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Te Ao Hou, December 1962, Page 57

The Minister of Transport, Mr McAlpine, says that he is concerned at the number of Maoris killed on the roads each year. ‘Last year 64 were killed, nearly three times the rate of Europeans on a percentage basis. ‘That is the known number. With European names so common among Maoris, accidents involving Maoris are not necessarily reported to us as such. It's a pretty frightening picture.’ The Maori usually was a skilful driver, as he had proved during the war and as drivers of bulldozers. But let loose on the highway he was in many cases a menace to himself and others. He was too happy-go-lucky and seemed to drive a little more dangerously than other people. Auckland has now a metropolitan Maori choir. The Maori Community Centre Trust Board has formed a choral group, the members of which are people with any degree of Maori ancestry. The move is intended to give Maoris in the city an opportunity to engage in choral activities and to make a contribution to the cultural life of Auckland. ‘Our young people have proved themselves in the light entertainment field, and we feel they can make just as valuable a contribution in the choral field,’ said Mr Kelly Harris, the choirmaster and conductor of the choir. The trust board has insisted that the choir must not confine its singing to Maori music.