The Empire's junior partner

Wilson, Charles Augustus, Williams and Norgate, London, England, 1927

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EPUB ISBN: 978-0-908327-77-5

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The original publication details are as follows:

Title: The Empire's junior partner

Author: Wilson, Charles Augustus

Published: Williams and Norgate, London, England, 1927

THE EMPIRE’S JUNIOR PARTNER

NOTE

This most readable book, packed with accurate information, is a welcome contribution to the literature of a fascinating land. In its pages can be found a concise history of the Maori race from earliest times, their arrival and that of the European, the romance of " breaking-in '* a wild country, the adventurous record of missionary effort, the struggles of the settlers amidst the distraction of 10 years' warfare, and the development of an orderly State, with social legislation that has interested students the world over. Every phase of New Zealand life is dealt with, and the opportunities for migrants clearly stated. The commendation of New Zealand's High Commissioner is sufficient proof that the author has done his work well.

THE EMPIRE’S JUNIOR PARTNER

THE EMPIRE'S JUNIOR PARTNER

BY CHAS. A. WILSON

WITH A FOREWORD BY

THE HON. SIR C. J. PARR, K.C.M.G.

High Commissioner for Neu* Zealand

LONDON

WILLIAMS AND NORGATE, LTD.

14, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C.2

NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA

WILSON BROS.

35. ALBERT STREET, AUCKLAND

V

FOREWORD

The author, Mr. C. A. Wilson, has written an extremely interesting book upon New Zealand. It is obvious that his purpose has been to contribute to the books that have already been published a volume of general information dealing comprehensively with the most important phases of New Zealand’s history and development, and depicting the Dominion as it is to-day. Mr. Wilson, whom I have known for a number of years, is prominent in the commercial life of the Dominion, and is the publisher of three important trade papers there. He is a New Zealander by birth, he has travelled extensively, and he knows his country well. His book shows that he has acquired a fund of information about the Dominion which must have taken many years to gain. In the chapters devoted to a description of the Dominion, localities have been invested with historical data, and for that reason New Zealanders as well as strangers to the country will find his

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remarks extremely interesting. As one who has been entrusted with the important work of making New Zealand better known in Britain, I look forward with interest to the publication of the “ Empire’s Junior Partner.”

C. J. PARR,

High Commissioner

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

It was in the " early days ” that I commenced to set down facts of interest regarding New Zealand —at first of historical incidents and local colour with a view to weaving the material into romance. But gradually it grew upon me that there was greater need for a concise, continuous, readable record of Maori and Pakeha history from earliest times, with descriptions of our flora and fauna, and our geographical features so set out and amplified by interesting details that the visitor had a reliable guide which would prevent overlooking any points of interest.

The book has been written in no partisan spirit, but strives to show the difficulties and distractions of those turbulent times, which now appear so far off. Yet it was only in 1853 that the infant colony received its Constitution, and 1802 when the earliest adventurous sailing masters pushed into the unknown seas in search of the seal and the whale.

A chapter on the island possessions of New Zealand,

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INTRODUCTORY NOTE

with a description of their discovery and settlement, forms a record not readily obtainable elsewhere, proving the statement that the “ Empire’s Junior Partner ” has made good use of its time, and has become indeed a miniature empire at the Antipodes. The fact that Great Britain did not desire to add the colony to its territory has been dealt with as merely of historical importance. It is to be hoped that the stone which the builder rejected will be one of the corner stones of the great Federation of British peoples.

No attempt has been made to record events past the time when the native race and the colonists, after long years of conflict, settled down together in peace and goodwill.

The result is, I hope and believe, a volume that will prove of interest not only to our own people, who can judge of its accuracy and fairness, but to the increasing number who seek our shores for sightseeing or sport, or with a view to settle. It is a lovely land, the Dominion of New Zealand, and if anything written herein makes that fact better understood, the labour has not been in vain.

London,

C.A.W.

