THE MAORI WAR CANOE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9173, 22 August 1908, Page 3

THE MAORI WAR CANOE.

I (To the Editor). J Sir, —Allow me to correct an error | appearing in your issue of 15th ;inst., in which you reported that the Maori war canoe (Taheretikitiki) I "was put together near tha Rowing Sheds this morning (14th), and after I •lunch, manned by 60 warriors from : the Waikato, with another craft of j •smaller dimensions, left its teiripor-| ary moorings on a cruise around tho | warships." I do not know where I your reporter got this information from, but I was a witness of the whole scene, and may say that the j war canoe was not launched at all. It I was returned from Christchurch cut j in three pieces to facilitate transit, and dumped down on the wharf for | the unfortunate Maoris to deal with | as best they could. Needless to say they were unable to put it together. ' They attempted to lash it together | with rope, and to caulk the joints I with putty (!), but naturally it was j iw., 1 --'"" • f " 11 of water a few minutes after j it was floated off, and they had to abandon it. Moreover, the figurehead and some of the other parts had hO-0 left behind in Christchurch. Whoever the officer in Christchurch may be, who was responsible for j t'lis, is much to blame, for not only ( w:is it a great disappointment to Maoris that they were unable to take part in the promised demonstration, but to all appearances their great historic canoe has been spoilt ; "'to make a Roman holiday." We j all know the veneration of trie Maoris i for their ancient heirlooms, which | <ire hardly less interesting to us, and | they must have sorely grieved over their disabled and shattered catioe no doubt quite as marvellous in their •ey&3 a3 our great warships are to us. The lea3t the pakehass could have done would have been to bolt it together for them; but this is just one of those minor grievances of the Maoris in which they are shown ansolutely no consideration. It was 4.30 before they decided tn abandon it, and launched the little every-day , canoe, which alone made a trip to the warships, thereby causing keen | '"isappointment to some thousands of pejple who had been looking forward to seeing the famous war canoe in comparison with our modern leviathans of the deep.—l am, etc., I M. LAVINGTON CLYDE. L.S.W. I Auckland, August 17th. | (The report referred-to above was | contained in a Press Association tele- i pram sent from Auckland.—Ed. i 'w.A.y |