TE B.A., TE M.A. TE TAKUTA RANEI? na HIRINI MOKO Ko Hoani Te Ngaere ahau. I whanau mai au i Murupara. Ko taku kainga whakatipu tena. E tipu ana te manuka i aua wa. E haere ana tena kai te poaka kapene-kuki. He kainga tino Maori a Murupara i aua wa, he kainga pai. Inaianei hoki he taone kei reira. He papara-kauta kei reira, he toa, he tiriti, he hiko, me era atu tohu o te taone hou. Ko Murupara o mua taku e mohio ana. Ko Ngati Manawa te iwi, ko Tawhioau te maunga, ko Rangitaiki te awa, ko Rangitahi te kura, ko Hoani Te Ngaere te tangata. He kura Maori a Rangitahi i aua wa, te tino kura o Niu Tireni katoa. Koina toku whakaaro. I taua kura ka mohio au ki etahi o nga mahi rangatira a o taua tipuna; ara, ki te mahi whakairo, mahi tukutuku, mahi kowhaiwhai, ki te haka me era mahi a ringa. I reira hoki ka mohio au ki te korero Pakeha, ki te tuhituhi, ki te korero pukapuka, ki te whika, me etahi atu o nga mahi hoha o tenei mea o te kura. Na taku tau ki te mahi, na te marama o taku hinengaro ka homai he karahipi maku. Ka tukuna ahau ki Te Aute. Na, he kareti rongonui a Te Aute, he toa mo te whutupooro i nga wa o mua. I aua wa hoki e kiia ana mehemea i akona koe i Te Aute, he tangata whai matauranga koe. I enei ra kaore e penei ana te korero a te tangata. Kaore au i te mohio he aha i rereke ai. Ki toku nei whakaaro he pai tonu to matau ropu i puta mai i Te Aute. Engari kaore pea he Apirana Ngata, he Te Rangihoroa ranei i waenganui i a matau. He ika nunui aua tangata, he hapuka! Ko matau he kahawai, he inanga ranei. Engari, ki taku mohio, mehemea he inanga matau, he inanga korikori, he inanga pakari e kore e kainga noa e te tuna. Ae, ko Hoani ahau. I au e tuhituhi nei kua mutu taku haere ki te kura. Kei te ngaherehere ahau e mahi ana inaianei, kei te mira a Minginui. Na, ko te take i tuhi ai au, na te mea he korero taku. Ko taku hiahia kia mohio mai koutou he aha i tau ai tenei manu ki nga rakau o Minginui. I au i Te Aute ka tae mai te whakaaro ki au, me haere ahau ki te whare wananga o Akarana kia riro mai ai te B.A., te M.A., te takuta ranei, i au; kia noho ai ahau hei ika nui mo te iwi Maori. Ka whakaaro au, na, ki te riro mai te B.A. M.A. OR DOCTOR? Translated by SID MEAD I am John Te Ngaere. I appeared into the world at Murupara. That was the place where I was reared. The place was overgrown with manuka in those days. Murupara was a real Maori village then, a delightful place. In these days of course there is a town there. A hotel is there, streets, electricity and those other signs noticeable in a modern town. It was the Murupara of old-fashioned times which I know well. Ngati Manawa was the tribe, Tawhioau was the mountain, Rangitaiki was the river, Rangitahi was the school, and John Te Ngaere was THE man. Rangitahi was a Maori school in those days, the best in all New Zealand. That was my opinion. At that school I picked up the rudiments of the more chiefly activities of our ancestors; I refer to carving, lattice work. rafter patterns, haka and other forms of hand work. There also, I learnt to speak English, to write, to read, to calculate and do other bothersome subjects taught at schools. Because I worked diligently and because I had a keen mind a scholarship was given to me. I was then sent to Te Aute. Now Te Aute is a college of great renown, a champion at football in former days. In those days it was said that if you were taught at Te Aute you were an EDUCATED person. People don't seem to say the same these days. I don't understand why things are different now. To my mind our group which qualified at Te Aute, was not bad at all. Of course there probably wasn't an Apirana Ngata or Peter Buck among us. Those men were big fish—gropers! We were only kahawai or perhaps whitebait. But, I should say, if we were whitebait, we were wriggling whitebait, we were hardy whitebait which would not be easy food for eels. Yes, I am John. As I write now I have finished going to school. I'm in the forest now, at a timber