Nov. ist, 1926.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

PAGE

I A GENERAL SURVEY 1

POSITION-1,200 MILES FROM AUSTRALIA A WEALTHY COUNTRY —POPULATION CHIEF NATURAL FEATURES TOWNS BAY OF ISLANDS WHANGAREI HAMILTON-ROTORUA-OKATAINA-THERMAL REGIONS-NOT SUBJECT MANY EARTHQUAKES-WAITOMO CAVES —STALACTITES AND STALAGMITES —GLOW-WORMS- - WANGANUI KING COUNTRY-ITS ROMANCE- “BREAKING IN ” WELLINGTON —EAST COAST TOWNS-TARANAKI SOUTH ISLAND-NELSON-WESTLAND GLACIERS-MOUNTAINS MT. CHRISTCHURCH-TIMARU-OAMARU-SOUTHERN LAKES-OTAGO PROVINCE - DUNEDIN-SOUTHLAND-INVERCAR-GILL-STEWART ISLAND-THE MILFORD TRACK-THE WEATHER —FLORA —FAUNA FISH—NEW ZEALAND'S POSSESSIONS—THE BRITAIN OF THE SOUTH-A MINIATURE EMPIRE

II THE MAORI 81

SPECULATIONS AS TO HIS ORIGIN-A LONG STONE AGE —STONE IMPLEMENTS LITTLE GUIDE —A RACE BEFORE MAORI : WROTE

ix

CONTENTS

X

CHAPTER

PAGE

ON ROCKS —CERTAIN FACTS ARE KNOWN — THE PIONEER FLEET-THE NEXT 450 YEARS - THE MAORIS AT PEACE-STUDYING THE STARS-STUDYING NATURE-LEARNING THE ARTS OF WAR-CANOE BUILDING-FASHION-ING WEAPONS-MAT MAKING WOOD-CARV-ING-TATTOOING-TAPU RELIGION

III THE COMING OF THE PAKEHA 119

THE SEALING INDUSTRY-WHALING-THE TIMBER INDUSTRY-WHAT ENGLAND THOUGHT-MISSIONARY EFFORTS-GREAT MEN OF THE TIMES-THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY-THE PART OF THE FRENCHTREATY OF WAITANGI —GENERAL SETTLEMENT

IV THE MAORI WARS 159

HONE HERE’S WAR, 1845-1846 -FOUR OTHER WARS-THE TARANAKI WAR, 18601869— THE WAIKATO WAR, 1863-1864 TE KOOTI, 1868-1869 THE CONFLICT ENDED

V MAORI WELFARE 200

DOMINION NOTHING TO REPROACH ITSELF WITH-TREATY WITH NATIVES OBSERVED WELL-EDUCATION OF NATIVE BOYS AND GIRLS-ETHNOLOGICAL WORK-ADJUST-MENT OF “DEALS” COMMUNISM A DETRIMENT TO MAORI CO-OPERATIVE FARMING SUCCESSFUL MAORI NOT A DYING RACE OCCUPY GOOD POSITIONS-THE QUESTION OF INTERMARRIAGE WITH EUROPEANS

VI CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT 204

EDUCATION-LEGISLATION —LAND LAWSGENERAL LAWS PENSIONS-AND HEALTH — STATE ENTERPRISES

CONTENTS

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CHAPTER

PAGE

VII LANDS AND IMMIGRATION 219

NATURAL WEALTH AND INDUSTRIES — CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE-FARM WORK-THE TOWNS-EDUCATION AND GAMES-TENDENCY TO RESTLESSNESS-A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

MAORI PRONUNCIATION AND BRIEF GLOSSARY 243

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CHAPTER I

A GENERAL SURVEY

Running almost North and South down the 173 rd parallel of longitude, New Zealand covers 13 degrees of latitude, and forms the furthest South habitable land. Save for a few small bleak islands, the nearest land is Australia, over 1,200 miles away. The area of New Zealand and dependencies is 103,862 square miles or 66,861,440 acres, one-seventh more than Great Britain. The greater part is productive in some way, even though much of both islands is composed of a lofty mountain group. The population, with 55,000 Maoris, and those living in mandated territory and dependencies is nearing ij millions. New Zealand has a density of 13.05 per square mile, against Britain’s 385.94. The country’s contour ensures a plentiful supply of rivers on all coasts, furnishing irrigation and unlimited hydro-electric power. Flocks and herds flourish, and with general soil fertility and an equable climate, it is a simpler thing to enumerate what does not grow to profusion than to state what will grow. Mineral wealth is

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equally varied. Gold, coal and iron are found almost everywhere and the search for oil in payable quantities is being pushed on with every hope of success. New Zealand is richly endowed with commodious harbours in some of which, notably at Auckland and Wellington, the largest ships can lie practically at the main street. Outstanding natural features are the Southern Alps culminating in Mt. Cook (12,349 ft.) the immense glaciers (the Tasman covers 14,000 acres and is the largest in the world), the beautiful Sounds and Fiords and Lakes, and interesting remnants of volcanic activity in the North, which result in wild and romantic scenery. To give a clear idea it is necessary to take the country in detail.

