A HUNDRED YEARS OF MAORI PEACE

Southland Times, Issue 23375, 6 December 1937, Page 9

A HUNDRED YEARS OF MAORI PEACE

LAST ENGAGEMENT AT TUTURAU

Big Crowd At Centenary

Celebrations

HISTORIC SPOT BECOMES PUBLIC RESERVE Memories of the last historic engagement between the North and South Island Maoris 100 years ago were revived in picturesque fashion at the celebrations at Tuturau on Saturday of the centenary of the defeat of Te Puaho’s raiding North Island party by the Ngatitahu tribe at the Tuturau kaik. Fully 4000 persons from all parts of Southland assembled at the native reserve, which was formally handed over in trust to the Mataura Borough Council, and followed with great interest the ceremony of handing over, the unveiling by the Acting Minister of Native Affairs (the Hon. F. Langstone) of the monument comm emorating , the battle and the dedication of a Maori house. Beautiful weather ensured the success of the celebrations, the ceremonies taking place in brilliant sunshine. A big party of Bluff Maoris participated in the ceremonies and contributed an entertainment of Maori songs and dances.

LAND FORMALLY HANDED OVER

thus the Maoris lost a great deal of their morale, courage and enterprise. The white man had brought not only the Bible and the Prayer Book, but also, unfortunately, the “waipiro.” The Maoris proceeded to sell their lands and while they could live a. life of indolence that was really foreign to them it was all right. But with the arrival of economic slumps their lack of initiative resulted in an intolerable position which grew steadily worse. It was something the white people could never be proud of. DEVELOPMENT OF MAORI LANDS “Today new inspirations and new ideals are taking hold of the Maori and the pakeha peoples,” Mr Langstone continued. “The Maoris in the North Island still hold considerable areas of land, and with scientific treatment, cultivation and development the land can be made fertile. We have established a Board of Native Affairs and we are getting the Maoris to hand the land over to this board. Today 700,000 acres of

PICTURESQUE MAORI CEREMONY MONUMENT UNVEILED BY MINISTER The Mayor of Mataura (Mr J. Buchanan) presided and there were also on the dais the acting Minister of Native Affairs (the Hon. F. Langstone), the Mayor of Invercargill (Mr John Miller), the Mayor of Gore (Mr A. T. Newman), the chairman of the Southland County Council (Mr A. S. McNaught), Mr John Topi Patuki, of Ruapuke, Mr W. N. Dunnage, secretary of the Tuturau Centenary Committee, and the Maori party. Mr Buchanan said he was sure the day would be a historical event in the history of Murihiku (Southland). He was pleased to welcome the Minister, who had come at a certain amount of inconvenience to himself. The occasion was one of historic interest, not only for the natives, but for the pakehas. One hundred years ago in January the last fight occurred between the North and South Island Maoris. It was a

matter for satisfaction that this had been the last fight, and it was to be hoped that the white people would emulate that example and live in peace so that one day a similar centenary might be celebrated. He extended a special welcome to “King” Topi, of Ruapuke, and his followers who had journeyed with him that day. Mr Topi was at one time a member of the Legislative Council and had taken a keen interest in. the politics of New Zealand. Mr Buchanan welcomed also the local body representatives and thanked them for their sympathetic interest in the celebrations. He made special reference to the assistance given by the Southland County Council in preparing the roads and supplying the stone for the monument. He then detailed the events leading up to the acquisition of the reserve as a memorial to be vested in the borough of Mataura. It would, he added, take years to develop the reserve into a national park, but they would nevertheless make progress. It would undoubtedly be a great asset to Mataura for all time. One great drawback in Mataura previously had been that no provision had been made for picnic and sports grounds for the many industrial workers, and the new reserve would fill a long-felt need for both Mataura and Wyndham. The Minister expressed his pleasure at meeting the representatives of the local bodies. “To the Ngatitahu people,

