REHABILITATION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 3, 11 September 1942, Page 5

REHABILITATION

MAORI SERVICEMEN

RELATIVE PROBLEMS

Rehabilitation of Maori service-

men is causing a certain amount of anxiety to tribal leaders and. others interested in the welfare of the Maori in Taranaki, stated Lieutenant Ralph M. Love, Maori recruiting officer, when interviewed at Hawera. Maoris are ifully aware of their duty in this respect, but there are problems peculiar to Taranaki which will have to be overcome. In other districts large areas of unoccupied tribal lands are set aside e for rehabilitation, Lieutenant Love e explained, but in Taranaki this is B not. possible to the same extent be>cause of the absence of large arear 2 of unoccupied tribal land suitable - for the purpose. The task that lies t before tribal committees, therefore, is the evolution of a scheme 'that 7 will ensure the successful reliabili--5 tation of Taranaki" Maoris. I "Difficulty lies in the future un- ' less some occupational solution is 1 found for the increasing landless class of Maori," declared Mr John Houston. 'That position will arise • irrespective of wartime conditions, ; ftn d it clearly has also a bearing on the post-war rehabilitation of Maori soldiers. "Many young Maoris have an aptitude for trades and technical pursuits, such as carpentry, motor mechanics and sign-writing and opportunity should be given to them to learn such trades, and openings should be made for them to carry on and earn a living on those lines." hills where trees were torn to pieces. All this time the residents who lived, nearby were unaware of the extent of the damage that was being done, and little realised that a num*-j ber of houses stood only a few feet beyond the path of destruction. The roar of the wind was so deafening that even tlie" noise of the buildings being smashed could not be heard. It was so dark that few ventured forth to see what had happened. The lightning and thunder which followed added to the frightfulness of the night. The path of the whirlwind was about 50 yards wide, and it was fortunate that it did not strike a more thickly populated area. Since the visitation, a bullock waggon has been busily engaged collecting the pieces of debris from the-surrounding paddocks. Gmaio has iioav been visited by three severe whirlwinds, within recent. years. About 20 years ago a house was destroyed, while a whirlwind just prior to that uprooted a Pohutukawa tree.—Opotiki News.