Village Sites.

The Maori had, and has, a genius for selecting just the right place for his kainga. Like the true pioneer of the Pakeha race, he exhibited in his home-making a perfect eye for country. He made his clearings and built his whares in the sunniest and most sheltered places, and he invariably discovered the most fertile parts of a district. He would not be so easily satisfied as some of the Pakeha settlers who followed. True, in the olden days there was land and to spare; and he could rove widely before making a selection.

I always admired, and envied, the village home of the few Maoris who lived on Mokoia Island, in Lake Rotorua. What more sunny, more fruitful spot can there be in all Lakeland, set at the foot of its rich volcanic island-hill, its face set to the rising sun?

Another scene, less well known, the large village called by a great and historic name, Aotearoa, in the King Country, a few hours ride beyond Orakau and the Puniu River. It is the headquarters of the northern section of the Ngati-Raukawa tribe. The country is high-set; it is on the verge of the Upper Waikato page 42 volcanic land, and many parts are bleak and wind-swept. But Aotearoa lies in the lee of a tall belt of totara forest, which extends in a crescent form about its rear. It faces the direction of greatest sunshine; its fruit gardens and cultivations slope gently to the north. On the easy slope-top, immediately backed by the bush, is the village carved hall; around it are the cottages and whares of the people, with their little orchards.

A rather dilapidated kainga this, and run to seed nowadays; yet it is a place of much beauty, in its way, and certainly the site is the pick of the district.