“Te Makarini.”

I must make mention of the Makarini scholarship for Maori boys, in association with the College at Te Aute, which has enabled so many native children to obtain an education. Sir Douglas established this scholarship as a memorial to his father, who as “Te Makarini” was the friend of the old generation of Maoris. A great many boys of promise were the beneficiaries of this generous scholarship, among them the lad of Ngati-Porou who is now the Native Minister, Sir Apirana Ngata. The Maoris will never forget the leadership of Te Makarini the elder or the generosity of Te Makarini the younger.

The Maori of old-time had a poetic way with him. When the elder Maclean died, in 1877, the old warrior chief Paerau, of the Urewera tribe, who had fought against the Government troops in many engagements, from Orakau to Waikaremoana, wrote from Ruatahuna expressing his regret on hearing of Te Makarini's death. In his letter he saluted the spirit of the departed white chief as “te whetu marama o te ata i te wa o te pouritanga” (“the bright star of the morning in the time of gloom and sorrow.”) In a similar spirit, if it is not so eloquently expressed, many New Zealanders have reason to remember and revere Douglas Maclean, the benevolent chief of Maraekakaho.

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