CHILDREN

Te Ao Hou, December 1955, Page 46

CHILDREN write from Waiohau Ki a Te Etita, Tena koe. E tono atu ana ahau i taku reta ki a koe. I te Rahoroi ra ka mea mai taku Papa ko wai e haere ki te toa ki te tiki pihuka mo a matau raina. Ka mea atu ahau ki taku Papa, ko 'hau. Ka haere ahau ma runga i te pahi. Ka tae atu ahau ki te toa mea mai te Mangumangu, he aha taku pirangi. Ka mea atu ahau, he pihuka mo a matau raina. I taku taemaitanga ki te kainga ka haere matau ki runga o Waikokopu ki te hi tuna mo te tekau-ma-rua a te Hahi Ringatu. Ka uru atu matau ki roto o Waikokopu ka pahi matau i te awa tuatahi me te awa tuarua me to awa tuatoru. I to matau taetanga atu ki te waiariki ka mea mai taku Papa me noho mai ahau ki reira. Ka haere taku Papa raua ko Rihari ki te hi tuna. Ka noho mai ahau ki te waiariki ki te kaukau. Kotahi haora pea ahau i reira ka hoki mai taku Papa raua ko Rihari i te hi tuna. Ka mea atu ahau, “E hia a korua tuna me nga taraute?” Ka mea mai a Rihari, “Hai aha mau?” Ka mea atu ahau ki a Rihari, “Hai kai maku.” I to matau putanga mai i roto o Waikokopu ka kautehia e

'hau e hia nga tuna. I mea atu ahau ki taku Papa, “E rua tekau ma rima a korua tuna.” I to matau taetanga mai ki te kainga, ka whakairiirihia e taku Mama nga tuna kia marokeroke ai i te ra. I te marokeroketanga o nga tuna ka tipokapokahia e taku Mama nga piropiro. Koianei te mututanga o taku korero, Na to hoa, Na Repora Maki, Ko te Kura Maori o Waiohau. Ki a te Etita, Tena koe. I te Hatarei ra i haere maua ko Rihari me Hare ki te puihi ki te kato pikopiko me etahi puha. I mua i to matau haerehanga ka haere matau ki te tiki i nga kuri a Hieke raua ko Kiwi. Ko te puihi i haere nei matau ko Kopuriki. Ka hoki matau ki te kainga, ka kai matau. Ka mutu to matau kai ka haere ano matau ki te puihi. Ka tae atu matau ki reira ka kite matau i a Keni raua ko Temo me Rauhuia. Ka haere tahi matau ki te wahi e haere ana matau. Ka tae matau ki Kopuriki ka haere matau ko Rauhuia ki te Paraki ki te patai atu pena ka whakaae ia kia noho matau ki reira. Ka whakaae mai te wahine a Paraki kia noho matau i reira. I te ahiahi i tunua e Keni he kai ma matau. He hawhe haora a Keni e whakareri ana i wa matau kai. Ka tae mai a Meihi raua ko Mahanga. Ka maoa a matau kai ka kai matau katoa. Ka mutu ka hoki maua ko Temo ki te moe. Na to hoa, Na Taima Ranui, Ko te Kura Maori o Waiohau. Sir, I live in Waiohau and go to the Waiohau Maori School where there are seventy Maori children and twenty pakehas. Next to the school there is a pa. I am eleven years old and in standard five. Sometimes I play with Maoris, at other times I like to play with my pakeha friends. My father has a farm down the road. There is a timber mill at the Bluffs. Behind the school there is a bush and a hot waterfall where the school goes for picnics, but for big picnics we go to Lake Rotoma. There we have ice-cream, lollies, watermelons, games, and a swim. My friend Godfrey will add some more about Waiohau to this letter. My name is Godfrey Budd and I am twelve years old. My father is a bushman. He is a crosscutter which means that he fells the trees. He goes up into the bush with a gang. There are two crawlers to take the logs to the skids, where there is a winch to pull the logs onto the trucks. There are eight men in the gang and they all take something to eat during the day. The logs are taken to the mill and sawn up for timber. Your friends,Noeleen Orr and Godfrey Budd,Waiohau Maori School