IN THE KINO COUNTRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 776, 28 March 1910, Page 3

IN THE KINO COUNTRY.

' A "WOMAN'S LIFE. . Sisfer ■ Allison, "of- the Presbyterian Church-; 'is "a' dea'conefcs whosej work; lies . little known, districts of tSie King V Country, in ..a :paper, read ;at the Bible Class Convention, on Friday, she drew,.a/graphic picture of the country's characteristics and peculiarities, from . which we hare been allowed to make extracts. -. "Here and there 011. the Main Trunk .line are 'to be,-seen .large.sawmills, each surrounded , by. its township • of roughlyr-built ■ uupainted, houses, the usual- small store and post ■ office; and th© straggling group : of buildings locally faio:wii,;as'the boardinghouse, forming tHe principal centra of> attraction. From these centre's, stretching'away back into -the heavy bush, are the private 1 lines* of the timber companies, and along; those arteries flows practically the. only industrial life of the. community;. ,;. ..; ..,-■- .'/ "In some,parts ,permanent.occupation . has begun. ,But. most of '/the, country . is in.the hands, of tlie/Maoris; nothing like "a, satisfactory business agreement . can-be had to enable, the pajieha'\to settle'down and.''help'. to civilise.. the country. Progress, is almost, at. a. stand? still, and Bueh'as is made affects, only, - '-a ilimited'number. ■/ "Imagine 'a large area, of rough country, scrub" ajid bracken, alternating •' with' heavy bushj pierced, only . l)y one , Government and: a:'few -private,' lines, almost without roads and bridges, and populated by constantly migrating Maoris, and scarcely more stable Euro- • peans.' Hbw is missionary work;' and especially that of a-woman missionary, affected by this, state of affairs?. "Eirst. of all/ , she is hampered by ' want of/means of travelling, while men cau cover a large district,> climbing the bush tracks and fording the rivers'on horseback, to reach the isolated liapus and kaihgas, .the, woman's , work, mustbe restricted, but, of, course, a, certain amount of travel must be done,-as one kainga is in no- case large .enough to occupy , all her -time, ,I'he means of travel-', a bicycle-ride over a rough bush line, where a great part of the journey mustrbe, being -carefully 'thumped' from :sleeper/ to sleeper, .or as an/alternative a.,seat on a.sack:of coal close to the'roaring furnace of a bush locomotive, I 'are not such as commend themselves to a woman's constitution. • ; ;■ ---

"The far greater: drawback to efficient lpork.is.the instability of .the. people..-

"The Sunday school is doing the most j effective; work. It has' a great, attrac-1 tion,'for.the.bush.children,:whose lives are specially monotonous. : In other branches' of work. a good" deal, can be doner' First' aid can bo rendered in accidenVcaEes, advic'o given in time of sick-.ness,-:'simple /medicines-';.'supplied for children';- all of' which means '.a great deaHn a placefs'd far from-a doctor.. "The-'Maori'work offers a more'cheery outlook. ''The Maori of the museum,- as the old : time Native has:been».ca!led, has passed;away,-and with him the.poetry and. romance of his race, and, in his place we.have.the.mode'rn matter-of-fact Maori,'• only lately touchediby.civilisation, as-yet comparatively' unspoiled and ready to : imitate the dominant race in.every.way, too.often.to hisjundoing: The'Tery. general' desire: for _ education among' the younger: people speaks .well ior the future 1 of'the race,, and by education is meant not:only the, instruction given.in schools,' but the broadening of the mental outlook, insights into affairs of commerce and; legislation, ability to play.an intelligent part in'thebusiness. of -life, -,arid the development of a' sense of moral-'responsibility.'"''•: .": '';'■

. "The point that ; has most interest for -us as. women is the work to bo done ;: in Maori homes under present conditions. Take into consideration the 'facts''"that there is, no 6uch thing as house l pride among Maori women,- that their furni: ture and cooking; ■ utensils" ; are of the most primitive kind, that' children are' not recognised as heeding.special atten'tion until after., death, that clothing is . worn with regard to its brilliance'arid -not to its suitability,; that.' there is a ;yery,' lax, moral sense, and you will lealise something of the difficulty of a missionary's work'.' I may be mistaken, Int. am inclined to think that there is more ■■ adaptability and 'desire fori improvement among men than women, ho doubt because women, except those of high rank,, have'always been treated as inferior. Taking as typical the pa in which I live,, a pa' perhaps slightly . above the average, as the Natives have fairly,..well-built and ventilated houses, instead of the ra'upo and. bark huts to •be seen; in some, parts—-hero a -few Maori families live without the need of jnnch exertion, oivtheir part. Little cultivation is-done;.a few patches of pota--toes,- pumpkins, "and: tobacco, with innumerable pigs.and fowls, supply most of the necessaries.of life. The children attend, the half-time school with com-, rnendable regularity so long, as there is nothing more exciting going on. Now and then ;the. even, tenour of the way is .broken by. a, large gathering of. visitors, the occasion;being a tangi, a race meeting, a . korero , over. Maori lands, or a friendly gathering for social amenities. For [i few days the kainga.'is thronged •with "guests, • speech-making and feasting go on apace, and then the, crowd melts away, and life goes on as before with a.few.cases of sickness, and with a scarcity, of provision for the next few weeks. _ Placed in surroundings like these, a woman can do a good deal, by getting to know the people, making friends with them, helping them in sickness, showing .the: mothers, how to care -for their children, teaching the young girls' how to make suitable clothes, and when to wear warm garments, and generally protect their health. ■ I have often thought that useful preparatory teaching could, be given on the lines of the Tnvakina School, with .a view to fitting girls for, the more comprehensive, work of, the school itself, but every Maori settlement is so small that the outlay'for equipment, etc., would probably be out.'of proportion to tlio -benefits gained. ' ■ -- ■ •