Scared by Maori Haka of Welcome

Radio Record, Volume VIII, Issue 18, 9 November 1934, Page 18

Scared by Maori Haka of Welcome

An Early New Zealand Colonising Attempt That Failed — Missionary Work in Papua-Collecting the Moths and Butterflies of N.Z.Remarkable Division of Territory in Africa.

DR. N. J. MILLEN (4YA). rN 1825, the Harl of Durham and Colonel Torrens formed the first "New Zealand Company." ‘Their object _ was to ship a number of mechanics to New Zenland, and to establish et factory, and ship from Neéw Zealand consignments of flax and spars. «Tall trees were plentiful enough, and in those days of sailing ships there was a never-end-ing demand for timber for masts anilyards. They chartered the barque "Rosanna," put on board fO or 60 mechnnics and a quantity of live ‘stock, und reached the district now known as

Thaines in 1826, The natives gave them ahaka of welcome in their honour, but the haka scared them so-much that they left Thames in a hurry and sailed away. . EE history of the New Zealand Comany, the company formed by Hdward Gibbon Wakefield, which was the principal agent fot the colonising of. New Zen-. land is bound up with the history of that one man, This extraordinary and gifted man was enabled to ‘shape the destinies Of our colony for good ‘or jill. Ile Was possessed by a genuine passion for raising the lot of: the labouring’ . class, particularly of the agricultural labourer, But Wakefield was of an unscrupulous and determined nature, and. allowed no strain of caution or -diplo-

macy to eheek him in any corse he had taken in hand. MR, GEORGE HOWES (4YA). ry choosing such a subject as the collecting of moths nnd butterflies, 1 fully realise the hard task,.of explaining and demonstrating the inténse interest felt by the collector, Were it possible to’ show the actual specimens, they would provide their own attraction, But perhaps with a little wordpainting I ‘may "be able to: give you some conception of the. beauty and unique protective’ adjustments, that mark our New :Zealand insect fanna, for just as in native birds we. have. peculiar forms, such as the ‘huia, weka, kakapo, so’ in the insects we also have many distinct creatures peculiar to "New Zealand. Come with me to the. edge .of the bush for, a: night's mothhunting in the-late spring. . V E arrive as the sun sets and ‘the light softens. Many moths are attractéd by the nectar of flowers: but at seasons when the bush flowers are not’ abundant we proyide what. is known as "sugar" as an additional attraction, This is 2 mixture of treacle and beer, with..a little rum, and. strangely enough, if the beer is stale it is better... Sometimes we have to use such substitutes as winedregs, and also have to put in sugar or honey or even | jam, but any sweet substance is ef- ~ fective, and the beer and rum diffuse the .seent, and also stupefy the moth that. comes to the. feast. Passing — quickly along the bush track, we paint on each tree trunk, just about: shoulder. high, a short streak of ‘the, sugaring, mixture. ‘HEN ve return to see how the "sugar" is attracting, we find that each patch we come to may produce something specially vood. and this pro-

vides an, interest akin to that of fishing, for we never know what yort of: bag We, may make. From the Wood: haugh Gardens alone ft havé three new ‘Macro. Lepidoptera, and two Micro Lepidoptera--that' is: to say, .I took there these five species not previously ‘known to science. Clustering on the sugar, each moth’s eyes in the strong light .of the lamp #listen like tiny rubies, They bejewel the tree trunk. .MR. N.S. Woods : (AYA). pan scramble for territory in Afric’ -is ‘one of the most interesting spéctacles in modern history. -In the short space of about 21 years this mighty continent was almost complétely divided up. between the Burvpean powers. More. remarkable stiul perhaps, is the fact that the. division was achieved without the participants coming to blows. OR four and a. half centuties after Diaz and Da Gama first sailed the coasts of Africa, Huronpeans were cop-

fined to the merest fringe of the continent by the dense forests, wide deserts, fever-stricken rivers, and hnumerots fierce native tribes, Until the develozment of machinery, steamepower, 1repeating rifles, scientific precautions a’gainst diseuse, and many other diseoy-

eries, Europe. was baffled: by Afries. The'inustrial revolution had given most of thesé things to the white man by 1850, but from 1848 to 1878 Hurope had too many troubles of its own--the Crimean war, the Austro-Prussian wai. the Franco-Prussian war, and the Balkan troubles, However, in 1878 the treaty of Berlin at last gave Europe a breathing space. 2 Sa result, the close of the centurr ; saw Trance in possession of almost 4,000,000 square miles, ineludiny the vast Sahara, Britnin in possession _ OF 2,750,000 square. miles, controlling a -majority of the grent waterways leading into. the interior: Germany with nearly 1,000,000 square miles, also controlling important. lines of communication; the Congo Free State had 900.000; Portugal 790,000; and Italy 188,000 square miles, REV. F. J. SEARLE (3YA). HERE were days of little gold in North East New Guinea, prospectol's came and went: the dangers of the country Were many, the cost of labour great, and the rewards not’ commensurate. But one or two stuck to it, until at last, it was evident that there was "bie cold" here. It is all paralleled

in the history of Papuan missions, There were great pioneers, some died of illness or were murdered-nvt first only slight suecéss wis met with. But confident workers were sure that the gold of character could be won. The possibilities were there, (QOURAGE is one of the notable features of-the Christian Papuan’s character, To this day dread of sorcery clings fast in the native mind, and it holils spécially between coustal and inland natives, who fear each other, Even the very sophisticated Port. Moresby natives. still blame the magic of the ins land tribes if their crops fail through drought, One of our students for the ministry, a constal main, before leaving college, wrote to his district missionary and asked him for an appointment to.a certain inland locality Which had never yet had a. resident pastor, And he is there to-day, facing the drended strange magic With confidence in Divine protection,