Modern Homes Where They are Needed

Te Ao Hou, December 1956, Page 32

Modern Homes Where They are Needed Ka nui nga whare kua hanga i tenei tau kua taha ake nei ki nga rohe tino Maori rawa atu i mua ake nei koore i mohio he aha tenei mea a te whare totika. Ina te korero mo aua rohe. He tewaiti o Rereatukahia. He pa tawhito a Rereatukahia kei te takiwa o Katikati. Ko tetahi korero mo Katikati no namata rano e ki ana rokohanga atu e Tamatekapua kua uru te kiore ki te pataka kai. Kaore i reka te kai ki a Tamatekapua i tona mohiotanga engari i kai katikati noa iho ia. Ko te hunga kei Katikati e noho ana i tenei ra he iwi pukumahi. Ka nga tane kei nga mira, kei nga mahi huarahi a kei te reiriwei e mahi ana. Ko nga wahine kei nga mara kai, riwai, riki, ropere a asparagus e mahi ana. Ko etahi o nga tamariki i haere ki nga taone engari kaore i roa kua hoki mai ki te kainga ki te wahi matareka ki a ratoa. I enei tau ka taha ake nei ka hokona e nga tane etahi rakau tawhito a hangaia ana he whare mo a ratou whanau ki te pa. I hangaia aua whare ki nga wahi katoa, a kaore i whakaarotia i tera wa me waiho he wahi kia watea ana hei huarahi. He pai tonu nga whare i te timatanga engari inaianei kua kanukanu a whakarihariha ana tera ki te matakitaki. Kei te mohio tonu iho te hunga noho i aua whare ki te he o ta ratou noho engari raha tonu nga whakaaro me pehea ra te rongoa. Kei te nui tonu te mahi me te moni. Inatata nei ka haere tetahi pakeha ki te whakaa-hua haere i taua pa a kitea rawatia ake e mau ana aua ahua i roto i nga nupepa. Ka hu taua hunga he nanu ki te mahi a taua pakeha a whakataua ana me hanga he patu mo to ratou pa hei arai atu i te tangata. Kaore te mate i mutu ki reira. Kua oho te Kauti Kaunihera a ka tae ki te whakahe i aua whare, me te tono ki te Tari Maori kia awhinatia taua hunga. Ehara te Tari Maori i te tauhou ki taua hunga, kua tae nga awhina ki to ratou Komiti a iwi hei View of some of the houses built by the Department of Maori Affairs at Rereatukahia Pa. Katikati. The houses in which the families lived previously are still standing.

Over the last year many new homes have been built in the most conservative settlements in the Maori world, where modern housing conditions were previously unknown. This story tells how new homes came to these settlements, improving material conditions but keeping intact the valuable traditional arts of the people. Child: Rereatakahia Pa. Rereatukahia Pa, near Katikati, is quite an ancient settlement. One story about Katikati goes back as far as the times of Tamatekapua who is said to have visited the pa one day when rats had managed to get into the pataka. It was a great misfortune, because it was impossible to hide what had happened from the illustrious visitors who only sampled his food (kaikati) and did not eat much. Those who live there today are hardworking people; the men labour in the nearby mills and for the Ministry of Works and the Railways; the women have for many years worked seasonally for the local croppers growing potatoes, onions strawherries and asparagus. Some of the younger people have tried living in the towns, but never stay away long; usually they are again after one or two months, because prefer the pa environment. Some years ago, the men bought some hand timber and other building materia built wooden houses in the pa. Following Maori way, they placed the houses irregular over the papakainga, without thought of planning of roading. These houses soon deteriorated and began to offer an unpleasant sight to visitors and tradespeople. At the same time was an atmosphere of gloom and misery because people were aware of the conditions witout knowing how they could be remedied. Pogress was everywhere around them, but they left behind. One day last year a pakeha visitor around the pa taking photographs and soon afther, to the people's horror, these photographs ed in a large newspaper of very wide tire. The people had a meeting to discuss he were going to meet this situation and the sion was; to build a fence round the whole pa, and stop all visitors from coming in. However, the matter did not end the publicity had roused the County Council condemned the existing houses and fin

