Extracts.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 514, 7 October 1857, Page 3

Extracts.

NOTES of a JOURNEY feom PAKAWAU, MASSACRE BAY, to the MAWERA, ok GREY RIVER, on the WEST COAST, February and March, 1857. (From the ' Nelson Examiner.') [Continued from our last.]

Thursday, March 12.—Started early in the morning with Tarapuhi, the whole of yesterday's rabble accompanying us, and walked along the open fern and greasy land by the bank of the river; this was of no great width. After going over about 3 miles of it, the country widened, and a fine plain opened up, which had from 3 to 4 miles of river frontage, and 2 to Sg back; we here left our loads, <&c. A little farther on, round the corner of a low hill and bush, the Hakopa plain opens to view; and on the other side of the branch called the Mawera iti, between it and the Mawera, lies an extensive plain, and some low hills of grass and fern. Beyond the open land the country is covered with bush, and looks from the hill where I stood level for miles ahead, in fact the natives say it is possible to go on level land all the way to the Oweka branch of the Buller, which joins it above the pass by which it issues to the valley of the Kawatiri. From the quantity of land I had now travelled over, and could see in every direction, I cannot estimate the amount of available land in this district at less than 250,000 acres. It now occurred to me that, however desirable it might be to trace the noble Mawera (the finest river of any I had seen in the province) to its source, and tread its beautiful plains to their junction with the Buller, it would not be prudent to proceed farther inland, being destitute of the necessary provisions to enable us to reach Nelson. 1 therefore resolved to return by the Mawera and coast, knowing' we couid eke out our present supplies by the aid of the natives at Kawatiri, and, reluctantly leaving this pretty spot, gave the word to return to our camp and canoes on the banks of the Grey, where we remained for the night. I saw numerous coveys of quail on the open plains. The natives say that the kiwi and kakapo are to be found above the Hakopa plain. Woodhens are plentiful; and the river is full of eels, and a fish about the size of a herring, called the upokororoa. Friday, March 13>—-Breaking up our camp early, and taking- to the- canoes, we

went down the river at a tremendous rate, having only to steer, and let the current, which was caused by the heavy rain which fell during- the night, carry them along-: arriving- at the pah in the afternoon. Saturday, March 14.—Washing- shirts in the : that- necessary duty accomplished, I took a stroll along the.coast m the direction of Taramakau. The natives g*o up this river some distance in canoes, then walk over a plain till they come to the Ao Marama range (the mountain chain dividing the island, previously mentioned); they then enter the pass from which the Taramakau issues : here it is said they have'a little difficult travelling ; then get to a lake in which the river takes its rise. Walking by its shores, they come to a river, also called the Taramakau, which runs into the Hurunui. At one place there is a steep rock, .from which they let themselves down by a rope; they say this is the only difficult place, and that it only takes six days to go to Port Cooper, and three to the nearest sheep station, from the West Coast. They also state that the white men at Port Cooper have been to the pass on horseback, but on seeing the difficulty have returned; and that, with the exception of the bush on the banks of the Taramakau on the West Coast, it is open country all the way. Chatting .with the natives ab:ut the different inland passes, I am led to believe that a good road could be found by way of theMawera iti and Wai-au-ua, or even the Ahaura ; and from what information I could get from Tarapuhi, there is a good deal of open land at the head of the Wai-au-ua river; also that he knew a better road to Nelson by way of the Roturoa than Mr. B runner found. There is also some country by the Kawatiri, which has never been seen by white people. I had now some thoughts of returning by Port Cooper, but as the natives at Maw era, -with the exception of Tarapuhi, were not at all friendly, and my native (Po Arama) did not know the road; and when I told him that I could find it r he did not relish the idea of attempting it; so I was obliged to give up the intention, and return by the coast as previously arranged. Sunday, March 15.—Made this a day of rest.

Monday, March 16.—After an early breakfast/we turned our faces in a homeward direction 'from Mawera; and received on leaving' a meri ponamu from my friend Tarapuhi, who told me that if I chose to come back there to live, it would be all right, and not to take notice of what the other maories said. As he had served me faithfully in the affair of the canoes, and in various ways, I made him a present of £5, and we parted g-ood friends. Wishingthe. others g-ood bye, I told them they were no good, and that I would not send them any tobacco or pipes from Massacre Bay. Parepako Point bore north from the entrance of the Mawera, distant about seven miles. On reaching- Kararoha, remained in the ware at the old pah for the

