Pouto

Te Ao Hou, June 1975, Page 27

Pouto This is a small district 40 miles south of Dargaville. The tribe that lived here before the farmers came was Ngati Whatua, and they are still the main tribe here. Mr T. Pomare and his wife can tell interesting stories of how they used to come over from Helensville for fishing, eeling, and birds. Old pa sites can be seen around Pouto, in the pa site above the old Pouto school, a skull was found, and the part that interested the finders was that the teeth of the skull were in beautiful condition, with not a hole in them. Our old Maori could give us a few lessons on diet and dental care! The Pouto marae is used for tangis, and any hui that the locals wish to use it for. The marae is beautiful and is situated so that it overlooks the sea with a mast and anchor of a sunken ship as its focal point. As the area is sparsely populated, everyone helps with everything they can, and it is an especially close-knit community, so it is little wonder that you find Pakehas as members of the Maori Women's Welfare League, and the vice-president, Mrs L. Gee, is a Pakeha. The president, Mrs E. Nathan, and her secretary, Mrs G. Tana, have a full year ahead of them, starting with the conference in July and other fund-raising efforts during the year. The Pouto school has a roll of approximately 70 pupils, and Maori is taught to all the older pupils. The Maori teacher, Mrs G. Tana, is also teaching the local Pakehas to speak Maori, and some of the old Maoris come along to learn too. For Saturday sports the children go by private car, or once a fortnight on the school bus when it is serviced on a Saturday. The pupils who go on to secondary school have to board away from home as the distance is too great for them to travel home each night. Everything about Pouto is beautiful—the climate, the fishing, and the people. The only fault we can find with the place is the distance we have to travel to shop (and even this is hardly worth mentioning as we have a daily delivery), and of course the fact that our children must board out once they reach secondary school. a few words on her home area by…Mrs J. Kawiti