Mervyn McLean's Study of Maori Music

Te Ao Hou, December 1965, Page 4

and the old people. I look forward to the day when I tune in to my favourite station and hear the announcer say, ‘Kei te whakarongo koe i nga Pitara e waiata ana i te waiata nei, “A Hard Day's Night”.' LLEWELLYN RICHARDS (Te Kaha) Mervyn McLean's Study of Maori Music The Editor, Te Ao Hou. I feel deeply touched at the letters which have appeared on the above subject and I am profoundly grateful to the writers. I think that I should explain to them why I have acted as I have done. Many people, perhaps even most, will believe as these writers do, that to accept payment for my transcriptions and articles would be no more than fair return for the work have put into them. I am quite sure however that others would say, ‘There you are; just as I thought; he's making money out of our songs.’ Most of us know that this sort of thinking is wrong, but mistaken or not it was, without any doubt at all, the greatest single barrier encountered by me when I began recording Maori songs. Again and again the question was raised and always I gave the unqualified assurance that I would not ‘sell the songs for money’. Nearly all of the singers accepted this and recorded their songs; and posterity will be grateful to them for doing so. I know quite well that payment for the transcriptions would be payment for my own work and not for the songs themselves. But some of the people whose songs I have recorded, and many others whose songs I would like to record, would not see it this way. My own very strong conviction is that mistaken' as these people may be, I must respect their wishes. I believe also that many things in life are more important than money and for me personally it will mean much more to be able to carry on with the work of preserving and studying Maori music, than to accept a few pounds now that might create difficulties later. So to Amy Hill, Hirona Wikiriwhi, Tahi Tait and other well-wishers who may feel as they do. I extend my warmest thanks for their efforts and the hope that they will see now that I could not act otherwise. MERVYN McLEAN (Invercargill)

David Merito of Whakatane, a second year student at the School of Physical Education, University of Otago, has been elected president of the Physical Education Students' Society for the coming year. Another Maori, Logan Berghan of Ahipara, was elected as the representative of the third year students on the group's executive. Two other Maoris are at present attending the School of Physical Education. They are Lewis Maxwell of Auckland, formerly head prefect at St Stephens College, and Douglas Pye of Otorohanga. There are four others who have already completed the course and gained their diplomas in physical education. They are Leslie Williams, a teacher at Avondale College; Rarawa Kohere, a teacher at Mana College; May Paki, a teacher at Queen Victoria School, and Warren Riwai, who is at present studying at Christchurch Teachers' College. Eighteen-year-old Haare Mete of Kaitaia was a member of a women's gymnastics team which recently visited Vienna to take part in an international gymnastic festival. One of the team's items made use of poi. with Haare leading the group. As a result of a new law passed in 1963, the annual number of legal adoptions of Maori children has dropped to a little over a quarter of the previous figure. The law, which was passed to wipe out a legal distinction between Maori and Pakeha, rules that Maori child adoptions must be handled in the Magistrates Court instead of the Maori Land Court. Though some improvement in the number of adoption cases being handled is now being noticed, the figures are still disturbingly low.