E.-2

4

Whareroa and Matapihi, Tauranga. —The children here were not numerous, and many of them go to the neighbouring Board schools, and the Department is therefore reluctant to agree to establish a school. Hitaua Bay, Tory Channel, has been taken in hand by the Marlborough Education Board. Te Hikuwai, East Coast. —The children of this settlement have for years attended Tokomaru Bay School, at a few chains distance from which the Hawke's Bay Board has recently established a school. It would be unwise, therefore, at present to further weaken the Native school at Tokomaru Bay by establishing one at Hikuwai. Motiti, Island, Bay of Plenty. —A school will very probably be built here. The case is a promising one. Maoei Village Schools at Work during" the Year 1905 oe some Portion of it, and examined oe inspected, oe both. Group I. — The Far North (Parengarenga, Mangonui, and Whangaroa). The following are the schools situated in this district: Hapua, Te Kao, Ahipara, Paparore, Pukepolo, Pamapuria, Peria, Bangiawhia, Parapara, Kenana, Te Pupuke, Touwai, Whakarara. For part of the year Parapara has been closed for want of a suitable teacher. Touwai School has not been so well attended as it used to be: sickness and death played havoc in the settlement. The discovery of copper near Te Pupuke and the return of the people from the gumfields to their homes in consequence of the low price of gum enabled the Department to reopen Te Pupuke School with very satisfactory increase in the attendance. A qualified teacher was also found for Whakarara, which was also reopened, and has since maintained a steady average. In the case of Te Kao Native school, inquiries made during my visit revealed the fact that the children attending walk daily distances varying from four to nine miles each way, their homes being in the gumfields surrounding the school. A unique record such as this is conclusive evidence as to the successful management of the school. With two exceptions —and these were remarkable for their inefficiency in comparison with the other schools—l consider that these schools are in a very satisfactory condition, and, indeed, may be regarded as doing first-rate work. In one school the want of attention to cleanliness as regards the schoolroom, the appliances, and the appearance of the children made me feel ashamed, and I expect to see great improvement made in this direction at the next visit. New buildings are to be provided for Paparore, an experimental school carried on for some years with much success in a gum-store, to which the children have walked four or five miles. These will be erected near Waipapakauri. A new school and residence are to be erected at Bangiawhia, where another experimental school has by its good work justified the step. It may be worth recording here the fact that the teachers of this school, who are of Maori race, have succeeded in bringing it to a very high degree of proficiency, and they deserve our congratulations on their success. At Hapua, the farthest north school, the teacher's garden serves as an excellent object-lesson to the people, who, I was pleased to note, had themselves established plots in places formerly considered unsuitable. Anothing striking case is that of Kenana, where the schoolhouse, for many years surrounded by a wilderness of manuka, is now the centre of an oasis, well-stocked with flowers and vegetables, the result of the present teacher's labour. Handwork is well taught in most of these schools. Group ll. — Hokianga District. Mr. T. L. Millar, of Eawene, acts as local visitor to the schools in this district, and has again, as in former years, earned the thanks of the Department for the interest he has shown and the assistance he has given when applied to. The schools are : Whangape, Matihetihe, Whakarapa, Lower Waihou, Mangamuka, Maraeroa, Motukaraka, Whirinaki, Waimamaku, Omanaia, Waima, and Otaua. Except in one or two cases, these schools have increased considerably in numbers. Whangape School has been enlarged. At Whirinaki provision has also been made for the increased numbers by the use of the old building, which now accommodates a very fine infant department. Mangamuka and Waima Schools, built for forty children, have now each about sixty-five children on the roll, and the question of making suitable provision for this number is now being considered. The building in which the side school at Lower Waihou is conducted is very unsuitable for the purpose, and the teachers are subjected to great inconvenience. The attendance at these schools is, on the whole, very regular, and the order and discipline have improved. With regard to the work of the children I am pleased to note an improvement, and this is due to the fact that at last the teachers have broken away from their old methods. Special mention is due in the case of the preparatory classes at Waima School, where the infants receive a careful training on modern methods, and are in consequence well advanced. The schools as a whole are kept tidy and clean, and the children are, generally speaking, clean and well-mannered. An excellent tone prevails, and the Hokianga schools are in a flourishing state, the enthusiasm of the people in several cases being a sure confirmation of this fact. Toe success of Whangape is all the more creditable when one takes into consideration the fact that, the school being situated between two rivers, the children are nearly all ferried to school, fifty or more crossing one river daily.