amenities provided. So far these are the only schools in Auckland city where such special conditions have been established and in neither case has it been stated that this was because of the large numbers of Maori children, although in fact Maoris formed the biggest group in each school. So far I have been speaking about the concentration of Maori population. Now let us look at the problems which beset the children in these schools. Let me say straight away that research is woefully limited at all levels, so that much of what I say must be guess work, helped out by personal experience. First, why do people come to the city? In general city life is more rewarding than rural life; cities contain a variety of people, of entertainments and of opportunities which are simply not available in country districts. Living is dearer, but wages are higher and work is more readily available. Family finances can be subsidised by working mothers, living is more convenient, the city dweller has a different outlook, even in New Zealand, from the countryman. These are the things which induce people to come to the city, but if you look at the Real Estate columns of any paper you will see that high on the list of priorities is suburban living. New Zealand cities have not so far met the challenge of urban life and many people fear the creation of a truly urban environment. Maoris seem to be less susceptible to this variety of double-think than whites and are prepared to accept relatively indifferent housing conditions for the sake of convenient location. This of course is not wholly true, since there are often barriers of one kind or another to a Maori's living anywhere else, except perhaps a State suburb. However, the fact remains that Maoris are becoming Auckland's true urban population, along with the other ethnic groups who live in the inner city. I am not persuaded that this is a bad thing, indeed it is for Auckland generally, a good thing, in that it is gradually livening up an otherwise dead town.

Problems for Children For children however, it poses problems. The urban dwelling child seeks his amusements in rather restricted areas and is subject to hazards which the suburbanite knows nothing about. In my experience the Maori children of the inner city were frequently insecure in their feelings towards both home and outside environments. The older children would frequently talk nostalgically of their life in the country but did not really want to return. Many had a sense of being powerless to alter their social condition. The conflict for these children lay between the freedom they would have liked and the business of having to earn a living which was soon to be thrust upon them. Remember however, that I am speaking of adolescents and that it is fairly typical of children at this stage to have contradictory wants. On the other hand, the Maori children who were the residents of the longest standing felt superior to, or more sophisticated than, the newer immigrants. They had learned, or thought they had learned, the culture of the city. But many did so from the underside, from the importunings of old men, from what they heard and saw in the parks and streets, from what they heard from other children, and too frequently, from the disregard of their parents. If some fell into unlawful activities it was only surprising that they had not done so earlier. With restricted English, a low-literacy household, and differently geared expectations from his suburban counterpart, he may look like and be an underprivileged child. However there is so far nothing permanent about his urban status; each year a number of Maori families overflow from the reservoir areas to the suburbs, so that while some remain urban dwellers many move out, thus facing a further adjustment.

Are there Differing Needs? Should we then draw a distinction between Maori and white children and speak of them as having differing needs? The existence of Maori schools in the country points to such a difference. The N.Z. Year Book says of the schools run by the Education Department … ‘the schools are not completely English in outlook as Maori arts, crafts, songs, legends and history are taught … methods of teaching are practical and objectives closely related to the special needs of the Maori people’. These special needs appear to be cleanliness and craftsmanship, a typically puritan pair, for the Year Book goes on … ‘In many Maori schools woodwork rooms, cookery rooms, model cottages, baths, hot and cold showers and laundries are supplied. Health education is featured in every Maori school.’ But, and here is a problem, only 26.6% of Maori pupils are educated in Departmentally run schools, while 67% attend schools run by Education Boards. These generally lack the