Successful Radio Pageant from 2YA

Radio Record, Volume I, Issue 30, 10 February 1928, Page 16

Successful Radio Pageant from 2YA

Reception Throughout New Zealand Good and Re-Broadcasts Satisfactory

Although at the time of our going to press there has not been time for the receipt of reports from many parts of the Dominion, advice has been received that reception in Wanganui and Christchurch from 2YA was good, and it is understood that the rebroadcasts by 1YA and 3YA were successful in every way. This marks a memorable attainment in New Zealand radio.

(Continued from covet). ' ITH this brief introduction, Hatmiora Hakopa, chief spokesman for the evening of the Maori party, extended greeting to listeners. | Justly proud they were, he said, of the history of -their race in its conquest of difficulties and discouragements; proud of their present day attainments, and _hopefilly looking forward to progress in the future, To make living to their hearers the pages of the past they would give as graphically as possible accounts-of the life of their Native race as lived before and after the advent of the white race and modern developments, THE COMING OF THE .MAORI. AFTER an effective oration by Henare Poananga, LU.B., of the prologue from ‘Scenes from the Past," and a very effective rendering of the "Tangi"? from Hill’s "B Flat Maori QOuartet"’ by the Symons-Ellwood Quartet, "the coming of the Maori" was treated in three ways-by an oration, by a thanksgiving incantation, led by Ope Whenarere, and by a thanksgiving haka ‘illustrating the joy of the first Maoris on their safe arrival in Ao-tea-Roa. The general effectiveness of this phase was very marked, Hamiora Hakopa’s address and his outline of the ontstanding navigational capacity of the Polynesian forbears of the Maori race who, 900 years before Captain Cook, circumnavigated the North Island and entered Port Nicholson, building an arresting picture of daring adventure. MAORIS AT HOME IN THE EARLY DAY . HE section portraying the oldtime life of the Maori was particularly good. Said the orator: ‘Our people spent their time usefully, interestingly, and not infrequently strenuousiv." In evidence of this primitive life, with its ceremony and ritual on occasions of state, there was given the welcome of a travelling party to a Maori pah-the announcement by the herald, the welcome bv the haka party the tangi and exchange of speeches, the feast, and the thrilling chant accompanying the distribution of the food. Most effective were the songs, hakas, pois, and choruses in this section. THE COMING or THE MISSION: [iS the third phase there was described the coming of the misstonary, followed by the Symons-Ell-wood Qnartet’s rendering of ‘‘Waiata Maori," which led on to Sir Maui Yomare’s speech in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi, which followed from the missionary era. The Hon. Sir Maui Pomare, in his address on the Treaty of Waitangi, spoke as follows :- This week, eighty-eight years ago, |

was a momentous week for New Zealand, It was, in fact, the most important period in eur history. This jis the anniversary of Captain Hobson’s proclamation at Korokareka of the assumption of the duties of the _ office of Lieuten-ant-Governor: thie

next step was to present to the Maori chiefs the draft of the Treaty of Waitangi for their signature. The ‘Treaty provided :- Firstly, that the Native chiefs should cede their sovercignty to the. Queen of England; Secondly, that the lands, forests, fisheries and food places of the natives should remain theirs inviolate, but that the right of pre-emptive purchase of their lands should vest in the Crown. Thirdly, that in return for these concessions, Her Majesty, the Queen of England, would afford the native race her Royal protection, and impart to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects. On February 6, 1846, forty-five chiefs of Ngapuhi signed the Treaty. Sheets of the ‘Treaty were taken from one end of the Colony to the other, and 60 very nearly every chief of importance had a hand in its ratification, It was in this manner that New Zealand ‘became a dependency of the British Empire. That piece of paper-the Treaty of Waitangi-is our New Zealand Maoris’ Magna Charta. But det it always be remembered that it was a purely voluntary act, this handing over of the superior Mana of New Zealand to the British Queen. The Maoris did not take that step without careful deliberation. They weighed every word; some of Ngapuhi were suspicious of the pakehas’ intentions, and it was only through the efforts of two eminent men that they conscnted to accept the Queen’s Mana. Two Outstanding Advocates, The names of those two men should fever be forgotten. One was the Venerable Arclideacon Williams, a very gallant man who, before he hecame a missionary had been a British naval officer, and had served against the french and the Americans, The other champion of the Treaty was Tamati Waka Nene, the great Ngapuhi chief. Had it not heen for such men, and had it not been for the benevolence and hospitality of the Maoris generally, the British flag might not be

