COMING TO AUCKLAND IMPRESSIONS OF A MAORI STUDENT

Te Ao Hou, June 1959, Page 36

Nancy Koti (from Te Kuiti) and Mina Williams (from Ahimia, Coromandel) are typical of the young Maori people who come to Auckland at the rate of about eight hundred a year, in search of social and economic independence. In the city, there are still few widely-supported activities that would offer these girls an atmosphere close to home. COMING TO AUCKLAND IMPRESSIONS OF A MAORI STUDENT by TOBY RIKIHANA Auckland, largest city in New Zealand, now has the greatest concentration of Maoris in the country, with approximately 12,000 Maoris in a metropolis of 400,000. This Maori population has never been a static one, for many come to the city for brief stays only. Of recent years the migration citywards has been increasing steadily, the majority being in the younger brackets from 18 years to 25 years. The predominant tribes, other than the local Ngati Whatua, are from north of the city, that is, Aupouri, Ngapuhi and Rarawa. Then there are those who have affiliations with tribes along the Waikato down to the East Coast. The reasons for the movement towards the city are many, but the main reason is an economic one. The security of home, relatives, chiefly authority and land are not now sufficient to keep the young people in the country settlements. Many land holdings have now become uneconomical, through sale and continual sub-division, hence the departure of the many to the city. Opportunities for work other than farming are not good in many of the settlements. That the Maori is only fitted for the role of “tiller of the soil” does not apply any more to the vast majority of young people. The catch phrase nowadays is “social and economic independence.”

These four students have found a comfortable niche in Auckland, although they will probably leave again once they have finished their degrees. Two of them (Turoa Royal, far left, and Toby Rikihana, seated) have written articles for this issue. The house in Parnell where the photograph was taken is occupied by five students and has become one of the centres of Maori student life in Auckland. Second from left is Mr Pat Hohepa, who is a part-time lecturer at the Department of Anthropology. The presence of these senior successful students in Auckland does much to guide the younger ones who have just arrived in the city. Some of the people have built permanent houses in and around the city, but to the majority Auckland is but a temporary home. We have our university, training college student and secondary school students, apprentices who come to Auckland to prepare for their future vocations. To many of these young men and women the vocational and educational training thus received, is for use when they return eventually to their home districts. I know of a few people who have come because they have been attracted to the bright lights, but they have always returned to their homes. Auckland also has its drifters, the individuals who drift from job to job, who only live from day to day. These people appear to me to have no set purpose in life, other than to receive solely the essential wants of life such as food and shelter. It would be wrong to deride the army of labourers who have migrated into Auckland, for like all other professions labouring has its place in our society. Labouring provides the only means of livelihood for many people. However, youths of high ability who make up a large percentage of this labour force, and it is those I am concerned about. The influx of students into university is most encouraging. Bill Tawhai, a foundation member of the University Maori Club, said that in 1953 there were only five other students with him and that the club came into being with the help of pakeha membership. There are now about 50 students both part-time and full-time at university. A headmaster of a prominent Maori secondary school has said that there are possibly 8–10 boys going to university from his school next year. More parents are taking advantage of the educational and vocational opportunities offered

