Maori and Pakeha in Palmerston North by EARLE SPENCER When the Rotary Club entertained outstanding Maor’ students last December, Karaitiana Kingi's oratory was greatly admired. He comes from Wairoa, went to Hato Paora College. Feilding, and is now at Greenmeadows, Hawkes Bay, studying for priesthood in the Catholic Church. In Palmerston North there is a group of Maoris and Pakehas who are working hard to help the Maori secondary school children in their district. This group, which rejoices in the name of the Victoria University Adult Education Palmerston North Maori Studies and Research Group, was inspired, as similar ones have been, by Maharaia Winiata, who arranged for the Young Maori leaders' Conference to be held in Auckland in 1959. After this Conference a number of district conferences were held; one of these was the district conference held at Marton in 1960, which was organized with the help of Mr Bill Parker, the Maori Adult Education Tutor in Wellington. This was a successful weekend, and at the committee meeting which followed, the Palmerston North Maori Studies and Research Group decided not to hibernate for a year and then hold another confierence, but to ask the people from Otaki, Levin and Feilding who had attended the Marton conference, to set up their own sub-committee groups. The Hunn Report had appeared at about that time and sub-committees at Otaki, Levin, Palmerston North and Feilding were formed as discussion groups to read and discuss the Report, both for its general interest and for its particular application to each locality. The Palmerston North committee prepared questions which were designed to stimulate discussion on each chapter of the Report, and the Adult Education people in Wellington prepared copies of these for each sub-committee. Members of the Palmerston North Committee travelled to the meetings at Otaki, Levin and Feilding to take part in the discussions. In September 1961 a second district conference was held at Marton. The topic for discussion was the Hunn Report, and Dr Joan Metge, Mr Hugh Kawharu and Mr Dennis Garrett were guest speakers. The general discussion during the weekend was vigorous and well informed. This was an adequate reward for everybody for the time that had been taken during the previous six months in reading, considering, and discussing the Report. Members of a similar group from Wanganui attended the 1961 Marton conference. There was an exchange of ideas and experience, and the people from the Manawatu and Horowhenua districts found that the people from Wanganui had been taking an especial interest in helping Maori school children to further their education. The Palmerston North Committee had been thinking about this sort of work for some time, and as soon as the Conference was over, the Committee met to consider the question. They were not alone in this work. The Terrace End Rotary Club in Palmerston North had already decided to adopt the education of Maori secondary school in the city as their project. The two groups, Maori and Pakeha, now found that whereas they had thought of themselves as strangers to each other, they had in fact this strong common interest. Mr Clift, the President of the Rotary Club in Palmerston North and the Headmaster of the Ross Intermediate School, obtained from the Headmasters of the City's Intermediate and obtained from the Secondary Schools the names of their Maori pupils. During the last term of 1961 the members of the Maori Studies and Research Group visited the pupils in Standard 6 and the pupils in the Fifth and Sixth Forms. During 1962 the members of the group hope to visit all Maori Secondary School children in Palmerston North to encourage them to make the most of their Rotary Clubs, with a view to arranging in those places a partnership in the education of Maori children such as exists in Palmerston North.