Picture: Givealittle Crowdfunding Source:Supplied. If there is any funds remaining, they will go towards easing the pressure on Emma and Rob financially. She was three. Police said initial indications were that her injuries were the result of a tragic accident. Emergency services were called to the scene at Upper Hutt last week , after the three-year-old was taken to a local medical centre with critical injuries at In the first place, the Maori people, as found by the Europeans, were possessed of a certain degree of civilization, the remains, it is thought, of a higher state from which they had degenerated.
They recognized the rights of property; they had a code of laws and honour; they had a religion, with a dim idea of a future state; and their minds were gifted with the power of expansion—that is, they could, and did, easily learn. Having no other way in which to employ their intellectual faculties, they devoted them chiefly to one art—that of warfare; and but three occupations found favour with them—war, planting, and fishing. To find a comparison for the stage they had thus reached, and one which is to their credit, we need only look to Great Britain. The Ancient Britons stained or painted their bodies, if they did not tattoo themselves; and they fought lustily amongst each other, until the Romans came and established colonies in their midst.
In the second place, the prominence given to the fighting qualities of the Maori arises from his having been brought before the world after the newspaper had become part and parcel of colonization. We have not upon record any sensational telegrams, daily leading articles, or even weekly records of the dangers and difficulties overcome by the early settlers in America; though tradition and local histories inform us of numerous disasters, of wholesale massacres, and of defeats sustained at the hands of the Red Indians, before the white man could firmly plant his foot upon the soil But with New Zealand and the Maori it has been different.
The world at large, reading accounts of past troubles and present occasional disputes, and knowing little or nothing of the actual condition of the Maori race, has accepted it as a fact that perpetual strife exists between the colonist and the native. A simple account of the Maoris in past times is necessary to show the glaring contrast between the man-eating chiefs of two generations ago, and their well-dressed descendants, who not only have votes, but who sit in both branches of the Legislature.
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There is not any record as to the origin of the Maori race. Its arrival in New Zealand is, according to tradition, due to an event which, from its physical possibility, and from the concurrent testimony of the various tribes, is probably true in its main facts. The tradition runs that, generations ago, a large migration took place from an island in the Pacific Ocean, to which the Maoris give the name of Hawaiiki, quarrels amongst the natives having driven from it a chief whose canoe arrived upon the shore of the North Island of New Zealand.
Returning to his homo with a flattering description of the country he had discovered, this chief, it is said, set on foot a scheme of emigration, and a fleet of large double canoes started for the new land.
Strong evidence that there is truth in this reported exodus, is supplied by the facts that each tribe agrees in its account of the doings of the principal "canoes"—that is, of the people who came in them—after their arrival in New Zealand; and that there is also agreement in tracing from each "canoe" the descent of the numerous tribes which have spread over the islands.
Calculations, based on the genealogical sticks kept by the tohungas, or priests, have been made, that about twenty generations have passed since this migration, which would indicate the date to be about the beginning of the fifteenth century. The position of Hawaiiki is not known, but there are several islands of a somewhat similar name. It is believed that the Maoris were originally Malays, who started from Sumatra and its neighbourhood, during the westerly trade winds, in search of islands known to exist to the eastward; and who, after occupying some of those islands, migrated to New Zealand.
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There is some evidence in support of the alleged Malay origin of the Maoris, or rather there is evidence of descent from a race possessed of higher knowledge than any shown by the Maoris since Europeans first mixed with them. Thus, they now possess the vaguest ideas of astronomy; but in former times they knew how to steer by stars, and old Natives still pretend to be able to point in the direction of Hawaiiki.
Again, the recurrence of the seasons for planting and reaping was known by astronomical signs, and each season was ushered in by festivals which were held when certain conjunctions were seen in the heavens. But now there remains only superstition, which promises success or failure to war parties in accordance with the relative positions of the moon and a particular star. In , Abel Jan Van Tasman, the first European who is known to have sighted New Zealand, found the Natives numerous and fierce; and three of his men were slaughtered at a spot in the province of Nelson, still known as Massacre Bay.