greetings and salutations,” he said. After t drawing attention to the significance and historical interest of the occasion, which marked the last conflict between the Maoris of the North and South Islands, Mr Langstone said he did not think many serious conflicts took place among the Maoris until the blunderbus and gunpowder were introduced by the pakeha. It was the pakeha guns and gunpowder that gave Te Rauparaha his blood lust. Closely allied to him was Te Puaho who had come with him from the North Island and settled at Whakapuaka in the Nelson district. This exploit of Te Puaho in coming south to fight the southern Maoris had given rise to a long and involved lawsuit over land in the Whakapuaka district, which by a strange coincidence had only just been settled. TREATY OF WAITANGI “This meeting takes our minds back a hundred years to the Maori of that day—a man of the stone age,” the Minister said. “He knew nothing of implements and tools until the pakeha came and tried to superimpose European or British civilization upon him, and as a result many unpleasant things have taken place. Misunderstanding and a good deal of ill-will resulted. Right down to the present day there have been difficulties because of the fear and suspicion that lurked in the mind of the Maori—all because of the pakeha. The Treaty of Waitangi was the salvation of the Maori people, for it meant not conquest, but an agreement. The Maoris agreed to hand New Zealand over to the British Queen, and for doing that they were instantly made British citizens and given the protection that is the due of every British citizen. The Maori has the power and might of Britain behind him. The treaty conserved to the Maori all his land. Even after the treaty, however, a lot of the land dealings were not honourable ones, but nevertheless it had to be shown that the leases had been in proper order and that the Maori had been paid value for it.” The Maoris were a hard-working, industrious people who, with primitive implements, showed evidence of magnificent intelligence and high development in- arts and crafts. The canoe was their means of getting a livelihood and the rivers and forests were teeming with life providing all the food they required. The Maori never had to starve, but when the pakeha came there was no longer need to weave garments from flax. He bought pakeha clothes and gradually had to receive money, and

land have been handed over and of them 200,000 acres are actually being developed. I can show you what is being done to regenerate this noble race of people of which we are the guardians. Today we have about 5000 Maoris working on these schemes. We have some Maori farmers who are a real credit to farming. We have 94,000 sheep on this land and 28,690 dairy cows, and I may say that the cleanest shed I have seen in my life was in a Maori dairy.” The Minister expressed a wish that instead of Greek and Latin the Maori language, which had a most harmonious quality, should be taught in the schools. A great deal of Maori arts and crafts had been lost, he said, but the Maori Arts and Crafts Board was trying to rehabilitate their arts and crafts. The year 1940, he added, would see the hundredth birthday of the New Zealand nation, and he had asked Sir Apirana Ngata and other Maoris to try to gather the threads of Maori legends and stories so that they would not be lost to posterity. This reserve contained 40 acres of which 32 acres had been given by the Ngatitahu. He was glad to see the flax spreading on it, and he was pleased to see the regeneration of their native flora. If they so desire he would see if next year he could obtain some seeds for planting among the flax, which would provide an ideal shelter for seedlings. Rimu, matai and totara should flourish there. The Maori had reason, perhaps, to be suspicious, the Minister said, but he was becoming more confident. Rather than take anything from the Maori the Government would give, but it would prefer to see him by his own efforts and labours make his own way. It was a question of giving the necessary opportunity and instruction so as to bring him a step nearer what he should be.

The Minister next remarked on the great contrast of his own fast journey by aeroplane from Wellington that morning, an actual flying time of four and a-half hours, with the weeks and months of arduous climbing and tramping over the mountains and rivers of the West Coast and the Haast Pass by Te Puaho and his intrepid raiding party, who also faced additional dangers from bad food and water. Flying over roads, railways and harbours and the combined activities of the people of today, he had thought in retrospect of the hardships which the pioneers had experienced. He was pleased to see that native flax was flourishing on the reserve and he suggested to those in

charge of the reserve that they should concentrate on the planting of native trees and shrubs on the property, so that at some future time it would become a wonderful scenic resort. As Minister in charge of State Forests he could promise that he would do his utmost to have the resources of the nurseries of his department made available for the Tuturau reserve for the propagation of native trees. He was glad that the reserve was to be vested in the borough council, for there was nobody better able to undertake control than a local body which provided continuity of activity. As the representative of the Government, along with the general public, he wished to express his deep sense of gratitude to the native owners for their generous gift of the land for the reserve. It was his hope that the Tuturau reserve would acquire a favourable reputation throughout New Zealand.

NATIVE ELOQUENCE GREETINGS FROM MAORI REPRESENTATIVES

Then followed the ceremonial presentation of the deeds of the property by Mr Patuki to the Mayor of Mataura. He addressed the gathering eloquently in his native tongue, Mr T. Spencer interpreting a speech notable for its picturesque Maori phraseology and rhetoric. “Today a hundred years ago,” he said, “we handed the Sydney Government all our land at Sydney land values. A hundred years ago we were in the majority and you were in the minority. Today we are in the minority and you are in the majority, but for all that we are still brothers. A hundred years ago on this land of ours was a Maori township which was transferred from here to Ruapuke. “To Europeans who have come here this afternoon, Welcome! Greetings! We have come here today to look back on the history of the past and the rights of the Maori people on this reserve. We are here today to trust each other and remember what has happened in the past and look forward to the future. I am here today to present on behalf of myself and the Maori people this reserve to the Mayor of Mataura as a gift to be held in trust for all time. He and his Borough Council will look after this land for our children and our children’s children for generations to come. I congratulate the Minister of Lands on behalf of the Maori race. He has given his word that he will protect the Maori people. We have waited 75 years for £3,000,000. We are still waiting for it. If your word is your bond, then

