Te pou! Te pou! Te tokotoko i wherangi, Te tokotoko i whenuku, Tukia! Tōkia! Ko te mumu, ko te āwhā, Ko te mānihi kaiota, Takere, panapana, Ka rau i runga, Ka rau i raro, Ka whai tāmore i runga, Ka whai tāmore i raro. Tena ko te pou, Ko te pou no Rongo He rongo! Unuhia i te rito o te harakeke Kei hea koe, e te kōmako, e kō, Whakataerangitia! Rere ki uta, rere ki tai, Kī mai ki ahau, ‘He aha te mea nui?’ Māku e kī atu ki a koe, ‘He tangata! He tangata!’ E ngā iwi, e ngā mana e ngā reo, kua manaakitia tātou e ngā rangatira o Te Arawa; kau paenga te taha ki a tātou. Nā reira, tēnā tātou katoa! Te Arawa, our hospitable hosts, have already welcomed the participating groups and their supporters, in order that we, both Maori and our brethren of the Pacific Islands, may ally ourselves with our hosts, not only to welcome you, Your Excellencies, but also to assure you of our steadfast loyalty to the Crown. In my prelude, I quoted a saying attributed to a high ranking lady of my tribe. Freely translated, it reads. ‘Ask me: what is the greatest of all things? I will answer: Tis a human being: A human being.’ It is because of our concern for human beings, primarily for those who are classified as Polynesians, that we have promoted this festival, confident that partnership in action will greatly contribute to the betterment of race relations in this country. We have always desired to meet one another on a common ground, and this has proved successful in a few areas. But never before in the history of this country have we—the various ethnic groups under the umbrella of Polynesia—come together, not as rivals, but as a united front, to provide what I believe to be the first of many New Zealand Polynesian Festivals. Nowhere else in the whole of the Pacific, is there anything approaching the array of Polynesian talent that exists here. I am confident that eventually we could provide Polynesian entertainment on a scale, and of a standard, which could not be equalled anywhere in the world. I believe that the reception by the Maori people to Her Majesty the Queen and members of the Royal Family at Gisborne in 1970, was a most spectacular and moving performance. This acted as a stimulus to those of us who have been concerned with the preservation of Maori culture as well as concern for the type of entertainment which has been labelled as ‘Maori’, to do something positive in this field. We felt that the time was opportune for the Maori to exhibit his talents and perhaps recapture the spirit of his ancestors, to compose his own songs, chants, haka and so on, rather than rely on the latest pop tunes, to move him to write lyrics. We felt also, that here in our country we have the best racial climate in the world, to promote through song and dance an even warmer climate in our relations one with another. It was natural then, that we should invite our Polynesian brethren in New Zealand to join us, with the result that we have five groups representing the Samoans, Tongans, Tokelauans, Niueans and Cook Islanders with us today. The Tokelauan group from Wellington N.P.S.