Lazy, Promiscuous, Happy-go-lucky'

Maori children give up the struggle against the constricting effect of the Pakeha-defined mythology that Maoris are "fat, lazy, cunning, promiscuous, happy-go-lucky, lacking in ambition, apathetic, shiftless, improvident, unreliable"3 or on the positive side that they're musical, good at rugby and good with their hands, especially at carpentry or track-driving. In the end, only those Maoris who were prepared to conceal their Maoriness or who are endowed with unusual drive could participate in the Pakeha game of social mobility according to Pakeha defined rules.

The Pakeha world is redeemed from condemnation for its institutionalised racism by the presence of token Maoris. They give a shaky foundation to our loudly proclaimed reputation for racial harmony and equality.

But things are changing. With the urban migration in the post-war years the policy of accommodation to Pakeha dominance by withdrawal came to an end. By forsaking his ancestral lands for the towns and cities the Maori signified his desire to share in the cultural goals of the urban industrial system. Metge4 found that the majority of her informants migrated to the city for the big three factors of work, money and pleasure.