KUPU WHAKAATA/Reviews

Tu Tangata, Issue 9, 1 December 1982, Page 26

KUPU WHAKAATA/Reviews

“MAORI PLANNING KIT” Published 1982 by Pauline Kingi and George Asher

Ti Hei Mauriora. Here is a book to be read by all those who have an interest in Maori land it is a timely linking of the spirit of the land with a sensitive appreciation of the operations of current land law legislation. This well presented publication is essential reading for those with obligations to the tangata whenua, legal advisors, advisors to local authorities and Planners.

The key message is that changes in the Town & Country Planning Act 1977 have been made to draw attention to the special problems of Maori land owners and that now is the time for Maori people themselves to become involved in all phases of planning.

To assist those involved in Maori land use the meaning of ancestral land and waahi tapu are discussed and a useful introduction is given to planning and other legislative procedures, including soil and water controls, historic places and reserve management. The book should be essential reading for every tu tangata group specialising in land matters.

‘MAUAO’

A Collection of Writings By Young People of Tauranga Selected and Edited by Miria Simpson 1982 Available from 6/239 Old Farm Rd, Hamilton. $5.50. A lovely cameo contribution to the Centennial Year of the City of Tauranga: thus honoured by the simple but vibrant words and thoughts of its own young, Maori and Pakeha as they record their magic experience in a cross- cultural seminar in the Ancestal House of the Judea Marae.

Miria Simpson has been ‘catapulted’ (her own word) into collecting for the pleasure and benefit of the whole extended family of New Zealand, this rich and sentimental jewel. This most sensitively chosen collection is but one of the many personal and artistic outcomes of a three day session combining students from Otumoetai, Tauranga and Mount Maunganui Colleges. Arnold Wilson, Tuhoe artist and teacher has for some years organised such ‘Cross Cultural Community Involvement Programmes’ in numerous centres of the northern North Island. Gifted and sensitive, his Department of Education sponsored work, has grown in effect and character to become a vital educational development.

‘Mauao’ is easy and beautiful; quietly sequential, it weaves a verbal fabric of simple complexity. The impressions and opinions are often shy and searching, sometimes possessed of a lively crassness but never less than excited, wondering, curious, experiencing and

above all, fresh and honest. As a multi-cultural beginning for many; a consolidation of something nearly lost for others, and perhaps most importantly, a recognition and acceptance of the Maori culture, the ‘Kawa’ of the local marae, this little book is something promising, something firmly beckoning to all New Zealanders. ‘Much have we learnt these past three days Legends of time past, Skilled arts and traditional craft, Life on the Marae, Nights in the Wharenui, A Huria visit is something to remember The warmth cannot be forgotten.’ ‘The sadness is a still cloud over all of us. The people who came as guests have gone in silence friends for the future.’

Those fortunate enough to acquire access to ‘Mauao’ will be rewarded and warmed by the sensitive ability of our young. There are contained in its covers the genuine seeds of personal and individual growth, and greater, the prospects of a multi-cultural wealth and harmony vital to all of us in Aotearoa. Noel Scott Community Liaison Officer Waiariki Community College ROTORUA 31.8.82