The Dietitians Act of 1950 was designed to further the advancement of the knowledge of nutrition and dietetics, and to make provision for the training and registration of dietitians. A Dietitians Board set up under the Act determines courses of training, approves places of training, conducts examinations, authorises registration, and exercises disciplinary powers.

A person wishing to train as a dietitian must obtain one of the prerequisite qualifications, and then take a course of training of not less than 12 months at a Dietitians' Training School. Any such person must: (a) Hold a degree in home science; or (b) Hold a diploma of associate in home science; or (c) Being a registered nurse, and holding an endorsed School Certificate or some other certificate approved by the Board, spend two academic years at the School of Home Science.

There are Dietitians' Training Schools at the Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin Hospitals. After completing the course of training, candidates must pass a State examination.

In 1964 there were 82 dietitians with practising certificates, and the majority are employed in hospitals.

The Department has advisory dietitians who are available to assist hospital dietitians and others requesting help.

The New Zealander has a bad record in regard to dental health, but whether this is due to some quality of the soil or water, or to faulty food habits, or merely to indifference regarding the care of the teeth, no one can say. At least it is not for lack of skilled dental services, as the standard of dentistry practised in New Zealand is unquestionably a high one. The amount of dental ill health found among recruits enlisted for military service in the 1914–18 War called for some action, and a School Dental Service was set up in the Department of Education and transferred to the Department of Health in 1921.

Professional Training

The first attempt at control of the practice of dentistry in New Zealand was in 1880 when the first Dentists Act was passed. This Act introduced registration of dentists, and specified the requirements as to training and qualifications necessary for registration. It also empowered the Senate of the University of New Zealand to appoint examiners to decide whether or not certain persons practising dentistry were entitled to be registered. This was followed by the Dentists Act 1904 which made provision for dental training in New Zealand. The first Dental School was opened in Dunedin in 1908 and had provision for 20 to 25 students. The cost of the building was largely met by donations from members of the dental profession, and the Government subsidy seems to have been provided somewhat reluctantly. During the next 10 years the number of dental students was small until steps were taken to encourage potential students by the provision of dental bursaries. This had the desired effect, and by 1923 the school was quite inadequate for the numbers offering, and a new Dental School to accommodate 60 students was opened in 1926. Finally, in 1957 the building of a third Dental School, much larger and more adequately equipped, was commenced, and this building was completed and opened on 4 March 1961. The new school has accommodation for the training of 240 dental students (60 in each of the four professional years of the course).

The first Dean of the Dental Faculty and Director of the Dental School was the late Dr H. P. Pickerill who achieved distinction as a plastic surgeon. He was followed by Dr R. Bevan Dodds (1927–45), and the present Dean is Sir John Walsh, K.B.E.

An amending Act of 1921 made it an offence for any unregistered person to practise dentistry, and a third Dentists Act passed in 1936 provided for the establishment of a Dental Council having disciplinary powers. The legislation was re-enacted in the Dental Act of 1963.

Dental Associations and Societies

The New Zealand Dental Association watches over the general interests of members, and the ethical standards of the profession, and is governed by an Executive Council. It publishes a quarterly Journal which has existed since the early years of the century. There is also a Council on Dental Health Education. Affiliated with the New Zealand Dental Association are the following professional societies: the New Zealand Society of Dentistry for Children, the New Zealand Society of Periodontology, and the New Zealand Orthodontic Society.

The School Dental Service

The School Dental Service in New Zealand is unique in that it has successfully accomplished its task in a manner never before attempted, and one that was generally considered to be impracticable. For these reasons the Service for many years created no interest overseas – it was in fact ignored. In recent years, however, the success achieved has brought international recognition, and similar services have been organised in several other countries. The originator of the Service was Colonel (Sir) Thomas A. Hunter, Director of the New Zealand Army Dental Service in the 1914–18 War. In 1921 he proposed to select suitable young women, and to train them in a two-year course to provide an adequate service of preventive dentistry to school children. The dental profession was at first sceptical, but finally gave its approval, and has since then given full support to the undertaking.

