Hangi at Waitangi. Ovens are being opened. ing the days of sail. Treacherous on-shore winds and strong currents have brought many a fine ship to her doom, and, even today, with modern steamers, the waters around the group are regarded with respect. The convergence of two great ocean currents—one, warm from the tropics, and the other, cold from the Southern Pole—is responsible for a rigorous climate. The prevailing wind is the south-west, bringing cold, showery weather and, during the winter months, hail and sleet. Fogs are frequent. There is, however, a reasonable balance of sunshine. It will be news to many that the annual rainfall is less than that of Wellington. Rainfall is evenly distributed over the year, and averages between 30 and 40 inches. Frosts are a rarity, but the southerly gales place many an icy finger across the land. The lack of natural shelter allows the gale to sweep across the flat island without hindrance. Destruction of the native bush has been so extensive that only a few isolated acres remain, causing a shortage in firewood, and timber for fencing posts. The need for a conservation programme is apparent, and plantations of imported trees would do much to stop the retarding effect of the cold, salt-laden winds. Behind such shelter native growth could revive, and evidence of this can already be seen on Weisner's station at Kaingaroa. Mr Weisner is a conservation-conscious farmer, and has shown what can be done with the right treatment. Behind a thick belt of macrocarpa, native plant life is regenerating, and a banana-passion-fruit vine, covering a wide area and reaching to a height of twenty feet, has in season a good crop of well-formed fruit. Lemon trees flourish in the large garden. On the Henga Station, too, conservation has returned valuable results. Managed by the Lanouze family, the Henga farm is an example of what can be done with careful fencing to safeguard the coastal bush from damage by stock. Also on this farm one can see a young pinus nursery thriving. The Chatham Islanders are a race of their own. Some can claim descent from the Moriori, some from the Maori, some from the original German missionaries, and even from Spanish whalers, but, today, they have become a new race with a pleasing accent to their speech, not altogether Maori, but typically local. They are a friendly and hospitable folk, but at the same time, they are reserved towards strangers, particularly towards those from the ‘mainland’. Visitors in the past have not helped to break down this reserve, being only too willing to criticise and ridicule. After an initial coolness, however, they soon become friendly and co-operative, willing to listen to any helpful suggestions that might improve their environment. In a small community such as this, it is inevitable that intermarriage should be common. Family names are, as a result, few, and almost without exception date back to the earliest arrivals. The Tuuta and Tuanui families have ties with the early Maori landings, while the Seymours and the Wischarts claim the German missionaries as their ancestors. Social life is much the same as that which exists in any back country district in New Zealand. Five years ago, before the roads were formed, transport was difficult and visits to the only centre of activity. Waitangi, were necessarily few and far between, but with the coming of the roads, life for the Chatham Islander became at once more varied and interesting. High prices for their wool coincided with the improvements, and the islanders welcomed civilisation with open arms. Frequent organised gatherings are held, and local enterprise