SOME of these Maori chaps are fine workers, said the City Engineer. ‘They are some of our best men. Take Hori for instance. He joined us five years ago and he is still with us. Very steady. And clever, too; we put him in charge of a gang repairing pavements and he is really excellent in the way he plans the work and handles the men.’ I met Hori. If they had taken his intelligence test properly, he must have netted near the 130 at least—I am sure he would have had no trouble in doing a university degree. I could imagine him as a great success sitting on a swivel chair in a carpeted office, drawing over twice his present pay, as a business executive. He had all that in him. Of course, he is living a very useful life now. He certainly is a great help to the City Council, and the men who work with him. He is highly regarded in the family and is respected as a committee man on Maori organisations. You could see that clearly over-average brain disposing with the greatest of ease of any of the little problems that occur in his own community. But was his brain ever properly developed, or properly used? Definitely not. It is just a little too late now for Hori to change. He never finished his high school education and if he started at other work he would have to start at the bottom; he would never fully make the grade now. The opportunity has been missed. How many missed opportunities are there among the Maoris of New Zealand? Certainly hundreds, maybe thousands. And what are we doing about it? Well, we are doing a good deal more now than we used to in the past. High schools have moved right into the Maori districts now—you can do your school certificate in Ruatoria or Tikitiki and Maori District High Schools are becoming more and more numerous in the far north, too. Then, there are vocational guidance officers and Maori welfare officers who can guide talented young Maoris into suitable careers. Furthermore, European employers are far more conscious now of the ability of the Maori for skilled work than they were when Hori was a little younger. Finally, there are hostels and other help for young people who come to the city as students or apprentices. All these things have made a difference and yet, we still see, year after year, more young Maoris who miss their opportunity. What more can we do? Just recently—on July 14 to be exact—I attended a meeting of Maori leaders held at the Turnbull Library in Wellington. The Minister of Maori Affairs, the Hon. E. B. Corbett, was also there and the object of the meeting was to start a Maori Education Campaign. It was really called to deal with the problem of men who might become like Hori. How can they be helped? The Minister expressed his sympathy and promised such practical support as he felt would be necessary as a result of the recommendations made to him. The Secretary of Maori Affairs, Mr T. T. Ropiha, I.S.O., suggested that a large sum of unclaimed moneys he had available for Maori purposes

CAMPAIGN for EDUCATION should be earmarked for education, if the Maori people agreed. The meeting listened to many experts explaining just where the difficulties in Maori education lay—experts on schools, on adult education, apprenticeships, hostels, vocational guidance and university study. A resolution was passed in these words: “This conference realises the need for more education and increased Maori intake in trades and professions and it resolves to launch a campaign to influence and help Maori parents to keep their children at school for longer periods than is the case at present with this object in view. This campaign will be conducted by an executive consisting of: Mr T. T. Ropiha, Chairman, Mr C. M. Bennett, Mrs H. D. Bennett, Mrs W. Cooper, Messrs T. A. Carroll, M. te Hau, P. Hura. M. R. Jones, P. te H. Jones, H. K. Ngata, W. T. Ngata, W. Parker, R. Royal. Dr. M. Winiata. The Wellington members will form a central committee to deal with campaign details. The campaign intends to do two things:— First, increase awareness of the problem of such people as Hori and Second, find practical ways to solve it. The Maori Education Campaign was opened exactly five years after Sir Apirana Ngata's death. Sir Apirana passed away on July 14, 1950, and the campaign was opened on July 14, 1955. ‘May his spirit strengthen our work,’ said Mr Corbett.