HOW TO REMAIN MAORI A Conference in Christchurch

Te Ao Hou, October 1956, Page 35

HOW TO REMAIN MAORI A Conference in Christchurch About fifty leading Maori South Islanders attended the meeting called in Christchurch by the Cantebury Tribal Executive from 2nd to 4th June. Chairman and secretaries of tribal committees and leagues had come from as far away as Motueka and the Bluff. Right through the weekend numerous Christchurch Maoris came to the hall on the Addington Showgrounds to listen to the discussions. It was the first time in over thirty years that such a representative gathering had been held in the South Island. To act as honorary president of the conference, Dr Pohau Ellison had come from his retirement near Napier; he is now the kaumatua of the South Island and the long journey and tiring sessions had not deterred him. Apart from the committees and leagues, other Maori organisations in the South Island were repsented; there was for instance Miriama Pitama, who has for many years conducted an academy for Maori culture called Pipiwharauroa at Tuahiwi Pa, Kaiapoi. There were social functions, and both the visitors and the Christchurch Maori Youth Club had an opportunity to show their ability at the traditional dances; some performances of the double long poi particularly took the eye. On the Sunday, a religious service was conducted in which both the Methodist and the Ratana church participated very fittingly; it was just after the service that the subcommittee on Religion sat. Developing an idea brought forward during the service, Mr Te Ari Pitama spoke about the great importance that the Maori attaches to the mystic element in religion. The three fundamentals of Conference personalities: Seated, Mrs I. R. Young, secretary of the MWWL in Christchurch, Messrs A. K. Hopa, secretary-treasurer of the Canterbury tribal executive, Te Ari Pitama, member of Ngaitahu Trust Board (all of Christchurch). Standing: Messrs T. B. Bailey, J.P., Chairman of the Motueka tribal executive, R. Whaitiri, Bluff, chairman of the Awarua tribal executive, and R. Potiki, Dunedin, chairman of the Otepoti tribal executive. (Photo: George Weigel.)

Harry Jacobs (Kaiapoi) addresses meeting of South Island tribes. (Star-Sun Photo) Maori spirituality were tapu, wehi and mana, he said. He showed that they were also present in Christianity. Mr Were Couch, an elder from Rapaki, said that while guarding against superstition, the mystic element, of being ‘attuned with God’ should be retained. After a long discussion, the conference decided not to pass a remit asking for religious observance by the people, because this should be left to each individual. The discussion of this one subject alone showed how Maori the atmosphere at this South Island conference was; although English was used almost all the time, and there were few kaumatua present, the preservation of Maori land, the teaching of Maori language, music and art, took up most of the time at the conference. Like the tribal executives in the North Island, the South Island organisations tend to consist of the younger, more modern types of people but it was clear that they all deferred to the authority of their kaumatua at home who were not on the committees but whose agreement was always needed before anything was decided. Mr Whaitire, of Bluff, told the conference, our kaumatua must lead us; that is Maoritanga. The conference had been called on the suggestion of the Rapaki people. They had been told that the Maori Trustee intended to buy out uneconomic interests in a block in their settlement; it was a block where all the interests were very small and although the Rapaki people realised that a change was necessary, many were disconcerted to think that the last of their ancestral land would be alienated. It was clear to them that it would not be long before hardly anyone in the South Island owns interests worth more than £25;

rather than have these interests bought by the Maori Trustee they would like to see an incorporation manage them for the owners. Their idea was to have a controlling body of seven members to control lands and reserves in the South Island, such as the Rapaki Block, in the same way as incorporations do in many parts of the North Island. The conference took no decision, because it would be necessary to discuss so far-reaching a proposal with their people and kaumatua. Although the future of the land was the chief subject of the conference, many other topics were touched upon, from the establishing of sports fields to the protection of pigeons. The Department of Maori Affairs was asked, in conference remits, to establish a Land Court office in Christchurch and a Welfare Office in Invercargill. Help in teaching South Islanders the Maori culture was also applied for. Plans for a summer school in Maori culture in Christchurch were discussed. Delegates also planned their own efforts: community buildings in Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill and extension of the building in Bluff. A majority of delegates decided such buildings should be called maraes, not community centres. Every encouragement is to be given to recreation and sporting interests; some young people should be persuaded to go through a physical culture course so they could act as leaders. The next conference of South Island executives will be held in Invercargill next year and will include a sports tournament. The Industries and Employment sub-committee led by Thomas Bailey of Motueka thoroughly surveyed the Maori employment scene in the South Island. The main means of livelihood, they decided, were the freezing works, shearing, mutton-birding, factories (but jobs in these factories were classed as ‘semi-permanent’), the waterfront and the tobacco, hops and fruit industries. The most reliable of all these is the waterfront. Mr Bailey stressed the need for encouraging young people to take up apprenticeships and conference adopted this as a remit. This conference will have done much to stimulate Maori activities in the South Island; next year‘s function in Invercargill promises to be a lively event. It will need much preparation, not only on the sports side, but also in getting local committees to make definite decisions on outstanding points before conference starts. If an incorporation is formed this would be a source of funds needed for the cultural and community activities the South Island people want. However, nobody, neither the Rapaki delegates nor any others, seemed to be sure of sufficient support for the idea of incorporation and a body corporate administering land scattered over so wide an area will need very careful management. The Government is studying the remits asking for an extension of departmental activities in the South Island. Dr Pohau Ellison, conference president, meets Mr Wera Couch of Rapaki. (Photo: George Weigel)

The great events of the past are still preserved in Maori families by fathers telling them to their sons. In this way Tawai Kawiti was told the story of the 1845–6 wars in the North by his father, the well-known Ngati Hine chief Riri Maihi Kawiti, and he has now committed this family version of the famous war to paper. Te Ao Hou is glad to present it to its readers, for apart from its value as a story, it contains a good deal that has not been printed in the past. Riri Maihi Kawiti. (Photo: Stanhope Andrews)