Sir,-The article you printed recently about Hal Collins is not correct in several respects. It is true that he called himself a Maori, but in fact he was three-quarters English, being the son of an English jute merchant who married a half-caste Maori girl (a great-niece of Te Rauparaha’s wife, Te Aukau). He was born in London, and on the death of his father, the family came out to New Zealand while he was still going to school. He returned to England some years before the 1914-18 war, after having taught art at the Wanganui Technical College. He served with the British forces during the 1914-18 war. It is thus clear he would not be correctly described as a Maori, and it is open to question whether he would be described as a New Zealander, as his cultural background was English and his period of residence in New Zealand was not extensive. He used the name Te Aukau (not Te Auke) which was also, we think, the name of his grandmother. He was brought up in a musical atmosphere which may be presumed to have had its influence-Ava Symons (Mrs. Will Prouse) was his cousin.
W. D.
COLLINS
(Hawera).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 501, 28 January 1949, Page 5
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199Untitled New Zealand Listener, Volume 20, Issue 501, 28 January 1949, Page 5
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