Tenth Anniversary of the Arai Te Uru Maori Club

Te Ao Hou, March 1968, Page 46

Tenth Anniversary of the Arai Te Uru Maori Club No te mea ra ia, he rakau tawhito, e mau ana te taitea i waho ra, e tu te kohiwi. (In a very old tree you may be certain that the sapwood is on the outside, while the heartwood is in the middle.) Truly, the keenness and vigour of the younger members of the Arai Te Uru Maori Club is tempered by the wisdom and counsel of the elders in this, their tenth year of club life. Twenty six people attended a meeting in the Dunedin Public Library on 25 July. 1957 and thus began ten years of cultural, social and communal club life. It was known then as the ‘Aotearoa Maori Club’ although this name was later changed to the present name, the old name for the area bounded by the Waitaki and Clutha Rivers. The instigator behind the formation of the club was Mr J. W. Gray, who also became the first president. He had the backing and assistance of the O te Poti Maori Committee, which was chaired by the late Mr R. O. Potiki. Initial membership of the club was 47 but this has now risen to about 200, including children. Members come from most districts of New Zealand, from Kaeo in the north to Invercargill in the south and take part in such cultural activities as carving classes, weaving and piu piu making classes, poi, stick games and action songs and haka classes. North Island judges, after watching the action songs, etc. at the South Island Maori Cultural Competitions at Christchurch and the Southland Cultural Competitions rated them among the four best clubs in the South Island and said that they could acquit themselves well anywhere in the country. In the past year, the club has been overcommitted with social functions throughout Otago, and their activities included entertaining the South African and English women's basketball teams, participating in the Mosgiel Festival, giving a reception for the Moral Re-armament group which was in Dunedin, entertaining the Hard of Hearing, and providing part of the offcial welcome to the new Governor-General. A past president and an original committee member of the club, Mr Wi Duff gave a guide line for the future when he said, ‘Our main aim at present is to capture the hearts and imagination through Maori culture and activities and to join with our Pakeha members and friends in taking on greater responsibilities of that nature—responsibilities which, I feel, would be an asset to the whole of the New Zealanders' way of life.’ When commenting on the achievements of the club over the past decade, Mr Duff said, ‘We have established permanently, a strong, well-knit Maori community and created a new interest in Maori culture as well as establishing a body which has succeeded in raising $4,000 towards purchasing a property as a Community Centre.’ The celebrations in November took the form of an anniversary ball at the St. Kilda Town Hall, which was opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of St. Kilda, Mr and Mrs R. S. Jones. Guests at the function included Mrs W. Tirikatene-Sullivan, M.P. for Southern Maori and her husband, and the Mayor of Dunedin. Mr. R. J. Calvert and Mrs Calvert. Mr N. Maxwell gave the challenge to the guests and a group from the club performed a haka of welcome. Mrs Tirikatene-Sullivan spoke of her pleasure at being able to attend and of her desire to meet and get to know the people for whom she speaks. A capacity crowd spent a most enjoyable evening dancing and then on the Sunday, a church service and picnic was held at Otakou on the Peninsula.

Although the weather was cold for the picnic, the club president, Mr T. Parata, believes that the club has celebrated its birthday in fine fashion and is well launched into the next ten years of growing from strength to strength. Each Sunday afternoon, the club meets in the Y.M.C.A. rooms and while the adults take part in their classes or practice, guided by the Cultural director Mr R. Edwards, the children under the leadership of Miss R. Mason gain a very good grounding in the skills which they will be using in later club life. In this way, the club is looking to its future in a very practical way and this concern for the children, together with the ambitious plans for a community centre, indicate that the next ten years should be both very busy and very rewarding. The club will definitely need both the wisdom of the elders and the enthusiasm of youth.