Surprise visit to Taranaki marae

Press, 7 February 1986, Page 5

Surprise visit to Taranaki marae

PA New Plymouth The Governor-General, Sir Paul Reeves, paid a surprise Waitangi Day visit to the Parihaka marae in Taranaki yesterday.

His visit to the former centre of peaceful Maori resistance to encroachment by settlers during the 1800 s land wars was apparently not in any official capacity but as a private individual seeking information about Maori attitudes to the Treaty of Waitangi.

Sir Paul was accompanied by about thirty representatives of the Taranaki canoes, Kurahaupo, Aotea and Tokomaru.

About 50 Parihaka people welcomed him to Te Niho meeting house. Sir Paul said at Parihaka that he had decided to make the trip to Taranaki last week after telephoning relatives at Bell Block. It was they who advised him of the Parihaka function, which had been organised since early last year. “Coming here was in no way an excuse for not

being elsewhere,” Sir Paul said.

“I belong here and just wanted to be here.

“My thoughts are whirling around inside me about the Treaty of Waitangi and if anything is to be said about Maori feelings towards it, I would rather hear them from my own people first. “There is a feeling of uneasiness about the whole thing but while there is that uneasiness, it is a chance to hopefully see something better in the future.

"These are the thoughts in my mind and the hopes in my heart.”

After consultation with the Prime Minister, Mr Lange, Sir Paul had earlier indicated he would not attend a similar function at Waitangi. He and Mr Lange were hosts at an official Government function in Wellington last evening to mark the anniversary of the signing of the treaty.

The member of Parliament for Northern Maori, Mr Bruce Gregory, was reported last week as saying that Sir Paul’s non-

attendance at Waitangi would bring a “hardening of New Zealand’s race relations.” He also said Sir Paul’s attendance would have been a chance for Maori and pakeha to come together more confidently. Mr Gregory believed Sir Paul would be able to bring the strands of history, culture, race and spiritual consideration together as a unit. In reply yesterday, Sir Paul said he hoped there would not be any hardening of relationships between the races. “Race relations do not depend on the GovernorGeneral,” he said. “Change would not come about overnight.

“There is no doubt that I will be back at Waitangi at some time,” he said.

Security was tight at the Parihaka pa. A guard at the gate screened all those seeking to enter the marae. Although a newspaper reporter was present and interviewed Sir Paul, a photographer was refused entrance.