flying over New Zealand to-day. Remember, the pakeha was only here on sufferance. The Maori population in 1840 was probably nearly a hundred thousand, and most of the men possessed guns, and, furthermore, knew how to use them. It was not possible to take this country by force, and that is why the Treaty was entered into. So the Treaty came into being, and through thick and thin the Maoris have stuck to it.’ There have been wars, it is true, but the first infraction ot the Treaty was not by the Maoris. It is rather extraordinary when we look back to realise that if British legislators of the past had had their way the ‘Treaty would have been scrapped, Early Lack of Vision, ° One of the causes of the distrust among the Maoris that led up. to Hone Heke’s war at the Bay of Islands in 1845 was the belief that the pakehas, so soon as they became strong enough, intended to seize the Maori lands. This was the tesult of the attitude of British members of Parliament. In 1844 the news came from England that the House of Commons Committee on New Zealand Affairs had resolved that the Treaty of Waitangi was a part of a series of ‘‘injudicious proceedings," and that "the acknowledgment by the local authorities of a right of property in all wild land in these islands, after the sovereigntr had been assumed by Her Majesty, was not essential to the true construction of the Treaty, and was an error which has been productive of very serious consequences." In other words, the committee thought the Governmeut should seize upon all native land not actually occupied and devote it to the use of white settlers. J‘ortunately, such a course of action was not followed. There was even a British Secretary of State for the Colonies who eighty years ago took the same view and thought the Maori lands should be seized by the State. ‘That was the era ot the Tittle Englander, the man without vision or prescience. We Maoris rejoice to know that a very different spirit prevails to-day. The Spirit of To-day. The Treaty is as much the charter of Maori liberty and nationalism as it was eighty years ago, I would like to refer to two or three instances of how the present Government of — the Dominion interpreted the true spirit of that Treaty. One is the arrangement made with the Arawa tribe by which the Maori rights to their famous fishing waters, the Lakes of Rotorua, Rotoiti aud all*other lakes in that district, liave been acknowledged. Similar recognition was accorded the rights of the Maoris in regard to their Taupo waters. Andther instance is the searching inquiry which was recently made by a Royal Commission in regard to the long-standing grievances concerning the confiscation of native Jands, It can now be said that our troubles are at att end. ‘The Maoris and Europeans are now as one, and we feel that the happy position the Maori occupies in this beautiful land of ours is due in a very great degree to that simple little "scrap of paper? signed by the grand old chiefs of eighty-eight years agothe ‘lreaty of Waitangi. WKia Ora.

THE MAORIS’ PART IN THE GREAT WAR. GTIRRING and memorable was the treatment of this phase. Opening with the stirring ‘‘Ka Mate, Ka Mate" (‘Te Rangihikiroa) by the Sym-ons-Ellweood Quartet, it passed to one of the outstanding items of the evening, the "Ope ‘Tnatahi’? chorus by the massed patty. The blénding of voices in this item was vety beautiful and effective. THE tribute paid by the Prime Minister in his speech dealing with the fighting qualities of the Maori race, as displayed by the part they played in the Great War, was a fitting recognition of the warrior blood that is theirs. The £rime Minister said :- To-day is the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi 8&8 years ago, by which the representative chiefs of the Maori tribes of New Zealand ceded to Her Majesty the Queen of England all the rights of sovereignty they possessed, and by which Her Majesty the Queen of England extended to the Maoris of New Zealand her royal protection, and imparted to them all the rights and privileges of British subjects. It is fitting that on this occasion some | reference should be made to the effect of that Treaty. The amicable relations and complete understanding now existing between the Maori and Pakeha races resident in this Dominion have been brought about by that compact, The continued recognition by various Governments of the moral rights reserved to the Maoris under that Treaty has been

‘largely responsible for this fraternal union of the two peoples. Of this there can be no question. At no time has the Legislature of New Zealand been callously unmindful, cr even indifferent to the true spirit of the Treaty. Never has it been careless of the great trust imposed upon it as the guardian of Native rights. This commendable endeavour to observe that "justice which is the paramount interest of all men and all Commonwealths" has finally led to the universal acceptance of the Treaty by the Native race as the basis of their civil and political privileges. , Enthusiastic Support, When, therefore, the Great War broke out, the Maori tribes throughout New Zealand, recognising their responsibilities as British subjects by

virtue of that Treaty and without hesitation, voluntarily offered the services of their sons to fight the common foe in defence of the_Empire. This wonderful response was their generous recognition in 1914 of the protection given them by Britain in 1840. There were those of both races who, when a Native contingent was proposed, suggested that owing to their decreasing numbers the Maoris should only be used in home defence in New Zealand, but the suggestion did not appeal to the imagination of

