Untitled

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 20 April 1922, Page 5

Long and important as was Mr Smith's work as a civil servant, it is overshadowed by his extremely valuable labour in the field of Polynesian ethnology. To enable him and coto develop this interesting branch of science, he, at a meeting held in Wellington on January 8, 1892, established the Polynesian Society, and to assure the success of the venture undertook the duties of joint secretary and treasurer, and the responsibilities of editing the Polynesian Journal, a quarterly-review of the. work embraced by the society. This latter position he held from the inception of the society in 1892 up to the end or his life, in which period 30 volumes of the journal have appeared without a break or delay in issue. He was also president of the society from 1904 to the time of his death. No greater ethnographic work, or anything approaching it, has been carried out in southern latitudes than this, in the recording and in s the preservation of the story of the Polynesians and their intensely interesting past, which, had it not been mainly for Mr Smith's splendid" work, would to a very, great extent have been lost. Future students will appraise his work at its true value; the present generation has been slow to recognise its merits. Mr Smith was the author of the following books, etc.: "A Journey from Taranaki to Taupo, etc., in 1858-59," "The Eruption of Tarawera" (1886); "The Kermadee Islands" (1887); "The Peopling of the North (N.Z.)," "Maori Wars of the 19tli Century" (two editions), "Niue Island and its People" (1903); "Hawaiki, .or the Whence of the Maori" (four editions), "The Maori History of the Taranaki' Coast" (a Avork covering 562 pages), "Lore of the Whare-wanangal' (translation in two volumes), "History and Traditions of Barotonga" (translation). vBesides the above he has written many papers in the Transactions of theNew Zealand Institute, and over 100 articles, etc., in the Journal of the Polynesian Society. Also papers in "Eeports of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science," and other scientific journals. . Mr Smith was also a Fellow or member of the following societies and institutions: A Fellow of the Eoyal Geographical Society (since 1880), a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute (one of the first 20 Fellows elected), Hector Medalist for Polynesian ethnology, 1919; an honorary member of "The Spalding Gentlemen's Society," of Spalding, Lincolnshire (the oldest antiquarian society in England); an honorary member of the Auckland Institue since 1889; a corresponding member of the Eoyal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, 1914; a corresponding member of the Societa d'Anthropologia d'ltalia; corresponding member of the Eoyal Geographical of Australasia; corresponding member of the Hawaiian Historical Society. As a citizen he also took a full share m the activities of the toAvn and district,- although of late years, as was only natural with advancing years, he had to relinquish much of this voluntary work. As befitted his early training and work, he was elected the first president of the Astronomical Society. He was a valued member of the Pukekura Park Board, also of the High School and Egmont National Park Hoards. Always a staunch churchman, he was elected to various.offices of trust connected with the Anglican Church.. He was chairman of the Taranaki Church Trustees, an administrative body dealing with endowments etc also a trustee of the Taranaki bishopric fund and other offices. Now he has been gathered in full of years and honour. One of "Nature's gentletZ n'Lfx *° the ]f * retaiQed uns^ken the confidence and absolute trust of all coS ea e r th w*om he was w^