Story of Te Kooti told in play by Maoris

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32498, 7 January 1971, Page 12

Story of Te Kooti told in play by Maoris

Te Kooti a rebel and villain or patriot and prophet? The Maori warrior who once had a price of £lOOO on his head is the subject of a play to be presented in Christchurch tomorrow night by the Waihirere Maori Club of Gisborne.

The play is designed to set the record straight about Te Kooti. Written by a New Zealand author, Leo Fowler, it takes a close look at Te Kooti the man, his role among the Maori people and his brushes with authority which labelled him a rebel. The performance is the work of 32 members of the club which last year led the official welcome to the Queen at Gisborne and provided the Maori entertainment during the Captain Cook bicentenary celebrations. Some of the players are direct descendants of Te Kooti and others belong to the Ringatu Church which he founded.

“We are not whitewashing Te Kooti,” the leader of

the group (Mr B. Wehi) said in Christchurch yesterday. “We are trying to correct much of the bias which crept into writings about him.” The production is a major undertaking for the club, which hitherto has confined its activities to lighter things. The play lasts 65 minutes and is the first part of a twopart programme, It is aided by a projector which shows flash-backs of places where Te Kooti’s influence was felt, including Parliament. The flash-backs are projected on to a large screen at the back of the stage. Mr Wehi said the purpose of presenting the play throughout New Zealand was to broaden the scope of Maori entertainment beyond its traditional field. . “We are a Maori club telling a story about one of our Maori leaders. It has been a colossal job for such a small, inexperienced group, many of whom have never seen a play, much less acted in or assisted to produce one,” he said.