The first Dental Nurses School was established in Wellington in 1921, with 35 students. The yearly intake of new students fluctuated around this figure, and by 1930 there were 93 dental nurses working in 147 treatment centres, and 60,289 children (approximately half the primary-school pupils in the Dominion) were receiving regular dental treatment. The onset of the financial depression in 1930 caused the Government to suspend recruitment, and for five years the rate of expansion was greatly curtailed. After 1935 a policy of rapid expansion was adopted. An auxiliary school was established in Wellington and the original school was replaced by a larger modern building. The Service continued to grow but in the post-war years staffing difficulties became acute, as the high birthrate rapidly increased the numbers of children needing dental care, while the dental nurses were recruited from the generation born during the depression of the thirties when the birthrate reached a very low level. Nevertheless by 1950 there were 226,350 children receiving dental treatment, including many pre-school children. At the end of 1951 a second school for dental nurses was opened at Auckland, followed by a third in Christchurch in 1956. One purpose of the new school was to tap a further supply of potential students who were unwilling or unable to come to Wellington for training.

In the post-war years the work of the Service began to attract overseas interest, and eminent dentists from other countries came to study it at first hand. In addition, several Asian countries began to send student dental nurses for training in this country.

The quality of the work of the school dental nurses has been commented on by visiting dentists, some of whom came prepared to criticise. They have, however, been unanimous in their praise of the quality of the work done by the nurses. In addition to the dental treatment given, the dental nurses are very active in dental health education, and much time is devoted to this valuable work.

The growth of the School Dental Service over the years is shown in the following table:

Dental Services for Adolescents

Dental benefits for adolescents became available in 1947 under the provisions of the Social Security Act 1938, and provide for continuity of dental treatment after a child leaves the primary school and up to the age of 16. Treatment is given by dentists in private practice working under contract, and by the larger hospital boards. Each enrolled child is seen at six-monthly intervals and given any treatment necessary. In 1965 there were 179,109 children receiving this benefit.

(1810–94).

Missionary and Maori scholar.

A new biography of Maunsell, Robert appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Robert Maunsell was born on 24 October 1810 at Dublin and was the seventh son of the nine sons and two daughters of the second family of George Maunsell, a Collector of Customs and, afterwards, a banker. He was educated at Waterford and at Trinity College, Dublin, where in 1833 he graduated B.A. with honours in classics. At first Maunsell intended to study law, but when his imagination was fired by a lecture on the work of the overseas missions he decided to take Holy Orders. On 21 December 1834 he was ordained by the Bishop of London. He was accepted by the Church Missionary Society and, after brief training at the society's institution at Islington, he sailed for New Zealand in the Florentia, arriving at Paihia on 26 November 1835.

Almost immediately Maunsell was sent to Mangapouri. He was withdrawn a few months later and, in 1836, formed a new mission at Uretoa, 6 miles north of Waiuku and on Manukau Harbour, where he was joined by Hamlin. In 1838 the two missionaries separated, Hamlin going to Orua Bay, near Manukau Heads, and Maunsell to Maraetai, at Port Waikato. At Maraetai Maunsell won the friendship of two powerful local chiefs and mission work proceeded rapidly. By April 1839 a native school had been established and the mission farm had been started. A year later Maunsell canvassed the Waikato district for signatures to the Treaty of Waitangi and, in the course of this journey, he visited Awhitu, where he was unable to persuade Potatau Te Wherowhero to sign. On 5 July 1840 Governor Hobson and George Clarke paid an official visit to the mission. Progress was steady until December 1845, when a land dispute between the Ngati Teata and Ngati Tamaoho almost erupted into war. Both parties arrived on the battlefield accompanied by their resident missionaries and, after Maunsell and Buddle had harangued their respective tribes for an hour, the meeting broke up amicably. Four months later the dispute broke out afresh and Maunsell was kept busy attending to the wounded.

