European tour by Waikato Cultural Group

Tu Tangata, Issue 26, 1 October 1985, Page 47

European tour by Waikato Cultural Group

The Maori Queen and nearly 40 members of the Waikato Culture Group have been on a tour of Europe performing Maori action songs and traditional dances at a series of cultural festivals.

The first week of the Waikato group's trip was spent in London where on August 6 guests at an official reception at New Zealand House in the Haymarket had a preview of their festival items.

Those attending the reception included members of the London Maori Club and London-based diplomats.

The following day the Maori Queen and her group flew to Brussels for their first performance. From there they went to France, Sweden, Denmark and Austria before returning home via Hawaii on September 13.

The leader and cultural director of the party was the Queen's second daughter Tomairangi Paki Te Anga, who has travelled extensively overseas on cultural visits. Her most recent involvement was in the formal opening of the Te Maori Exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum last year.

Other members of the group have also travelled and performed widely. They included Piripi Munro who coaches pupils in Maori culture at Auckland's Hato Petera Maori College in addition to his duties as a cabin crew member for Air New Zealand. He was the group's master of ceremonies.