CHIEF JUDGE RETIRES The retirement of Chief Judge D. G. B. Morison of the Maori Land Court was commemorated at a farewell function held for the Chief Judge in the Ngati-Poneke Social Hall. Mr J. K. Hunn, Secretary for Maori Affairs, said of Chief Judge Morison's retirement that it was the end of an era for the Court. The first half of Chief Judge Morison's term of office was characterised by stability, and the second by the consolidation of reforms introduced in 1953, Mr Hunn said. He was the personification of the qualities that went to make a good Chief Judge. He had a fatherly presence, rugged character, unruffled courtesy and modest equanimity. The Minister for Maori Affairs (Mr Hanan) said that since he took office he had been struck by the respect shown by the Maori people for the Maori Land Court and that that was due to the high calibre of the men who had graced it. In the last 98 years there had been only nine Chief Judges, and all had left their mark. Chief Judge Morison had been dealing with living Maori history and the shape of things to come would depend on wisdom applied largely by reason of the great precedents created by past and present judges. A man's work was his monument, and here it was imprinted on the minds and hearts of the Maori people. In reply, Chief Judge Morison said he had always enjoyed the association the Court had with Maoris, both young and old. The Court was an old institution and it was different from other Courts where judges probably never saw the same people again. A judge of the Maori Land Court got to know the people in his district, knew what they were doing with their land, and followed their families along. ⋆ ⋆ ⋆

OYSTERS It may surprise many pecple to know that Maoris enjoy special privileges with rock oysters. They have their own beds from which they are allowed to pick what they want for their own use, but not for sale or barter. There is one Maori oyster bed in the Manakau district, near the Needles, and it is marked as a Maori fishery. Other areas are at Jones Peninsula in Whangaroa Harbour, part of the foreshore in the Mangonui Inlet, part of Whangaruru Harbour, and several areas in Kaisara Harbour. Picking is allowed only in the normal oyster season. Of all the Maori beds. that in Whangaruru Harbour is in the best condition Maori leaders exercise control over picking.

MAORI MUSIC ON KIWI RECORDS Two great records by the Concert Party of the Second Battalion, the New Zealand Regiment in Malaya. EA-66 THE COMING OF THE MAORI Action Sings and Hakas about the Great Migration from Hawaii to Aotearoa in the 14th century. EA-67—MAORI SOLDIERS ABROAD A selection of the Action Songs with which the concert party has been promoting goodwill for New Zealand all over the Malayan Archipelago. Both 7 inch E.P.s Price 12/6 each. OTHER MAORI GROUPS AVAILABLE ON KIWI: Putiki Maori Club Waihirere Maori Club Linton Camp Maori Choir Amorangi Boys of Rotorua Te Pataka Entertainers Ask your Record Dealer about these Records, or write direct to the Distributor: A. H. & A. W. REED, 182 Wakefield Street, Wellington