By 1852 Maraetai had expanded to such an extent that there appeared to be insufficient land available to meet future requirements. In addition to the native boarding school under J. W. Stack, F. D. Fenton, and A. G. Purchas, there was also an agricultural and industrial school under C. S. Volkner, attached to the mission farm. At this the Maoris were taught dairy, sheep, and grain farming, market gardening, timber and flourmilling and brickmaking. On the practical side, the mission girls were baking 400 lb of bread a week to cater for the station needs and had begun to harvest and process the “Irish Moss” (carrageen) which grew on the coast nearby. Because of the shortage of suitable land in the area, Maunsell induced Sir George Grey to arrange for the Maori chiefs to endow the mission with 700 acres at Te Kohanga. In 1853 Stack and Volkner led an advance party to the new site. They found the soil “sour” and decided it would require much cultivation to sweeten it. Maunsell persevered, however, and in a few years was producing wheat, maize, and other crops in sufficient quantities to export to the Auckland markets. The Te Kohanga mission was soon the largest and most productive in the Waikato. It also boasted an apiary, dairy, sheep, and goat farms, an orchard, and extensive market gardens. In 1854 the produce reaching Auckland from the various Waikato missions was valued at £16,000.

During the 1850s Maunsell was a strong opponent of the “King” movement and was able to persuade the two main chiefs in his area to remain aloof. Notwithstanding his attitude on this, he continued to enjoy enormous prestige among the Maoris. This was put to a test in 1860 when, following the murder of Eriata, a young chief, Maunsell faced an armed and hostile crowd in the victim's village and, by arguing from circumstantial evidence, was able to divert the Maoris from massacring the settlers at Mauku. In the troubles which followed, Maunsell worked closely with McLean, Selwyn, and Wiremu Tamihana Te Waharoa to preserve peace in the Waikato. After war broke out he remained at Te Kohanga until mid-October 1863, quitting his post when the rebels were only hours away. In November 1863 he became chaplain to Cameron's forces and remained with them until after the Battle of Orakau. He returned to Te Kohanga in 1864, but found his mission in ruins and abandoned by the Maoris. When his wife died in October of that year he returned to Auckland. In November 1864 Ashwell informed him that there was a move afoot to have Maunsell nominated for the Nelson See; he preferred, instead, to accept a post as Vicar of St. Mary's, Parnell. He was appointed Archdeacon of Waitemata, but resigned this post two years later. In 1870 he became Archdeacon of Auckland, an office which he held until his retirement from the active ministry 13 years later. After 1883, although in retirement, Maunsell long continued to discharge self-imposed clerical duties: he visited the Maoris at Orakei, the native school at Parnell, and often took services in the mission hall at Lower Remuera. He was also honorary tutor and Bishop's examiner at St. John's College, Tamaki. Maunsell died at his home in St. George's Bay Road, Parnell, Auckland, on 19 April 1894.

In his own day Maunsell was considered, by Maori and European alike, to be the foremost living Maori scholar. His reputation rests, principally, upon his Maori Grammar, first published in 1842, and upon his monumental translation of the Old Testament into Maori from the original tongues. As early as 1836 he had begun to translate Exodus; and in 1847, despite many setbacks (his notes were all destroyed by fire on one occasion), he published his translation of the first six books. After this, the project was taken over by a committee for the revision of the Old Testament, consisting of William Williams, Maunsell, and Kissling for the Church Missionary Society, and T. Buddle, A. Reid, and Hobbs for the Wesleyans. The committee's secretary was John Boyle Bennett, grandfather of Bishop F. A. Bennett. Maunsell translated the remaining books, the committee merely revising his translation before giving its imprimatur. His second volume, covering Proverbs to Lamentations, was published in 1856; and the remaining volume, Ezekiel to Malachi, followed in 1857. In making his translation Maunsell went to great pains to secure the correct Maori idiom. In this way he was able to present the Old Testament in a manner intelligible to the Maoris; while, at the same time, he preserved the language at its purest in what is probably its greatest literary work. Since Maunsell's day, in view of the course of subsequent Maori religious movements – Hauhauism and Ringatu – the wisdom of translating the Old Testament into Maori has been questioned. It can hardly be a coincidence that these Maori “Old Testament” religions arose so shortly after Maunsell's translation was published.

