I am wondering what is the point of the article in which Ellis Byers states ‘I am Maori.' (The Weekend Sun, July 24). Quite frankly, who cares?

I can state that I, along with 85% of the population in New Zealand, I most definitely, am not Maori but am just as proud of my European heritage as he seems to be of whatever amount of Maori blood Byers has in his veins.

I note he goes to the beach each morning to pray to his Maori ancestors. With a name like Ellis Byer, he obviously has European or other blood within. Does he pray to those ancestors as well?

He might offer a prayer of gratitude to British ancestors for the fact that he is living in a peaceful democratic country and able to air his views due to the British answering
the requests of Maori elders to Queen Victoria begging her to send troops to put
a stop to intertribal fighting, cannibalism and possible extinction of Maori.

The 85 per cent of non-Maori landing on these shores all bring their own very special cultures which they share and which enrich us.

We respect Maori culture but I, for one, am not interested on pretending to be part
of it. I will not say ‘Kia Ora' to my friends but Hello, and I strongly object to the likes of Byers trying to thrust his Maori views down my throat. We certainly need to know the history of this country, but the real truth, not the whitewashed stuff that is being dished out to students today.

The most important thing is that we are New Zealanders, and I am proud to be one.

M Brooks, Tauranga