Suspended Motion —ln Four Acts

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 80, 25 June 1927, Page 8

Suspended Motion —ln Four Acts

The Maori- Village Movement THE curtain is still down on the last act of the proposal to establish Maori model villages at Ohinemutu and Whakarcwarewa. Act 1 saw the Arawa Maori Trust Board place the question before the Government. Act 2 was rather longer and saw a commission inquiring into the question and reporting at length. Act 3 saw a survey of the locality, the reports on which were sent forward to the Government. Quite an audience of people who are more than interested spectators are waiting patiently to see the fourth act.

rpHE attitude of the Arawa Trust Board, when a movement was first commenced to have the conditions remedied, was summed up in these words:

“Prom a national point of view the bpard looks upon these villages as being the most important in the Maori district, if not in the whole of New Zealand. It is here that visitors from all parts of the world meet the Maori, observe his customs and mode of living, and their impressions of the race, whether good or evil, are formed largely on what they see and hear in these villages. “No one can deny that the existing conditions are not to the credit of the race, the Rotorua Borough Council, which controls these villages, or to the New Zealand Government. Urgent reforms call for remedial action, not only in the interest of the inhabitants living in the villages, but also in the interest of the public who visit these places on account of their being centres of Maori life.”

Shortly after this, representatives of the board and the race met the Prime Minister, and received a favourable reply to their requests, the result being the setting up of the Maori Model Villages Commission, which commenced its sitting on June 24 last year, and reported on July 29 following.

The commission stressed the neccessity for improving the villages, and recommended (a) more frequent and rigid inspection of the villages, (b) detailed survey to ascertain sewerage, and what building should be remodelled or removed, (c) survey of further available land to the south, (d) town planning, (e) preparation of typical dwelling plans, and a number of other things including roading, removal of the tea rooms from their present site, demolition of certain buildings, planting of trees, and the removal of the unsightly buildings at the entrance to Whakarewarewa.

It was not long after this report that £2OO was made available for roading as suggested by the commission, and for surveys, and the latter were carried out. A contour survey was made of the present site and the proposed site to the south of Whakarewarewa, and an engineering survey of the road.

The results of these surveys were forwarded to the Public Works Department, and that is the last that has been heard of the question, with the exception of some suggestion that more might be heard of it at the next sitting of Parliament. In the meantime those vitally interested are wondering whether there is going to be any improvement. —E. R.