THE MAORI IN AUCKLAND

Te Ao Hou, June 1959, Page 1

THE MAORI IN AUCKLAND We have devoted the greater part of this issue to one subject of very wide interest, the Maori in Auckland. As we prepared the issue, we were impressed by the variety of the panorama. All the tribes are there, all the religions, wealth and poverty, brilliance and dullness, determination and indolence. Many Maori people have found life in Auckland wider, more stimulating, fuller of satisfaction than the villages they left behind; others did not find the fulfilment of their hopes. By and large those who go to Auckland do better than they would at home. Certainly they like to visit their own villages again from time to time and if there is the prospect of a farm or a good job, many still prefer the country. But as a rule, the laws of economics leave them little choice. In Auckland the new arrival is eager to mix with Europeans, and to forget the ways of home which are so much slower and more conservative. Gradually, the links with the European community become stronger while at the same time the Maori seeks out his own people and supports a variety of Maori organizations active in the city. This is beneficial because these Maori organizations are a substitute for home, providing the same sort of satisfactions and discipline. Adjustment to the city depends on two important material factors: employment and housing. Fortunately there has been little difficulty in the past for Maoris to find jobs in Auckland and quite a number are in responsible and worthwhile positions. Our present effort should be to increase the proportion who take up skilled jobs, as these provide the security and stability the Maori migrant needs most of all. Housing is a constant problem, with some eight hundred new migrants arriving every year. Some wisely stay in a country job until they have financed a home in Auckland, but too many have to accept expensive and inferior housing when they arrive. While the government is making a considerable contribution, it is unable to solve the whole problem singlehanded. The emerging picture is on the whole bright and challenging. Some of the articles in this issue are by Maori authors who are leaders in their own sphere of life; others are by Maori students. They show that leadership of a high calibre has been built up and that there is no dearth of intelligence, intuition and preparedness to act. The things that are being done are along the right lines. There is constant progress, and many of the achievements described in this issue date back only a very short time. Let us hope these articles give rise to plenty of discussion and to further progress.