harbour; most sat in the hold, while a few adventurous ones stood on the narrow deck watching the receding lights of the town. When we arrived at the wharf, our hosts were waiting by their dark tractors and rough drays which form the only means of transport on the island. When our group saw the children of Matakana with their gumboots and country clothes, familiar faces, in front of an old wooden store— suggesting that this was again Maori country— they at once lost the circumspection and tension of the last few days; deft and relaxed, they moved among their new hosts, loaded their luggage and squeezed together on the tractors. Here they could move by themselves; they were no longer dependent for everything on their teachers. The tractors slowly ground through the muddy tracks, front lights blazing. At first several followed each other; you could see the people in front holding tightly to dray or luggage, as the tractors, clogged with inches of mud, splashed into potholes or splurged out of them. Thus the dim outlines of school teachers and pupils were seen moving further and further away from the mainland, tossed about on a wet and roadless island, in search of knowledge. And strangely enough, a valuable, though unexpected, insight was waiting for them. One by one the tractors turned off to other tracks leading to farms hidden behind the hills. One could see the toy lights shining over the mud high up in the distance.

OUR PLANNED ACTIVITIES Football and basketball provided a full and exciting game; Matakana won the basketball, Punaruku the football. Socially, the heroes of the tour were beginning to emerge, and the chief of them was Wiri. Removed from the classroom with its abstruse demands, Wiri had all the advantages— the concert party depended on him, his boisterous humour and brawn singled him out as a redoubtable visitor. During the football match the opposing players were in dread of him, for he looked as though he would stop for nothing; as Punaruku's goal kicker, he proved to have a powerful and accurate boot which would not have been despised by far more experienced teams. At the concert Matakana performed a number of accomplished action songs; in contrast to our own community, Maori dancing is a regular part of life on the island. Nevertheless our group shrived up very well; our action songs had now become quite vigorous, and acquired harmony and unison. Our real strength, however, still lay in the grotesque Hawaiian and troubadour numbers, which were received with roars of laughter, and the double poi dances of the two sisters, who this evening far surpassed anything they had done before. We also showed the folk dances, which proved very successful with a Maori public.

A LESSON IN ECONOMICS The most important part of our stay at Matakana was the free day. This had originally been planned as a day of rest, so the children would be fresh when they reached Auckland. In fact, however, they stepped into the bus on Monday morning in a state of complete exhaustion; it took them two days to recover. Had this day been just a riot of play and entertainment? It had been that, but it had also been a day of intensive, if almost uncontrolled, learning. What was there to learn on Matakana Island? The people have farms, often rather large ones, on which there is good butterfat production, as well as a considerable acreage of maize and other crops. There are some good piggeries and poultry farms; winter feed is well provided for. To keep up this standard in the isolation of the island demands very hard work; people do work hard. There is a large pine forest which needs foresters, woodsmen, axemen, and mill workers. Many of the younger people who have no farms of their own are able to stay on the island and work in the forest. All these things were shown to the young visitors; the islanders encouraged the children to learn as much as possible about Matakana; it was for learning, after all, that the tour had been arranged. They visited the mill, they rode over the hills and beaches, and, most important of all, the Punaruku children watched the way of life of the islanders. In itself there is nothing exceptional about the Matakana economy but to our group it was a source of amazement. If they had stayed with city Europeans, in a still more modern environment, they would have been much less astonished, for