In , an event occurred which was destined to be of the greatest importance to the natives. In that year, the Rev. Marsden, from Sydney, New South Wales, landed with some companions at the Bay of Islands, and commenced to preach, to teach, and to study the language. Gradually other missionaries came to then assistance; but, though they toiled hard for years, were generally respected, and made some converts, they were powerless to stop or to check the frightful slaughters which took place as tribe after tribe obtained firearms.
The first to acquire them, the Ngapuhi, who inhabit the country to the north of Auckland, overran the greater portion of the Northern Island, slaying and eating those who could offer no resistance to the new weapons. But gradually the supply of muskets and ammunition was increased, tribes became once more on an equal footing, and the same result took place which attended the discovery of gunpowder in Europe—conflicts became rarer, and the slaughter in action was largely diminished.
Soon after , Christianity began to spread, and by it had acquired a hold over almost the entire native population.
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Protestant and Roman Catholic clergymen went through the land, and did their best to root out old superstitions, to substitute for them the teachings of the Scriptures, and to promote education. Gradually they brought about a marked change. Churches and schools were built; there was outward observance of religion; old customs fell into disuse; and even when a section of the Maoris rose against the authority of the Government established by the white man, they still retained the faith he had imparted to them.
It was not until , when there was a revival of old superstitions and beliefs, mixed with a creed perverted from the Old Testament, that Christianity among the Maoris received a blow. It was accepted as a national one by the tribes then in rebellion, and the influence of the missionaries among them came to an end. But many who eagerly adopted Hau-hauism at first, have since given up it and rebellion at the same time, although some tribes, it is true, still adhere to its doctrines.
But the writer has to deal with the Maori as he is, and with his present condition—not with the past condition of the small section of the race which was in active rebellion a few years ago; nor with the chances and changes of the struggle, carried on at first mainly by Imperial troops under Imperial officers, but brought to a close by colonial forces under colonial officers, after the withdrawal of the British forces. As a rule, Maoris are middle-sized and well-formed, the average height of the man being 5 ft. The voice is pleasant, and, when warlike excitement has not roused him to frenzy, every gesture of the Maori is graceful.
Nothing can be more dignified than the bearing of chiefs assembled at a "runanga," or council, and this peculiar composure they preserve when they adopt European habits and customs, always appearing at case, even in the midst of what would seem a most incongruous assembly. In bodily powers, the Englishman has the advantage.
Asa carrier of heavy burdens, the native is the superior; but in exercises of strength and endurance, the average Englishman surpasses the average Maori. As to the character of the natives, it must be remembered—if most opposite and contradictory qualities are ascribed to them—that they are in a transition state. Some of the chiefs are, with the exception of colour and language, almost Europeans; others conform, when in towns, to the dress and the customs of white men, but resume native ways, and the blanket as the sole garment, as soon as they return to the "kainga," or native village.
The great majority have ideas partly European, partly Maori; while a small section, professing to adhere to old Maori ways, depart from them so far as to buy or to procure articles of European manufacture, whenever they can do so. They are excitable and superstitious, easily worked upon at times by any one who holds the key to their inclinations and who can influence them by appeals to their traditionary legends; while at other times they are obstinate and self-willed, whether for good or for evil. As is usual with races that have not a written language, they possess wonderful memories; and when discussing any subject, they cite or refer to precedent after precedent.
They are fond of such discussions; for many a Maori is a natural orator, with an easy flow of words, and a delight in allegories which are often highly poetical. They are brave, yet are liable to groundless panics. They are by turns open-handed and most liberal, and shamelessly mean and stingy.
They have no word or phrase equivalent to gratitude, yet they possess the quality. Grief is with them reduced to a ceremony, and tears are produced at will. In their persons they are slovenly or clean according to humour; and they are fond of finery, chiefly of the gaudiest kind.
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They are indolent or energetic by turns. During planting time, men, women, and children labour energetically; but during the rest of the year they will work or idle as the mood takes them. When they do commence a piece of work, they go through with it well; and in road-making they exhibit a fair amount of engineering skill.
