MAORIS INSULTED

Dominion, Volume 21, Issue 96, 21 January 1928, Page 9

MAORIS INSULTED

COLOUR LINE DRAWN INCIDENT AT ROTORUA Dominion Special Service. Auckland, January 20. Another instance of the ‘colour line” being drawn against Maoris has occurred, on this occasion, in Rotorua, where two Native girls were recently refused accommodation by the proprietor of a large boarding-house. The case was aggravated by the fact that the girls had booked rooms in advance, but when the proprietor saw his quests were Natives, he refused to acknowledge the reservation already made by him, and practically hustled the girls off the premises. As. it wasi a busy holiday season,. the girls could not find accommodation elsewhere, and were finally forced to seek shelter for the night in the native village at Whakarekarewa. The matter came before the Akatana Maori Association last evening, a body which recently dealt with discrimination shown against Maoris by the proprietor of a large Auckland hairdressing establishment. Members expressed indignation at the treatment received by the two girls. It was emphasised that they were strangers in Rotorua, but the girls were of good character, education, and address.

A member of the association asked what good was it to aspire to European standards of living and education if they were to meet with such rebuffs. Another member remarked that it was odd for Maoris to be unwelcome in Rotorua, where, as a matter of fact, they constituted a large part of the attraction for tourists. It was not consistent to exploit the tourist value of the Maoris and at the same time ignore them socially. These girls were of good birth and education. They -were strangers in a strange town, yet they were' denied accommodation, which they had booked in advance, and for which they were prepared to pay. The association finally decided to write to the Rotorua Progress Committee, setting forth the case, and- asking that boarding-house keepers be requested to discountenance such practice when reputable Native visitors to Rotorua applied for accommodation.