OUR READERS SAY

TRIBUTE FROM MAORI AUTHOR Sir, My son, who attended the ceremonies at Tikitiki, brought me a copy of Te Ao Hou. I had been expecting its appearance for some time and now it has come. I glanced through it and for an initial number it is creditable. Reading matter is one of the great needs of the Maori people, and I am sure Te Ao Hou will help to fill up the void in Maori life. I enjoyed reading the account of the conference of the Welfare League. The League is taking to some extent the place of the defunct Young Maori Party. On the East Coast the Mothers' Institute has held sway for years, and I doubt whether they will change. Thank you for the mention of my books and the complimentary things you said about them. The books are very popular. One educated girl said to me, ‘Thank you for the Proverbs. Do you know I never knew one of them before I read your books.’ I am enclosing my annual subscription, and I am sorry I am unable to send more. R. T. Kohere.

ORIGIN OF THE MAORI Sir, Quite enjoyed your first issue of Te Ao Hou. Please find enclosed 10s. subscription. I have been studying genealogy for five years now, and I am survey officer of the Mahia Genealogical Association. We not only survey local, that is to say New Zealand, genealogies, but also genealogies of different people that may have in some way connections with our Maori people. In my survey work I have come to the conclusion that the Maori people are definitely connected with two brothers of the house of Israel, or descendants of Jacob. The two brothers are Ephraim and Manassah, sons of Joseph and Judah. In the year 600 B.C. Amam Ku and his four sons, of whom Amam Kalam was one, left Kapa Kapa-na-Kane—that is, Jerusalem—and travelled overland till they reached the borders of India. From here they made a boat, and Amam Ku sailed with his family. The south-east monsoon blew them forth until they struck the Antarctic current. Eventually they arrived on the shores of South America, near where the city of Valparaiso stands today, on the Chilean coast. He named the place Kahiki Ku, after himself. Amam Ku died in this land, and his son, Amam Kalam, was the leader. The nation grew, and migrated from the mountainous country to a more fertile land (Peru). It is from here, through wars with the descendants of his other brothers, that the descendants of Amam Kalam left Peru for other places under the leadership of Opukahonua, in 230 B.C. They migrated to Easter Island, and eventually the descendants sailed for Tahiti. Rangi, or Wakea, is a descendant of this group. Another migration from America in 55 B.C. was that of Hawaiiloa, Tiki I and Tangaroa. Their journey landed them on the Islands of Hawaii, named after their leader Hawaiiloa. Up to this time these people, in my opinion, were white, as their Asian ancestor, Amam Ku was. These are the migrations and connections as our genealogical society sees them. We are asking you to publish this letter, to invite questions and arguments about these views. Paumea H. McKay.

THE LATE SIR PETER BUCK Sir,—In the initial issue of your magazine a contributor, G. S. Roydhouse, makes the statement concerning the late Sir Peter Buck: ‘In point of fact, his father's name was William Henry Neal, better known … as “Buck” Neal and his wife as Mrs “Buck”.’ ‘It was from this nickname,’ your contributor added, ‘that Peter gained his European surname.’ As I am engaged, with approval expressed by Sir Peter prior to his death, in writing his biography, I am naturally interested in this statement, and would be glad if either Mr Roydhouse or yourself would produce evidence in support of it. My own view is that it is untrue, that it would never have been made if Sir Peter were living, and that there is no evidence to support it. Your contributor does not only suggest that William Henry Buck was known as Neal, but that Neal was his correct name—not Buck. I have been in touch with Sir Peter's relatives, and my information is that his father was William Henry Buck who, though Irish-born, came here from Australia in the early 'sixties, and fought in the Waikato War. His father was Henry Buck, civil engineer, of Dublin (some of whose letters are in my possession).