The Tairawhiti Association

Te Ao Hou, 1970, Page 52

The Tairawhiti Association by Whai Ngata A move which seemed ambitious at first — the revival of the Tairawhiti Association — has been described a success even though some who attended the inaugural meeting held in Auckland seemed a bit sceptical of the Association's objects and the organizers' purpose in calling the meeting. The most laudable motive in reviving the Association — which has been inactive for about five years — is the forming of another avenue of aid for Maoris coming into the city, and although its name suggests that this aid would go only to those with a Tairawhiti background, it hopes to help any Maori, irrespective of his tribal background. For a start, however, it will experiment with people from the Tairawhiti — Arawa around to Ngati Kahungunu — ‘to see if it works’. There are young Maori men and women with professional qualifications who are willing to give their time and energy to helping strangers to the city, mainly by giving advice on how to get decent accommodation. These include a lawyer, an accountant, school teachers, a training officer for a large industrial concern and others who genuinely feel that more can be done to help the Maori who comes into the city without having made arrangements for either accommodation or employment. By doing this they hope to cut the crime rate among the Maori — maybe by very little, or not at all — but it is a positive approach and it is being made by young people with an earnest desire to identify themselves with their race and their city. The Association also wants to foster the feeling of kinship among its members and to contribute to the keeping alive of some aspects of Maori culture, not only in song and haka, but also language. In the latter, it is not some far-fetched dream of making everyone lucid. Next year, classes in Maori will begin for the children of members. At the first meeting — which was held to get the reaction of the Tairawhiti people in Auckland to the revival of the movement — about 50 people joined the Association. Mr J. Naden, a training officer with Alex Harvey Ltd., said the industries were looking for Maoris, and some firms wanted to know why there were no Maoris among their skilled workers. ‘We can do a lot to help Maoris to get decent jobs,’ he said, ‘but first they have to want to help themselves.’ He said the Association could be invaluable in guiding those people from the country towards taking proper employment in the city. Members can benefit from the special skills and knowledge of others in the Association. With the extensive range found here it should prove beneficial to a lot of people in Auckland. The movement would have been active now had it not been for the untimely death of Hoani Waititi. Koro Dewes, another driving force, moved to Wellington, and Mr Gerry Hauiti went abroad. Without these men it just lapsed into in-activity almost five years ago. Although the officers and the committee of the Tairawhiti Association are of the younger age bracket, the advice of the Auckland kaumatua will be sought on occasion. Besides being a help to those lost in the strangeness of the ever spreading city it will provide a forum for those who just want to meet others with a common background and speak their own language. For some, this will be one of the few opportunities to do so.