MOVEMENT TO THE CITIES

For those who could not go to the war there came the call to help the war effort, and thousands of Maoris of all ages and sexes were brought into the cities to work on the various projects allotted them. A new and greater acquaintance with the city was being built up. The demands of the all-out war effort were felt in Tolaga Bay, as elsewhere, and every available person was speedily drafted for service, The

drift to the cities had begun in earnest and the post war labour shortages accelerated the drift to a tide. Whole families left the district to settle in the cities where they enjoyed the same benefits that seem to call unceasingly to our New Zealand citizens. This drift to the cities has occurred with equal force in the European population. The significant thing, however, is that the drift, or tide, is truly like a tide in that it flows in with a surge but ebbs away just as effectively. The young people go to the cities, some never come back, but they are in the minority. The majority alternate backwards and forwards on vacations and long weekends. They get married and find that they cannot get accommodation, and then they are forced to come home and accept rural employment. Others tire of city life quite early and return home, rarely to wander again. This by no means exhausts the possibilities. Two apprentices, with only a matter of weeks to go, quit their jobs. Others sent out under vocational guidance quit after qualifying in their unsuitable vocations.

OPPORTUNITIES AT HOME

It is now necessary to study the occupations of those who remain at home, or come back home eventually, and see how much their education has fitted them specifically for the occupation by which they can earn their living, how it caters for their leisure and business needs. In a rural district like Tolaga Bay there are no secondary industries to give employment to the young girls when they leave school. There is a limited demand for domestics and the principal occupations of those who remain home are crutching and shearing, caring for elderly relatives and assisting in the care of numerous children that abound in the majority of the homes. The stations provide opportunities for those who can cook and assist with domestic chores.

There is no lack of work for the able bodied man and the demand is far greater than the supply. The great stations in this district depend on Maori labour for about eighty per cent of their labour needs. The Maoris are to be found as shepherds, stockmen, horsebreakers, ordinary station hands; some make excellent managers; others build excellent fences on contract, scrubcutters, roadmen, drovers, truck drivers, bus drivers, council employees and many other rural occupations all provide regular incomes. It is apparent then that the men folk do not have to go to the cities to find their livelihood. Many of the young men go away to the cities to work, move on to the South Island and find employment in the great freezing works, and move on again when the opportunity offers. It is said that the rolling stone gathers no moss, and quite often that is very true of these young folk who seem to be unwilling to put down roots in places that are far from the homes of their childhood.

Modern housing for the Tolaga Bay Maori. Some of the modern homes.

Interior of Mrs Pare Rangiuia with two grandchildren

Health progress in the district is exemplified by the Tolaga Maternity Home of which the patients' recreation room is shown below.

Maori shearers at work at Anaura Station, Tolaga Bay. (Kandid Kamera Kraft).

A not inconsiderable proportion, however, marry and settle down far from home and find contentment in their chosen environment. The rate of mixed marriages is increasing and in those cases where the couples are both of the progressive type it can be said that these marriages are an unqualified success, but in the cases where there is one partner who is more backward than the other, it does appear that the chances of unhappiness and disruption are much greater than would obtain in similar circumstances where both partners belonged to the same race.

Opportunities are unlimited for men and this is reflected in the gradual improvement in the current housing situation. The Maori is gradually casting aside the old substandard housing that affected the health of his children over the past eighty years. It is noticeable how quickly the wives become houseproud. The couple who save their money to buy a nice carpet and furniture do their utmost to preserve their value by looking after them carefully. The old houses were always kept clean and the wooden floors scrubbed daily, but if the family relaxed over the weekend and a mess was made, no real harm was done because the broom and mop would soon restore order. However, the care of the carpet and the fine furniture meant that any stains made would be permanent. It is easy to see why the proud young wife now insists on moderation in all things.

It is inevitable that some form of secondary industry will eventually come to tap the great pool of static labour that is offering on the Coast, and this will just as inevitably tempt others back from the cities. It is also inevitable that the large blocks of Maori owned land will eventually improve their financial status to the position where they will be able to pay larger dividends as a result of the progressive adoption of current improved farming methods and development. Their lands are capable of an increased

(Concluded on page 53)