ARA WHENUA CUP

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 546, 1 June 1933, Page 6

ARA WHENUA CUP

"SON OF THE SOIL" LORD BLEDISLOE PRESENTS CUP TO RAUKOKORE FARMER OHINEMUTU FUNCTION The most representative gathering of Maoris for many years took place at Ohinemutu in front of the Tamatekapua meeting house yesterday morning when the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, presented the Arawhenua Cup, his own gift, to Wiremu Swinton, of Raukokore, the winning Maori farmer, and medals and fcertificates to other suecessful entmnts.

The Arawhenua ("Son of the Soil") Cup was presented by the GovernorGeneral as a challenge cup for the Maori farmers under the Maori settlement schem.es who showed the best improvements on his farm, in compliance with^certain conditions. It is a massive silver cup some 24 inches high and beautifully engraved with a scene of the ancient Maori methods of cultivation on the one side and the modern methods of agriculture on the other. Diesigned by a New Zealander, Mr. Isaacs, of Wellington, and executed by a New Zealand firm, the cup is a magnificent example of the silver- I smith's art. 'On the one side it bears the inscriptions "Tena ko te toa mahi kai e kore e paheka" and on the other "He toa taua he toa pah'ekeheke arawhenua" and the date 1933. Many Notables Present. The Marae at Ohinemutu was thronged by the representatives of the tribes and their friends and seated in the p-orch of the meeting house were the Governor-General and Lady Bledisloe, Sir Apirana Ngata, the deputy-Mayor (Cr. E. Johnston), and representatives of the different departments, tribes and local bodies. and Mr. C. H. Clinkard, M.P. Rotorua. Amongst those present were Hon. A. D. McLeod, and Messrs J. H. Reid (chairman, Opotiki County Council) and J. R. Jones (Under-Secretary Native Affairs) who compose the commission inquiring into the native rates which has been taking evidence ;all along the East Coast and sits in Rotorua to-day. Hakas of Welcome On the arrival of the Government House party the assembled Maoris burst into a haka of welcome led by the Ngati Whakaue tribe of Ohinemutu with representatives of the Tuhomrangi (Whakarewarewa) Urewera (Tuhoe) Raukokore, Ngatiporou Ngati Kahununu, and Ngapuhi, the "la^t-named having come long distances. Maori orator after orator oame forward and spoke on behalf of his tribe or hapu welcoming His Excellency and the duties of interpreting fell upon Kepa Ehau. Te Arawa Will Help The ffrst speaker Henare Pokeha eloquently welcomed "Te Kawana" (the Governor) on behalf of Te Arawa tribe and referred to the great pleasure it gave Te Arawa tribe not only to welcome him but to pay tribute to his generosity in his gift of Waitangi to the nation followed by his gift of the tropliy the Arawhenua cup to the Maoris. In connection with Waitangi he wished to inform His Excellency tha.t Te Arawa tribe was willing to assist the Ngapuhi when it came to the erection of the run-