Starting from the North we find a sub-tropical climate with fairly fertile soil, capable of growing grapes in the open. General farming is successfully carried on. The world-famed kauri tree flourished here, but is now in very short supply. North New Zealand was first to be brought into touch with the outside world. In the latter part of the 18th century ships from all parts called at the beautiful Bay of Islands for kauri masts and spars and to replenish water and stores, and the town site of Russell was for many decades the whaler’s principal port. Kororareka, as it was then, was the landing place of the famous missionary, Rev. Samuel Marsden, in 1814, and here much interesting history centres, including the signing of the famous Treaty of Waitangi. In 1845 the Maori leader, Hone Heke, three times cut down the flagstaff erected by the British, and so caused the war of that year. The town was sacked and burnt in 1846. Once the

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capital of New Zealand, Russell is a small though modern township of 500 people. Around it the seas form an anglers' paradise, it being the centre of attraction for swordfish hunters from the Dominion and abroad. The sea abounds in fish of every kind. Russell still has the memory of other days, when those splendid figures who founded the early settlement served with courageous enterprise and quenchless faith.

Another town of great interest on the East Coast is Whangarei (pop. 4,150), with a harbour of surpassing beauty. Here can be seen a wonderful natural wharf 6 ft. above the water, 75 yds. long and 5 ft. wide, running out from a sandy beach, also modem wharves, accommodating regular steamers. There is rail communication with Wellington now, and travellers can go from end to end of the Dominion in three days. The town was sacked in Heke’s War of 1845. The first ship on record was the “ Venus,” captured by convicts, who caused tribal wars by carrying off native women. Another early vessel was “ Active,” with the Rev. Samuel Marsden. Whangarei is centre of an interesting district. From here can be reached the Hikurangi coal mines, Whangarei and Wairau Falls (the Niagara of New Zealand), Waipu caves with stalactites and stalagmites, wonderful limestone formations, and Kamo Soda Springs, where the bather enters apparently cold water, and can remain in it for hours. It is a stopping place for visitors to the Bay of Islands, and has excellent accommodation. Dargaville, on the West coast, can be reached by motor, or from Helensville by a wonderful tidal waterway, the Wairoa

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River, which trip no visitor should miss. Down the line at Helensville, is another old-established settlement, centre of commercial fishing. Near by are hot mineral springs and fine bath houses, conducted by the Domain Board, while there are comfortable boarding-houses with the mineral water laid on, and private swimming pools on modern lines. Being only 1 1 hours from the City, these springs are very popular.

Although somewhat neglected in the past, the “ Winterless North ” is coming into its own, and offers great opportunities for settlement. It is said to be able to carry a million cows, because the mild climate enables butter production to be carried on almost all the year round. A bye-product of dairying is pork, and as one cow will provide for two pigs, the North’s optimism is justified. Rail transport and a bridge over the Wairoa at Dargaville have removed the chief difficulty. Digging for kauri gum is still an industry, and the gum soils grow fruit well. From Henderson to Auckland are many fine commercial orchards and vine yards.

The " Queen City,” as Auckland is aptly named, has a population of 165,000 and from 1840 to 1865 was the Capital, when Wellington was selected as being more central. The site of 3,000 acres was purchased in 1840 for £5O and some trade goods from the four chiefs of the decimated tribes once flourishing on the Isthmus, and four lots were sold for £5OO per acre. The value of City land to-day is from £2OO to £1,500 per foot frontage. Situated on the beautiful Waitemata Harbour the views from many of the 63 extinct volcanic peaks in and around the

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City are magnificent, embracing two oceans and a smiling countryside. The Harbour has many sheltered bays and beaches, and hundreds of pleasure craft make use of the unique natural facilities. The City itself is up-to-date, its wharves will accommodate the largest vessels, and there is an Admiralty dock, with oil stores being provided, across the Harbour. The suburbs show how great a degree of general prosperity exists. Points of interest are the volcanic peaks of Mt. Eden (Maungawhau), and One Tree Hill (Maungakiekie) famous as fortified pahs in Maori history. Most visitors drive to the summits. The island of Rangitoto, 1,000 ft. high, standing like a grim sentinel in the Harbour entrance, is an extinct volcano of great geological interest. Auckland has many up-to-date public and commercial buildings and a plenitude of open spaces, donated by generous citizens. The marine suburbs, situated on the bays and cliffs, are largely patronised, and thousands journey to and fro on business in modem and fast ferry boats. At Chelsea, across the Harbour, are the up-to-date sugar works of the Colonial Sugar Co., which refines practically all the sugar used in New Zealand. Other places of interest are Kawau Island, the home of the late Sir George Grey, Waiwera has mineral springs, Waiheke Island its beautiful ocean beaches. Waitakere Ranges, a few miles away, are deservedly popular holiday and picnic resorts, the native bush flourishing in great profusion. Thames and Coromandel, famous in the old gold-mining days, are within a few hours’ steam. In and around Auckland the factories and workshops are up-to-date. South, on

