TAMAHAU'S MEETING HOUSE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 46, 18 November 1907, Page 5

TAMAHAU'S MEETING HOUSE.

NOT'LIKELY TO I3E SHIFTED. -The main topic of conversation amongst •the: .Wairarapa-matives at the present time, : our correspondent, is whether Tamah'au's meeting house at Tablelands, Martinborough, is'to be shifted into the town, to Papawai',. o'r io remain where it now is. The probabilities are that the building will remain on 'its present site. •, The Martinborough .people have officially accepted the offer.of the. house from the Native Minister, the Hon. James Carroll, and sites for its location have i been'placed at. the disposal of the''toVn by. Messrs. A. 0. Considino,; E. Harris and Wi Hutana. The inhabitants, however, 'are not too keen on the subject of the acceptance. On their part, the natives say that they will prevent the removal of the building by force if necessary, because they contend that the Government,has forfeited- whatever right it had to the building through not complying .with iliu conditions imposed, by Tamahau himself before he died. ■ These conditions wore that the building was: : to be placed in the Government House grounds, Wellington. Tamahau was very- much enamoured of the idea. In some way he thought that the house with its - magnificent 'sculptored illustrations of Maori traditional history . and mythology, Would indicate in a marked degree the industrious'skill of his race. No doubt he had '.also ah eye to the posthumus honour which, the .Europeans would attach to his hariie:for'the gift! • •■

HOW TO, SHIFT. THE BUILDING ? : The troiible'was how to shift-the building? The -whole could havo been moved in sections' -'<nxcp.pt the great. ridge-pole, 90ft. long, which! had been cut years ago from a. giant totara', in tho : Whitamanuka Bush'. It- was against all reason that this piece of timber, could bo cutj but owing to, its length it,;was'.,impossibl.e to' negotiate ; the sharp tunis ; of'a, journey, over tho Rimutakn Range's, railroad or coach road,'or- by way of Manawatu.' . Tamahau had the whole business .investigated, by. builders,and architects, and. .after due' deliberation, two. propositions wb'r'c riljiced before the rangatira. One was to'waiiOuntil aerial navigation had improved a, bit, -and,then run the timber down by a jrart of' balloon, service. The other' idea was:to:waggon the polo from Tablelands- to Palliser Bay and thon tow it into Wellington Harbour, as Cleopatra's Needle'was towed from;. Egypt to London Bridge Tamahau disposed of.'the balloon, idea. It meant too much ' > ' s taih6a,"'"-ho said,, and ho wanted, to see tho building in its new locality before.he died! Arrangements were entered into with a/well-known builder- to ■ shift the meeting house,to Wellington at a cost of £200, and thim 1 Tamahau died, and the whole business waV.hu'ng.up. ' '

"...-:• % : ;:past'history. ..,.-. It appears that Tamah'au dedicated about a thousand acres of ground where tho building now'. stands, to provide funds for its maintenance, hut therc : are .other natives on the East Coast, .who say that l thcyMiavo as much right to .this property as had Tariia'hau. This adds 1 another complication. : , Again there; are other natives who say that'Tamahaii's. gift was merely made verbally to tho late Prime Minister and to Mr. Carroll, and that.'thefei Was• no legality about the .offer. No b'piibt -'tho' .Government' knows host if this. statement is correct. .At tho time'.of Tafhahau V. obsequies; Mr. Seddon promised the natives' that. : a . monument, should bo erected, to ;thc meiripry of tho great riingatira,, who,.with' bis brother lies buried: almost beneath'', tho .'shadows, of the meeting -house. It seems hardly : probable that Mr. Seddon's promise :w.ill be .fulfilled, and it is ..fitting that '"'.' building -'should remain' near' the ,0116' ';;'■' whs most identified with' it. ■ •' There are historical associations attached :t'o . the niccting house and to the land whereon it is placed:', Tho ground .is called Kehcriiario (Gethsemario).. Haera and his dog, who were rcsp'prisiblo for the perpetration of the name "Kurjpuhi," frequently put up at'the place,/which later received'tins doubtful honour of a blessing ' from tho notorious To Kobti... There are other associations, more or'loss true, but all interesting.. The building cost £160n to erect, biit .this'docs not indicate tho re'ah cost,'owing to the difficulty of gauging, the labour'tariff, of those days. The architect, who may have.-been Tamaha.u himself ijr an ancestor, appears to have scoured the whbk'of New Zealand.fPr the most skilful craftsmen.-" Tho result- is .i building the finest.-of its kind in the Dominion. The natives are. intensely oxcitod over the trouble,'.and are. taking rill .'sorts of steps, to prevent the shifting of the building from its present-site. . The general opinion of Europeans is that the building should remain.