MODEL MAORI PA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19963, 4 June 1928, Page 6

MODEL MAORI PA.

MOUNT EDEN PROPOSAL. PLACE OF NATURAL CHARM. PROTEST AGAINST PROJECT. DEFENCE OF COMMON LANDS. Several thousand people went up to Mount Eden yesterday afternoon and it is a question whether one per cent, of them had any desire to see there a model Maori pa. It was a perfect autumn day, an ideal day for walking, and people were drawn toward the most convenient of the vo'canic hills by the view it provides of city, harbour, gulf and ranges. The remark of a man on the crowded summit that ho objected to ,Maungawhau being "cluttered up" with specimens of Maori art or anything else probably expresses a common attitude of mind among .Aticklanders, who, while as appreciative of the Maori and his ancient works as any community in the Dominion, have a stronger dtsire to keep intact for their primary purpose the domains that were safeguarded for posterity by the far-sighted pioneers. "A public domain is neither the place for the creation of 'tourist attractions' nor for the exercise of sectional enthusiaasms." remarks a correspondent. "I can H')dcistand the eagerness of an association devoted to Maori art and ethnology to recreate upon a famous pa site in the heart cf a. great city, a perfect specimen of the fortifications around which ancient Maori life centred. The Aesthetic Appeal. "The greater the enthusiasm of any body devoted to one thing and one thing only, however, the greater should be the caution with which a municipality should proceed when an invasion of public land is contemplated. By all means let a model pa of the style used before the days of firearms be built, but why must part o; the old contours of the Maungawhau earthworks be used ? To understand the obvious retort one must have singleminded enthusiasm for the project and that is the point where the people will divide. " I suggest that this plan be carried out upon another part of the Tamaki isthmus, where the pa is not liable to mar the beauty of one of the minor crests, nor introduce a discordant element into one of the most glorious landscapes and seascapes of the North. To the top of Mount Eden we go to see the gulf with its islands, the distant blue hills of Coromandel, and the forested ranges behind which the sun sets in a blaze of glory. A pa, no matter with what perfection the old stvle and art are copied, would detract from the aesthetic appeal of the place. The beauty of the view was there long before the Maori fought around Maungawhau. I am well aware that this attitude is likely to be incomprehensible to those who have set their hearts upon giving Mount Eden the character of a museum, but that is no reason why they should not be restrained. Riding of Hobby Horses. " The tourist argument is inadequate also. Most of these people would take a casual glance at the pa and one in a hundred might study it. I myself have tne<d to interest overseas visitors in the contours of the old earthworks, but I have never succeeded in arousing the interest that the sight of the crater stimulated. The fact remains paramount, however, that Mount Eden is a public domain, the possession of all the people, and not the happy hunting ground of groups mounted on stylish hobby horses. "Some people suffer from an ache to use common land for any purpose but being itself. If, through the centuries, the people of England had gone on 'improving' the great historical parks and filling them with 'memorials' of the arts of the ancient Britons and other folk who have left their mark upon the conntry, they would now be simply vast outdoor museums and not the delightful places of freedom they are. Here in Auckland we are submitting 100 easily to the influences of the moment, and I hope that Mount Eden will not be further defaced."