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MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. Thursday, 24th June, 1926. Minutes of a sitting of the Commission appointed to inquire into and report upon the necessity 01 advisability of establishing Model villages in the sites of the present villages at Ohinemutu anil Whakarewarewa. Present: Commissioners Charles John McKenzie, Esq., Acting Engineer-in-Chief of the PublicWorks Department, Wellington (Chairman) ; Reginald Bedford Hammond, Esq., A.M.T.P.1., Townplanning Consultant, Auckland ; John Thomas Mair, Esq., Government Architect, Wellington ; Peter Henry Buck, Esq., D.5.0., Director of Maori Hygiene, Auckland ; Henry Taiporutu Mitchell, Esq., Licensed Surveyor, Rotorua. Inquiry opened in the Native Land Court Buildings, Thursday, 24th June, 1926, at 2 p.m. The Commission adjourned for the inspection of the Ohinemutu Village. Friday, 25th June, 1926. The Commission was engaged in a thorough inspection of the Whakarewarewa Village, where photographs were taken of the different groups of houses, to show the different types of buildings. Saturday, 26th June, 1926. The Chairman ami Mr. Mitchell interviewed members of Chamber of Commerce, the Borough Council, and also the Government Tourist Agent, with a view to their giving evidence before the Commission on Monday, 28th. The other members of the Commission made a further inspection of the Ohinemutu Village, and also had photographs taken of styles of buildings in that village. Monday, 28th June, 1926. At the Native Land Court House, 10 a.m. Present: The same. Order of reference read. William Hill, Government Tourist Agent, Rotorua, examined. The Chairman.] You have heard the reference read ? —With regard to the points which have been put forward by the Minister, I have seen, of course, the very great need for something being done in the matter of improvements of the general appearance of the Native villages of Whakarewarewa and Ohinemutu. The question is an extremely interesting one, but I imagine quite difficult of solution. We have to deal with Native interests, and the irregular manner in which the villages are surveyed into residential lots. You may also have to contend with a reluctance on the part of the Native owners to the making of any changes. I think that the only practicable course open to the Commission is to concentrate on many of the dwellings, or those of the dwellings which are obviously in an advanced stage of decay. Would you suggest remodelling the whole village ?—I do not think that I have any practicable suggestion to offer in regard to the remodelling of the whole village. There are, of course, two alternatives : the one to deal with the villages as they stand ; the other is to demolish the present villages and create new Maori villages on new land. That is, away from the present site ? —Yes. Your Department has been in charge of the village since 1907 to 1922 ?—Since 1907 to 1922. 1922 was the year in which the Rotorua Borough Act was passed, and control then passed into their hands. And they have administered these villages since then ?—Yes. Regarding the sanitation and disposal of rubbish, what regulations or by-laws did you have during that period ?—The two villages were subject as far as possible to the borough by-laws, and to cope with the difficulty of getting the rubbish-cart to go out there we established a communal rubbishbox for the village, and the people had to carry the rubbish to the box. We also had a caretaker for each village, whose duty it was to attend to general cleanliness. The people were expected to put the rubbish in the box ?—Yes. Were all the plans for new buildings submitted to your Department for approval ?—The plans of all buildings had to be submitted to me. We had difficulty in supervision as regards the villages, for three reasons : the one was that we had no power in any way to determine the style of building which might be erected; the second reason was that very often the particular allotment was of such an odd shape that anything like alignment was forbidden; and the third one was financial. . I have files with regard to Whakarewarewa generally : I will put them at your disposal. I noticed, just from a casual glance over the files this morning, a letter written in 1909, which deals with roads

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