NEW BUILDING AT RATANA PA

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 296, 10 September 1938, Page 15

NEW BUILDING AT RATANA PA

Preparing For Great Hui j PROPHET’S IDEALS NEAR | REALISATION Dominion Special Service. RATANA, September 9. Preparations on a large scale are being made at Katana Pa for the accommodation and entertainment of between 30(H) and 40(H) followers of the Maori prophet, Mr. T. W. Katana, at whose well-known settlement a large and commodious administration block of buildings is to be opened at noon on Sunday. In Hie pa at present there are about 600 people from most of the North Island tribes, but to-morrow visitors will arrive in full force. The hui will undoubtedly be one of the biggest in the history of the Katana Pa, which is now the largest in the Dominion. About half the Maori population follows the principles set down by their lea'der, and it is felt that because he lias shown great willingness to learn from the pakeha and has adopted modern principles of hygiene and sanitation for the betterment of his. people, a material advance in this direction, which has for long been the aim of the Health authorities, will be made throughout New Zealand. It will also be felt that at last there are signs of reward to those in the nursing service in Maori districts whose efforts to teach the Maori people the elements of healthy living an'd how to combat disease are now returning successful results.

To the pakeha all this will represent a progressive milestone, but to Mr. Katana himself it must be conceded that his original idealistic scheme is beginning to materialise after years of setbacks which really have provided the key to success. He planned for a selfcontained Maori village, which in recent years had reached a stage where it had its own post office, telephone exchange, shops, talking-nicture plant, constabulary, temple of worship, library and other amenities of pakeha life. A nursing service established by the pakeha authorities has done yeoman work in the pa; so also was the native school controlled by Mrs. O. Parr with u staff of Maori teachers who have managed to instil into the young Maori child’s mind the importance of health. One of the latest innovations in school life is the distribution of milk, and It is no exaggeration to report that many Maori children had never taste'd that fluid until quite recently. Impressive Facade. Visitors to the pa will no doubt be greatly impressed with the design of the facade, flanked by Mr. Katana’s office and the refr"shment room. Above these ends are the Maori words for Alpha and Omega; in between them are the Maori words for Father, Son. and Holy Spirit, and the faithful angels surmounted by the spiritual effigy of Jehovah. Also, at either end of the building is a modern model of Mr. Ratana, with one arm bent in salute, the other clasping the spoke of a ship’s wheel, which symbolises his guiding of the pa through safe waters. Spaced between these two figures is a line of seven artistic canoes, replicas of those which participated in the great emigration to Aotea-Roa from Hawaiki. In each canoe is its captain, and they range in order—Aotea (Turi), Tainul (Hoturoa), Kurahaupo (Ruatea), Tokoinarn (Tama Arikl), Takitamu (Tamatea). Te Arawa (Tama Te Kopua), and Matatua (ToRoa). Then follow the pakeha ships of Abel Tasman and Captain James Cook. It is an apt portrayal of the arrival of the Maori and pakeha in New Zealand, one which must he admired because of its unusual acknowledgement of the benefits brought to the Maori race by the pakeha. At night the front of the building, decorated hy the Ratana symbol of crescent and star, will bo illuminated by electric light.