NOT ALL 'DRINK'

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 15, 15 October 1943, Page 5

NOT ALL 'DRINK'

MAORIS AND T.B

VETERAN BOARD MEMBER'S VIEWS

"It's not all to be blamed on drink," said Mr. F Burt, when discussing the growing incidence of tubercular troubles amongst the Maoris of this district. He contended that the disease owed much of its presence to carelessness on the part of the Maoris themselves. They would often come to the picture theatre in the ruin and sit wet through, for the whole programme. These things made for most of the illness. When he iirst went, to Matata, the Maori jjoxiulation was 600 and disease was practically unknown. The Maoris lived like their ancestors, two meals a day and plenty of it. .Fish, pork, game, vegetables and Iviimaru abounded and there was never any real poverty amongst them. But as soon as the Pakcha came, sickness seemed to appear almost at once. The Maoris started to live on refined food, bags of flour were bought, and they soon forgot, their old native 'tucker' which had given them their great health.