STAR PRESENTATIAON TO maori showband

will be held at new york-new york ON NOV. 12, 2009

WHAT: Mary and the Maori Hi Five have been awarded a star on the Strip by the

Las Vegas Walk of Stars Committee. The presentation/ceremony will be

held on the Brooklyn Bridge in front of the New York-New York Hotel &

Casino on Nov. 12, 2009. The group was the first of the Maori Showbands to leave New Zealand in the 1960s.

The group will be featured in the second part of a 12-part series being filmed by Crown Media for a New Zealand

Maori television program “Unsung” (Heroes of Maori Music) and Frontier Films will also be filming for Australian

television a program called “Kia Ora Mate,” where Maori entertainers will salute Aussies for helping to start their careers.

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009

TIME: 2 – 4 p.m.

WHERE: New York-New York Hotel & Casino

Brooklyn Bridge in front of the resort

WHO: Kawana (Kae) Pohe Musical Director, Tenor Sax

Mary (Nimmo) McMullan Lead Vocalist

Wes Epae – Cabaret, Impersonator, Dancer

Solly Pohatu Comedian, Impressionist, Balladeer

Peter Wolland Drummer

Paddy Te Tai Lead Guitarist, Multi-instrumentalist

Charles Mather, Manager, International Artist Management Associates

Robert Hemi Te Miha – Rhythm Guitarist, Trombone

Deceased – November 2007

MEDIA: Cameras and reporters are welcome. Please contact Jackie Brett,

THE GROUP: For more information, using your browser… visit www.maoriinc.org.

Mary and the Maroi Hi Five toured Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Manila, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, London,

United Kingdom, Europe and Scandinavia. Coming to the United States in 1965, they worked the Nevada circuit in Las Vegas,

Reno and Lake Tahoe; while doing side tours in Europe, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Canada and the Bahamas. In Las Vegas,

they worked at the Sahara, Thunderbird, Hacienda, Tally Ho and Caesars Palace and at Harrah’s Club in Reno and Tahoe.

They disbanded in 1971.

The group worked with many famous stars including: Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Gia Mione, Sam Butera, Duke Ellington,

Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Harry James, Louis Armstrong, Mel Torme, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belafonte

and many others; but most notably, they headlined with the Beatles in Hong Kong in 1964.