she says it was only her husband who made her decide to try. ‘He told me I'd only be wasting my lunch-hour if I went to the audition—you go and get the cat's meat instead, he said—so I thought I'd have to give it a go.’ When Thelma got there, she found that all the other singers were hugging music scores—‘I hadn't brought any music with me, so when I saw this I rushed out and bought Waiata Poi. I had only sung in Maori for the last few years, and this was the first thing I could think of.’ When her turn came, she took ‘Waiata Poi’ over to the accompanying pianist. ‘His eyes widened when he saw what it was—I was very anxious for him to get it right, and thought he probably wouldn't know it, so I showed him one piece and told him, “now mind you don't drag it here, and foul me up”. What I didn't realize at the time, was that he was the assistant musical director of the company!’

Chosen to Sing Much to her surprise, Thelma was chosen to sing in the opera. ‘I absolutely loved the show. I was very nervous at first, but after the first few nights it was all right. Everyone was terribly kind to me, and I had a wonderful time.’ When the directors of the company discovered the quality of Thelma's voice, they asked her if she would tour New Zealand and travel to Australia with them. This was a very considerable honour, and a rare chance for anyone with ambitions as a singer. Ten years ago, she says, she would have gone like a shot, but now she is settled down, with a husband and a home, and this kind of work isn't possible for her any more. ‘In the end I did give in and go to Christchurch with them for the season there. And I hope to sing with them whenever they come back to Wellington again. They will be here again in August, and I'm looking forward to it very much.’ Thelma said one more thing that interested us very much. Knowing action songs, she says, was a great help to her in learning how to move on the stage, and she found that the movements came easily and naturally to her. This natural stage presence seems to be one more reason why Maoris, who have already produced one distinguished opera singer in Inia Te Wiata, and another one of great promise in Hannah Tatana, are due to produce a great many more opera singers in the future, as they come to have better opportunities for training and using their musical talents. Thelma Keepa is sure that this is going to happen. ‘There are so much better opportunities in New Zealand now for singers, pakehas or Maoris.’ Speaking of Hannah Tatana, she said that she had not yet met her, though she hoped to do so some time. ‘I went to hear her, though, and she has a wonderful voice. She seemed so much at home on the stage there, too—she really did.’

Meeting at Iwitea Iwitea, a small pa tucked away off the Wairoa-Gisborne Road a few miles from Wairoa, and at the head of the Whakaki Lake, was the scene recently of the opening of the fifth Te Poho o Tahu meeting house. The predecessors of the present building had all either burnt down or rotted away in the last century. Tahu himself was the ancestor of the Iwitea Maoris, and lived several centuries ago. The building itself displays a new departure from the conventional Maori type, where carvings and other decorative artistic forms of Maori culture are in plentiful evidence. The Rev. Canon Rangiihu, who conducted divine service on the day, referred to the completed building as a perfect example of a ‘half-caste culture’. By this he meant that, instead of carving the various panels, the cultural designs have been painted, thereby giving a half Maori, half Pakeha effect. The highlight of the function, which was led by Sir Eruera Tirikatene, and attended by a very large crowd, was the spirited discussion of the pros and cons of the Treaty of Waitangi in the afternoon. It was apparent, even among the real diehards of the leaders of the respective tribes present, that there is no unanimity about the revival of the claims for the full implementation of the terms of the Treaty. As it was, and this was emphasised by Sir Turi Carroll, it was agreed that the best way to regard this very important document, was to examine it in the light of the present day conditions, and to see which of the conditions agreed upon by our ancestors, would be feasible and acceptable today. There were no resolutions passed, and the matter gained no friends, nor lost any. —E. H. NEPIA