“PASSING MAORI MEMORIES.”

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 339, 21 January 1937, Page 3

“PASSING MAORI MEMORIES.”

o RECORDED BY. J.H.S. FOR “THE TARANAKI CENTRAL PRESS.”

THE MASTER’S PRESENCE. Lord Bledisloe’s departure in 1935 ■will be compared* with Sir George Grey’s In 1853, not 6nly for his tactful Tule, but also for his revival of interest in our beautiful and distinctive native flora, and his admiration for its Maori nomenclature in preference to the obsolete Latin, used only by those who affect special knowledge. Colonel Wynward, senior military officer of the . colony, and the newlyelected Superintendent of Auckland, carried out Sir George’s duties, but was sorely handicapped by the resentment or the sorrow’ of the Maoris at the loss of their friend. In May, 1854, an American vessel from Hobart brought a devastating epidemic- of measles which swept the colony like a plague. It claimed 4000 dead among the Maoris, in * whose fresh blood was no anti toxim The victims were children or aged people, few of middle age, and fewer still of white blood. Superstition and the genuine sorrow at the loss of their beloved I Governor led. them to blame his successor rar.,their sufferings. The pioneer colonists were -naturally only those of initiative, energy, and independence. Timid, weak, and idle tones were left, in the old country. • There were no roads dnd no steamers. Each settlement was intent upon its own affairs, domestic and abroad, a law. unto themselves. Heredity and title to them were of moment —far less indeed than to the Maori. Imagine the first meeting of the General Assembly held at Auckland on May 24, 1854, the Queen’s birthday, and ru|ed .toy a>military officer in a By the gestures and angry faces, the Maori onlookers recognised their own panegyric of Jpretehce by U’hrch they gained cdiirage in debatd. Wiieri j resolutions sfbyrpirig supplies calling upon the Governor to dismiss Mr Edward Gibbon Wakefield from his councils wdfe ’cdfned,' ifrr McKay, the Nelson Member declared the House had assemble# ‘illegally, and refused to remove his belbtopper, whereupon the gx-Minister, Mr Sewell punched him in the ribs. There followed a fair exhibit of Donnybrook, in which the Maori audience recognised a serious tribal war.

Prorogation coblfed the a rig eV of the Ministry, and the formation of the Forsaitff*"- 'Gbverhment - proved the Governor’s desire to forward public w

, The provincial members ©f the House voted £4OOO for their own expenses;. but: refused. the same servicea for the Legislative Council! The unseen hand of one great man had ruled their little world; but he had gone.

LAND LEAGUERS. , Whilst dur first Parliament sat in Auckland at, wordy wars within, there was peace from without among the Maoris, who looked on with a quaint contempt. At Taranaki there had ; grown tip a natural resentment concerning the alleged purchase of their vast tribal territories. That it was justified, may be realised from the > ! pitiful fact that in the South Island • we claimed 5,000,000 acres of which | 100 acres cost us one penny, and in ! the North, . 3,000,000 acres at the higher rhte of £2/10/- per 100! Captain Fitzroy’s restoration of Taranaki lands in “settlement” of j their grievances brought single families in canoes with their pigs and children from Wellington, others from Chatham Islands, and 600 Ngatiawa from Otaki under Wiremu Kingi. Sir George foresaw complica-

tions, and induced Her Majesty to locate a corps of British pensioners near by. The Maori fugitives grew rich, and by 1854 Wiremu’s tribe owned 150 horses, 40 carts, 35 ploughs,. 20 harrows, and 300 cattle. The Maoris realised the value of land from which sue# wealth had been gained, and refused to part with an acre. They said “Money received for land soon goes, but the land stays with the pakeha for ever.” They formed an anti land sale league, and to bind the members, solemnly buried a large, bible, and raised a cairn of stones over the spot. New Plymouth settlers, fearing the same fate as Kororareka, asked for troops to protect the town. Four hundred and fifty soldiers were sent to guard the settlers; but were ordered to take no parton the tribal

fights' Both races became aware of the advantages of the commisariaf chest. The Taranaki soldiers were soon known as the “Beef and, mutton brigade” the excellence of whose fare Was seen" in the alignment' of their vest buttons, to adjust which, triangular backs were inserted by; the busy regimental tailors.

Of the contending Maori tribes Arama Karaka’s were Wesleyan's, Katator’s Episcopals. The Rev. Turton for one and Bishop Selwyn the other, each thought their flock in the right: both "tried to stop strife and promote peace*

Within the sound of the church bells at New Plymouth, dreadful killings occurred between the contending parties, condoned for the sake of its restraining influence by the spiritual leaders only where Util or reprisal for the crime of infidelity W.as concerned. Fights took place in daylight, lest night raiders? might be regarded a? murderers. When appealed to., Colonel Wynyard refused to avenge Rawiri’s death, because he had been killed for selling another’s tribal land. Both sides, still . befriended the settlers. . A

LAND AND SCHOLARSHIP. I We can only realise how serious | were those Taranaki conflicts in 1856, when reminded that 60 Maoris were killed and 100 were wounded within hearing o£ the New Plymouth settlement. The Maoris began to feel the effect of a growing refinement among the pakeha settlers, and few of them

- ' came among us on terms of equal- | ity. This unconscious estrangement L reacted upon both, and an unkind prejudice was created. Like oil and water, the richer fluid rose to the top. The Maoris felt that so soon, as,they parted with the land, their children would be slaves or servants, merely kaimahi to the white men* Equality between those in fine houses and those in raupo whares j speaking different tongues was not 'possible. Grave responsibility lay with the English who did nothing to bridge the widening channel. ' An innate love of the land in bush, waste, or cultivation was more deeply rooted in the Maori mind than we I realised. Every hill and valley, bay and river had become linked to the family and tribe by ancestral tradition. To. them the land is literally a living thing. Striking evidence of this was shown in 1857, when the Government

bought the last unsold section near the spot first sighted by Tasman. The chief Ropoama struck a prized greenstone axe deeply into the ground at the feet of Donald McLean the chief land purchase commissioner, and cried aloud in their metaphoric language “Now we have forever, launched our land into the sea, and as lasting evidence of its surrender this axe named paiwhenua (precious land), prized as gained in battle, Js yours also. Money goes, but this greenstone, like our land endures for ever,, durable witness of our act as the land itself.” At this period public interest was suddenly, diverted from land to higher ‘education. A remarkable public utterance of the day caused enthusiasm here and indignation in Australia. “A university is urgently required in New Zealand, to draw within its walls not only our youth and ‘the Maori, but above all, the' Australian aristocracy who are destitute of bodily energy or alert minds. 1 Two generations in that hot climate change the sturdy emigrants to a little race more .nervous than muscular. Sydney cornstalks are no match in int.ello.ct for j those of colder climates. The first province, to found a university will acquire a .name and influence’ in the southern hemisphere, not to be measured by money or the statist.” The .Scofsinen of Otago were soon to the fore.