary Celebrations of the Maori King Movement are described elsewhere.

Te Karaka: The large hui at Te Karaka and Mangatu on March 8–9 (4000 visitors) was remarkable for the number and variety of commemorations combined into one function. They were: the Teaitangaamahaki War Memorial, a splendid dining hall, opened by Major Keiha; a new carved house, called Poho o Pikihoro, opened by the Hon. E. T. Tirikatene; a carved effigy of the late Sir Apirana Ngata, set in the back of the meeting house, separately unveiled by King Koroki; a church bell in memory of Henare Ruru, decorated with some very old carvings, including the splendid lintel of the old Poho o Pikihoro house; as well as a Memorial Hall at Mangatu, which is a very fine building indeed, and a memorial plaque, erected at Mangatu, in honour of the late Mr J. S. Jessop, who brought the Mangatu lands to their present prosperity.

It was an important day in the history of Teaitangaamahaki, for the meeting house at Takipu Pa (Te Karaka) recalls its ancient affiliation with Waikato and the movement of Te Kooti. In fact the original Takipu meeting house was specially built to receive Te Kooti during his intended visit to the East Coast in 1889. This visit did not occur, but the present hui gave an opportunity to express formal thanks to Waikato for its hospitality to Te Kooti who came from this area.

Organiser of the hui was Mr Te Kani Te Ua. Among the many prominent guests, who included the Hon. E. T. Tirikatene, King Koroki, and Mr M. Sullivan, Secretary for Maori Affairs, there was also Commander Phipps and the entire crew of the frigate Kaniere, which had come to Gisborne specially for the occasion. The hui was the occasion for an excellent display of Maori dancing, and for a meeting of the Hokowhituatu Association of Maori veterans of the first world war. Total cost of the buildings opened that day was around £46,000.