MARATHON OF TALK

Te Ao Hou, December 1956, Page 64

MARATHON OF TALK The Wellington Regional Council of Adult Education has announced that it will sponsor a Maori conference lasting a week, to be held at Massey College. Seventy Maoris from all parts of the country will discuss the present position of the Maori. Eighteen years have now passed since there was held in Auckland, under the auspices of Sir Apirana Ngata, Prof. Belshaw and others, a ‘Young Maori Conference,’ at which younger Maori leaders were given an opportunity to discuss many Maori questions. It was a very fruitful conference during which many ideas were brought forward that later became reality. For instance the present ‘Welfare Division’ of the Department of Maori Affairs, the tribal committees and executives and the Maori Women's Welfare League were all foreshadowed in some way during that conference. Another idea put forward at that time and since realised was the publication by the government of a magazine like Te Ao Hou. The chief organizers of this meeting are the three Maori Adult Education Tutor-Organizers, Mr William Parker from Wellington, and Dr Maharaia Winiata and Mr Matiu Te Hau from Auckland. Detail work was done by a Wellington committee helping Mr Parker. Participants of the conference were chosen from all districts by the Adult Education Tutors drawing on their knowledge and experience of the people who could best participate and later carry out the spirit of the discussions. Of course such a selection must always be arbitrary, if there are only seventy people invited (there are no more beds) and if the selecting is done by such a small panel. No doubt many extremely good people have been left out and it should be possible for the net to be cast wider at subsequent meetings. Participants are sponsored by their local groups. It is hoped that the opening speech will be given by Professor R. O. Piddington. Dr C. E. Beeby has agreed to chair the discussion on Maori Education. There will also be discussions on economic problems and on the social aspects of the Maori health problem. The role of Maoritanga and culture contact will also be studied. A novel idea for this conference is to have ‘workshop sessions’ chaired by Messrs Geddes, Ritchie and Booth, three men who have done detailed research on the Maori situation in respectively: the city of Auckland, the new town of Murupara, and the village Panguru. General ideas can then flow from a discussion on what was observed in detail in these places.