BROADCASTING.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 26 July 1924, Page 13

BROADCASTING.

EMPIRE CONCERT IN ENGLAND. THE NEW ZEALAND EPISODE. MAORI RIVER SCENE. A special Empire programme was bioiidcasted on Empire Day, when rnusical items were given by overseas artists and a series of messages were read from the Viceroy of India and the Premiers of the various Dominions. The message from Mr Masse v was • •‘Another Empire Day has come'round, and finds still unsolved many of tIW pronlems arising from the upheaval caused by the Great War. Only b\ steadfast adherence to those prilleipies of truth, justice, and righteous,v''hith are the mainsprings of , . ri .t ISJX will these problems and difficulties be most effectually grappled with by the Empire’s leaders and citizens. Every influence which draws •closer the different countries of the' Empire will help immensely in still further promoting its prosperity and advancement.- It is more than over essential at this peiioti ol our history for patriotic British citizens to stand fast to stand togetner m lovaltv to each other and in lovaltv to- King, country, and Empire.”' At the close Mr Eamxav MacDonald voiced the greetings of ' the Mother Country to the overseas Dominions. We have listened to the greetings ol the Commonwealth Premiers with great pleasure and keen interest,” he said, and we send them in return our thanks and greetings from the Homeland. The parent tree is still green, and the sap of high endeavour still swells in its branches. In the! "generations tjhat have gone we have launched our exploring ships on many a venturesome voyage, and to-day our people.' our institutions, our traditions, and our methods are to be found all over the earth. Our days of voyaging are' not over. The world of mind and idea lies around us in unexplored tracts more vast tliaij, this earth was to oui seamen, and the Commonwealth of Nations centreing on this Motherland still hears the call to go out in an Elizabethan • spirit of gallantry and doughtiness in search of liberty, justice and peace.”

SCOTSMAN AND MAORI MAIDEN. The New Zealand episode in the programme took the form of a dialogue between a Scots settler and a Maori maiden. Faintly from the distance was heard the singing of a Maori boat song (Sandy M’Dougal is sitting by the river hank, it is announced). Sandy (with a sigh of happy, but dim memories): “Eh! but hoo'tliat brings it a’ back again; Jest a wee bit song! And (lie peers across the stream) —’tis no a Scots- lassie that is singing it. either. I misdoot ’tis but ane o-’ they puir heathen lassies o’ the country. (Singing stops). Maori they call them. And in fancy ’tis no a far cry from ‘Maori’ to ‘Mary.’ Aye, that ’twas the song—‘Mary’ ‘Bonnie Hieland Mary.’ (He hums a fragment)— Kindkind an’ gentle was she, Kind was my Mary. (A little sigh). Fifteen years this verra month ’tis by a reckoning that, I gang it first to Mary by the auld brig o’ Ordiy. Fifteen years ! (Singe very softly). Now green’s the sod, and canid’s the clay, That wraps my Highland Mary.

Ah, weel! ’Tis gone! An’ Qrchy, an the auld brig, an’ the healthy moors an’ glowering Ben Dorain/un’ the wimplin’ burns, but there thro’ the mists are the lichts o’ Edinbro Castle, the folk passing, ,an’ the sogers wi‘ their lassies, an’ —(the Maori song again nearer). Ah! but ’tis a great country this! New Zealand! I think they micht weel ha’ given to it- a finer' name. Ha’ they named it ‘New Scotland’ ’twould lia’" been weel. Foiye can look across yon stream an’ it minds ye o’ the hills o’ Lorn on, an’ whiles o’ the mists above Glencoe wi’ the grey peaks towering through an’ deep purple shadows. An’ yon’s like the little wood that dips into the loch by Kilchurn Castle wi’ their trees growing upside down i’. the water. Alt’ there’s mighty salmon i’ the streams and lakes, an’''sheep on the fells furbye; an’ there’s rivers o’ ice an’ fountains- o’ water so'sot that a man may cool his dinner 4n them. (The sound ol a paddle is heard close by). But Mis the singing lassie, and she runs her wee boat in. She’s bonny, too, an’ nue sue dark wi’ the paint upon her fact like the ither pair misguided heathen folk. (He gives the girl a hail.)” Girl (hailing): “O’he! O’he!” Sandy: “Quid morning lac ye!” (The girl replies in Maori). Sandy: “That’ll be ‘guid morning,’ too, almy thinking. It has a pretty sound. Yon’s a bonny song ye were singing, missie. ’Twas your own, maybe. Ye hae no been i’ Scotland? (girl understands nothing of bis speech). It minded me of an auld song 1 sang once—maybe ye ken it. (Sings a- couple of lines. Gi’rl laughs merrily). A ken weel rna voice is no what- it was; but ye hae no cause for laughing. Y’e’ro. a bonnio lassie, Loo. An —vi;- have the same soft blown eves of my Mary long ago. What do they call you? My nawie’s Sandy (pantomime). How wii.l I mak’ her understand? —‘Sandy’ (pointing to himself).” Girl (laughing) : “Ao-tea-ron.”

Sandy: “Ao-tea-roa.! Hut that is the old name of the Island. Ao-tea-roa —the 'Lorn' White Cloud.’ How came they to call ye he the old name-;-' I’ll no say it is n’ the right name for ye’re a verra honnie lassie.” (A speech in Maori follows). Sandy (becoming somewhat awed):

“A dinna keii what it is ye’re saying—an’ yet—an yet!—ahm thinking ye might wee I he the sneerit o’ this place. (Softly). Those is a glint in your hair o’ the gold o’ yon laburnum; an’ its sae soft to the touch as the blossoms themselves. An’ there’s the deck o’ the gold mirroied in the pure lakes o’ yom eves, dancing as the shadows come an’ go. Ah. where do ye come frae? And why ha’ ye come to me:-” Girl (soi'tly)j. “Ao-tea-roa!” Sandy: “An' the soft swell o’ your breast is like your own fair hill a’ Taranaki as it rises from the plain; an’ the slenderness o’ ye is like the grace o’ the young birch trees by the Waiioa. Will ye no bide here a while, by me:- For I’m no but a puir Scots settler —an’, a lonely man tiie.se many years. 1 would build ye a wee hoosie in von clearing by the loch an’—ah I but yc-dinna ken what it is ahm savin’ to ye. Your hand is .sae coo! to the touch, an’ youi; eyes look upon me like no mortal lassie’s. (Quickly’)—Who are ye- Where do ye come free a Speak! (Slight pause). She holds out her arms ro me. An’ in them there seems to lie ail the loveliness o’ the mountain an’ stream, the beauty o’ the flowers an’ the ripening o’ the fruit an’ grain.” Girl (distant): “Ao-tea-roa!” Sandy: “Softly she lades awa’ over the water. Fades awa’? An’ yet the speerit o’ her stands nigh me. The speeret o’ this fair land. (Maori song is heard from distance. A bird sings near by). This dear land—o’ ours. But .its no’ Scotland!” (Song and bird fade out). The Hokihoki lullaby was sung by Mrs Jloger Dan soy. and the dialogue was spoken by Mrs David Barclay. The words for the Scotsman were written

by Mr A. Corheit-Smith, the wellknown author and dramatis!. Alter tins Miss Eileen Driscoll (of Wellington) sang “Waiata Poi.” and she was accompanied by Miss Valerie Corliss. The message .from the Premier followed, and the hand played '“Owl girt her about with the Surges.”