MAORI GATHERING

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 132, 1 December 1938, Page 18

MAORI GATHERING

PICTURESQUE BAZAAR

LADY CALWAY PRESENT

There is nothing quite so stirring as a Maori welcome to a distinguished and well-loved guest. Yesterday afternoon when her Excellency Lady Galway arrived at St. Paul's Schoolroom in Sydney Street, to open the Maori Mission bazaar, she was greeted in the whole-hearted way which is so characteristic of the Maori people. Escorted by Lady Pomare, president of the Ngati-Poneke Mission, her Excellency entered the hall to the accompaniment of a rousing haka danced by Maori girls and led by Mr. Rangi Utiku. Each of the girls w«as presented to Lady Galway. Wearing their swinging piupius and handsome feathered cloaks the girls made a pretty picture as they stood before the dais. Later they performed a poi dance to the accompaniment of singing. The team comprised Mrs. Rangi Ruru, Mrs. Katie Maunder, Mrs. Mona Swainson, Misses Miriama Heketa, Josie Stevens, and Julie Ward-Holmes. On the stage with her Excellency and Lady Pomare were Mrs. Peter. Fraser, the Rev. and Mrs. Temuera, Miss Robson, Miss Simpson, Mrs. Hapi Love, and Mrs. Kingi Tahiwi. The bazaar came as a happy conclusion to the year's work, said Mr. Temuera. Four years ago the NgatiPoneke Association, comprising members of both the Maori and pakeha races had decided to hold yearly sales of work. During that period they had been fortunate in receiving much kind and sympathetic favour from Government House. "Today," he continued, "Lady Galway has again showed her readiness to give us her personal support and words of encouragement, which greatly cheer us all. By her presence she shows her great interest in the work for the welfare of the Maori people." Her Excellency wore a suit of heavy black wool crepe de chine with a triangular scarf of grey, black and white chiffon, and a black upturned straw hat, and was presented with a bouquet of native flowers and ferns. It gave her great pleasure, she stated, to come again to the schoolroom to open the bazaar. She felt already that she was .an old friend. "It is a great pleasure for me to be able to do any little thing I can for our Maori friends," Lady Galway stated. "I do not have many opportunities of meeting them, so am specially glad to be here this afternoon. To me it has always been one of the most interesting things in the Dominion to see the fast friendship that exists between the Maoris and pakehas—a bondship that has been fostered in a comparatively short period of history." She very much appreciated the welcome that had been accorded her, and took much pleasure in declaring the fair open. As president of the Ngati-Poneke Society, Lady Pomare thanked Lady Galway for attending the bazaar again this year. TRADITIONAL. DECORATIONS. A tour of the stalls made by the ( official party was a prelude to brisk buying by the very large number present. Her Excellency was entertained to tea in a rpom which had been hung with tappa cloth worked and dyed in intricate designs, and carpeted with woven mats of. flax, which were patterned in traditional colours. Crimson azaleas gave a decorative finish to the tea tables, and combined with bowls of roses to make a lovely colour effect. The room, where comfortable wicker chairs had been set, was divided from the hall by Union Jacks arid ensigns which draped the doorway. The decorations in the hall were of Maori origin, and had been lent mostly by Lady Pomare and the Dominion Museum. Each stall was separated by a pou painted in the symbolic colours of red, white, and black. Floor mats of closely-woven flax were used as a background for each stall, many of which sold flax kits, piu plus, pois, and all manner of native articFes. Union Jacks painted on a white background panelled the wall behind the stage and dozens of flags were suspended in rows from the ceiling, with picturesque effect. Maori women in many cases were stallholders. An attractive afternoon tea was provided in an adjoining room. Roses, cornflowers, and marigolds made a warm splash of colour against the white walls. The arrangements were in the hands of Mrs. Walter Blundell and helpers. The stalls and stallholders were as follows: —Produce, members of the Women's Auxiliary of the Wellington Diocese Missionary Society (under the charge of Miss Watson and Mrs. H. D. Bennett); Maori and Cook Islands stall, Mesdames Heketa, Katene, Martin, and Miss Lily Kettle well; fancy, Mrs. Henry Tahiwi, Mrs. Black; flowers, Miss Mowbray, Mrs. Potiki, Mrs. Cameron; soft drinks, Mrs. Harfoot; sweets, Mrs. H. Park, Mrs. Sheppard; cakes, Mrs. B. L. Hammond, Mrs. Pelham. In the evening items were presented by the Ngati-Poneke Young Maori Club.