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the Main Trunk line, are miles of cultivated lands, green and wooded like those of Britain, interspersed with swamps which when drained make the richest of pastureland. Much flax is grown now. The splendid Waikato, largest of New Zealand's Rivers, runs through, and will one day link up Auckland by means of a canal. South of Mercer is the coal-mining district of Huntly and Taupiri, thence to Ngaruawahia, one-time seat of the Maori King.

Hamilton, Capital of the Waikato District, 80 miles from Auckland, is a flourishing, modem township with a population of about 12,500, the centre of a great dairying district, and of late years has made great progress. East of it is Cambridge, a small, but extremely beautiful township, well elevated and noted as a health resort for sufferers from chest troubles. As in Hamilton, the first settlers were soldiers, disbanded after the Maori War of 1865. Near Cambridge is one of the largest dried milk and glaxo factories in the world. The train to Rotorua branches off at Hamilton towards the East Coast. The town of Rotorua, centre of a worldfamed thermal district, is 174 miles from Auckland, and there is a daily train service. From 1881 till recently it was State-controlled, but is now a Borough, with a normal average of 4,000, increased in the tourist season. It is well laid out, with the Government grounds and bath houses in the centre, and there are tennis courts, bowling and croquet greens. The up-to-date bath houses have splendid swimming pools for both sexes, also a concert room. The Government Balneologist in charge has a staff of massage operators, nurses and attendants and the

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appointments are equal to those of the world’s leading spas. All baths can be electrified. Not only invalids, but those who are in average health, find the waters of Rotorua most beneficial. A little distance from the town proper is the native village of Ohinemutu, on Lake Rotorua. Around the shores are bubbling pools and steam vents alternated with cold pools. The Maoris live in the old way, all their washing and cooking being done in the boiling springs and hot mud. Accidents seldom happen.

Whakarewarewa (more familiarly Whaka) is the home of the Tuhourangi Tribe, and a famous show place. Near the Maori village is a wealth of thermal wonders, from the bubbling pool of muddy water called a porridge pot to the beautiful geysers which sometimes play to a height of several hundred feet. Maori guides are licensed to conduct the visitor, and under their direction and accompanied by their legends and descriptions, a very pleasant afternoon can be spent. Interesting all-day trips can be made to Hamurana Springs. Rotorua Lake teems with trout and the Hamurana Fishing Lodge provides up-to-date accommodation for anglers. Tikitere, about eleven miles from Rotorua, is an awe-inspiring inferno and a guide is absolutely necessary. Mokoia Island, on Lake Rotorua, is the home of the Arawas, and the subject of many Maori legends and songs. The " Five Lakes ” trip by car and launch includes a visit to Lakes Rotorua, Rotoiti, Rotowhu, Rotomahana, and Rotokawau. The site of the buried village of Wairoa is seen, the village having been totally destroyed and buried at the time of the eruption in 1886.

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The trip across Lake Rotomahana is particularly interesting, as the launch pasoes through boiling water, accompanied by subterranean quaking, and from the bank come great jets of steam. Waimangu Geyser is reached by this route. It is perhaps the most treacherous of all the geysers and has twice caused loss of life. About 23 miles away is Waiotapu, with many interesting thermal activities. Thermal activity of quite as wonderful a nature can be seen at Wairakei, about 30 miles from Rotorua, in fact few places in the world show such varied activity. In the fast flowing streams of the thermal and surrounding districts is to be obtained the finest trout fishing in the world.

Taupo, situated on Lake Taupo, from whence rises the Waikato River, is famous for its trout fishing. Tokaanu, aptly called the “ Anglers ’ Paradise ” is a small township situated on the Tongariro River; the fishing here surpasses any in New Zealand. Trout of 25 lb. have been caught, while 20 pounders are common. Tokaanu also provides a convenient starting place for the ascent of Tongariro, Ngaruahoe and Ruapehu.

