In the 1960s, New Zealand was one of the most prosperous countries in the world, and workers in cities could make good money. But for Maori in rural areas, their small farmlets could not support rapidly growing families. So large numbers of young Maori moved to the cities looking for work, money and adventure. For the first time, many Maori came into close contact with Pakeha, and intermarriage increased significantly during the 1960s.

Noel Hilliard was a Khandallah (Wellington) school teacher who married Kiriwai Mete (Ngati Kahu), and his 1960 novel "Maori Girl" depicted the racial discrimination encountered by a young Maori woman who moved from a small rural community to Wellington.

There was also official discrimination: New Zealand Rugby Union officials refused to include Maori players in the 1960 All Black tour of South Africa, resulting in one of the biggest public protests this country has seen. Two years later, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the white South African regime's apartheid policies and called for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with it.

In the southern USA, black Americans were struggling to overcome similar discrimination. A continuing campaign for civil rights by the black community caused violent reactions from whites in Mississippi, Virginia and Alabama, where the black civil rights leader Martin Luther King was arrested. When the Ku Klux Klan dynamited a church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing 4 young black girls, there was wide public outrage, and Martin Luther King delivered his "I have a dream" speech.

In the USA, folk songs were evolving into strident protest music thanks to young artists like Bob Dylan (Blowing in the Wind) and Joan Baez (We Shall Overcome). In New Zealand, the protest songs were quieter, and reached their target white audience with humour, as in the Howard Morrison Quartet's presentation of My Old Man's an All Black, or with smooth pop harmonies, as in the The Kini Quartet's version of Under the Sun. (I have a cover version by Danny McGirr on this webpage)

The Kini Quartet were a Gisborne Maori pop vocal group who began recording Margaret Raggett's songs in 1962. After they had success with their recording of "Under The Sun", they relocated to Auckland. They recorded eight singles between 1962 and 1969, with "Under The Sun" in 1963 being their most popular. It was also the title of their only LP released in 1964.

They recorded these songs by Margaret Raggett.

Gisborne C & W musician. Born 1931, married her teen sweetheart Bill Raggett, lived in Cheesman Road and died in 1999. Hopefully, her family and Gisborne Country Music Club members can send me more information about her.

As well as "Under the Sun," and other Kini Quartet songs, she penned two of Peter Posa's big hits, "Grasshopper" and "Hitch Hiker."