MAORI FARMERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 11

MAORI FARMERS.

TE KOA SETTLEMENT. 1 LIFTED FROM DESTITUTION. I A PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY. (Tiy "JVlejtrapli.—Special to "Star.") HOL HORA, this dav. Min-h liii" been written and said eonrcniing the native settlement of Te Kan. mi the snores of Parengarenga, the must northerly harbour in New Zealand,,! about -'111 1! miles north of Auckland. The ; | liat i\ e- in I his area 11 years ago were in tin' same state of destitution as the ( Te Hapna -Maoris further north, are - reported to be at the present time. ' It was in an endeavour to improve < their conditions that the first effort was ■ made in North Auckland—where a quarter of the *otal Maori population ; of New Zealand 1 domiciled—to inaugurate 11 scheme for native land development. The initiative was taken bv Te Tokerau Maori Land Board. Dairying in Full Swing. The population consists of approximately :>SO natives, who occupy 4501) acres of land classed as being one-third good Hat. or drained rnupo swamp, onethird sandy gum country, and the remainder clav of very light semi-vol-canic soil. Swamps have been drained, cleared and grassed, and permanent pasture has been established on the hill slopes. Dairying is in full swing, 500 cows being milked on the property. The housing conditions have been improved, and a poverty stricken group of natives, who formerly relied almost entirely on gunidigging for a living, are now a progressive community of Maori farmers. Tlie acting-Minister of Native Affairs, the Hon. F. Langstone, visited the settlement to-day, accompanied by officers of the Native Affairs and Lands Depart-) ments. The Minister was welcomed on his arrival in characteristic Maori; fashion. The paramount chief of the j Aupouri tribe. Eru Iliaka. said that • there was a Maori saying, "My vineyard is my life, and the land my whole life." j Debt Relief Sought. j Although development had cost a large sum of money, it was necessary to launch the scheme to test the advisability of placing the Maoris on the land. The natives now desired some relief from tlie burden of loan expenditure, and probably the whole of the charge should be removed. Suiting the action to the word, he unbuttoned his overcoat and dramatically threw it on the floor of the meetinghouse, saying: "I ask you to cast off this burden just as I cast off my coat." This caused the assemblage to laugh heartily, the Minister joining in. Eru lhaka said that when the scheme was. inaugurated the nativtf school had 50 pupils, and to-day it had 160. He concluded his oration by saying: "Give us this day our daily bread." A young Maori said he disagreed with the last words of the former speaker. "Give us work," he said, "and we will earn our daily bread ourselves." The Minister said that with improved conditions the Maori had more kai to-day than formerly, and did not have to live on locust* and honey. The Government was a friend of everybody in distress, and from time to time gave assistance and sqqeour. _ The pakehq. people had always' had debts, but the Maori had no debts before the pakehas came to New Zealand. He caused loud laughter when he alluded to Eru Ihaka's action with the overcoat. "He picked up hie coat when he had finished," 'said Mr. Langstone. "He evidently wants to hang on to the debt/' (Renewed laughter.) " No Need For Worry." The Minister said they need not worry about charges on the land at the present time. New Zealand had not got rid of an £80,000,000 debt accumulated during the Great War. No land, whether -Maori or pakeha, would carry more than its production value. Living conditions were the first consideration, and then housing. If the money were not in' the land, the occupiers could not pay the debt charges, but it was right and proper to pay buck something from time to time if money was available. The Maori had as much brain as the pakeha, and it was only by application and energy directed in an intelligent way that the farm land could be made to 'produce wealth. He stressed the necessity of cleanliness. In referring to the reported deplorable conditons of the Te Hapua Maoris, the Minister said he would visit their settlement the following day, as it was the Government's duty to assist even if it meant giving them Crown land or suitable unused native land. "Don't worry about your debt," he said. "Great Britain has not been able to pay her debt to America. If she ha« not done so, how can a little settlement of Maoris do it. We aVe living under a debt economy system. We hope in the future to wend our way out of the system, have no debt on farm lands, and have all our assets free of encumbrance. That means a new system of money utilisation."