Return of the Maoris.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVII, Issue 4, 24 January 1912, Page 5

Return of the Maoris.

The touring Maoris, who returned from England by the Somerset, reached Wellington on the 9th. In an interview, Mr C. B. Westmacott, manager, said that their want of success-was largely because they had not been sufficiently heralded, but there was another factor. It can lie very hot in London in the summer, and this particular summer it was extremely hot. The Maoris opened at the Crystal Palace with a nicely-constructed pa. Its construction interested and satisfied the local authorities, but not so the Home Office, which had the final say. No other site than that on which the pa was pitched was suitable at the ■palace, so the whole hapu migrated to the White City. There, so far as popularity went, they were no more successful. The hot weather had emptied London, and there had been a regular exodus.

Mr. Westmacott was asked if the Maoris, as Maoris, took on, or was it because London fled to the sea and the woods, that the tour was not a financial success? “Well, you see,” he answered, “they had the dull season, dull so far as places like the Crystal Palace and the White City are concerned, to contend with. Then the show did not take. When, however, we cut out all but Iwa, the Maori contralto, and the poi girls for a turn at the palace, which is a high-priced house by the way, we made a success of it.

“London, and I should say England." he continued, “is not a bit interested in the Maori. There are other things to them of greater moment. If they •want to know anything about New Zealand they find it out when they want it, but they were not interested in the Maoris. They liked the poi girls, and they liked Iwa, not for what they were, ■but for what they could do. I was much struck -with the apathy and the indifference of the people. Iwa was

popular. She -has a lovely voice. Blanche Marchesi, Madame Nevada, and Randegger were charmed with it. Iwa sang before them. Old Randegger almost caressed her with joy, and Marchesi said she didn’t -believe there was a more beautiful voice in the world than Iwa’s. She embraced the Maori singer, and was manifestly much moved by her singing. If Iwa sings, as she desires very much to do, the usual pakeha drawingroom song, then, I think, she will make a mistake fatal to her success, but if she sings in Maori, as she did before Randegger, Marchesi, and some others, then it is easy to predict a great future for her.”

“The High Commissioner,” continued Mr. Westmacott, referring to the members of the troupe left behind, “did his utmost to induce them to return. There were other influences at work, too, to the same end, but Maoris are difficult people to handle, and here I would like to sav how much I am indebted to Maggie Papakura for her sensible advice and her help to me generally in handling the people during a rather trying time.”