difficult to picture their amazement had they seen such a magnificent korerorero as this. ‘So, my friends, let us realise and appreciate straight away that, despite all present differences and difficulties, we have come a long way in a relatively very short time in history towards achieving that ideal we all in our heart of hearts hold so dear—in your language kotahitanga—in ours living peace-peacefully together in mutual trust and understanding. The aims and objectives of this Festival—the encouragement and promotion of Polynesian culture—have already proved to be a very important factor in producing this much-to-be-desired result and I have no doubt the doughty deeds of this weekend will greatly enhance that influence. ‘The word ‘culture’ is often misused and certainly overused—but here it simply stands for those simple and delightful activities of singing and dancing, playing and talking, weaving and carving—the intrinsic values of which are just that amount greater as our world becomes more mercenary, mechanical and over-mobile. In this sense, I am sure few would deny the increasingly important part Maori and Polynesian cultural activities have played in recent years in our national life—a part all the more vital at a time when minority factions are not being particularly helpful in assisting the natural —and inevitable—merging of the two great streams of Polynesian and European thought and tradition into one great river The Governor-General replies of racially unified New Zealanders. ‘And as a New Zealander I sincerely trust and fervently believe that in this respect New Zealand may yet in due course give an example to the world—as it has already done in an extraordinary number and variety of aspects of life considering its small size and even smaller population. I note, with warm delight, a very simple evidence of this here today, where most of the Maori groups contain Pakeha members —Pakeha who have earned their places not only by their ability and skill in the arts portrayed, but by their spontaneous enthusiasm for and love of what is being done. So does a modern New Zealand weld together its ancient traditions—from all sources. ‘As the years have gone by, I think I am becoming a little allergic to the word ‘Pakeha’—as this in Maori originally meant ‘stranger’—and this is something I have Te Kahui Rangatahi with their choirmaster Graham Booth N.P.S.