THE KAITI PA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17179, 8 February 1930, Page 4

THE KAITI PA

GREAT CULTURAL CENTRE WORK NEARLY COMPLETE DESIGNED AS N.Z/S BEST Preparations are now being made for the opening of the new building* erected at the Ivaiti pa within the past few months, and the'initial public function held at tins -.gathering ■place promises to be exceedingly important, rivalling even the gathering at Ngaruawahia some time ago, on the occasion of the opening of the new meeting-house at the model pa there. As a culture centre of Maori art, the pa at Haiti will be ahead of any otheft, in New Zealand, if the ambitions of the Maori committee are realised, and the pa in its location and equipment will do justice to the memories of the great ancestral names represented in the various sections of the grounds and buildings. The funds for the new work undertaken within the past year were found by the Gisborne Harbor Board, which body had to pay about £IO,OOO in compensation for land on which the pa formerly stood, adjacent to the new Haiti harbor basin. The purchase of the land, levelling of tile ground, and creel ion of buildings on the new site has been carried out by a committee of trustees whose object has been to make the new pa worthy of the old, while embodying in its design and equipment such modern ideas as may ■be incorporated without departing too substantially from Maori customs and ideas of art and architecture. The pn is situated within the borough of Gisborne, and the buildings have had to comply with the requirements of municipal regulations in re- | gard to sizes of timbers, headroom and other points, but these qiodifieatiions of native architectural ideas have brought about no unsightly effects. The student of Maori arts and crafts might detect at a glance' the influence of the modfieations, but it would not intrude itself upon the notice of the average visitor. A MAGNIFICENT SITE From Wa.inui road it is possible to secure a glimpse of the new pa and its improvements, but only an inspection from closer quarters gives a true idea of the results obtained by a careful supervision of the funds in hand. • The area of the kninga has been enclosed in the rear by trees which, when they attain full growth, will give an excellent background for the . meetiing-house, dining-room and sleeping quarters, and the beautifully terraced lawns which sweep down to * the level of Bantu street. The setting of the new pa could not have been better chosen, for from the platform of the meeting-house a perfect panorama is spread before one’s feet, and the elevation at which the buildings are set gives them a dignity impossible to produce without elevation. Steel girders enter into the construction 1 of the buildings, with the object of securing the strength formerly obtained by the use of heavy timbers, but the use of the modern . supports is thoroughly masked, and the interiors are carefully planned with the object of preserving native ideas. The meeting-house is JOOft. In length, and has a width of 40ft., a novel feature being the incorporation of four recesses in the walls which offer rather unusual scope for the Maori decorators. The dining-hall S is equally spacious, and in every detail can be said to. meet the requirements for which it was erected. NOTHING LESS THAN THE BEST ' Carvings and-other forms of native decoration will be represented in their highest standards in the interior of the meeting-house. As an ancient seat a Maori culture, Turanganui’s associations demand nothing less than the best for the’ purpose, and while there are none of the old school of carvers available to-day, the .characteristic designs of this district have been reproduced faithfully at the Maori school of art'at Rotorua, under the supervision of Mr. Hamilton, the director, and it is expected that these carvings will be available before the end of this month. Ceiling decorations, ami reed panels have been carefully studied, and the latter are being _ reproduced in great numbers for the meeting-house, which wall require 102 of these panels in ail. In preparing the rood-work, the committee has had much assistance from Ngatiporou volunteers who, during the past two weeks, have arrived in parties to give their services free. These volunteer workers had much experience in the same work in connection with the Memorial Church gt Tiki tiki, which in itself is. a notable example of Maori art. As a meeting-place for Maori people visiting 1 this district, and as a centre for the accommodation of natives moving to and from the East Coast, the new pa has a distinctly utilitarian, value, but for the pakeha its greatest interest, lies in its adaptability for the purposes of Maori pageants and celebrations such as have been seen of recent years at Rotorua, Ngaruawahia and at Tikitiki, on the East Coast. The meeting-house will toe an artistic, gem, preserving for futiue generations first-class examples of Maori arts and crafts, and as such is likely to exercise a great influence upon the maintenance of native culture.