THE MOTU ACCIDENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11538, 24 November 1900, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE MOTU ACCIDENT.

GREAT TANGI AT MARAENUI.

TE WHANAU-A-APANUI TRIBE.

[ BY M. J. GANNON.]

Since Sunday, the sth of August last, over three months ago, not only a multitude, but continuous relays of multitudes ha»re been and still are visiting the native settlements of Maraenui and —from the Tauranga district on the north to the Poverty Bay district on the south—to mourn with those who lost their children in the lamentable drowning accident in the Motu River. We are told that in consequence of the tangi very little maize has been shelled, and the effect of this will be understood when it is explained that the chief means possessed by these natives for obtaining money to purchase the necessaries of life is having their maize in a marketable condition. Under ordinary circumstances they would not want, but an unfortunate, unexpected, and unprecedented strain has been made upon their resources. At Omaio, about 30 miles to the east of Opotiki, one of the prettiest little bays on that part of the coast, the Government, in their desire to furnish educational facilities for the Maori people of the district, have had a school established. The value of this institution to the residents can scarcely be over-estimated, and the parents of the native children and even the tattooed grandparents take great pride in the education of the children* knowing they are pursuing their studies under the guidance of able pakeha teachers. Here is being implanted in the youthful Maori mind the seed of our civilisation and Christianity. On Sunday, the sth August last, to attend this public school, as was their wont, until the following Friday afternoon, a party of 16 boys and girls bade their parents " Goodbye." In a joyous mood they left, with all the buoyancy *of childhood. Two adults were with the party. Before getting a mile from their homes it was necessary to cross the Motu Rivera treacherous waterway, rolling down in torrents from the mountains, widening its banks as it approaches the ocean, where it empties itself into the Bay of Plenty. The river was in flood, and they had to cross' in a canoe. Only a little way across the river, without a moment's warning, the canoe capsized and the 18 souls were swept into eternity. The scenes that followedthe distracted parents patrolling the beach for days and weeks, now and then finding the dead body or a portion of the dead body of a beloved —need not be depicted. The district coroner, Mr. Stewart Bates, soon paid a sad official visit to Maraenui. At the conclusion of his duties he expressed his heartfelt sympathy with the mourners, and declared the disaster the most melancholy that had occurred on that part of the coast since the advent of the pakeha. To many of your readers it. no doubt, will appear strange that these lamentations for the lost ones should so long continue. This may be less inexplicable when it is known that an extensive family connection exists between the parents who lost the idols of their hearts and the natives living in the country between the Thames and the East Cape. Here is a hasty outline of their own tribal tradition. The name of the tribe the ill-fated party belonged to is the Whanau-a-Apanui— is. the family of Apanui. Apanui, the founder, lived at or near Maraenui. probably, so far as the period can be fixed by the number of generations, when Charles the First was King of England. This chief Apanui married a lady of high rank, who belonged to a distinguished people having great influence in the district now known as Poverty Bay. Here, at Maraenui, close to the scene of the late disaster, Apanui and his wife spent the early days of their wedded life; and unto them a child was bornTukaki. Soon, however, to the young mother the days seemed long and the nights weary. She pined for home. She sighed to be once more in her mother's arms. Taking advantage of her husband's absence from the kainga, she, with a few chosen and trusted handmaidens, escaped from the setlement, penetrated the fastnesses of the Motu forest, scaled fearlessly the lofty ranges known as Raukumara, scarcely resting till she reached the place of her nativity and found herself by her mother's side. Apanui apparently was left to mind the baby The husband, wretched, forsaken, disconsolate, and deserted started in pursuit. Tired out in his attempt to overtake his fugitive spouse he sat down on a mountain ridge, a place known to this day as the Taumata-o-— Apanui's Summit. In after time, it might here be mentioned, he associated that elevated situation with the summit of his sorrowand the summit of his joy. Here, in his tribulation, he met a Ngaitai warrior— a chief of a neighbouring tribea people numerically small but sturdy and powerful foemen. The warrior of the Ngaitai tribe condoled with Apanui in his domestic grief. The folly of further pursuit was clearly realised. Together, after the manner of the period, the two men wept in sympathetic accord. While thus absorbed in the mutual tangi, the warrior incidentally intimated to Apanui that he had two unmarried sisters who were not engaged. They became Apanui's wives. Thus the two tribes were connected. The two Ngaitai sisters bore Apanui 18 sons. Tukaki, the son by the original wife, settled at Te Kaha Point. The other 18 boys, as they grew up, " trekked" coastwise. As they attained manhood they extended further and further, locating themselves at intervals along the shores of that part of the Bay of Plenty or towards the East Cape. Along that part of the coast— the story has many a time been told in the Native Land Court— and their descendants have lived, generation after generation, marrying and intermarrying— and multiplying. The Whanua-a-Apanui —the Apanui familybecame larger and larger. Now, perhaps, may be seenwhat could not appear clear at the outset—why these multitudes continue to visit Maraenui to mourn with the bereaved parents. They are all in some degree related by blood to the children who were drowned.

Immediately after the disaster the Hon. W. Carroll, Native Minister, ascertained the names of the bereaved parents. His Excellency Lord Ranfurly and the members of the Ministry wired at once their condolences and expressed their greatest sympathy with the afflicted people. That was over three months ago. As the incident was unparalleled, the most farsighted could not have predicted that the wailing and lamentation, would be so prolonged and the other attendant circumstances such as have resulted. These people are not paupers or landless, but until they have the means of more profitably utilising their territorial possessions the sudden and unexpected demand upon their supplies seriously embarrasses them, for the time being, in regard to food. _ I do not know whether it will be thought right to appeal for some little assistance in food to these people who have so studiously followed their ancient tribal customs to the neglect of their ordinary means of living. But anyone who knows the Maoris will recognise how they would feel that it was imperative for them to attend the tangi on such an occasion.

Doubtless the N.S.S. Co. would behave liberally in the matter of freight on supplies, which they could land within a hundred yards of- the homes of the dejected and impoverished parents.