anga and was anxious to assist in perpetuating the gift for all time. Help Appreciated "On behalf of Te Arawa tribe a "d the Trust Board," saicl the ora.tor, "I want your Excellency to know th*vfc we will assist and I declare that in order to assist to perpetuate the ma nificent gift which Your lExcellen -y has given to the nation Te Arawa will help with the carving of t :e house." His Excellency: "Very good. Thr .'s just what I wanted." Farmers As Well As Soldiers Continuing the speaker hailed t'",3 Governor as "The Brave of Arawhenua" and told him that though in the past Te Arawa had won renown as warriors yet now as tillers of the soil they were glad to have his practical advice and his practical interest in them as shown by the Arawhenua Cup he had so generously given. At this 'stage the Ngati Whakaue brolce out into a haka. When this was concluded an aged Maoi'i led a ceremonial Karakia which the nterpreter said was one used in ti o construction of the great canoe • ainu: which had landed at Maketu. Th-s was «ung by a group of "Elder Statesmen" who proved very impressive. Raukokore's Welcome The next orator who spoke on behalf of the Raukokore hapu, of which the winner of the cup is ia. member, sp'oke of the generosity and far-siglit-edness of Sir Apirana Ngata whose dreams of 19.05 in which he had envisaged the Maori as >a suecessful settler' were coming true to-day. Welcomes to the Vice-Regal party and • praise of the Native Mipister followed. "A Page of History" "We are to-day making a page of history," he said, ".and it is not only for the Maori but for the Pakeha too. I extend to you, Sir, a welcome With -all the dignity, prestige and niana ■tha.t is due as[ the representative of His Majesty, King George, to whom -the Arawa have always been •Idyal. We are pleased in our hearts to-day to see the representative of the King in our marae whene stands the bust of the noble Queen Yictoria and, by your presence here today, you are once more demonstrating the kindly thought that King Y U A

George has for the Maori peoples. I wish you and Her Excellency long life, prosperity, happiness and that when your term as Governor expires King George will consider the prayer of the Maori race and lextend your term as Governor-General. I call on Sir Apirana Ngata to consult with' His Excellency to see if the term can be extended on behalf of ths Maori race." i " Hongi-ed by Mita When Mita Taupopoki rose to his feet sweeping off his top-hat (the only one there) and brushing aside his Garibaldian cloak showing his Maori War Medals, Maori eloquence was ,seen at its best. Gesturing freely he first spoke to his kinsmen of the East Coast welcoming them and then extended a welcome to Sir Apirana Ngata. Thenca he worked up to the Chief Judge of the Native Land Court and thus to-. the GovernorGeneral. "Sir," declared Mita, "there is a fullness in my heart that I should have been here this day. May I dare to tell you that I ha.ve welcomed many Governors to this tribe and of all the Governors that I have welcomed it was not until you took your term of office that we Maoris have had a Governor who is a tiller of the soil. Te Arawa is the greatest of ail the Maori tribes and it is fitting that the greatest of the Governors for the soil should have given this trophy to be won by a tiller of the soil of the Te Arawa tribe. I am pleased to live to see the day that the Governor has come to give this trophy to my tribe and I thank him from my heart for his gift. I am an old man, over eighty years of age and I shall not see many more governors but my heart rejoices to sse this day and I call down a blessing upon this Governor and his Lady. Mita then walked up to the dais where he was hongi-ed by both Lord and Lady Bledisloe. It was a picturesque ceremony. The Whakarewarewa guides then burst on the scene with poi dances, and acquitted themselves right well, the time being most accurate. The Tuhoe tribe, through its spokesman, then added its welcome to the Vice-Regal party and as winners of the cup extended an invitation to His Excellency to visit their district, small though their hapu was, and distant their homes. Tuhoe Acquires Mana "Always will you be remembered among the Tuhoe tribe," said the leader, "for you have honoured the Tuhoe people and they will not forget it. Visit us in Raukokore and see our lands and our farms." Then, turning to the Te Arawa and other tribal leaders he exclaimed "Te Arawa may be great, but we, w,e take home the trophy."

