THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY "Public Service." MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1943 MAORI WELFARE

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3245, 29 March 1943, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette. With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY "Public Service." MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1943 MAORI WELFARE

If the visit of King Koroki and leaders of the Waikato tribes to Rotorua has ended the feud be-' tween the Tainui and Arawa peoples then it has served a very useful purpose. The Maoris of the Taupo district have long been on the *most friendly terms with the Waikatos, but events both prior to and during the Maori wars created great bitterness between the tribes of the Tainui and those of the Arawa canoe. The younger people fortunately had not carried on the feud with the same deep feelings as did the older men and women, but family discipline among the Maoris still exists and on occasion the tribal antagonism could be felt. These old-time animosities die hard.

There could not have been a more fitting occasion for King Koroki to make his visit than the opening of the big memorial meetinghouse at Ohinemutu, for like its predecessor the building is to be named after Tama Te Kapua, the famous navigator of the Arawa canoe in the great migration. The Arawas have not forgotten that the canoe itself was burned by a young chief who may have been connected with a Bay of Plenty hapu but belonged to the Tainui people near Kawhia. The establishment of. good relations may ensure for the Waikatos valuable support in their claim for the promised compensation for land confiscated by the Government after the war in the Waikato. It was that action which caused the Waikatos to withdraw and refuse their co-operation in the various schemes proposed for the betterment of the race. Not until Princess Te Puea Herangi became the virtual leader was this semi-isolation ended and land development schemes put in hand with considerable success. The Waikatos lack land for their young people. What they have done with the small areas available, such as the little farms along the Manakau harbour and particularly the farm obtained by Te Puea near Ngaruawahia, will bear comparison with any Maori land work. A few young Waikato Maoris developed an area not far from Rotorua. But they need holdings within reasonable distance of their own tribal centres for then the farms can, among other things, help to keep the older people in the pas from want, and also assist in the upkeep of the pas themselves. If the • Maori people, through their leaders, can present a joint programme, especially for the rehabilitation of the men now serving with such distinction overseas, it should carry weight with the Government and the Rehabilitation Board. The Arawa and Tainui people have interests in common in these days and the provision of land for settlement is one of them.