PUTTING ON NEW PERSONALITIES

Te Ao Hou, June 1961, Page 49

PUTTING ON NEW PERSONALITIES This must be one of the rare times that he is rewarded with some enjoyment out of his work, I think, as he is called away by one of the Duty Officers. Around me the hustle and bustle of preparations go on, as artists prepare for acts with costumes and props made by the inmates themselves. Hill Billy outfits, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Nigger Minstrels, Comedy Scenes, Maori Haka Party, which included poi dances, action songs, and stick games. A Pacific Island group, complete with leis, lava-lava's and a hula dancer in coloured skirt and long black hair, singing genuine Tahitian songs, with vocalists who catered for the tastes of young and old. We kept the crowd of 700 pleased and happy for 3 ½ hours in a bright and breezy nonstop variety show. Much of that credit must go to the Superintendent, our Chief Officer, and all the other officers, for all the assistance and help given us during our practice periods. For all this entails extra labour for them. This Variety Show was held in Taumarunui last year in aid of funds for the Taumarunui Police Boys' Club, and raised £110 towards their building fund. I and the rest of the concert party were more than glad of this opportunity to be of some help towards such a worthwhile cause. Taumarunui is about 30 miles from Waikune. And that night as we climbed into the bus which was to take us there, everybody was in a good mood. The atmosphere was a gay one. As soon as the bus pulled away, out came the odd guitar or two, and in a little while, nearly everyone was singing. Glad to be away from Waikune for a change. Some of the chaps had changed into their civilian clothes, and seemed to put on new personalities, while others like myself wore what we call leisure blues, blue trousers, grey shirts, and long sleeved jerseys, black socks and shoes. As the miles sped by, we were no longer prison inmates, but a group of happy males on a bus excursion. Gone are the worries and little incidents that crop up, whenever a show is planned. Here it is harder still for the producer. For men come and go, and it is not always so easy to find replacements, which, more often than not, means changing a whole act. A shout of rowdiness, and choruses of “Let's stop,

and get a couple of crates,” come all at once, as I catch a glimpse of a hotel. “What's this place?” “Owhango.” “Not much further to go now, mate,” says a friend. “Look, that's where the Maori Youth Club meets,” says another as we pass a meeting house on a well lit marae. These are just some of the incidents that helped to make our trip real. We were given a splendid supper by the police and members of the Boys' Club. One of the local Maori clergyman, addressed the Maori members on how pleased he was to see us, and how much he had enjoyed the shows, but I could not help wishing that it had been a Maori organization to sponsor this concert.