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New Zealand Mail, Issue 1188, 7 December 1894, Page 33

” An entertainment, novel and interesting, was given by a troupe of Maoris from Wanganui at the Theatre Royal on Monday. The audience, although not large, w;as appreciative, and the performers were warmly applauded. The company consists of nine, men attired in white jerseys,knickerbockers and coloured sashes, and six women, and they performed hakas, poi drills and dances of various descriptions. The poi drills especially were performed with remarkable precision, and the audience insisted on their repetition. The musicians of the company, Heka (clarionette) and Ngahina (cornet), gave several selections, and they also accompanied their comrades in soveral of the dances. Other features of the performance were a “ waiata ” by Kingi, which was capitally done, and a picturesque canoe paddling song, and a Maori war dance by the full company. The Natives, led by Potango, went through all the dances with great spirit. One member of the company, a ponderous, good-humoured looking Native, who, the audience seemed to think, would have made a name for himself on the football field, especially made himself a favourite, and a diminutive wahine also won her way into the good graces of the audience.