The Old Place

Te Ao Hou, June 1963, Page 7

The Old Place This is the place where the old people lived. They caught the birds, stored them in their own rich fat, grubbed fern root, loved, mated, buried their dead in the rocks and crannies and on the high cold hill. Here came Uenuku, broke the tapu of the chief's spring, left his deed in a proverb. Here the old man hauled a totara, with his own hands hewed a ridge-pole fifty feet from the sound red heart. There by the alien pines his house stood, silver-grey in its dotage, and his church there where the six-foot fern sways brown and dusty; all vanished in the scrub fires in the years when no one cared. So I park the landrover, climb the slope, push aside the broom, hope for a sign from the past from the old dead people. But there is no more comfort here in the fierce bright silence than the rasping tut finds in black bark and the hard pine needles. Harry Dansey

? Frederick Selwyn Muru is a young Maori artist in his mid-twenties. Until recently, his work was almost unknown. Then Fred decided to submit some paintings to this year's Auckland Society of Arts exhibition. The selectors for this show exhibit only the best of the paintings sent to them. This year, they chose to exhibit only 16 out of the 140 submitted. And of this small number, six paintings were by Fred Muru! Fred's success is one more sign that in the arts, young Maoris today are not just managing to hold their own with pakehas. Very often, they are beating them at the game. Miss Lorna Bridges, who works at the New Zealand legation in San Francisco, very much wanted a piupiu. Piupius aren't easy to come by, especially expertly made ones, but in the end Mrs Rangimarie Hetet, of Te Kuiti, was commissioned by the National Publicity Department to make one for her. (Lorna herself comes from Te Kuiti also.) This photograph of Rangimarie Te Kanawa wearing her grandmother's handiwork was taken before the piupiu and bodice were posted to Lorna. The only deviation from tradition in this beautifully made costume is that the shaping of the bodice follows modern standards. Lorna is delighted to have it, and it fits her perfectly. ? Maoris and Europeans met in Tauranga recently to discuss the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the battle their forbears fought at Gate Pa, now part of the Tauranga borough, on April 29, 1964. In the battle British casualties were 31 killed and 80 wounded. The Maoris, who escaped during the night after they had exhausted their ammunition, left about 25 dead behind them. ? A concert party of thirty young Maoris recently returned from an outstandingly successful tour of Australia. Led by the Rev. Manu Bennett, the group was from St Faith's Church, Rotorua. They were returning a visit here by Australians last year. ? A block of nine flats in Christchurch has been bought for about £10,000 by the Government for young, single Maori women. The project has been jointly sponsored by the Church of England and the Maori Welfare Department. The building, on the corner of Papanui Road and Webb Street, is an old one, but of solid timber, and will be completely roughcast. The sum of £5,000 has been allocated for renovations and furnishing but they are expected to cost much less. The flats are expected to be ready for tenants very shortly. Each flat will consist of a kitchen and a large bed-sittingroom able to accommodate two or three girls. Rents will be as low as possible. One of the flats will be let to a married couple experienced in Maori social work. ? A Maori entertainment group which could prove to be one of the finest in New Zealand is likely to be formed from a party trained by Mr A. Awatere for the welcome to the Queen at the Waitangi Day celebrations. The party stayed together and helped in the funerals of the Brynderwyn bus crash victims, and at the final meeting decided that the experience gained in training for Waitangi should not be wasted. The promoters believe they could organise up to 300 performers for special occasions.