The Morioris

New Zealand Tablet, 1 November 1906, Page 9

The Morioris

The Maoris, seem to be moving away from the raceextinction to which they -had, been steadily drifting-— up to 1896. But their cousins, the Morioris of our Chatham Islands, seem to be following fast to the decay that has swept so many other aboriginal peoples ' afay in the ewigkeit '. Seventy years ago they numbered some twelve hundred. Then— in an evil hour "for the Morioris— the existence of the' Chatham Islands was made known to the Mew Zealand Maori by the crew of an English vessel. It was in the days .when Te Rauparaha was on his wild raids throughout New Zealand, striking terror into the Maori, and leaving death" and fire and desolation along his track. A strong body of armed tribesmen, smitten with 'fear of the conquering 'Raha, fled to the Chathams in the brig ' Rodney '. . They slew great nunrbers of the unprepared and unwarlike Morioris, sent numbers of them , to the cooking oven, and enslaved the poor remainder. At the census of 1891 only forty of the aboriginals of the -Chathams - were left. At this- year's census their numbers were reduced to thirty. The doomed race is following fast in the footsteps of 'the black-skinned aboriginal of Tasmania.