For My Mokos by Wikitoria Smith Signed by author for her friends

Whakatu is a small village just off the main highway, nestled between the twin cities of Hastings in one direction and Napier in the other.

Growing up in the village, I remember a relatively loving childhood. While we were considered poor, we always had something to eat, even if it was only bread and jam, or miti tahu and Prince of Wales feathers, a small green plant considered a weed by some! I was born into a time where the Second World War only ended five years earlier.

During the early fifties some of our Maori communities still lived in primitive conditions. We were to know poverty, but we had no idea that there was a word to describe our situation, It just was.

Paperback, 2014, 418pages, very good condition