EDITORIAL Maori Culture and Tourism It is hardly surprising that visitors to New Zealand should be interested in Maori music, art, history and mythology, or that arrangements should be made to give our visitors the opportunity of becoming acquainted with these things. It is equally understandable that many people should feel that Maori culture is in danger of being exploited and commercialised through its value to the tourist industry; and furthermore, that the usual way in which Maori life and culture is ‘sold’ to tourists too often leaves the impression that the Maori people are in some way an oddity, out of touch with normal life. It is sometimes said, with justifiable resentment, that ‘here comes the tourist—bring on the Maori’ is too common an attitude; and the question is asked as to why the Pakeha cannot do more to entertain the tourist—has the Pakeha, then, no culture of his own? It is a good question. Perhaps one possible answer would be to say—no, the Pakeha does not yet possess a music and art, or even (arguably) a way of life, a style of living, which is unmistakably his own. New Zealanders of European descent have lived here for only a few generations; it takes a long time for people living a new life in a new country really to feel at home, really to know who they are. It is only as they come to know this, as they begin to understand and express their new experience, that they can create a culture which is recognisably their own. This process is well under way in New Zealand, but on the whole it is so far apparent only in novels, short stories and poetry. Where the more public arts of architecture, drama, music, dancing and singing, painting and sculpture are concerned—well, as Pakehas are always saying, New Zealand is a young country, give it time. These arts are beginning to develop, but (if one disregards the Maori contribution), they have hardly reached the stage where tourists in New Zealand will take a special interest in them. Visitors to a country are attracted to those things about it which are unique, which give it its own unmistakable identity. And since nobody likes not to have an identity, the people of that country are equally anxious to have something of their own to show. So when Pakehas draw the attention of tourists to Maori culture, or when the mayor of a town asks the local Maori club to take part in the town's formal welcome to a distinguished visitor, or when a Pakeha about to go overseas for the first time takes an altogether new interest in Maori culture—what they are really doing, however little they may sometimes be conscious of it, is to acknowledge that New Zealand is not really a young country at all. In laying claim to both of the traditions which made up their heritage as New Zealanders, they are in fact being culturally integrated. Integration is not a one-way matter; it is taking place from both sides. All this is not to deny that the quality of the ‘Maori Culture’ which tourists see often leaves much to be desired. There are signs that people are becoming more conscious of the need to improve standards in this respect, and the newly formed Rotorua Maori Arts and Crafts Institute should make a big difference. One thing is certain; by strengthening our culture, improvements in the quality of tourist entertainment will be to the advantage of us all. ? After the disastrous floods in Opotiki recently, some of the people who suffered from the floods discovered that they did not have any insurance on their furniture, and therefore could receive no compensation for its loss. Insurance on a house does not cover furniture; you must make separate arrangements with the insurance company for this. Insurance on furniture is not at all expensive, and is especially important for people who have bought new furniture for their home. ? The unveiling of a memorial stone to the late Archdeacon Paki Tipene, who died in office in July 1962, took place at Rahiri last March. More than 1,000 visitors from Auckland, Waikato and the East Coast were present for the occasion. The clergy taking part in the unveiling ceremony were the Rev. W. Tauwhare (Kaitaia), the Rev. W. N. Patuawa (Kaitaia), the Rev. Canon M. Cameron (Auckland), the Rev. F. C. B. Gillett (Waimate), and the Rev. F. Harrison (Kaikohe). Other family unveilings were carried out later in the day.