A little-known lake in Rotoraa district is Okataina, which will one day be a fresh tourist route. It is only 5J miles by z\ miles, but it has more beauty and more history than the majority of places. It is the most richly forested of any in Geyserland. To the north is Lake Rotoiti, to the south Tarawera, a mile distant. The real name of this beauty spot is Te Moana i Kataina e te Rangitakaroro, meaning " The sea where Rangitakaroro laughed." What he laughed at is lost, but it could not have been the

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lake. It is a place of names, as witness that of the great cliffs Whakapou Ngakau, “ The hills of heart’s fixed desire.” A lovely little bay is Otangi Moana or “ The Ocean weeping,” and Motu Whetero, a headland, is an “ Isle projecting like a tongue,” which organ the Maori saw frequently protruded in the haka or war dance of defiance. Around the lake are many crumbling old paths and landing places, relics of the " days that the locust hath eaten.” Here lived the Ngati Tarawhai, the great clan of the Arawa tribe which furnished all the famous carvers in wood. There is a forest track which the old-time Maori used when walking the three miles to Rotoiti, and one can imagine their delight in this great work of Tane, the Forest God. Huge rimu, rata, and totara trees rear their heads on each side for unbroken miles. The feet are bedded in the soft ferns, and the giant of the tribe, the punga, flings its wonderful fronds as a filter for the sun. The sweet smell of the bush is a lasting delight. Wild pig and deer find refuge here. In the lake are rainbow trout up to 16 lbs. and the bed is covered with the koura or fresh water crayfish, the inanga or native whitebait swarms in the season, and the native trout, a great delicacy in the old days, is abundant. Scaleless, 9 in. long and as thick as one’s thumb, with a flat top to its head, this kokopu kept the natives supplied with food to supplement their birds andkumara. Okataina should be on the list of every visitor to Rotorua, even as a contrast to the inferno existing so near at hand.

New Zealand is not, as is generally supposed, subject to earthquakes. Slight shocks have been

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felt from time to time, as elsewhere in the world. A " fault ” exists from Marlborough to White Island and this embraces the earthquake area. Indeed volcanic activity is in the dying stage, although for many years it will be in evidence. There are only two active volcanoes in New Zealand, Ngaruahoe (7,575 ft.) in the North Island, and White Island, situated about 27 miles from the west coast in the Bay of Plenty, opposite Whakatane, four hours away by launch, and known as the ‘ Safety Valve of New Zealand.’ Not many make the trip, but for those who desire a thrill it is well worth while. The journey over is very pleasant and the amount of bird life is amazing; gannets flinging themselves from great heights, mutton birds, and all the varied seabirds of the coast make the trip an unending delight. Here, too, is to be found the giant swordfish, the kingfish, and vast quantities of edible and sporting fish. The Island up to 20 ft. is of solid black rock, above that to 1000 ft. 'S nothing but fire-scorched stone, there being no living thing within half a mile of the raging volcano. Never did Dore have such a scene to depict. Picking their way over what was once a lake (now a mud flat covering the remains of 14 workmen overwhelmed in 19x5) visitors reach the main vent, only 30 ft. above sea level and 800 yds. from the shore. Immense columns of steam are flung roaring to a height of 10,000 ft. Fierce splashes of colour are in this weird valley. The volcano is only 40 ft. deep and in it rises a great incandescent rock like a triple-headed dragon with lips turned back in a perpetual snarl, while from its glowing throats rush

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fire and steam. New Zealand imports sulphur, yet here are vast fields of it, together with great guano deposits and phosphate rock. Small wonder that the Island is again being worked. The site of the camp is almost entirely different to the scene just described, and life moves in ordered channels.

Travellers can continue from Rotorua as a centre, cross Lake Taupo by launch, and pick up the main line by motor. Or they can return to Hamilton and go south by rail. South from Hamilton about 50 miles are the famous and beautiful Waitomo Caves. Hangatiki, on the Main Trunk Line is six miles from the Government Hostel. The heart of the King Country is limestone, and down the rugged valleys flow many streams. Thousands of years must have been necessary to fill the great underground caverns with these wondrous forms, and visitors who have seen other caves are enraptured by the variety of shape and the enormous number of the stalactites and stalgamites. There are three caves, one near the Government hostel is called Waitomo, and is traversed by an underground river. This cave is visited after sunset, because it contains the glow-worms for which it is renowned. Entrance is gained by an opening in the hill, and visitors are shown the varied beauties of the large cave. But, at last, where the underground river makes exit, there is a lofty chamber and a considerable sheet of water. Here a large boat is moored, and, in strict silence, is pulled by a wire along the walls and in and out of the indentations of the cavern. Overhead are myriads of glow-worms, and their glory is that of the heavens. It requires no stretch of

