that time. The school at Rotorua not only revived the practice of building carved houses, but also built them up to a high standard. Carving came into its own again, but that was not all. Modern European methods were now first applied to Maori community buildings. Walls were made higher, ventilation was improved, steel and concrete were used for the structure. Marae buildings became permanent instead of temporary. One of the first big projects of the Rotorua school artists was Te Poho o Rawiri, at Gisborne, and later followed the Pomare and Carroll memorial houses, Waitangi, Te Kaha and many others. Te Arawa also continued its tradition of building fine houses. Most, but not all of these houses received Government subsidies of some sort. Since the Maori Social and Economic Advancement Act was passed in 1945, a subsidy of pound for pound became a regular facility. At this time the main wave of carved meeting-houses was once again past, but one major meeting-house renovated under the Act was the Whakato House at Manutuke.

MARAE IN MODERN DRESS ‘A reasonably equipped marae,’ said Sir Apirana at Raukawa Pa, ‘must necessarily include the assembly place as the central feature, and also provide up-to-date amenities such as dining-place, sanitary conveniences and water supply. There must also be some beautification, as that is an important psychological factor. Sports grounds for the youth of the race must also be provided.’ These ideas are of course not traditional, but modern. They are a proof that the Maori is not content to follow the past but has adapted useful pakeha ideas freely in his own tribal life. The building of dining-halls started late last century, but the first ones were earthen-floored affairs, without any ornamentation, intended just to keep the weather out. The Lady Arihia Ngata Memorial Hall, at Waiomatatini, was the first ornamental dining-hall. It was washed away when the Waiomatatini Creek flooded. Many more were built all over the country; the dining-hall became the social hall for dances and every sort of informal gathering. The meeting-house is now mainly a ceremonial and a sleeping hall. The dining-hall gets over the problem of tapu. In many meeting-houses dances and suchlike functions are still not held for fear of violating tapu. The dining-hall is now the most indispensable building of a marae. Many smaller communities now tend to build their dining-halls before they have meeting-houses. This is an interesting new development. The Maori Social and Economic Advancement Act has given a tremendous impetus to the building of dining-halls. Many dozens of such halls have been subsidised and built during the last few years, and Maori community life has been given a great new stimulus in this way. Turangawaewae marae (Ngaruawahia), was the first properly laid out marae on a big scale, followed shortly after by Poho o Rawiri (Gisborne). On such maraes one finds lawns, shrubbery, sports fields, tennis courts and so on. Sanitary facilities are also essential; these had come to many maraes before this time: it had been one of the functions of the Maori councils to have these installed. Whenever new buildings are put up nowadays, the Health Department requires proper sanitary facilities.

ASSISTANCE BY THE GOVERNMENT Since the Act was passed in 1945 over £100,000 has been paid out in subsidies. In the years 1949 and 1950, especially, the applications came in hard and fast, and many projects were started. There is a slight lull now, which is natural after so much activity. The projects were mostly marae buildings—either new work or renovations—but many other marae improvements were also carried out. Sports grounds are a common item. The Ngati Manawa, Koriniti and Peninsula Committees, amongst others, asked for substantial grants to improve their water supplies. Maori arts and crafts work features sometimes in the subsidies, but far more rarely than one would imagine. The emphasis seems to lie on utility most of the time. The subsidies under the Act are different in nature from those paid to pakeha local bodies. The great difference is that the Act permits subsidies on revenue earned by committees and executives, whereas a pakeha local body has to apply for subsidies on total projects. This does not mean, of course, that subsidies can be paid for projects of which the government does not know and approve. If that were so, the pakeha local bodies would have something to complain about.

PROGRESS BY STAGES One of the great differences between pakeha and Maori local body work lies in the way it is done. A county or borough lets a contract for a job, and gets it done all at once. A tribal executive or committee, calls on everybody to help in the work; materials are bought, and the work proceeds as men and materials become available. It is a slower method, but a very much cheaper one. If one sees the fine community buildings in sometimes quite small Maori communities one must reflect that such (Continued on page 56)