Maunsell was twice married: first, in 1834, to Susan Piggot (who died at Maraetai on 24 October 1851), by whom he had four sons and three daughters. He married, secondly, on 30 September 1852, at Auckland, Beatrice Isabella Duncan Panton (who died at Te Kohanga on 4 October 1864), by whom he had two daughters and one son.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• Robert Maunsell, LL.D. – A New Zealand Pioneer – His Life and Times, Wily, H. E. R. L., and Maunsell, H. (1938)
• The Parish of St. Mary, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand, Kissling, T. G. (1960)
• New Zealand Herald, 20 Apr 1894 (Obit).

To steal fire from his ancestress, Mahuika, Maui slipped out in the night and extinguished all the cooking fires. In the morning he demanded cooked food, but when his mother ordered the slaves to go to Mahuika to beg her to give fire to the world again, they were too frightened to go. Wily Maui thereupon volunteered to undertake the task and was welcomed by the ancient as her grandson. She drew out one of her fingernails and fire gushed forth. This flame she handed to her young descendant who, however, did not go far off before putting it out and returning for more. This Mahuika supplied from a second fingernail, and the performance was then repeated until all the fingernails and all but one of her toenails had been used. The old lady, finally becoming suspicious, dashed the last nail to the ground, setting fire to everything. Maui fled from the blaze, taking refuge as a hawk, but even so he might have perished had he not invoked the aid of his ancestors, including the thunder god, who supplied so much water that Mahuika herself almost perished in her turn. Before all was lost Mahuika did succeed in saving a few sparks which she threw into such trees as the kaikomaka, whose wood is still used for firing.

In evil mood Maui one day changed his brother-in-law, Irawaru, into a dog, and this drove that unfortunate man's wife to suicide.

According to Maori tradition, Maui's last adventure caused death to come into the world – due to his effort to destroy yet another ancestress, Hine-nui-te-po, goddess of death. For this venture Maui selected all the little birds as his companions. They found the goddess asleep and Maui ordered his friends not to laugh while he crept inside her. Unfortunately the tiny Tiwakawaka could not contain his merriment. He began to laugh and this woke the goddess who promptly killed the hero.

by Judith Sidney Hornabrook, M.A., National Archives, Wellington.

• Polynesian Mythology, Grey, Sir G. (1956)
• Berenice Bishop Museum Bulletin 198 (1949), “Maui-of-a-Thousand-Tricks—His Oceanic and European Biographers”, Luomala, K.

Uneasy and suspicious because of Maui's magical powers, his brothers were loathe to have him accompany them fishing. Notwithstanding, Maui hid himself in the bottom of their canoe armed with an enchanted hook which had been shaped by the famous jawbone. He did not emerge until they were well out to sea and then urged his companions to go yet further and still further. At length a halt was made, the fishing began, and soon the canoe was filled with the catch. The brothers now wished to return but Maui desired to try his luck. He had no bait and the others refused to give him any; however, undeterred, he struck his nose and smeared the blood which gushed over the magic hook. This hook caught the home of Tonga-nui, grandson of Tangaroa, god of the ocean, and the fish that was hanging from the line of Maui was no less than a portion of the earth. The canoe came aground and Maui left his brothers with strict instructions neither to eat nor cut up the fish until he had made appropriate prayers and offerings to the gods. But the brothers disregarded these warnings, with the result that the fish started to toss about – hence the unevenness of the land today. This is now known as the North Island of New Zealand or Te Ika a Maui, the fish of Maui. The fish hook, according to legend, became the cape which now forms the southernmost tip of Hawke's Bay.

