moo te wiki tuatahi. Mehemea he wehi rawa ngaa whare nei, kaaore koorua e piirangi, ana, e pai ana teenaa, kaaore he utu moo te titiro.’ Haere ana maaua. Naa, ko teetahi o ngaa whare nei, i Birkenhead e tuu ana, i raawaahi o te taaone o Aakarana. Ko te whare nei kaaore i tino pai ake i te whata kaanga, i te whare kurii raanei. Ai, ko te paruparu, me te karukaru, me te tino koroua o teenei whare, ka whakaaro ahau mehemea moo a maaua heihei te kaainga nei ka tika taa maaua hara mai ki te titiro. Ko te utu moo te wiki moo taua whare kurii nei, e rima paauna tekau herengi. Teeraa anoo teetahi o ngaa whare nei, i te tahataha o te hiwi kei reira nei te kaareti o Kuini Wikitooria. Ko te mate o teenei kaainga he teitei rawa, he uaua moo te piki atu, kaare i tino pai moo te tamariki. Kaaore maaua i piirangi ki ngaa whare a te tangata ra. I te ahiahi ka hokona mai e maaua te nuupepa moo te ahiahi, ka titiro i ngaa paanui mo te whare tuku. Ka haere maaua ki teetahi pouaka waea ki te riingi atu ki ngaa kaituku. I muri mai ka haere maaua ki te titiro i ngaa whare nei, aa, poo noa. Naa ngaa mahi o teenei raa, ka moohio maaua e kore e taea te whare tootika i te ono paauna i te wiki, i te ono paauna tekau herengi raanei Me nuku atu te reti i teenei, kaatahi anoo ka tata atu ki ngaa whare papai. Mutu ana te Kirihimete, ka nuku mai maaua ko taku hoa, ki Aakarana noho ai. Ko te whakaaro me noho tata tonu ki ngaa whare nei, kia maamaa ai te haere ki te titiro. Ko teenei mahi hoki e rite ana ki te omaoma whakataetae. Ka tae wawe ngaa mea kakama ki te oma, araa, ngaa mea noho tata; ka mahue ki muri ngaa mea tawhiti ngaa kaainga. E toru ngaa raa he riingi te mahi, he haere ki te titiro whare, he hoko nuupepa. Te kitea teetahi whare moo maaua, kore rawa! E haere ana maaua i te taaone i teetahi rangi, ki te haereere, aa, ki te maatakitaki hoki i ngaa taonga miharo o Aakarana, ka kite maaua i teetahi paanui he mea peita ki runga i te wini. Ko te paanui nei e whakaatu ana i te ingoa o eetahi taangata reti whare, hokohoko whare. Ka whakaaro maaua he pai tonu pea me haere atu maaua kia kite he aha ngaa whare kei a raatou moo te reti, kei tuupono noa, kei a raatou eetahi whare aataahua, ngawari te utu. Ka whakatika atu maaua ki te kuaha, aae, e puaki ana. Ka kuhu atu maaua. E rua ngaa waahine e whakahaere ana i te mahi nei. Kii tonu too raaua i te auahi o a raaua hikareti. Ka rere ngaa mihi, me to at these houses. If you find one which you like ring me, and then pay me the rent money for the first week. If the houses are funny and you don't like them, that would be all right as there is no charge for booking.’ So off we went. Now one of these houses was at Birkenhead on the other side of the city of Auckland. This house was not much better than a shed used for storing corn, or a dog kennel. It was dirty, raggedy and so ancient that if we were looking around for a house for our hens, then this was the place. The weekly rental for this dog keenel was £5 10s. Another house was on the side of the hill where stands the college of Queen Victoria. This place was too high up, difficult to get to, and quite unsuitable for children. We didn't like any of the houses that man offered. In the afternoon we bought an afternoon paper and looked up the advertisements section. We went to a telephone box and rang some of the owners. Later we went to look at the houses until dark. The activities of this day convinced us that we could not get a decent house for £6 per week nor even £6 10s. We would have to pay higher than this to get the beter kind of house. Soon after Christmas my wife and I shifted in to Auckland to stay. The idea was that we should stay close to where the houses are so it would be easy to go and see them. This business is somewhat like a racing competition. Those smart off the mark get there first, that is, those who live close by; the folk who live a long way out are left behind. For three days we rang people, we loked at houses and we bought newspapers. Do you think we could find a house for ourselves, no! We went to the city one day, for a stroll and to do some window shopping, when we spotted a sign painted on the window. The sign was advertising the name of some people who let and sell houses. We thought perhaps we should go and see them just in case they have some good houses with reasonable rent. So we headed towards the door, yes, it was open. We entered. There were two women running the business. Their room was full of cigarette smoke. The greetings flew and so did the hand which held the cigarette. From behind the smoke of her cigarette one of the ladies asked, ‘What can we do for you?’ My wife replied, ‘we would like a house to let. We thought that perhaps you had some