A MAORI ELOPEMENT.

Evening Post, Volume LIV, Issue 75, 25 September 1897, Page 5

A MA ORI EL OPEMENT.

[BY TELEGBAPH —PEESS ASSOCIATION.] Gisbobne, 24th September. A Maori romance that has been causing a good deal of excitement between two hapus occupied the Magistrate's Court today, when Watene Kara was charged before Mr. Booth, S.M., with abducting from the charge of her parents at Gisborne a Maori girl named Haromi <• Repeka, she being under the age of 16 years. Watene was remanded from Auckland, some weeks ago, but the girl fled to the King Country, and the case had to be abandoned. She was subsequently arrested for disobeying an order of the Court, and was brought to/Gisbdrne, and fresh proceedings instituted. The Court was crowded with Maoris, who took a lively interest in the proceedings. The girl's father and mother said she was born in 1882. They considered her too young to marry. Haromi Repeka, the girl, who was wellgrown and rather good-looking, and appeared to be quite 16, if not more, gave evidence. She said she had run away to Auckland' with Watene. She had run away thrice before, and was once brought back and thrashed. On one occasion they locked her up for three weeks and watched her night and day, but she said to them, "You had better give up watching me." They listened to her and off she went. (Laughter.) She ran away because she bad such a great love for Watene, and she still had a great love for him. The Magistrate dismissed the case, saying the evidence for the prosecution was contradictory and unreliable as to the girl* age. After the Court was over the father and mother aud friends attempted to take the girl home, but she showed fight, and was aided by Watene's people in the scuffle which took place outside the Court. She eventually bolted, and Watene got away with her in a cab.