(Laughter.) “A hundred years ago, my grandfather signed the first treaty with the Sydney Government at Pahia which brought us together as one united people. We must thank you and the Sydney Government for the art of gunnery and strategy and also for sealing on the West Coast. Through that and through our people we beat the North Island.” He concluded by thanking the Centenary Committee for the monument it had erected and added that the name of the stone was “spirit and peace.” The chairman paid a tribute to the

energetic and enthusiastic work of the secretary of the Centenary Committee (Mr Dunnage). He said that the committee was indebted to him for his fine organization work and the Maori people felt that it was only right that some presentation should be made to him. One of the Maori women then fastened a Maori mat around Mr Dunnage’s waist. Mr D. McDougall, M.P., was the last speaker at this stage of the ceremony. He thanked the Minister for his speech and congratulated the committee on the work it had done. He concluded with the hope that Maori and pakeha would continue to live in peace and comfort. UNVEILING CEREMONY The visitors then climbed the hill to the stone monument for the unveiling ceremony. In a brief speech, the Minister congratulated the committee on its choice of monument and said he was particularly pleased to learn that local materials had been used and that the work had been done by local workmen. He reiterated his expressions of hope that the hundred years of peace among

the Maori people would be an example to the pakehas and that they would live •in peace for at least as long. The monument was then unveiled, disclosing the inscription:— “The Last Fight between the North and South Island Maoris in which the southerners were victorious took place in this locality in December 1836.” The Maori party sang an appropriate chant and then followed the signing of the visitors’ book, in a cache beneath the inscription, by the Minister, the native chief and the local body representatives.

After a short interval the Maori party presented an entertainment of typical songs, hakas, and poi dances, pleasing the big crowd with a demonstration of native art seldom seen in Southland.

The final event on the day’s programme was the ceremony of dedication of the Maori house. This was preceded by the singing of appropriate songs by the party of entertainers which was drawn up in front of the house. After representatives of the local bodies had spoken, the solemn dedication ceremony took place. The native chief after a short speech in his native tongue opened the door and the Maoris entered and sang a sad tribal song. The Mayor of Invercargill said the reserve would stand as a memorial of the last of the antagonism between the North and the South Island Maoris. He had no doubt that the Mataura Borough Council would look after it and see that it was administered in such a way that it would be useful to the people.

The chairman of the Southland County Council (Mr McNaught) and the Mayor of Gore (Mr Newman) also added their tributes, Mr Newman expressing the hope that the Maori people would make more frequent visits to the district.

Mr Spencer, one of the Maori party, the interpreter, endorsed Mr Patuki’s remarks and expressed the hope that the reserve and monument would be regarded as an emblem of peace, concluding with the words “Kia Ora,” which were echoed by the members of his party. MAORI HOUSE DEDICATED The ceremony of dedication was then performed by Mr Patuki. “On behalf of the Maoris who have come here, greetings to you all,” he began. “Welcome to the meeting house of our ancestors. Meet here, and love one another in this place with the mountains surrounding us and where our ancestors walked in the past. We are here today to please our ancestors and I hope the next 100 years will strengthen that love and brotherhood. Kia Ora! The mountains of New Zealand welcome the mountains of England, Scotland and Ireland, and we are here today to honour and praise these mountains. These mountains we see today are our tombstones. We of the Maori race praise those mountains, because they are our ancestors! I declare this meeting house open now. Kia Ora.”

“Kia Ora,” echoed the Maoris. The afternoon was spent by the spectators in inspecting all parts of the reserve and particularly the monument and the Maori house with its elaborate native carvings. The crowd was too dense for more than a small section to

hear the speeches and the remaining spectators gathered at vantage points to watch the picturesque ceremonies. An ideal spot for picnicking, the area was fully utilized for afternoon tea parties. In the late afternoon the crowd began to leave the ground, but it was a long time before the reserve .was cleared and the historic spot left to its habitual calm.

The Gore Municipal Brass Band and the Mataura Pipe Band played selections during the afternoon. The celebrations concluded with a dance at Mataura on Saturday night.