The Mixed Grill by Leo Fowler Old Pineha Harangaote, that small, elderly kaumatua, in his Maori way, acquired a modest trilogy. He was born great, he achieved greatness and he had greatness thrust upon him. Heni Tuatope, on the other hand, was never to progress beyond a comfortable mediocrity. Unless of course you count her size. She was possibly the biggest, grossest Maori woman of all time. Yet who shall say that, in her own way, her name was not inscribed in large and legible characters on the scroll of fate. Pineha, through a converging of genealogies, inherited so many lines of chiefly descent that he was of the upoko ariki. That is to say that he was a chief of such mana that he could speak with unquestioned authority on any marae of his own tribe, and indeed of many other tribes as well. He had also achieved a modest greatness by his efforts on behalf of his people. As a young man he had been a disciple of Apirana Ngata, Jimmy ‘Taihoa’ Carroll and other Maori leaders. Fired by their example he had initiated many reforms and innovations among his people. Largely as a result of his precept and example they were among the most up-to-date of all Maori tribes in all things which made for material prosperity. They were noted for their fine homes, clean and prosperous farms, and for the number of their young people who achieved success in a strange and modern pakeha world. At the same time they had preserved their Maoritanga. They were noted for the preservation of ancient customs and traditions. Young people who spoke fluent Maori were the rule in Pineha's hapu, where they were the exception elsewhere. His people performed the poi, the haka and wiata in a manner which was an inspiration to all. In consequence Pineha was, rightly, regarded as a great man. His own people revered him, neighbouring tribes respected him, and the pakeha spoke of him almost as though he were not a Maori. It was inevitable, therefore, that he should have greatness thrust upon him. He was made an O.B.E. and it was whispered that, should a knighthood be allotted to the Maori people, he would be the recipient. He was Chairman of his tribal committee, Maori member of the provincial Education Board, and finally, when a Royal Commission on Maori Lands was set up, he became a Government nominee and its Chairman. For all this he remained, as most Maori chiefs remain, an humble and unpretentious person. When, once a month, his Education Board meeting took him to the provincial centre he stayed always at the Connimore Hotel, a second-rank hostelry which combined comfort and good food with unpretentious neatness. Once in every three months he visited Wellington to preside over the deliberations of the Maori Lands Commission. Here too he stayed at an hotel which others of his Commission looked upon as below their dignity, especially as their expenses were paid. Pineha Harangaote did not drink and did not smoke. He was a person of modest tastes. At home he ate, uncomplainingly, the somewhat unimaginative diet supplied by one of his mokopunas who kept house for him. As this grand-daughter had a husband and many children, as Pineha was not a rich man, and as the husband was an incapacitated returned soldier with only his pension for income, the fare in their home was plain. In consequence Pineha enjoyed his food when he stayed at a hotel. It was on one of his visits to Wellington that he was first introduced to a mixed grill. He was taken to lunch, at one of the