TE AO HOU THE NEW WORLD

Te Ao Hou, December 1959, Page 1

TE AO HOU THE NEW WORLD PUBLISHED QUARTERLY FOR THE MAORI PURPOSES FUND BOARD BY THE DEPARTMENT OF MAORI AFFAIRS No. 29 Vol. 8 (No. 1) EVENTFUL YEAR This has been a good year of steady progress for the Maori people. So we shall be content in this editorial to look back on some of the highlights and wish our readers a happy Christmas and New Year. The year opened with the appointment of Colonel Bennett as High Commissioner in Malaya; the idea of a Maori representing New Zealand abroad gave great satisfaction to other Maoris because it demonstrated that the two races in New Zealand form an equal partnership. In the same year, a number of other Maoris achieved prominence in various fields: in sport, Maoris came to the top in tennis, golf, boxing weight lifting and wrestling. In medicine the first Maori surgeon graduated in Edinburgh; in the world of entertainment, previously unknown Maori artists had notable successes in the television field in various countries, the latest news being that Hira Tauwhare was given the lead in a full-length television play produced by the B.B.C. There were a number of thrilling events in Maori community life: the opening of the Tapeka meeting house which brought about a remarkable revival of tribal life among Ngati Tuwharetoa; the decision of the Maori Women's Welfare League to break out as an independent organization; and above all the Young Maori Leaders Conference in Auckland, which showed the remarkable calibre of the developing Maori leadership. For the survival of Maori culture, this was also an important year, as it saw the setting up of a Government-backed committee to promote the teaching of the Maori language, and the beginning of organized efforts to put the teaching of Maori arts and crafts on a proper professional basis. Although these new developments seem limited now, their effect in times to come may be quite far reaching. I have left to the last a very pleasurable piece of news that directly affects this magazine. It is that the Katherine Mansfield Memorial Award for the best short article published by a New Zealander over the last two years was given to a Maori writer, Mrs Arapera Blank, for her essay entitled ‘Ko Taku Kumara Hei Wai-U Mo Tama, published in Te Ao Hou in October 1958. This is a remarkable achievement for any writer as a very large number of New Zealand authors, including many prominent names, entered the competition. It means that a young Maori has now won considerable distinction in the difficult new field of English literature. Let us hope this award will spur our contributors to even greater efforts over the coming year.