M.W.W.L. Conference at Whangarei ‘Northern Advocate’ photographs Mrs Miraka Szaszy presents the new trophy to Mrs Ruiha Sage The opening ceremony of the Maori Women's Welfare League conference at Whangarei on the evening of 22 July was very well attended. Special guests were Queen Te Atairangikaahu, Patron of the league, and the two Maori women members of Parliament, Mrs Iriaka Ratana and Mrs Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan. The Hon. J. R. Hanan, Minister of Maori Affairs, opened the conference and spoke of the change in status for Maori women with the passing of the new Property Amendment Act. Now a Maori widow would be treated the same as a Pakeha widow, and receive the first $12,000 of her deceased husband's estate. He also spoke of the opportunities to help their fellows that were open to members of the League. Combined local concert parties entertained the delegates and guests. In her annual report presented next morning, the retiring Dominion President, Mrs Ruiha Sage, stressed the need to find the basic cause for the high percentage of Maori inmates in penal, detention and borstal institutions. In her interviews with superinintendents she had been told that from 40 to 50 per cent, and in one case, 90 per cent, of the inmates were Maori. She said that those in trouble were not worthless delinquents utterly beyond help and hope, but boys and girls who for a variety of reasons lacked the love and security which would have helped them through the years when they were learning to adjust themselves to the demands of life and its many temptations. She felt that the league could help by organizing regular visits to penal institutions and by correspondence. A highlight of the day was the unveiling of a new trophy, a carved figure of a young Maori girl. Presented by Mrs M. Szaszy, the trophy will be competed for annually in a Maor Oratory competition open to Maori and Pakeha girls and boys. That evening delegates assembled to hear Judge Nicholson of the Maori Land Court speak on the effects of the new Maori After the official opening, Mr Hanan speaks to little Huia Rose, who presented sprays to the visitors, and her father, Mr W. Rose.