MAORIS IN HOVELS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 19, 23 January 1937, Page 10

MAORIS IN HOVELS

ALARMING REPORTS

VILLAGE IN FAR NORTH

GOVERNMENT ACTION

(By Telegraph) (Special to the "Evening Post. ) I DARGAVILLE, This Day. a •"?he deplorable conditions of some r 409 Maoris at Te Hapua, the most t northern settlement in New Zealand, ] 300 miles north of Auckland on Pa- 1 rengarenga Harbour, is to be investi- c gated by the Acting Minister ofNNat tive Affairs (the Hon. F. Langstone) £ during his, tour of North Auckland. j From reports received by the Gov- < ernment it: appears that the Natives ; are living under conditions that lack i even the. most elementary aids to de- ] cency. As they are not receiving proper food they have no disease re- J sistance and approximately 70 per 1 cent.; or more are affected by tubercu- j losis while 20 per cent, of the children .die before reaching the age of five i years. Dwellings are described as hovels unfit for human habitants. The , • land is poor and little cultivation is : done, while leadership is entirely lack- , ing. ' The conditions of the whole Maori population in this locality are said to be hopeless in the extreme. "One of my main reasons for undertaking a visit to the Far North is to see the conditions under, which the Natives of Te Hapua are existing, said the Minister in an interview this morning. "The reports that have come to hand are alarming and there is a responsibility resting on the Government to see what can be done to alleviate the conditions. From information in my possession the whole position is most unsatisfactory. The Government is anxious to remedy the conditions that are existing and the Department of Native Affairs, Health, and Lands have-already conferred -with a view ; to ascertaining what remedies can be applied." ■The Minister said that an area of approximately 25,000 acres surrounded Te Hapua but it was said to be uneconomic for development purposes. . Practically no cultivation was attempt- ' ed, the Natives living as best they could on occasional relief work jobs, digging gum, which was decreasing in quantity, and fishing. The children were- undernourished and lacked proper food. ABNORMAL CHILD MORTALITY. "Their living is most precarious,", he continued, "and it will be necessary ■ to • see whether it is possible to allot an area of land in possibly some other locality, and if the Natives will consent to .go to, it. and establish a farm development scheme for . their own benefit. Records show that the child mortality is abnormal and that disease ■ is far more prevalent than it should be, while medical attention is urgent- ■ ly required." . The Minister said that unless there | was an economic foundation it was not desirable to establish model Native pas. "The Government does not think it desirable that. Maoris, with their nobility of character and proud ancestry, should be allowed to become merely poi or haka dancers and makers of curios." said the Minister. "We believe in fostering all that is best in the Native race and their arts, crafts,.and.culture!, but we are against commercial exploitation of the Maori in the field of entertainment." In- the, event- of a model Maori vilbeing established it would have . all' the architectural features of the Native race, shown from outside but internally would have all the modern conveniences associated with the best homes of Europeans.