they knew that if they were defeated there would be little chance of escaping from the island. But most of the people were defiant of Nga Puhi, and it was decided to stay to defend Mokoia, which was very dear to them, being associated with five hundred years of their history. Then Hongi finally reached Lake Rotoehu, and took the canoes overland again to Lake Rotoiti. From there he travelled up the Ohau stream into Lake Rotorua. By this time all the Arawa were crowded on to Mokoia, having taken with them a great quantity of provisions, expecting that they would have to withstand a long siege. Then to their horror, they woke one day to see through the morning mists the shapes of canoes on the opposite shores, and knew that they were at Hongi's mercy. For two days Nga Puhi did not land on the island, but amused themselves by circling around it, and as they passed the Arawa canoes drawn up on the bank, each chief claimed one of them as his own by calling it after some part of his own body, and thereby rendering it sacred to himself. On the third day Nga Puhi landed. Hongi led the way, a fearsome figure as he stood upright in the canoe flourishing his mere and chanting a war-song, the sunlight shining on the steel helmet which had been given to him in England by George IV. Behind him was the fleet of war-canoes, bristling with muskets; before him was the great host of Te Arawa, with the one musket amongst them. Just as his canoe touched the shore, the Arawa warrior who possessed the musket crept behind a flax bush and fired at Hongi. He was hit on the head, and fell down into the canoe—a great cry rose from Te Arawa, but Hongi stood upright again in a moment; he had only been stunned, for his steel helmet had saved him. But for a short time this happening caused a panic among Nga Puhi, and this panic gave Aokapurangi her opportunity. She had been in Hongi's canoe with her husband, and now she jumped on to the shore. She remembered Hongi's promise, that all who passed between her legs should be saved, and she ran to the great carved meeting-house in the village. She stood on the carving over the door, her legs over the entrance—and she called out to her people, ‘It is Aokapurangi, come back from the north! Come inside your house, you will be saved!’ Te Arawa were fighting bravely, but were defenceless against Hongi's muskets. Very great numbers of them were killed, but many heard Aokapurangi's voice and fled to the house. All day she stood there, with buildings flaming around her, calling to her people, and all day they crowded into the meeting-house; and such was Aokapurangi's mana that those who reached the house were saved, the warriors of Nga Puhi did not venture to attack them. Some others managed to escape by swimming to the shore. Some of Nga Puhi pursued them in canoes to secure them as slaves, and often they succeeded, though sometimes, when the canoes became full of Arawa captives, they turned on the northern warriors, killing them with the paddles and escaping into the forest with their bodies. At the end of the day Te Aokapurangi obtained permission from Hongi to go in search of her uncle Hikairo, who was hiding in the forest. She took him to Hongi, and a peace was made; as a token of this peace, Hongi gave Hikairo his steel helmet, which was given to him by George IV and which had just saved his life from the Arawa musket. Nga Puhi remained at Mokoia for many days, living on the ‘fish of Tu’. Then they returned the way they had come, taking many prisoners with them; some of these later returned, and some became the wives of their captors. This was the last time that Nga Puhi ever fought with Te Arawa. The name of Aokapurangi, who saved so many of her people from destruction, and was responsible for a lasting peace between the peoples, is still famous; and still, when a meeting-house is crowded full of people, the saying is sometimes heard. ‘Ano ki te whare whawhao a Aokapurangi! ‘This is like the crowded house of Aokapurangi.’ The carved meeting-house in which the people sheltered was called Tamatekapua, after the original ancestor of the Arawa. The big meeting-house which stands at Ohinemutu today, the one where dances are held and in front of which tourists photograph each other, is also called Tamatekapua. Some of the carvings in this house are very old indeed (though some of the old ones are partially obscured now by a dance-band platform), and it is likely that some of them formed part of this older Tamatekapua on Mokoia, 140 years ago.

Mrs Mayla Ngawhika of Rotorua has gained top marks for New Zealand in a theory examination for basketball referees. Mrs Ngawhika, a former Rotorua basketball representatives, has been a member of the Rotorua Referees' Association for four years and is a provincial referee. Her mark, 96 per cent, is particularly outstanding. As the mother of seven children, she has little time to devote to studies. Another Rotorua referee, Mrs D. Anaru, gained 94 ½ per cent in the same examination.