night. Tuesday, March 17. —This day's journey brought us back again to our old quarters in the cave at Punungairi, which saved, us from exposure to a heavy night's rain. Wednesday, March iß.—As we could not cross the Punungari in the morning, from the flood caused by the previousnigbt's rain, we had to remain till late in the afternoon, and got as far as Poroari river, camping there as it was not fordable. Rained all night. Thursday, March 19.—Owing to a heavy flood, had to remain on the banks of the Pororari all day. Friday, March 20.—Got over the river at low water, and it being late in the day we could not get further than the foot of the Miko. Saturday, March 29.—P0 Arama and myself not being satisfied with the pace of William King- and the other two natives, marched off in the morning, and left them to follow at their pleasure. We passed the Ana Matuku and Tv Inu, and camped on the banks of the Whitakere. •Sunday, March 22.—Marched at daylight, and fortunately got to Kawatiri in the evening. Monday, March 23.—Remained in the ware, as it rained all day. Tuesday, March 24.—Rained without cessation. Wednesday, March 25.—Another miserable day at Kawatiri; William King's party arrived. Thursday, March 26.—Crossed the Kawatiri in a canoe, and had to stop some time at Orowaiti, as the tide was in; and after getting over the Wareatea had to remain there as it rained hard. Friday, March 27.—Our day's journey

brought" us to Moki Nui from Wareatea; here found some ship's spars, which evidently had been burnt some twelve months ago. Saturday, March 28.—1n the morning we found that our old moki (raft), had been earned away by a flood, so had to make another to cross the river on; got to Kongahu Point by dark. Sunday, March 29.—Left Kongahu, ascending and descending Otahu Bluff; had to stop at Tunupohu, as the tide was in. We then walked along the beach. About half-a-mile past Tunupohu, the canoe found on our downward journey still lay on the beach. About three quarters of a mile further on, as Po Arama and myself were climbing over the rocks, he drew my attention; to an object above us, which he asserted was the body of the pakeha; we clambered up to it, and found it was too true, there lay the remains of a body, which we could only recognise as being that of a white man by the hair and feet, the rest was a mass of brown skin and corruption. The head had been dashed to pieces against the rocks, and the body was destitute of clothing. We stopped*till the other three came up, and held a council what was best to be done : we all agreed that it was impossible to either bury or remove the body, all around us being nothing but rocks and precipices; we were most j unwillingly obliged to abandon it. There can be no doubt but this was the body of Stephen Etwell, who must have got into Tunupohu on Saturday night with the canoe, and remaining there all Sunday, | and starting that night or Monday mom-. i ing, got upset in the breakers on going out, and had been dashed against the rocks and drowned. I account for the body not being- seen by us on Tuesday (February 24), by its not having floated till Wednesday or Thursday. I found a few notes of his journey down the coast in his box, which I will hand over to the proper authorities on reaching Nelson. Continued our journey to Wanganui, crossed it, and walked along the Kairiki.beach to Karamea, and put up for the night. • Monday, March 30. — : Remained in our tent all day on account of the weather. The Maories caught some woodhens and eels.

Tuesday, March*r3L—-ißamed all day; the;; natives pccupi^3:thea»s.el^es--by^catch-ing:wekas ; and tunas. „fv7 * : Wednesday, April I^— Got away at last from Karamea, but had to stop at Hailiai all day, as the river was flooded. Thursday, April 2.—-Left. Haihai in the morning", Po Arama and I here parted for the second time from William King1 and the other natives, as they were a complete drag* to us. We crossed the Wakapoai about mid-day, and got as far as Papaki Rua, where we had to remain, as the tide was in. At low-water we climbed over the rocks; this was in the night, and we had to remain there till morning-. Friday, April 3.—Got to Moutere, and had to remain on account of the tide. Saturday, April 4.—Left Moutere in the morning", passing* Tauparikaka, Otukoroiti, Ruatoho, Anaweka, and Tun Mawiwi; we were stopped at the latter place for two or three hours, on account of the tide; when it permitted us to g*et away, we took advantage of the moonlight, and walked to Te Hapu, which we reached about three o'clock in the morning". '. Sunday, April s.—Ascended Te Hapu about 6, a.m., and got to West Wanganui, where the tide was in, and, it being late, we remained for the night. Monday, April 6.—Left our last night's quarters for Pakawau, reaching there at noon, and Taupata soon after.

