Large church gatherings such as the one described here are not only enjoyable, but also a valuable leavening in Maori life. HUI TOPU 1957 by J. McL. Henderson The fifth annual Hui Topu of the Church of England was held in May this year in the Ruatoki valley where the Whakatane River makes a broad road down from the forest ranges of the Urewera to the sea. There from Thursday, May 16th, to Sunday, 19th, approximately two thousand people from all parts of the Island joined together for a Maori Synod, youth conference and music festival. They came to live in the eight maraes of Ruatoki from Wellington, Wanganui, Waikato, Auckland and the East Coast, bringing with them their own action songs and hakas, to enjoy the lavish hospitality of the Tuhoe. Rev. Wharetini Rangi at the Hui Topu debutantes ball. Suiting their reputation “Tuhoe, moumou kai, moumou taonga, moumou tangata ki te po”, the people of Ruatoki, assisted by members of other parishes in the archdeaconry of Tauranga, spared no effort. Food was cooked in five hangi and served in an immense dining shelter of raupo. Hay and mats were spread for beds in the brightly painted meeting houses of the valley. A glance at its history shows the nature of the Hui Topu. When, in response to Maori demand, the Right Reverend Frederick Bennett was consecrated as Bishop of Aotearoa, he bacame suffragan or assistant to the Bishop to Waiapu. Each year the Waiapu Diocese dealt with Maori matters at the annual Synod, advised by resolutions passed in archdeaconry meetings in different parts of the Diocese. In 1953 all three archdeaconry meetings were combined and a Maori Synod was set up in Waipawa, Hawkes Bay. Thus, costing £766 with a credit balance of four shillings (!) the Hui Topu was born. Since then, at Tengae, Ruatoria, Wairoa and at Ruatoki this year, it has grown lustily. Besides the Synod there is a conference of Maori Youth, a debutantes' ball, a sacred music festival in which parish choirs compete and are judged, and a Maori cultural festival. Whilst the young folk have an opportunity to develop and display their talents, elders like to come to renew old acquaintances and to arrange tribal affairs. At Ruatoki, historic stopping-place of Potiki, Te Kooti Rikirangi, Kereopa Kaiwhatu and his captors, Elsdon Best, Rua Kenana the Prophet, and Maori and pakeha Christian missionaries, the guests of honour (the Right Reverend Norman Lesser, Bishop of Waiapu, Mrs Lesser, and the Right Reverend W. Panapa, Bishop of Aotearoa) were welcomed in traditional style. A practice had been held in lovely sunshine. The action song group in red skirts and piupiu had sung Maranga Tuhoe powhiritia ra … (Arise, Tuhoe, welcome your guests) and Haere mai nga Pihopa, Haere mai nga Minita … (Welcome to Bishops and Ministers) whilst cameras clicked and whirred. Then came the rain. The greater the mana of the visitor about to arrive, acording to Maungapohatu legend, the heavier will be the rain. For the first time since (fifty years ago) she started her Church of England mission in Ruatoki, Rotu Numia who became Mrs Wharetini Rangi, saw her marae flooded. When on Thursday the kai wero (challenger) pranced out in his waterproof skin and piupiu to welcome the Bishops, he laid his carved