MAORI GATHERIN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 178, 21 March 1932, Page 4

MAORI GATHERIN

NEW FAMILY MEETING H01 OFFICIALLY OPENED AT MOUREA l ; BISHOP BENNETT PRESE I j One of the largest Maori g£ ; ings which has assembled. in tb j torua district for some years, on ■ urday witnessed the opening oi 1 new pa-rua 01* meetinghouse oi ( Tumatahi family which has just ! completed at Mourea. The oi opening ceremony was perform! the Bishop of Aotearoa, Bisliop nett, and a synod of Maori clergj held in conjunction with the g£ inSMaoris were present froi parts of the Arawa district, adjacent tribes were also represc The proceedings will continuet and to-morrow. The new house has been chii ed Haranui after a famous an; of the Tumatahi family, and tht ient carvings which previously mented the Te Takinga mei house at Mourea have been 1 ated and transferred to the new! ing. A large amount of addi carving has also been carried 0; Ngaru Pakuru, and the new I ing, in this respect, represents £ stantial contribution to the! architecture of the Arawa trih district. The opening was carried out traditional Maori ceremony, thef and leading men of the variom tribes represented being "welc and conveying their greetingstc hosts. Yesterday, Divine service wa; ducted by Bishop Bennett and: afternoon a number of cani were presented for confirmatie The meeting was carried outt generous lines of traditional hospitality. In a large enclosed 1 the eooking ovens steamed co: ously and piles of kumeras, inea! fish of all descriptions, a legj cakes and other dainties. a Maori hospitality at its best