Then the Ngati Whakaue tribal poi dancers had their turn and danced with more than usual skill, the dance being one different from that usually given before the tourists. In fact all the. dancing and hakas a.s well as the mihis (welcomes) were, it is understood, specially composed for the occasion. They were given with remarkable vigour and precision. "Who Are The Tuhoes?" "Who are the Tuhoes?" yelled the tribal leader as he came to the front and the tribe burst into its haka once more. "The Tuhoes are the tillisrs of the soil; they have proved it. They have won the cup. We are the Tuhoes," and the fierce guttural exclamations rang through* the compound as the haka subsided and 9th'e tribal ora.tor held sway once more. Hobson's Work Consumated The Tuhoe representative took his hearers back to the days of "Te Kawana Hopeone" (Governor Hobson) who in 1840 had given to Maori and Pakeha the Treaty of Waitangi. This Governor had given the Maori the Waitangi Trust and more than that he had given them, the Maori, this cup. Let the Maori remember that this was the consumma.tion of the Treaty of Waitangi and rejoice. He reminded them of the words of a former Goviernor, Sir Charles Fergusson, "Keep true Maori and keep to the land," and this Governor was helping them to carry out the words of Governor Fergusson and Governor Hobson. At this the Tuhoe Elders burst into a karakia of welcome composed for the occasion ext'olling the generosity of the giver of the site of Waitangi and the Arawhenua Cup. Scion of a N oble Race Turi Garroll, a nephew of the late Timi Kara (Sir James Carroll) then welcomed the party on behalf of the Ngatiporou and Ngati K)a.hununu tribes and warned Te Arawa that though the tribes did not envy them their victory in the cup and in fact congratulated them yet . . . "Time passes 'and is fleeting. Look out! We will take it from you next year." He stressed the prestige which accrued from the visit of the Governor and impressed upon the visiting tribes that the visit was deeply appreciated by all the tribes. T-ouching upon the Waitangi gift he said that his tribes a& well as a.ll Maoris felt deeply grateful to h'is Excellency for the gift and they too would do their share in perpetuating the gift for the nation. His. tribes would help to see that the page of history they were making to-day was kent clear for all time. "You Are Our Father" "Your Excellency, you are our father as sons of the soil," he concluded, "first with the gift of Waitangi and second with this trophy, and if the Mauri follows you" the future of the race is assured." j Native Ministed, Leads Haka Led by the Native Minister, Sir Apirana Ngata and a Maori clergy-

man, the Ngatiporou and Ngati Kahununu with whom were one or two representatives of the Ngapuhi (North Auckland) burst into a karakia which ended in a 'haka. His Excellency Replies "Sir Apirana Ngata, my Maori friends, ladies and gentlemen," said Lord Bledisloe, "during the last three years that Lady Bledisloe and I have sojourned in your midst, we have received many warm welcomes but, never has there been one more warm nor more comprehensive than the one at Ohinemutu this morning. I desire, on behalf of Her Excellency and my- ^ self, to thank you very sincerely for the loyal, hearty and friendly welcome you have given us 'and the many eloquent speeches delivered on behalf . of the tribes and sub-tribes. I thank

you for the songs, the poi dances and the hakas, so admirably executed and so ably given, so that even my Native Minister and the Ngapuhi deleg'ation took part. I' desire especially to thank those who came from such great distances of, I am informed, at least 100 miles, to demonstrate their sympathy with the objects of the competition which this cup denobes. Orators Welcomed "Amongst those orators I am glad to see Henare Poketa, of Maketu, th'at place which I need hardly remind you is the place of the historic landing of the Tainui canoe. Henare Poketa is a great nephew of that great loyalist leader Poketa (Major Fox). I need hardly remind you of Major Fox's great loyalty with' Te Arawa who ren. dered such support to Queen Victoria in the early days. I am 'glad to welcome him from Maketu where the canoe landed for I am 'anxious to emphasise that the competition means that as his ancestors pulled together

