The Chanting

Far in the air
The lifted voices of chanting
are heard
High beautiful voices
Far in the mountains
In the flowing brooks
Of the rainbow eels
The magic feeling is in
The forest creatures and
The native birds are
All listening
The chanting is heard
Of many hundreds
Of lonely voices
A Maori fisherman
Brings in his canoe
The sea has calmed
He lifts up his head
And listens
The singing seems to
Come from the heart
Of somewhere
The village people
Stop and even the
Old people and young
Babies seem to smile
A light shines from
Them.
Is it the setting sun?
No it is the spirit
Of love in the
Chanting

Christmas Wishes

Koro puts the cut up pig
Into the hangi
Uncle made
Nanny puts in the
Potatoes, kumaras and
Pumpkin.
And I put in the
Stuffed poultry
And my cousins
Dance with joy
As Uncle and Koro
Cover up the hangi.
When hangi is cooked
And table is laid
Nanny asks for silence
Then we bow down our heads
And she says grace
In Maori
Then dinner is served
And Aunty brings
The puddings
And sweets out of
Hiding
Which makes
Our little tummies
Rumble with delight
That's about all I
Could remember
Because all I accomplishe
Was a very sore tummy
For a number of days.
But I always look forward
To the next Christmas
And even to my next
Sore tummy.

Merry Christmas

To Heal The Wound

Maori Village people
Chant Maori songs
I smile tears blinding
Me because it is so
Beautiful
They have their own
Special love and happiness
They talk away in
Maori expressing
Their beliefs
But I turn away
Because I am ashamed
To face the truth
Because I cannot understand
Them. I just don't know!
I want to share
Their chanting
Their happiness
I want to know them
Oh God please help

Me to reach out
I plead to understand
My people
Help me to be a true
Proud Maori
Not a motor car
In a harbour
To belong with them
Help me oh Lord so I
Can help them

Annlock Kite, 14

Te Kuiti

The Legendary Winds

Long ago, before even the first signs of exploration there lay a stretch of land where the mighty Tane was having trouble with his fellow gods. Tu, the god of war, was in a revengeful mood. His mortal sons had been fishing in a canoe when Tane's wind children blew playfully at the sea, so that it boiled turbulently and swallowed up the two brothers. They were never seen again.

Now Tu remained looking at his sons' graves for a long time. After much thinking he grabbed his spear and called his people to war. They erupted in wild shouts and yells and got ready for battle.

Meanwhile Tane who was in his whare deep among the trees had just received word from a messenger of the news:

As the days passed the land was torn apart in battle and the final decision was to be made at a place called Puketiro where the two gods

had agreed to fight in single combat. For many miles people could see the battle at Puketiro because it was situated on a flat hill looking out towards the sea.

Finally the great day came when the two mighty gods met and surveyed each other. dressed in their feather cloaks and armed with their best weapons. Finally they began. Every swing of the club or thrust of a spear caused a small gust of wind that knocked people off their feet, caught unawares. The ground shook and rumbled as they dodged each other. Then suddenly Tane slipped and was caught off guard. Seizing his chance Tu struck him with a mighty blow, which sent him sprawling on the ground. The whole ground shook causing minor tidal waves and earthquakes.

Picking Tane up Tu threw him into the gully nearby where he was left to die. But Tane did not die. Too weak to get up or cause any harm he lay wounded and defeated. His constant groans and heavy breathing can still be heard as the gusty winds of Maungaraki.

Further evidence of his continued existence is the beautiful bush and trees of the gully.

Above, the battleground remained desolate and bare and Tu, feeling compassion for his opponent, summoned his strength and rearranged the hills to point north to indicate the way for Tane's soul to fly. Then he left triumphant.

Roger Ngan, Puketiro School

Fencing at Queen Victoria School

Let us continue from where we left off in our last issue.

We won the Open Championship in June 1972, Hinemoa Hakaraia taking first place, with two other finalists. The Qualifying Tournament was won also, this year's Club Captain. Karen Pikimaui, taking first place, with Ngawahine Apanui third.

The Provincial Championships in July were even more successful. With seven girls in the final of eight, we took all places except the third, last year's Provincial Cham-pion. Jefferine Poka, retaining her title. All seven girls were selected for the Provincial Team for the Schools' Nationals in Wellington in September, including the Captains of the “A” and “B” teams. Pare Rata and head girl Judy Brown.

The most interesting of these selections was Yvonne Petera, a second-year fencer who has been the pupil of Harata Hutana throughout, Harata having returned for a further year of coaching. Her work has continued to be magnificent, and for her ser

vices Harata has been elected an Honorary Life Member of the Club, the first occasion on which this distinction has been conferred on a girl while still at the school.

The Nationals themselves resulted in virtually a clean sweep for us. The Auckland “A” team, with three girls from Queen Victoria, took the teams' title, while the “B” team with all four girls from our school took second place ahead of the “A” teams from the other provinces. In the individual event we filled four of the six positions in the final pool, taking first, second and third places: Hinemoa Hakaraia, Evelyn Te Uira and Harata Hutana respectively.

We had only one finalist in the Auckland Junior Tournament, but we swept back in the Novices' Tournament for first-year fencers, when the four pupils of our other sixth-form coach, Pare Rata, each reached the final. Jenny Wells giving us our fifth successive win (each coached by sixth-formers) in this event, and Myra Hataraka taking second place.

Despite the value to our school of these successes, the most significant event of our year was the club's selection by the Department of Education to conduct the fencing session at a Lopdell House in-service course for physical education teachers in August. We were given an hour and a half to do a day's work, so some sort of planning was necessary! Donald Watson, Harata and Pare put their heads together, and a fairly comprehensive brochure was prepared which covered the whole subject thoroughly. Yvonne Petera and Ngawiki Hutana went with us as demonstrators. At the end of the afternoon we felt we had told the very appreciative audience of twenty-eight of the leading Physical Education teachers and advisers from all over the country just about everything. shown them nearly everything, and, what is more, each teacher had received a short individual lesson from one of the instructors. We wonder if they were as stiff the next morning as we were after our first lesson! The point, of course, was not to teach them to fence, but to demonstrate the teaching techniques, and the suitability of the sport for use in schools.

We gather from remarks which have reached us that our efforts were received with pleasure, and we have heard of one or two nibbles about starting fencing in some more schools. This is what we would like to see.