Cleaning the windows of the new home. No time was wasted in making the curtains. whakahou i to ratou whare kai a i karangatia he hui i tera tau hei rapu huarahi hei rongoa i o ratou mate. Otira i te uaua o te whakatikatika i nga taitara o nga whenua tuunga whare e kore e taea te rongoa wawe aua mate. Kei te haere tonu nga hui tohutohu. Inahoki kua tae te Apiha Toko i te ora me te tangata mahi kari ki te korero ki taua hunga mo nga mahi hanga whare a whakapaipai marae hoki kua whakaaritia nga mahi kari mo nga roro whare me te whakamatakitaki hoki i nga whare kei te hang-aia e te Tari Maori mo te hunga whai whakaaro a manawanui kia whiwhi ratou Kua karangarangatia he hui ma te hunga no ratou nga whenua kei runga nga whare i tutu ana a i tae te apiha whakatopu paanga ki aua hui. I whai hua aua hui motemea he tokomaha te hunga kua takoto a ratou tono ki te Tari Maori mo nga awhina hanga whare ka nui te whakama o nga pakeke mo to ratou ingoa kinotanga mo te porohe o ratou whare a kei te pakari o ratou whakaaro kia tutuki nga awhina hanga whare a te Tari Maori. I te taenga o Te Ao Hou ki Rereatukahia kua oti te ono o nga whare tekau ma rua. I te ngaro ke nga tane ki te mahi engari ko nga wahine i te kainga e mahi taonga ana hei whakapaipai i o ratou whare hou. Kua uru nga moenga me nga Department of Maori Affairs was called in to help. New Houses are Built This department was not a stranger to the community; it had assisted the local tribal committee in renovating their dining hall, and it had called a meeting the year before to discuss the community's problems, but then it was not possible to clear up the rather confused titles in the pa area and no applications for housing loans came forward. Now further meetings were held by the welfare officer and the horticulturist to create interest in new houses and surrounds and discussions were held with members of the tribal committee and the Maori women's welfare league. Lectures were given on home gardens, and fruit trees, and photos of new houses built by the department for other Maoris nearby were shown to the people. These photos also showed the work and enterprise put into the new homes by the Maoris themselves. After these preliminaries, there was a formal meeting with the Maori land owners of the pa at which a consolidation officer, the welfare officer, and the district ‘welfare officer attended. This meeting was a great success: no less than twelve Department of Maori Affairs was called in to help. New Houses are Built This department was not a stranger to the community; it had assisted the local tribal committee in renovating their dining hall, and it had called a meeting the year before to discuss the community's problems, but then it was not possible to clear up the rather confused titles in the pa area and no applications for housing loans came forward. Now further meetings were held by the welfare officer and the horticulturist to create interest in new houses and surrounds and discussions were held with members of the tribal committee and the Maori women's welfare league. Lectures were given on home gardens, and fruit trees, and photos of new houses built by the department for other Maoris nearby were shown to the people. These photos also showed the work and enterprise put into the new homes by the Maoris themselves. After these preliminaries, there was a formal meeting with the Maori land owners of the pa at which a consolidation officer, the welfare officer, and the district ‘welfare officer attended. This meeting was a great success: no less than twelve

aha ake ki roto i aua whare ka mutu kei te toe ko te whakapai haere i nga marae he mahi kari me te aha ake. Kua tata nga mahi kai ka raru-raru nga wahine na reira taihoa ake te mahia ai nga kari. Kaore ano kia uru he tangata ki roto i aua whare noho ai motemea kaore ano kia uru noa te hiko, kia oti rano te hiko ka whakanohonoho ai te hunga no ratou nga whare kia noho pai ai aua whare kei kuka wawe i te auahi a kei paru hoki ite hinu kanara, kei te tika tera. Kei te whakahihi rawa atu taua hunga mo o ratou whare hou, he timatanga tera mo nga ahutanga pai. He nui nga mahi a iwi i kite Te Ao Hou. Ko Ripine Wharekaua to ratou kuia mohio ki te waiata a mana e whakaakoako te rangatahi. He iwi kai ngakau taua hunga ki nga taonga Maori. Ehara i te mea i whaiti nga mahi penei a te Tari Maori ki Katikati ara atu ara atu engari na nga nupepa i panui ko tenei. Ka kite te Tari Maori i te iwi e noho porohe ana ka rapa ia he rongoa. Ko te nuinga o nga mate penei na te kuare ki nga huarahi whakatikatika. Kua haere nga apiha o te Tari Maori ki te tirotiro i tana 42 rohe kei te noho he tana 4000 Maori. Kaore te Tari Maori e hopu noa ake ana ka timata ki te mahi engari matua korerorerotia ai ki te iwi Kei Ratana. kei Ngongotaha, kei Katikati hui katoa kua oti tana 36 whare a 13 nga mea kei te whakaaroaroa mo te mahi. Kei te haere tonu nga mahi whare mo te hunga kei te tono whare mo ratou i waho atu o nga mahi penei me Katikati. Ko te whai kia oti tana rua toru whare ki nga rohe he hei tauira hei whainga ma etahi. Ka oti he whare kitea tonutia ake te rangarangaihitanga mai o nga tangata mo ratou nga whare, kaore e roa kua oti he kari kua tipu he putiputi. Ahakoa he tokoiti te iwi kei te noho he engari ia ko nga mahi hei whakatikatika i o ratou makenu ara noa atu. heads of families applied to have houses built under the Maori Housing Scheme. The elders still regretted the publicity they had been given and the shame it had brought on the community, but they were ready to work with the department and happy to pay for the new houses. When Te Ao Hou visited Rereatukahia Pa, six of the twelve houses had just been completed. The men were all at work, but the women were busy making curtains. Furniture had already been bought for the new houses which looked lovely inside. Unfortunately the houses had been finished too late to lay out gardens this year, and the women were just about to return to their seasonal jobs. We noticed that the houses were not yet occupied. It was explained that the power board had not yet connected the power (although when this article is printed, no doubt this will have been done) and it would be such a pity if the new houses were spoilt by cooking over an open fire (the stoves are electric) and the children dropping candle grease over the walls. No doubt the house-wifely instinct was right and it was better to wait a few days. (concluded on page 57) This is still the only common water supply in Rereatukahia Pa. All the new homes have raintanks, but in addition the people intend to get a good supply of artesian water laid on. There are wells nearby.