in the great war canoe, Tainui,. so today I want to see the Maoris pull together and pulling their full weight in raising wealth and food from the soil and pulling their full weight in the national canoe." (Applause). , Ancient Orator Thanked His Excellency also thanked Te Ngara Tu Kou for his welcome on this historic spot and specially thanked Mita Taupopoki for his welcome mentioning that when last in Rotorua, Mita had been laid up and looked very sorry for himself but he was glad to see him once more restored to health and able to m'ake those eloquent speeches for which he was noted. He hoped that Mita would live long to be able to still lead his tribe. Maori Leaders Recalled . Thanks were also extended by name to the leaders of the other tribes and His Excellency m'ade special mention of Turi Garroll, expressing the hope that as his illustrious uncle, and also Sir Maui Pomare, Turi Carroll would come forward into public life to become a champion of the Maori peoples. He also thanked the judges, Messrs W. Dempster, Scott and Royal for the extreane dare they had displayed in making their recommendations and the time they had spent in judging the competitions. Special mention was also made of the work of Kepa Ehau, His Excellency expressing gratitude for his eloquent and masterly interpretation of the speeches. The King's Interest Lord Bledisloe mentioned that he was extremely gratified at the display of loyalty to His Majesty and they would be glad to know that the King himself was taking a direct interest in the Maori race whom he esteemed very highly, so mueh' so that he had received a l'etter quite recently from His Majesty asking him to let him know the result of the competition ,a.nd w.hat the points were awarded for. "There is no one who takes more interest in the Maori race than His Majesty, King George," said His Excellency, "and I shall furnish him with the information as soon as possible." Will Visit Raukokore "The only reason I have not visited Raukokore and the Tuhoe tribe," explained Lord Bledisloe, "is that recently, at short notice, we had to go on a cruise to visit your Polynesian cousins at Raratonga, Samoa and Tonga and those. warm hearted peoples from the Islands repeatedly asked me to convey to the'r Maori relatives their warmest greetings. I take this, the first opportunity, of doing so. As far as Raukokore is concerned. I uromise vou that we will visit

you there in a very short time if only to see the progress that has been made in the farm which has won the p-rize to-day. Points of Prizewinner Lord Bledisloe said that the judge, Mr. Dempster, had based his decision upon several things. In the case of the winner, Wiremu Swinton, it included these: — Good farm management. Good stock. Cleanliness in handling radlk. Resourcefulness. Enterprise. General conduct of farm. He had reported that nowhere, either among Pakeha or Maori had he come across more cleanly methods in handling milk and farm products than was the case at the winner's farm at Raukokore and he also- h'ad the same comment to make about Horohoro and the other Maori settlements of the type which he had visited, said Lord Bledisloie. N.Z.'s Reputation 1 "I am particularly delighted to read these words," said Lord Bledisloe," for-upon the cleanliness in handling milk the reputation of New Zealand and all its products depends all

, v the world over. I want also to stress the element- of resourcefulness displayed by James Swinton for he con- ! structed a two-bail cowshed out of ' •old petrol tins. In these times resourcefulness and perseverance will enable the man wh'o makes his living from the land to hold his own. I make , a special appeal to the suecessful ones / in this competition and also to those who intend to enter for next year not , to lose heart but to persevere if things do not go right on the farm and if prices are low. . Lessons From the Maori J "You Maoris can teach us Pakehas one or two useful lessons in these hard times," continued his Excellency, "the lesson of patience and in these ' hard timos of economic depression, you can teach us a lesson (and we can all do with' it) a lesson of simplicity in living." He urged upon them to take from the Pakeha th'e lesson of perseverance and to learn to pull their full weight in the canoe of State and to realise that the bulk of the wealth of the country must for many years be won from th'e soil. Touching light- ■ ly upon the treatment of pumice lands His Excellency told the Maoris to . realise that they had not been placed upon po-or land but on land which J under the props-r treatment would be ' as fertile as any in the Waikato or elsewhere. There were, he understood, from the Agricultural Departmerit, a? the result of recent surveys, several millions of acres eapable of cultivation and eapable of producing food stuffs at a reasonable profit if they were correctly treated. He instanced the treatment of bush-sick land, and the success of Horohoro. In conclusion His Excellency thanked them for their welcome once more •and assured them of his continued in- . terest in the Maori race. Haka of Triumph The Raukokore tribe then' launched out into a haka of tnumph followea i by other Te Arawa tribes. The whole function was most i-m-pressive and the effect upon the Maori farming community according to representa.tives is lilcely -to be most ' beneficial.