MAORI CHIEFS IN LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 24 June 1926, Page 3

MAORI CHIEFS IN LONDON

EVENT OK SIXTY-THREE YEARS A 00 Sixty rhr«*i* years :i;>o this mouth a jjju‘ly ()i i ftn Maori chiefs and Ihreo women horn lire .province of Auckland, Tiesided by t|ic aged chief VVharepapa, one of Hougi> warriors, visited London, and wore received at Marlborough House by the Prime and Princess of Wales, later King Edward VII., and Queen Alexandra. An account of I lie reception is given in Hie Standard, London, of .Time 15, 1303, as follows: —-“The party waited upon Ids Royal Highness at half-past 11 o'clock, when the Prince and Princess of Wales together accorded them a gracious reception. After the chiefs had made their obeisance the Prince inquired how they liked England, and by what they bad been most impressed. To this Wharepnpa eagerly replied, through ari interpreter, that what had most surprised them as vet had been the railways. “They had heard in their distant land of a mo : dc of transit swift as a ball from a rill'*, hut had not been aide to realise the fact until they visited the 'great glasshouse’ atV'Sydenham (the Crystal Palace), where the carved figures of men and women had excited their admiration and astonishment. Wharepape added that they had expected to see great things, but it had also been their good fortune to see ‘great persons,’ making a courtly obeisance as he spoke. “Before retiring from the Royal presence several chiefs presented to the Prince and Princess offerings of Native manufacture, Wharepapa laying before the Prince an ‘ihupuni’ (a dogskin mat, curiously interwoven on a groundwork of.flax), this being, in Native estimation, a token of the highest respect and devotion. Another chief gave an amulet from his neck, lamenting that, although a great landholder at home, ho had nothing more appropriate to offer. Several other tokens of goodwill were offered, and after inspecting the gardens, the smooth surface of the lawns especially attracting their notice, the party left for their hotel.’’ The men represented five of the most noted tribes in the North Island. They were taken to England under the guardianship of Mr W. Jenkins, Government interpreter for Nelson. Sir George Grey, who was at that time Governor of New Zealand, gave his permission fur the party to leave Auckland, and they departed in the Dutch ship ldajdglor. Aft or an uneventful voyage of 100 days they arrived in London. Among the women members of the party was the wife of Hare Pomare, a confidential companion of Tamate Waka Xene, an ally of the British forces in the Maori 'War.