TE AO HOU THE NEW WORLD published for the maori purposes fund board by the maori affairs department NO. 2 SPRING 1952 The public has been very kind to the first issue of Te Ao Hou. Some people have been critical in a friendly way, and what they have said has been most valuable. We have added a woman's section this issue, but the introduction of popular features takes a lot of time. Next issue there will be more popular features. We are slowly visiting the various tribes and getting stories from them, but those not yet dealt with should not think they are forgotten. Subscription copies will in future be sent promptly. Contributions from readers are coming along very nicely. What about the lighter topics—sports, socials, weddings and so on? Stories, and especially photographs, will be most welcome. The last three months have not been uneventful in the Maori world. The great Apirana Ngata Memorial hui has been reported here in detail; on this very solemn occasion all thoughts turned to the past. Memories were also revived at the announcement of the abolition of the Maori Land Boards. In Auckland, meanwhile, the Maori of the future is trying to find his way. The women of the Welfare League carried out a large-scale fact-finding survey of Maori housing, showing great vigour in a crucial cause. Nobody knows what the outcome will be. One certainty is that people who show such vigour are far from being lost or getting swamped in their difficulties. Does the Auckland Maori always get enough credit? Do people reflect often enough how difficult life must be for homeless young people coming from primitive country conditions unprepared, coming simply because they need work? Do people reflect how little there is for such young people to turn to, in spite of the social work which has been so successful, and how little the behaviour of the great bulk of them is really, seriously, worth panicking about? There is, incidentally, no evidence of these people losing their Maori culture and identity. A very interesting editorial in the New Zealand Herald said recently that the Maori language is in for a real revival. From the comments on the Maori section in Te Ao Hou No. 1 we quite believe it. We have increased it this time. Various other Maori-language books are appearing or are being prepared. More Maori is being taught than ever before. Most important of all, there are signs that the young people are more interested in their language.