He Waka Harakeke (A TOY CANOE) In the old world of the Maori, the young boys, in their seasonal games, always played with toy flax canoes. They took great pains in the construction of them, keeping in mind two main essentials—balance and speed. After selecting an area of calm water in a lagoon, mud pool or river, the boys would line their toy craft at a pre-arranged starting point, and at a given signal the canoes were released. The breeze would catch the sails. Tiny ripples would appear behind the flax craft. Away they would go, sailing as gracefully as a China Clipper, or precariously wending their courses to the winning line. How anxious and excited the boys would be, we can all well imagine! And how would you boys of Te Ao Hou manage to build one! You can manage very easily, and I am sure you can display the same keenness and skill that your fathers, grand-fathers and great grand-fathers displayed in their days. You can be equally proud of your achievements. There is a joy for all human beings who build or create something, and, more so, when the creation works! Let us then begin. FIG.1 FIG.2

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION 1 Get two complete blades of flax, one a young shoot called a RITO, and the other a more mature blade. Cut the rito to the shape shown in Figure 1, using the butt end for the back or stern of the canoe. The whole piece when cut should be about 10 inches long. The front end, or bow, should be rounded, as illustrated. You now have a piece with the stern closed and the bow opened. 2 As illustrated in Figure 2, press the two sides of the bow end together, and then cut grooves at regular intervals of ¼in. The cut should be no more than ¼in. deep. The last cut should be at the bottom, where the midrib naturally joins the two sides together. 3 Strip off a very thin strip (⅛in.) from another blade, and with this sew the bow ends together with a running stitch as shown in Figure 2. The loose ends can be folded around the next stitch and then cut off.