A Christmas present was given to every child at the Christmas party organized by the Onehunga tribal committee. (Photo: Hill-Thomas.) This is a formidable task indeed; it is a task in some ways far more difficult than that imposed on European local government. After all everybody knows what has to be done to maintain a road, but maintaining social wellbeing, pride of race or Maori arts and crafts—how does one go about that? It says a great deal for the tribal committees that they have often been able to give working answers to such perplexing questions. At One-hunga-Mangere, as in so many other places, the tribal committee has been preoccupied from the start with the need for tribal—or community—centres. As Ngata said, until these are provided, the community will not seriously take up other problems. There had been talk of a community centre for the district as long as 25 years ago. However, the formation of the tribal committee brought a new approach to this problem. Consisting mainly of young men with a high-school and town background, the committee decided, in the words of Mr Opai to use their pakeha education in the problem of building a maree. The committee organised sports, particularly competitive football. After two years, it was on a sound financial footing and in addition had made substantial donations to every local, national and even international appeal held during the period. Among the causes helped by the committee were the Onehunga Plunket Society Building Fund, the Dominion Appeal for the Blind, the United Nations Childrens' Appeals as well as local sports clubs. They raised £1000 for the Onehunga War Memorial. The committee built up 12 football teams, four basketball clubs and numerous other organised competitions. They won the respect of the community. They did not forget their ultimate purpose; the community centre. Their chance came when an old building belonging to the Onehunga Borough Council suitable for club rooms, fell vacant in April 1953. The tribal committee applied for the lease—and was successful, at the very low rate of £1 per week. The council decided, because of the extreme importance of the tribal committee's project not to call for tenders for the lease as this would have put the building out of the Maoris' reach, but to use its special powers to grant a low-priced year-to-year lease by private contract. The Onehunga Maori people at once set about improving the old building. They repaired it, painted it, built new kitchen cupboards, and a shopping corner. They bought crockery and other kitchen ware and started to serve Sunday dinners in Maori style. Many of the Onehunga people still do not have suitable homes where they can spend Sundays pleasantly. To fit out the old building completely it will also be necessary to build a stage, a sanitary block and later two tennis-basketball courts. Altogether the expenses may be about £1,500, and it is probable that half of this sum will be contributed by the Government as a subsidy under the Maori Social and Economic Advancement Act. From a longer view, the old building will only solve the Onchunga people's problems for a while—perhaps fifteen years. Once the present centre is fully developed, the people plan to start raising money for a new building fully adapted to the thousands of people to be served by it in the foreseeable future. Of a total of 1500 Maoris in the Onehunga-Mangere area, between 300–400 use the centre every week. It is a centre for the sports groups; on Monday and Wednesday nights table tennis and other indoor games are played, on Tuesday and Thursday nights boxing and physical training,—the centre is a registered boxing gymnasium, while Friday and Saturday are reserved for committee functions such as dances, concerts and entertainments. On Sundays religious services are held (Anglican, Methodist, Catholic and Ratana in successive weeks), meals are served and people have a chance to get together. There is also a women's committee which runs a kindergarten. Classes are given in Maori Arts and Crafts and other subjects. There is a very effective group of wardens, including female wardens, who keep an eye on the five hotels of Onehunga. The committee's major problem, says Mr Opai, is still housing. Quite a few Maori Affairs houses have been built and the tribal committee is on the allocation committee for new homes. Cases are referred to the committee which may write an support of applications. The difficulty with the housing scheme, to the Onehunga Maori, is that people marry young and have large families before they have moved into