G—ll

1950 NEW ZEALAND

MAORI PURPOSES FUND BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1950

Presented to Both Houses of the General Assembly in Pursuance of Section 14 of the Maori Purposes Fund Act, 1934-35

GENERAL The annual meeting of the Board was held on the 26th September, 1949. The Board suffered a sad loss at the death of Mr. Matiu Ratana, M.P., who had been a member for five years. Mrs. Iriaka Ratana, M.P., his widow, replaced him. The Director-General of Health, Mr. R. T. Ritchie, ceased to be a Board member on his retirement. During his short term he had shown enthusiasm for the work of the Board. The new Director-General, Dr. J. Cairney, was appointed a member in accordance with the provisions of the Maori Purposes Fund Act, 1934-35. OPERATIONS Education. —The Board's annual grant for the assistance of Maori students was increased from £750 to £l,OOO. This money was administered, as usual, by the Education Department which took into account both the scholastic promise of the bursars and their ability to attend post-primary schools on their own account. A grant of £l,OOO was made to the Ngarimu Scholarship Fund, established as a memorial to 2nd Lieutenant M. Ngarimu, Y.C., and other members of the 28th (Maori) Battalion who lost their lives in the recent war. Its purpose is to provide suitable Maori children with scholarships. Publications. —Sir Peter Buck's " Coming of the Maori," published during the year, sold out within a few weeks. A second edition, with some editorial changes, was sent to the press before the end of the year. Receipts from sales, totalling £1,900, are for the greater part derived from the sales of this book. The subsidy to the Polynesian Society was increased from £3OO to £4OO for this year, in view of the Society's unusual expenditure in publishing part of the third volume of Sir Apirana Ngata's collection of Maori songs, " Nga Moteatea." General. —Moneys received from Maori Land Boards for specific grants were expended upon the Auckland Maori Community Centre, the Maori Sexcentennial Celebrations, sanitation in Maori villages, and various other purposes. A special grant was made to Mr. L. G. Kelly, author of the recently published history of the Tainui tribe, " Tainui, 1949," for his research in the Cook Islands.