Touring with the N.Z. Maori Rugby Team

Te Ao Hou, Spring 1952, Page 62

Touring with the N.Z. Maori Rugby Team by RALPH LOVE If a visitor to New Zealand were to ask where he could find the biggest gathering of Maoris there would be an inclination to say that the days of the big huis and tangihangas are past. When a study is made to find what is the biggest attraction to bring Maoris from the far corners of New Zealand together, however, it will be seen that the modern counterpart of the hui of other days is the sports gathering, especially when a New Zealand Maori Rugby team takes the field. July 26, 1952, will always rank as a unique event in the history of New Zealand, when a Rugby football match between New Zealand Maori team and a New Zealand team was staged as a tribute to His Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Freyberg, V.C., and Lady Freyberg. The cream of Maori and Pakeha players was on parade, and a sparkling display of Rugby football was seen by the 30,000 people —hundreds of whom were Maoris–who assembled at Athletic Park, Wellington, that day. A vast assembly of buses conveyed Maoris from Taranaki, Wanganui, Maniapoto, Manawatu, Hawke's Bay, and from as far afield as Whakatane and Ruatoria. All were intent on seeing the best of the selected Maoris in a game which has been such a great attraction to our Maori people. It was at a meeting of the Council of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union that a match, as a farewell tribute to the Governor-General, was suggested, and as there had been no game between a Maori team and a New Zealand team since 1927, it was suggested that this match be played. Arising from further discussion, it was suggested that a short tour of the Golden Bay, West Coast, Buller and Marlborough districts be undertaken by the Maori players in order to acquire combination and polish. On July 9 the Maori players boarded the s.s. Tamahine at the Queen's Wharf, and left Wellington at 8 p.m., en route to Nelson.