by this country for their children. Social life of the students both at university and at training college is well catered for. There has always been an even balance between book-work and social activities. The Maori clubs of the two institutions are particularly strong and progressive. Des Seymour, president of Auckland Training College Maori Club, and Turoa Royal, club captain of the University Maori Club, are the leading lights in the clubs. As both clubs are composed of members from the various tribes throughout the country, the result is that cultural knowledge taught and discussed during club evenings has greatly enriched the members. I regret that no such club exists at the community centre. In fact the centre seems to help only a small minority except for the Sunday night functions which are still well attended. Other dance halls seem to have attracted people away. I think something will have to be done to draw the crowds back to the centre. Maori club activities in the Mormon Church are, however, very evident in the city. There is now a tendency for many young Maori teachers to teach in board schools around the city rather than in the country where the majority of Maori children are located. Some will eventually return to their country communities, but there are others and their numbers are growing, who prefer to teach in board schools, i.e., where pakeha children are in the majority. Whether it is to go to the university or because of the opportunities in board schools, or At the Auckland Teachers' College, the Maoris only form a minority of less than sixty out of 1025 students. However, they have conquered four out of twelve positions in the students' executive. Maori activities at the college are given a firm lead by Mr H. Lambert (centre of picture), who was appointed lecturer last yar, to train teachers for the specific needs of Maori school children. Here, from left to right, are some Maori leaders of the teachers' college: Hannah Tatana (women's president of college, from Taupo); Bill Whiu (men's president of the Maori Club, from Kaikohe); Beatrice Grant (inspiring leader of action songs, and women's president of the Maori Club, from Mourea, Rotorua); Mr H. Lambert; Des Seymour (president of the Maori Club, from Taupo); Joe Naden (men's president of college, from Tokomaru Bay); Noreen Ranglihu (executive member of the Maori Club, from Hastings); and Michael Brown (president of college, from Auckland).

Mr John Waititi, B.A., is a considerable influence on the younger Maoris of Auckland today. He teaches Maori language and culture at Ardmore Training College, at St Stephen's and Queen Victoria colleges, and at the Auckland Girls' Grammar School. He comperes many shows at the Auckland Community Centre mixing freely with the young people there. He is president of a university study circle dealing with anthropology and Maori studies. He was chairman of the Ruia Morrison appeal. His birthplace is Cape Runaway, on the East Coast. whether they just prefer to stay in the town I do not know, but there is no doubt of their preference for these schools. It is a good thing for young Maori teachers to teach in board schools for a period anyway, for only in this way could there be any balanced attitude to the two distinct cultures. A marked characteristic of many Auckland students is their inability to express themselves in their own language. Their own home environments and the greater emphasis on western education are probably contributory causes. Something will have to be done to arrest this deterioration of language and culture. Nevertheless, the city migrant maintains strong links with his kinsfolk in the country. Every Maori makes his way home at some time or other, even after intervals of twenty or thirty years. This desire to go home to a tangi or to any other family crisis persists in spite of criticism by employers of some Maori workers. Many people deserve special mention for their efforts in generally helping the adjustment of the Maori to city life, and in helping in the preservation of maoritanga. I can mention only a few and the first name that comes to mind is that of John Waititi. Whenever youth groups or Maori clubs require advice of a kaumatua it is to John they go. Whether it be a person to arrange a concert to aid Ruia Morrison's overseas tour, or a teacher required urgently to teach Maori its always to John that the task goes. We could do with a few more Johns. Another person who comes to mind is Dr Biggs, lecturer in Maori at Auckland University. Though I cannot agree with some of his ideas on the teaching of the Maori language, I still think that he and his colleague, Pat Hohepa, B.A., are doing a grand job in giving the language its rightful academic status. To Mr Lambert, lecturer in Maori studies at the Training College, goes some credit for bringing about better Maori-pakeha relations. To the four above persons, “Kia ora koutou ino ta koutou ngakau nui ki enei a o tatou taonga.” Many Maoris when asked by people about what the Maori is achieving to-day will often refer to the past and talk about the great men who lived then. These Maoris appear quite content to leave it at that. True, we have had giants in the various social, cultural and political field of the country but let us not hide behind the deeds of the past when we consider the present. Yes, let us look back with pride on the achievements of these men, but let us also treat these achievements as stepping stones for the present and future youth to do other things of benefit to themselves, their race and their country. We must concern ourselves with the present and with the future. We should not only look to the future, we must move into the future. Perhaps from the youthful migrants to a city such as Auckland we may yet find a small band of people who will one day hold the reins of life of this country in their hands. In conclusion, “Kai a tatau e te rangatahi te ao te Huarahi; ma te matauranga, ma te kaha, ma te u, te totika o te haere ka puta ai te wairoa ki te Maori, ki te pakeha.”