Flaxroots News

Mana (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 14, 9 February 1978, Page 6

Flaxroots News

The, Social Welfare Department has tl finally recognised that N.2. is a multicultural society and has had books which cover the general work of the department printed in Samoan, Niuean, Tokelauan, Cook Island Maori and New Zealand Maori. Better late than never, one supposes. * * * Raglan Maoris have again taken a stand about their confiscated land by threatening a protect- occupation of the land, if satisfaction is not given by the Minister of Lands, Venn Young. * * * Burnham Army officer Major Albert Kiwi plans to run from Bluff to Cape Reinga to raise funds for New Zealands’s new war museum at Waiouru. * * * Rotorua is having its problems with the trout around the district. Apparently the trout are dying in some areas, but by no means all, from lack of oxygen in the wafer caused by the latest hot spell. They can’t do much about the weather but pollution is far more controllable and would benefit more than the trout . . . * * * Young rural Maoris have been shown the bright lights of Wellington this month in a course run by the Department of Maori Affairs with the Technical Institutes. The idea is to help young Maoris find work and to adjust to city life. *. * * Dr Ngapare Hopa from Gordonton, near Hamilton, urges Maoris to ‘make an effort’, and to get involved in

what is going on. Dr Hopa the first Maori woman to gain a Ph.D. from Oxford University is leaving for California soon. * * * Auckland seems a little more sane this week as all the children have finally returned to school. Marama Stirling, son of Eruera and Amiria Stirling of Heme Bay, was awarded the 4th Dan in Japan. He returned from Japan after spending seven months there. Marama is probably one of the only Maoris that have been awarded this rank. Kia ora Marama, te tohunga, kia kaua e ngaro ena tohu i to tatou iwi! ' * * * Makuini Menehira of Wanganui, presently living in Blockhouse Bay will be touring the South Pacific Islands, Los Angeles, and then on to England performing floor shows with her agent Dave Wnght. The shows will begin from March on. Some of you will remember Makuini in the T.V. series Governor Grey. * * * A reunion was held at the home of Mr and Mrs Stirling at Herne Bay, celebrating a family get-together. Relatives came from as far as the South Island, and the East Coast. The Puketapu Hapu held a very successful reunion over the New Year. 200 people attended this Hui with members of the family coming from as far away as Australia to attend. MURU RAUPATU Marae, Bell Block, was the venue for the gathering. One of the major decisions taken, was to embark on a fund-raising programme to build a new Wharenui. Members of the Hapu will run fund-raising activities in the various areas that they live. * * * A group from Rangiatea, Rarotonga, will be paying a visit to Tokomaru Bay at the end of this year. They will arrive in New Zealand on December 14 and will then go to Tokomaru Bay, where they will spend Christmas. All the people who went to Rarotonga last are looking forward to the opportunity of welcoming our cousins to the East C 3ast. * * * Teremoana Sparks was home over Christmas, and the New Year period with her son. She has been teaching in Canberra for the last three years, but she will be teaching in the Northern Territories this year. All of her pupils will be aboriginal children, and she thinks this will provide her with invaluable experience when she returns home. * * * Bishop Paul Reeves of Waiapu has recently been ordaining part-time Ministers for the Waiapu Diocese. Maoris ordained include freezing-workers, dustmen, farmers and teachers. They will continue working in their jobs. * * * MANA readers will be pleased to learn that Sam Rangiehu has recovered from a serious heart attack. Sam is now retired, but will be stationed at Hukarere Col-

lege, where he will assist out. We all wish him well, and thank him for the tremendous work he has done for our people. Tena koe e te tipuna. Kia piki tonu te oca ki a koe. Ka nui te aroha. Wellington J-team’s work is somewhere between the C. 1.8. and a taskforce. It has aimed towards moving into potential crisis areas early and preventing crime by meeting young people’s needs with advice and guidance. This year the team plans to make new steps towards combatting the city's drug problems. The J-team is made up of representatives o f the Maori Affairs Department, Social Welfare and the Police. Mr Tuahakaraini of the Maori Affairs department said that 90 per cent of the young people in Wellington receiving team assistance were Maori, and he was trying to get them into the wider Maori Community. * * * Maori carvings have been found on the bark of a few trees in the Rimutaka Ranges. The carvings are estimated to be about 150 years old, and had been made in such a way that the bark had been removed without affecting the growth of the trees. The carvings known as dendroglyph are a rare form of prehistoric art and have only been found in two other places in the North Island. * * * Preparations have begun for the next Polynesian Festival which will be held in the Wellington district. * * * Three directors have been appointed to the Maori Affairs Department, signalling the start of department reforms. They are Mr W. Herewini, director of social services, Mr T. H. Pou, director of community development, and Mr W. N. Jaram director of youth development. * * * Mr R. Viner, the Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs will be looking at the Maori trade training schemes when he visits New Zealand. With him will be Mr Charles Perkins, Australia’s first Aboriginal Bachelor of Arts graduate. Prior to his appointment of first assistant secretary of Aboriginal Affairs he blazed a trail of controversy from one end of Australia to the other, as a staunch exponent of Aboriginal Rights. * * * Mr Peter Biddle from Whakatane is doing a roaring trade in Australia with his “Dial-a-Hangi”. * * * Entertainer Howard Morrison will become a youth development adviser for the Department of Maori Affairs.