LATE SIR JOSEPH WARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20623, 23 July 1930, Page 14

LATE SIR JOSEPH WARD.

MAT PLACED ON COFFIN.

MAORI HEIRLOOM FOR FAMILY.

[r,r TELEGRAPH.—own cop.respondent.] LLLIXGTOX, lues day.

The Maori mat, known as ,< Parawai, ,# which lay on the coffin which bore the remains of the late Sir Joseph Ward on tho journey from A\ ellirigton to Bluff, was placed there shortly after his death by Mr. T. Makit anara, Southern Maori member of the House of Representatives.

After tho funeral the mat was handed to Sir Cyril Ward, and it has been explained to him that the mat is to be reserved for use only on occasions of the death of a person of high rank, also that it should be regarded as a familv heirloom.

Sir Cyril has accepted the charge, and Mr. Makitanara has written an account) of the ceremonial mat and the obligation 3 Involved in its ownership. These mats take many months to' make. They are of fine flax and feathers and are among the most valuable of Maori treasures. They ai-e used among natives only for covering persons of high rank, and in past times, when handed down from generation to generation, any change of ownership was accompanied by the recital of the names and exploits of the former owners. The mat in Sir Cyril Ward's possession is a tribute of the whole of the South Island Maoris to the late Sir Joseph Ward,