Kaitieki o nga Tari o Nga Rohe ma ratou e whiriwhiri e tuku ki Poneke me a ratou kupu tautoko. I ki ake ra au kaore he rereketanga i nga ahuatanga o mua ake nei motemea i tukua katoa nga tono awhina moni ma te Poari Mo Nga Take Maori i Poneke e whakatau. E pai ana ra tena. E mohio ana au ki te Perehitene o Te Poari Whenua Maori o toku rohe engari ko Te Kaitieki Maori nei ko wai ia? Ko Tipi Ropiha, ko ia te Tumuaki o Te Tari Maori a Te Kaitieki Maori hoki. Ko tenei tuunga ko Te Kaitieki Maori no te tau 1921 i whanau ai i te rironga mai o te mana whakahaere o nga take Maori ko te Kaitieki mo Te Katoa ra te kai whakahaere i mua atu i taua wa—penei i nga whakahaere mo nga whenua Rahui Maori penei i etahi a nga whenua o Taranaki. Mo tetahi wa roa noa atu he tari motuhake te Tari o Te Kaitieki Maori engari no 1934 ka whakakotahitia ki te Tari Maori. No 1946 ka whakaratotia nga mahi a Te Kaitieki Maori ki nga Tari Maori i nga rohe. Apiti atu ki nga mahi kua riro mai nei i te Poari ko etahi o nga mahi a Te Kaitieki Maori he tieki i nga rawa a te hunga kei raro iho i te 21 tau te pakeke, te hunga kei nga whare porangi, nga rawa a te hunga mate kore wira a ko te whakahaere hoki me te utu i nga moni reti o nga whenua rahui Maori. Ko tau korero ahakoa kua whakakorea nga Poari Whenua Maori kaore noa iho he rereketanga ki te iwi Maori. A he aha i whakakorea ai aua Poari? Ko te tima tanga mai o nga Poari nei no te tau 1900 a i huaina i tera wa ‘Ko Nga Kaunihera Mo Nga Whenua Maori’ i whakaturia hei riihi hei hoko ranei i nga whenua i tukua ki aua Poari. Ko etahi o nga mema o aua Poari he Maori he mangai no nga iwi me te Perehitene na te Kawanatanga i whakatu. I roto o nga tau ka ririri nga iwi mo o ratou mangai ki runga i aua Poari a nawai ra a i te tau 1913 ka whakakorea atu nga mangai Maori o nga iwi ka noho ko nga Tiati o nga Kooti Whenua Maori me nga Kai-Rehita anake ki aua Poari. No konei tonu ka timata mai nga amuamu kia whakakorea atu nga Poari rokohanga ka tu he Kawanatanga ke a ko etahi atu ahuatanga ka haere tonu aua Poari. He whai take tonu ra nga Paori a i oti nga mahi i roto o nga tau. No te timatatanga o nga mahi ahuwhenua me nga mahi hanga whare a te Tari Maori ka tukua ma nga Poari era mahi ki nga rohe. Kaore he whakawa i oti pai aua mahi a e haere tonu nei. Ko te tino take i whakakorea ai nga Poari he whaka whaiti i te mana whakahaere o nga mahi a Te Tari Maori. Ka tau inaianei te (Kei te wherangi 50) Just one point. I know the President of the Board, but I do not know this Maori Trustee. Who is this Maori Trustee who is to decide on my loan? Mr Ropiha, who is head of the Department, also holds the office of Maori Trustee. The position of Maori Trustee was constituted in 1921 to take over from the Public Trust Office all Maori matters, and particularly the administration of Maori reserves—for instance the West Coast Settlement Reserves in Taranaki. For a long time the Maori Trustee office was a separate department, but in 1934 it was amalgamated with the Department of Maori Affairs. About 1946 it was found necessary to split up his work, which had previously all been done in Wellington, and provide for it to be handled in districts at the District Offices of the Department. Apart from the work now taken over from the Boards, the Maori Trustee acts as trustee for Maori minors, and persons under disability, and may be appointed to administer Maori estates, as well as administering Maori Reserves and paying out the rents from these. You have said the abolition of the Maori Land Boards makes practically no difference to the Maori people. Why have they been abolished then? The Boards were originally set up (under the name of ‘Maori Land Councils’) in 1900 for the cutting up, leasing, and sale of Maori lands vested in them, and were composed of representative Maoris and an appointed president. A good deal of quarrelling and animosity arose out of the election and appointment of Maori members, so that the number of these was whittled away, until, in 1913, it was provided that the Boards would consist of the Judge and Registrar of the Maori Land Court district only. About this time there were moves afoot to abolish the Boards but because of a change in government, and because the Boards were legal bodies and could hold land, etc., this step was not taken. The Boards as they existed were convenient bodies to carry out different jobs as they arose, and gradually acquired a number of miscellaneous powers and functions. When land development and the Maori housing scheme started, the Department had only a very small organisation outside Wellington. For that reason the enormous amount of field work, accounts work, and so on that suddenly became necessary outside Wellington was largely given to the Maori Land Boards to handle. In performing these functions the close contact of the Boards with the Maori people concerned was of great benefit, and much valuable assistance was given to Maori farming and housing, in particular. (Continued on page 50)