the Maori, for he is a born fighter. He wanted to be an active combatant. In deference to their wishes to be permitted to proceed overseas, the Government decided to detail them for garrison duty overseas. This tame but necessary form of warfare did not fire the warrior blood of ancestral chieftains flowing in their veins. They sought permission to tread the sacred field of Tuma-tauenga-the God of battle-to be given an opportunity of meeting the enemy face to face, as was the wont of their fight-loving ancestors in the days of the glorious past. The acceptance of their services on Gallipoli satisfied the intense desire of this Maori manhood.to prove to his Pakeha fellow-subjects that the moral tie which held them to the British Crown under the Treaty of Waitangi was not one in name only. Gallantry on Gallipoli. Of their valiant deeds on the illfated hills of Gallipoli and the sheltlsearred fields of Flanders, of the noble sacrifice by which a great number of them laid down their lives in those distant lands, the historians have fittingly written. The Maoris themselves have embalmed that sacrifice in the following poem which was sung in the Maori villages throughout the land during those fateful war years, and will continue to be sung as the years roll on:1.Come ye, maidens, come to me, With your gifts of melody, Crying near and far to all, "Come, where duty calls." Chorus. Then together we will draw This canoe antil the end, To the goal the world desires, Peace and joy to all. 2.Would you still the longing heart, Ease the pain that gnaws within Tor the dear ones far away, Gone where duty calls. 3. Cleansed by war of all its dross, Love is gleaming strong and bright; In our hearts we vow to serve Where our duty calls, 4. Small may be this our canoe, Floating in a sea of tears, Tribute to the brave who fell Where their duty called. By this sacrifice our Maori breth-

ren have written the name of their race large on our scroll of fame, and it is fitting that we, who escaped their glorious fate in defence of King and Empire, should keep their memories green in our hearts and recol- — lections, as their own people have done in the touching lament: ‘Piko nei te Matenga" (When our Heads are Bowed with Woe). The Prime Minister’s quotation of the famous Maori Lament (‘When our Heads are Bowed with Woe’’) was followed by a very feeling rendering of that memorial hymn, with string accompaniment, the solo part being taken ‘by Mangu ‘Lahana, with accompanying chorus. THE MAORI IN SONG AND PLAY. PrROM the sadness inevitably left by this heroic ohase of Maori history, relief was given by the next sec-tion-"The Maori in Song and Play." This was the outstanding section of the evening for unadmterated melody and harmony. From the initial solo and chorus, ‘‘Hoki Hoki: ‘onu Mai,’ through a succession of songs, chor uses, and poi items the audience moved in spirit with the inimitable rhythm of the performers. Perhaps the most effective numbers were those in relation to the chorus and rliythmic dance, "Ta Hine Taru Kino.’? This dance is a short donble poi, the body being swung in rhythm with the music, the dancer at the same time whirling in each hand a ball of raupo {about as large as a tennis ball and attached to a string about 3 inches long. ‘The whirling balls are struck at short intervals against the different parts of the body, the fore arm, the knee, the shoulders, and the direction of spin is thus reversed, ‘The regular tapping of the pois as they struck came clearly over the air, and enabled listeners to visualise the poctic rhythm of this dance item. A little later the long poi enabled listeners to appreciate again the unique rhythm attained in this concert-, ed work. In this instance the dancers use a single ball ahout the size of a cricket ball, on a string about 12 to 18 inches long, the ball being struck with a free hand. a A male voice concerted number, "Ikaroo, Karoo,’’ was splendidly performed, the solo being taken by Tona Potae. The solo work by Ka Winiata in ‘Fine e Hine,’ and, again, with the backing of the full Maori party, in the succeeding number, ‘Ie ‘Taniwha,"’ was very delightful. IN REMINISCENT VEIN. HE evening’s programme was rounded out by a _ sixth phase which picturesquely represented a garden party as being in progress in the beautiful grounds of a chief. Over the glowing scene the chief proudly casts his glance till it settles upon the guest of honour, an old-time Maori warrior in striking garb. Stirred by old familtar tunes, the warrior in impassioned tones speaks of the glories of the past. ‘hrough the mist of distance he sees’ a canoe with a freight of human cargo crossing the seas towards these shores. They land, and lift their tougues in a paean of praise for safe arrival. ‘"Ihese are ancestors of ours; they come seeking a new home far from distant Haiwiki."’ A few more impassioned sentences, and the gathering swings into a full-blooded haka "Ia Mate Ka Mate.’’ pas is the dramatic climax to the evening’s programme. By speech and song there has been given to definitely the largest individual audience ever addressed in New Zealand a com. prehensive mental view of Maori life, song and story. The production has been unique, balanced, entertaining and attractive. There has been no hitch. ‘The audience has maintained its individual comfort. This dramatic entertainment has been taken into every home. Radio has, in truth, played out a pageant of unexampled scope and magnitude. Radio history has been established of a standard that augurs well for the future. There is, of course, the formal end. ing, ut even this is made distinctive by the Maori party most effectively singing ‘Home, Sweet Home,’’ accompanied by the String Quartet, and concluding with the National Anthem, A SPECIAL TRIBUTE. PECIAL recognition should be e¢xtended to the Symons-Ellwood String Quartet for the artistic and musicjanly manner in which they contributed to the success of the evening, Their own individual programme numbers were in every case a sheer delight and merited the keenest enthusiasm of listeners. Apart from those items, however, their sympathetic acconipaniments of the Maori voices lent charm to those numbers. Never did they obtrude beyond effectiveness or mar the melody of the voice; always was there the restraint of artistry and sympathy.