Maui found the days too short, for the sun moved too fast across the sky. With the assistance of his brothers he therefore made stout ropes and a noose. Then the five hid themselves far to the east, by the edge of the world whence the sun was wont to rise, building on each side a long, high clay wall with hides at each end. The noose was stretched and, when the sun rose well up into the snare, the ropes were pulled tight. Thereupon the hero rushed forward with his enchanted jawbone and belaboured the unfortunate captive so sorely that, when released, the sun could merely hobble slowly across the sky.

Legend has it that the hero, result of a miscarriage, was tied in his mother Taranga's hair and cast into the sea but was preserved and cared for by supernatural aid. Eventually he found his way to the House of Assembly where were his mother and four elder brothers. Taranga was astounded to find a fifth boy when she counted her children – there was Maui the eldest, Maui the second, Maui the third, and Maui the fourth, and then this fifth revealed himself as Maui the baby, Maui-tiki-tiki-a-Taranga (Maui formed in the topknot of Taranga). Overjoyed at the discovery, Taranga invited her youngest to sleep next to her, but the little fellow's curiosity was soon aroused by his mother's disappearance at dawn each day. Determined to find out where she went and where his parents lived, Maui one night hid his mother's clothing and blocked up the chinks in the walls of their room so that no light could get in and awaken her. Next morning, when Taranga fled in great agitation well after dawn, Maui espied her pull up a clump of reeds and disappear into a hidden cave. Later, changing himself into the form of a pigeon, the hero followed that route and located his parents in their underworld village. Perching in a tree above them, the pigeon started to drop down berries and this set people throwing stones at him. He eventually contrived to be hit by none other than his own father, Makea-tu-tara, upon which he revealed himself as a man, as Maui himself. In the baptismal ceremonies following this reunion, Makea-tu-tara inadvertently omitted a portion of the prayers and thus Maui was accursed. He nevertheless wrought great deeds with the aid of the enchanted jawbone of his great ancestress, Muri-ranga-whenua, before fate caught up with him.

Stories of the legendary Maui, half man, half god, are common to the folklore of most Pacific peoples. New Zealand is no exception and the Maoris treasure many tales of Maui's great feats.

née Katene, or Julia Martin (1843–1909).

Maori heroine.

A new biography of Matenga, Huria appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Huria Katene was born in 1843, the daughter of Wiremu Katene, a chief of Ngati Toa, and grand-daughter of Te Puoho, the Ngati Toa chief who was killed near Mataura while leading a taua against Tuhawaiki. Her mother was Amohau Wikitoria, of the Ngati Tawhirikura branch of Te Atiawa, which made her a close relative of Honiana Te Puni, of Te Wharepouri, and of Te Whiti-o-Rongomai. At an early age she married Hemi Matenga, a brother of the Hon. Wiremu Parata, M.L.C. After her marriage she lived with her husband's family at Croisilles, Nelson. On 3 September 1863 the Delaware, a new American-built brigantine of 241 tons, sailed from Nelson bound for Napier with a general cargo. In the afternoon the ship was caught in a northerly gale and, after trying to ride the storm out, was wrecked in the early hours of 4 September in a little bay between Grahams Point and Pepins Island. The Delaware grounded on rocks about 90 yards from the shore, and the mate, Henry Squirrel, was badly injured when he attempted to swim ashore with a line. At this juncture five Maoris – Huria and her husband, Hemi Matenga (James Martin); her brother, Eraia (Elijah); Ropata (Robert); and Kerei (Grey) – appeared on shore close to the wreck. Acting on the instructions of H. Skeet, a Napier surveyor who was travelling on the vessel and who spoke Maori, the Maoris rushed into the water and secured a lead line thrown to them. With this they were able to pull a strong hawser ashore and anchor it round a large boulder. Skeet and the crew then crawled along this towards safety. As the ship was rolling badly, only one man at a time could cross by the rope and, because of its sudden tightening and slackening, all were at some point on their trip either dipped into the sea or dashed against the rocks. Huria, Hemi, and Ropata went into the surf repeatedly, sometimes up to their necks, and assisted the men to come ashore. Eraia stood by and endeavoured to hold the rope clear of the rocks, while Kerei kindled a large fire and took care of each man as he was brought through the surf, warming him and otherwise trying to restore him. The survivors praised the Maoris' actions and, especially, those of Huria who was well to the forefront all the time.

