MAORI WORK.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4402, 29 April 1875, Page 2

MAORI WORK.

(From tho Patea Mail, April 21.) IVc have had tlje pleasure of visiting and inspecting the new Maori whare, or meeting house, recently erected at Ketemarae. The structure faithfully portrays the extraordiuary ingenuity which the Maori mechanic is capable of exercising, and the perfection which architecture has attained among the native race. The interior of the building discloses a most peculiar style of workmanship, and its walls arc remarkable for tho intricate and artistic manner in which the flax and raupo have been worked, affording quite an embellished appearance. The building is 36 feet long by 22 feet in width, and 14 feet high. The studs, plates, battens, and rafters are about 14 inches in width by 4 inches in thickness, and strange to remark, not a single nail has been introduced in their erection, the several pieces of timber having been mortised, in order to fit in the most correct manner, which gives quite a solidity to the building. There is a massive pillar in the centre, bearing a ridge-pole fully 2 feet in width by an enormous thickness, which sustains the weight of the entire roof. Tho building is thatched with an alternate layer of raupo, toi-toi, and mira, the latter material forming the outer coating of the roof. The whore is the liberal gift of I’epo Heke, a popular and good-natured chief, who is highly respected both among his own brethren and |

the whites. The building has cost something like £SOO. The chief agreed to furnish the contractors with a certain quantity of spirits, flour, stores, pork, &c., as a quid pro quo for the work, and we have a knowledge that one of Pepe’s orders to a storekeeper exceeded £2OO, while another reached £BO, to say nothing of many minor orders which were received from the chief. The affair has been regarded as quite an event in the district, and the business people resident in that quarter have in consequence benefited considerably from the execution of Pepe’s orders. On the completion of the whare, a grand feast was held, at which the Maoris thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their labors.