The kitchen in Mrs Ihaka's home, Mount Albert, Auckland. (photo: clifton firth). HOMES FOR THE MAORI PEOPLE A detail from a beautiful home built privately by Mrs Heather, Taukau. This cupboard design shows an excellent and unusual way of saving space in kitchens. (photo: john ashton).

WHEN the war ended a Maori family with a modern home was an exception. That is no longer so though many houses are still required. Statistics do not tell us just how many homes have been built for Maoris over the last generation, but we know that the government has built 4,259 since 1929, and most of them after the war. This is likely to be by far the biggest proportion and the total number of Maori homes built since 1929 would be between 5,000 and 6,000. To many Maori women, at least one out of every four, this has meant a complete change in daily life and outlook. Moving into a modern home means that altogether new standards can be set for family health, children's education, and the practising of homecraft in the true sense of the term. These are circumstances in which an organization such as the Maori Women's Welfare League, whose activities are centred on the home, can be expected to flourish. The flow of new houses began in 1929 with the establishment of the Maori Land Development Schemes. Those who were settled on the land had houses built for them if needed.