PIONEER CLUB

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 262, 1 August 1933, Page 5

PIONEER CLUB

Twenty-fourth Birthday Celebrated A MAORI SETTING The Pioneer Club was last evening transformed into a complete Maori pa at a time of whakhoro, or carnival, for the members chose a Maori theme to celebrate the club’s twenty-fourth birthday. The doorways were framed in carvings, and the stage had a backcloth representing a scene from the Sounds, while the English ■ spring flowers of the decorations were combined with flax, toi-toi, and birch* The decorations were carried out by the gardening circle, under Mrs. Fisher. There were exquisite programmes of grey paper, with native designs as decorations, the work or Miss JouMain and the arts and crafts circle. The drama, play-reading and music circles, under the. direction of Miss Tui Pennell, Miss Margot Russen and Mrs. Anna Ginn, were responsible for the very well-carried out programme, which was as follows: —Maori welcome, company; song, “Whakapapa Noa Mai,” Miss Tui Pennell, with her ukulele; song, “The Mere,” Miss Ella Fair; song and chorus, “Te Arawa, Mrs. H. D. Bennett, Miss Pennell and chorus; song, “Waiata Maori,” Mrs. Ramsay; song, “Maori Flute,” Miss Nora Gray; canoe poi, the company; songs, “May I Not?” “Hine,” Mrs. Townlev; Maori legend, “Hinemoa, Mrs. 11. D. Bennett; song, “Tahi Nol Taru Kino.” Miss Ethne Grieg; chorus, “E Pari Ra,” Miss Tui Pennell and chorus; song, “Waiata Poi,” Mrs. Lockie; haka, by the company. Miss Amy Kane, the president, who received the members in, a violet lace dress with bridge-jacket of embossed velvet in beige, mauve and- cyclamen colours, welcomed those present during the interval, saying that she felt they should congratulate themselves on having achieved the age of 24 years. She also thanked all those who had worked so hard to make the evening such an outstanding success; especially Mrs. H. D. Bennett, for giving so much assistance in the pronunciation of the Maori words, and Miss Pennell and Miss Russell for helping with the stage direction. Miss Kane was presented with a charming bouquet of cyclamen, violets, daphne and maidenhair by the gardening circle. The two birthday cakes, on tables in the drawing-room, where supper was handed round, were a source of much interest and admiration. That of the club, made on the premises, was decorated with yellow icing, and Maori emblems in green. Small cabbage trees stood guard round -the table, and a teko teko perched on top of the cake kept guard. There were 24 tiny green candles on the top tier, which were lit by the senior members present, among whom were: Lady Luke, Miss Mary Richmond, Mrs.’ Sprott, Miss Kate Williams, Mrs. Bethune, Mrs. R. W. Kane, Mrs. John Myers, and Miss Laurenson. The second cake was a present from the Masterton branch,of the W.D.F.U.