Pacific Islanders In

New Zealand

By Brett Hilder

DURING the last ten years there has been a steady stream of natives from Western Samoa, Niue, and the Cook slands, landing and settling down in New ealand.

Most of the Samoans return to their omeland after a year or so, but the Poly esians from the more remote islands ave been accumulating in God’s Own ountry.

Whether this will be permitted to con nue is a matter of Government policy, nd it is indicated that this latter-day olynesian migration has been stopped by ficiai action during the last month or vo.

But there was no sign of official disap roval during March,

iis year, when I was i Auckland looking )r some Cook danders in order to aint their portraits. found that the MS had things very ell organised, and irough their cour ssy, I was able to e the very fine ork they are doing l New Zealand in isuring the moral id spiritual welfare visiting or migrat g Polynesians.

The minister in charge is the Rev. R.

L. Challis, who spent many years in the central Pacific. The LMS has acquired the use of the old Congregational Church in Edinburgh Street, Auckland, just off Karangahape Road. There is a recreation hall adjoining, and a cottage next door, occupied by the pastor, who is a very energetic Rarotongan named Tariu Teaia.

His wife and daughter are with him.

The pastor is a man of great natural tact and courtesy, with a personal know ledge of a lot of the Polynesians who have spread through the North Island to Wel lington, and even to the South Island.

THE advent of the church buildings has given a great impetus to the work, and the vitality of the mission was shown by one of the working bee’s which painted the whole outside of the church and pastor’s cottage in one day! Just imagine a war-party of 60 inspired Poly nesians armed with paint brushes, arid not allowed to paint each other!

The facilities of Church and hall in clude a large kitchen for the preparation of meals when required, rooms for table

he Islanders’ Church in Auckland.

tennis, for reading, writing and study, and a “green” for indoor bowls which are now so popular in New Zealand.

The programme of events for the week is a striking example of the vigour of the members, for in addition to normal church services, there are club nights on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for Cook Islanders, Niueans, and Samoans respec tively; an open night on Thursday; tennis on Saturday afternoons; a social event on Saturday night; and a monthly dance.

At the same time there is a weeklv pro gramme of studies, Bible on Monday, Everyday Law on Tuesday, a Preachers’ class on Wednesday. English Reading and

Understanding on Thursday. These studies are conducted by the Rev. Challis and his wife, and a lawyer friend of the mis sion.

Typed news sheets are sent out in three languages—Samoan, Niuean and Raro tongan—to cater for the three groups.

Such a programme does not seem to leave much room for idle hands and the Devil only gets a chance for mischief on Fridays. As a layman, I should like to pay my tribute to such a shining example of mission work, to the officials both lay and clerical, and to the unseen supporters of the good work.

THERE are several points of interest in regard to these islanders which at- : tracted my attention, the first being the large number of these wanderers.

They now total 2,000 in New Zealand, about half of them being Cook Islanders, the rest mostly Samoans, with a sprink ling from Niue.

Such a large number of Cook Islanders, about 1,000, represent a fair slice of the total population of the Cooks, given as 14.000. though they can hardly be expected to have much significance in NZ com pared with the New Zealand Maoris who number about 45,000 of pure bloods.

The Cook Islanders —also known as Maoris —particularly the Rarotongans, are the closest known relatives of the NZ Maoris, having old genealogies which mesh together, and a very similar lan guage. However, a close comparison ot the two races as they live side by side in New Zealand, reveals some differences.

The most noticeable is in their skin colour. Although the islanders appear fairly dark on their arrival from the tropics, they quickly lose this tan in the colder climate, and after a few years they become so pale that one is forced to the conclusion that the Maori race, with all its Polynesian speech, culture and tra ditions, must have assimilated a much darker race of aboriginals in New Zea land.

Their darker colour could hardly be accounted for by the assumption of a few wandering tribes of Melanesians being there before them, or by the Maori canoes “touching” the fringes of Melanesia on their way to the south..

The Maori legends concerning the pre vious inhabitants of NZ, as quoted by Sir Peter Buck, described them as “tall and upright, with large bones, thin calves, prominent knees, flat faces, quick side glacing eyes, expanded nostrils, straight or lank hair, and reddish-brown skins.

They were also lazy, and hugged the fire.”

Sir Peter Buck regards this whole de scription as invalid, because the straight or lank hair would rule out the possibility of their being Melanesians. I wonder whether he has considered the chance of their being similar to the Australian abo riginals?

The description seems, to me, to fit them rather well, but perhaps Sir Peter has not seen much of the aboriginals. Similar Australoids are believed to have lived in New Caledonia, in which case there is just as much chance of their getting to New Zealand as there is of any Melan esians getting there in any numbers.

ANOTHER interesting point about the Pacific Islanders now living in New Zealand is that they are reported to keep away from the Maoris and to tend to mix more with the Europeans there Considering how little English any of them speak, and how strange must an industrial city be to them after their own remote islets, it’s very strange that they are not drawn into community with their Maori cousins.

Part of their reluctance may be due to the bad name which the Maoris have been getting around the settlements since they have been allowed free, access to hotel bars. '■ The islanders do appear to have a stronger moral fibre than the easy-going Maoris. .

At the time of writing there is a move to give the aboriginals in New South Wales a similar access to alcohol, in spite of the opinion of the police and others that the aboriginal cannot drink without losing his senses. If there is any real truth in this assertion, it might have a little bear ing on the make-up of the Maori, if he has some aboriginal ancestry in his back ground. However, we may say that even the European has hardly learned to drink decently after all these years of practice —and this criticism is very much to the

point in New South Wales, with its bar baric drinking customs.

If the Government allows the native migrants from Polynesia to remain in New Zealand, if not to increase by fur ther migration, they will form a new basis in the modern world for the esteem in which the Polynesian race has always been held.