Before closing this journal I may note, that on making inquiry of the Chief (Tarapuhi) at Mawera respecting the number of natives on the West Coast, he was able to inform me of the most of them by name, and that they did not exceed 87, taking- all the pahs from Wanganui to Foveaux Straits. Of the above number only 37 reside in the Nelson Province. It is nothing new to me, hearing that the Mawera natives expected to be paid for the land, and should their claim prove to be correct, it would be advisable for the General Government to take the necessary measures to extinguish the native title in the three provinces, and the sooner the better, as I was informed that several of the Port Cooper natives intend settling" at Mawera, and it would be easier to deal with the few at present residing there, than with a more * numerous and wideawake population. Although tb.9 prevailing winds were noticed in my progress down the coast, I considered it better not to report until I

retraced my steps, which gave me a further opportunity of observing them. Before leaving Massacre Bay, I had an impression, and I believe it is a general one, that the West Coast of this islsrad, with the exception of the southern part, is very dangerous, from the absence of good harbours, and that it had also been reckoned a dead lee shore. Respecting the harbours on that part belonging to this province, there is not much to boast of; yet it must be admitted that few persons will be prepared to learn that over the bar of the Grey there is a depth of 24 feet at -high water, and over that of the Buller 18 feet; at the Karamea, or Mackay, and Moki iNui, there is 16 feet at high water; and at the Wanganui, Heaphy, Ruatohu, and Anaweka, from 12 to 14 feet. I took much pains, by personally sounding and examining the bars, to ascertain the depth of water, and can vouch for the accuracy of the same.

As to its being a dead lee shore, I did not find it so during the months of February and March. The wind was chiefly from the S.W., blowing moderately along the coast during the day, and at night we had strong land breezes (stronger than are generally met with in Blind Bay), which left smooth water in the morning; this was particularly observable to the south of Rocky Point, where, I am of opinion, the north-westers which blow nine months out of the twelve about Cape Farewell and the Strait do not reach. I Avas also told by the natives that they only got N.W. and N.E. winds in bad weather. There were only two north-westers whilst I was on the co .st, one for two days when we were at Toropuhi going down, and one whilst at Maw era of one day's duration; and a north-easter at Kawatiri on the way home, which lasted four clays. I was greatly surprised at the absence of strong* winds. What it may be during the short days of winter I caniot say; but judging from the land trending away so much to the southwest, and those winds being the most frequent, I cannot see any difficulty in vessels of suitable burden approaching* the coast and taking any of the rivers mentioned above.'

More rain falls on the West Coast than in Blind Bay, which has plenty of outlets in the numerous rivers falling into the sea. I, however, do not think that the country, with the exception of the valley of the Buller, is very wet. Of the Mawera, I can scarcely say too much; and with such an amount of available land in its valleys, and tributaries, as well as that belonging to the adjoining province of Canterbury, it cannot fail, at no distant day, in becoming" a most important and populous district, holding' direct communication across the island (here under one hundred miles in width) to Lyttelton, reduced by exploration to perhaps a three day's journey; as well perhaps as running its steamer direct to Sydney, getting up the steam with the coal found, as previously stated, in this province, about seven or eight miles from the sea. The best site for a town is in the Canterbury province, as the north shore does not afford such advantages; yet in the course of time it Avould be occupied, and may yet become the future Birkenhead of the"Ma',vera. Sawn timber, splendid masts, and 1 a ks will be the immediate and chief export for some time; then perhaps a little wool, as the pastoral parts of the district I will soon be occupied by the active and ever-progressing- pioneer, the sheep-farmer. Coming so lately from the Aorere gold diggings, I kept a good look-out for the much-coveted metal, but could not discover the smallest indication of gold in my journeyings; in fact, the country was as destitute'of that article as the Nelson provincial treasury; and with almost an entire absence of quartz. In recording these wanderings (which occupied nearly eight weeks), undertaken to find out what description of country belonged to the Province on its west coast, I have in no way been led to do so by what -may have been reported by Messrs. Heaphy and Brunner on the subject; the contents of their journals I am ignorant of: but, seeing in the charts and maps of the island lately pubh'shed by the Admiralty, from the surveys of her Majesty's ships Acheron and Pandora, having hundreds of miles merely noticed on them as visited by Messrs. Heaphy and Brunner, in 1845 and 1846, I resolved to see and judge for myself; and I can now assure my fellow-set-tlers, that large and valuable tracts of country exist, principally in Mr. Brunner's route, not recorded in the charts and maps alluded to. I have also, in 6rder to make this journal more complete, prepared a map of the country, colouring yellow the avail-

able land actually visited or seen by me, and givingl the bearings of the different headlands and rivers, with the depth of water over their bars. James Mackay, Junior.