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1948 NEW ZEALAND

MAORI PURPOSES FUND BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1948

Presented to Both Houses of the General Assembly Pursuant to Section 14 of the Maori Purposes Fund Act, 1934-35

General The annual meeting of the Board was held on the 20th October, 1947. On his retirement from the position of Director-General of Health, Dr. M. H. Watt ceased to be a member of the Board, and the Board desires to place on record its appreciation of his services during his sixteen years of office. His place will be taken by Dr. T. R. Ritchie, now Director-General of Health, in terms of section 7 of the Maori Purposes Fund Act, 1934-35. It is with regret that the Board records the death in Great Britain of Mr. W, PageRowe, a former member of the Board of Maori Arts and the author of notable contributions towards the study of Maori art. Operations Education.- —In view of the important part which education of the Maori will undoubtedly play in the future of the race, the Board decided this year to increase its annual grant to the Education Department from £750 to £9OO, or approximately half of the sum received in interest from the Board's capital fund. This grant is administered by the Education Department in providing assistance to deserving Maori students and those who might otherwise be unable to advance their studies at secondary schools or University colleges. Arts and Crafts. —As part of a programme for recording Maori arts and crafts, the Board has arranged for a set of photographs to be taken of the interior of a number of carved houses containing carving and reed panelling of a high standard. Some of these houses are of considerable age and it is desirable that some record of the art work should be obtained in case of their destruction by fire or other causes. In some other houses the carvings have been executed by experts trained in the School of Maori Arts formerly operated by this Board. Ethnological Publications. —During the year, the Board accepted for publication a book entitled " The Maori People and Us," by Mr. N. W. Smith, of the Department of Maori Affairs. The book, which is now in the course of being published, is an account of the administration of Maori affairs from the Treaty of Waitangi to the present time. Sir Peter Buck has now completed his revised and enlarged edition of " The Coming of the Maori," and arrangements are being made for its early publication. This book will probably replace earlier works as the standard text-book for students of Maori ethnology.