Nancy Koti (from Te Kuiti) and Mina Williams (from Ahimia, Coromandel) are typical of the young Maori people who come to Auckland at the rate of about eight hundred a year, in search of social and economic independence. In the city, there are still few widely-supported activities that would offer these girls an atmosphere close to home. COMING TO AUCKLAND IMPRESSIONS OF A MAORI STUDENT by TOBY RIKIHANA Auckland, largest city in New Zealand, now has the greatest concentration of Maoris in the country, with approximately 12,000 Maoris in a metropolis of 400,000. This Maori population has never been a static one, for many come to the city for brief stays only. Of recent years the migration citywards has been increasing steadily, the majority being in the younger brackets from 18 years to 25 years. The predominant tribes, other than the local Ngati Whatua, are from north of the city, that is, Aupouri, Ngapuhi and Rarawa. Then there are those who have affiliations with tribes along the Waikato down to the East Coast. The reasons for the movement towards the city are many, but the main reason is an economic one. The security of home, relatives, chiefly authority and land are not now sufficient to keep the young people in the country settlements. Many land holdings have now become uneconomical, through sale and continual sub-division, hence the departure of the many to the city. Opportunities for work other than farming are not good in many of the settlements. That the Maori is only fitted for the role of “tiller of the soil” does not apply any more to the vast majority of young people. The catch phrase nowadays is “social and economic independence.”