It has been already stated that the Northern Island of New Zealand contains a native population of about 37,; but it must not be imagined that these are in one district, or that any considerable number are assembled in one place. In fact, they are divided into many tribes, and are scattered over an area of 28,, acres, or 45, square miles, giving less than one native to the square mile.
The most important tribe is that of Ngapuhi, which inhabits the northern portion of the North Island, within the Province of Auckland. It was among the Ngapuhi that the seeds of Christianity and of civilization were first sown, and among them are found the best evidences of the progress which the Maori can make. Forty years ago, the only town in New Zealand, Kororareka, Bay of Islands, existed within their territories.
Their chiefs, assembled in February, , near the "Waitangi," or "weeping water," Falls, were the first to sign the treaty by which the Maoris acknowledged themselves to be subjects of Her Majesty; and although, under the leadership of an ambitious chief, Hone Heke, a portion of them, in , disputed the English supremacy, yet, when subdued by English troops and native allies their own kinsmen , they adhered implicitly to the pledges they gave, and since then not a shadow of a doubt has been cast on the fidelity of the "Loyal Ngapuhi.
He was a man to whom the Colony owed much, and who may be taken as a type of the Maori gentleman of rank. Tamati Waka Nene Thomas Walker Nene was in his youth a distinguished warrior, and assisted in the raids made by his people on the tribes to the southward. Converted to Christianity by the missionaries, he was one of the first chiefs to sign the Treaty of Waitangi, and by his arguments he was instrumental in inducing others to sign, and he remained faithful to the engagements into which he entered that day.
His adhered to the Government in every difficulty and trouble which arose, and to the day of his death he was a stanch supporter of English rule, setting to his people an example which they have honourably followed. His funeral was attended by a large number of both races; and, according to his desire, his body was buried in the church cemetery at the Bay of Islands—thus breaking through one of the most honoured of Maori customs, namely, that a chief's remains should be secretly interred in some remote spot, known to but a few trusty followers.
During his lifetime he was honoured by special marks of distinction from Her Majesty, and after his death the Government of New Zealand erected a handsome monument to his memory. Since then, the Ngapuhi have given another proof of the good feeling which the New Zealand Government have caused. In , the British forces lost heavily before a "pa," or native fort, called Ohaeawae, then held by a section of Ngapuhi in arms, and the slain were buried near the spot where they fell. Recently, however, the natives, in their desire to prove their friendship, have erected a small memorial church, in the graveyard of which they have with due honour reinterred the exhumed remains of their former foes; thus giving additional evidence of the complete extinguishment of old animosities and jealousies.
A glance at the map will show the progress which is being made with road-works in this part of the Island. Many of the roads are being constructed by native labour, under the management and superintendence of a native gentleman holding a seat in the House of Representatives. In travelling through this district, it is not uncommon to see comfortable weather-board houses adopted by the natives instead of the "whare;" and European dress is found to have to a great extent supplanted the primitive attire of olden days. To the north of Auckland, the two races have approached nearer to each other than in any other parts of the Island; and half - castes, a handsome and power-fully-built race, are numerous.
The present generation of British settlers has grown up side by side with the Maori youth; and true friendship exists between the settler and the native.
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Throughout the Colony, the social condition of the Natives is a trustworthy indication of the intercourse which they have had with Europeans. Among the Ngapuhi, at places like the Thames Gold Fields, near Auckland, about Napier, and on the west coast of the Province of Wellington, where the Maori has been brought into close contact with Europeans, there are the same evidences of an upward progress. The style of living is changed; the whare has given way to the substantial house; the blanket or flax mat is replaced by broadcloth; and, as a matter of course, improvement in living induces improvement in mind.
In the out-districts, where settlements have been established only a few years, the Maori is still in a half-and-half state. In his own village, he conforms in his habitation, his food, and his clothing, to the ways of his fathers: but poor or careless must the Maori be, especially if a young man, who cannot appear neat and smart in English dress when on a visit to the neighbouring township.