The people of Nelson set up a special testimonial committee which raised a public subscription to present Huria with a gold watch and the others with silver watches in the belief that, as the Colonist put it, “it will act as an excellent incentive to others, and be in its way like the Victoria Cross ‘for valour and humanity”’. On 14 November 1863 the gifts were presented at a special ceremony held in the Nelson Provincial Hall. Huria received a handsome lady's gold watch with a massive and elegantly worked gold chain. On one side of the watch were engraved the Maori words: Nanga tangata o Whakatu Kia Huria he tohu whakamoemiti mo tona maiatanga ki te whakaora i nga tangata o te Terawea, 4 Hepetema 1863.” On the other side of the case was the English translation: “Presented to Julia by the settlers of Nelson in recognition of her heroism at the rescue of the crew of the Delaware, 4 September 1863.”

In addition, when the General Government were told of the Maoris' deed, the Governor directed that Huria, Hemi, and Ropata should be rewarded with 50 sovereigns apiece and that the other two should each receive 10 sovereigns. When he made the presentation the chairman of the testimonial committee read Huria a special address in which he compared her deed to that of Grace Darling, the English heroine. The address concluded: “And like her, Julia, your name and your deed will find a place in local history. Your brave act is one of which a Queen might be proud, and we present you with a watch, whereon your children, and their successors may read with pleasure an inscription which testifies the esteem in which you are held by the settlers of Nelson.”

In the 46 years which followed – Huria died on 24 April 1909 – her deed became a part of New Zealand folklore. In local legend she was hailed as New Zealand's “Grace Darling” and credited with swimming “out through raging waters and, after a desperate struggle” bringing the line ashore. Unfortunately for the legend, Huria did not make her heroic swim; but this does not detract in the least from the courage shown by the five Maoris in saving the crew of the Delaware.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

Colonist 8, 11, 22 Sep, 13, 17 Nov 1863.

Rising on the east side of the Eyre Mountains, the Mataura flows south-eastward and then south for 120 miles and enters the sea at Toetoes Bay, 20 miles east of Bluff. A whaling station, Toitois (now Fortrose), was established at the mouth in the mid-1830s. The catchment area is 281 sq. miles, and floods occurred in March 1913 of 177,000 cusecs and in June 1955 of 29,904 cusecs. A representative rate of flow for the upper reaches of the river was measured on 28 January 1955 at Parawa Bridge of 260 cusecs, and on 16 June 1955 at Gore Bridge of 8,370 cusecs. The upper reaches of the river traverse a small inter-mountain basin at Garston and pass through a narrow, deeply incised gorge between Athol and Waikaia district. The remainder of its course passes through rolling and flat farm country in the Waimea Plains and the Mataura Valley. Settlements along the river include the towns of Gore and Mataura, which were initially established at fords on the river in the early days of horse and bullock transport.

The Mataura River is a favourite resort of anglers and is the greatest brown trout water in New Zealand.

There have been many attempts to explain the meaning of the name Mataura. It may be an ancient name, as Mataura was an ancestor of Ngatoro-i-rangi, the priest of the Arawa canoe. It may possibly mean reddish, brown face, or glowing face.

by Bryce Leslie Wood, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Dunedin.