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imagination to believe that the sky in its most beautiful aspect is being viewed, and that the various constellations can be picked out. Add to this the glow on the stalactites and the reflections on the still water, and an unforgettable picture is impressed on the mind. Although called “ glow-worm ” the insect producing the light is now classified as a midge, a member of the two-winged insect group of Diptera. The grub, which gives out the beautiful lights, forms a web of slimy threads in dark, damp comers. In the centre of each is a slender tube of mucilage, in which the grub can glide rapidly backward and forward. The mystical change from the grub stage to the chrysalis stage takes place in the web. It is doubtful if the grubs eat fungi; one observer states definitely that they feed on the remains of small insects caught in their webs. It has therefore been placed by Mr. F. W. Edwards, of the British Museum, who received a specimen, in a new genus, with the title Arachnocampa, the spider grab, chosen on account of one of the grub’s most remarkable characters, the structure of webs and the use of them for the capture of prey. The glowworm’s luminous organ is at the end of its body. It is a gelatinous, semi-transparent structure, capable of extension and contraction and other changes, and, like the light it emits, is under the grub’s complete control.

The second set of caves, Ruakuri, miles up the Valley, is larger than Waitomo, containing half a mile of cavern with a tremendous variety of stalactite forms, while a waterfall, far in the depths, keeps up a weird booming. The third, Aranui, almost

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opposite, was discovered not long ago, by a native, after whom it was named.

There are other caves in the vicinity, if the entrances could be found, but no one would ask for better or more extensive cave forms.

It seems impossible to look for any shape which is not duplicated in these caves. The guide can point out the Twelve Apostles or a pipe organ, blankets or Juliet’s balcony. Electricity is now being installed, and will add to the beauty of the scene and the comfort of the visitors. The Maoris have known of these caves for generations, but they peopled dark underground places with ghosts, and did not enter them.

Other progressive townships along the railway line are Te Awamutu, Otorohanga, Te Kuiti and Taumarunui. The latter is the starting point of the two days’ trip down “ New Zealand’s Rhine,” the Wanganui River (140 miles) to Wanganui, the fifth city of New Zealand (population now 17,000) very interesting from its association with the early settlers’ struggles and the intertribal and Taranaki Wars.

Wanganui may be reached either from New Plymouth by road or rail, or from the Main Trunk, or, more beautiful than anyone could imagine, by river from Taumarunui, where the Wanganui and the Ongarue, sprung from the great snow-clad peaks of the National Park, junction and turn South together. Here is the " Meeting of the Waters ” also the meeting of three provinces—Auckland, Wellington and Taranaki. In 1902 I made the trip, as far as was possible, from the other end, but two years later it was decided to carry right through,

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although there were no settlers living on this stretch of 90 miles, and a number of townships now reached by road or river did not exist. The result of this enterprise on the part of Messrs. Hatrick and Company Ltd., against the most tremendous difficulties, was to make the "New Zealand Rhine ” known to tourists from the four quarters of the globe. The splendidly comfortable houseboat now moored 30 miles down the river had to pass 90 rapids before being got into position, but it ensures a night’s rest and comfort amid unique and wild surroundings. Visitors arrive by motor launch in the hands of skilful pilots.

The river banks over its 140 miles have been the home of the Maori for generations, and every rock and inlet has an historical significance. Along the years the war drum boomed its message down the river, and the excited yells of the victor were mingled with the groans of the dying. Now the passage of time has taken the Maori from the river, and the ancient places know him no more. Once 30,000, to-day 1,000, in spite of the fact that the race is generally holding its own, is the tale of the years as it affects the river tribes.

Nearing Wanganui is Moutoa Island, where friendly Maoris met as arranged and fought a band of Hau Haus who had determined to sack the town. The friendlies won after a desperate fight in which they had rather underrated their enemies, and suffered heavy loss. A monument suitable and imposing keeps alive the memory of as brave a deed as the Dominion’s records can show. It is good to know that in the Great War the Maori lads from the river,

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descendants of those who fought for and against the European at Moutoa, marched side by side in France and on Gallipoli to uphold the honour of our flag.

The whole of the river scenery is entrancingly beautiful, and the visitor will find in Wanganui a City worthy of its trust, and with many further excellences to offer. Splendidly situated on a noble stream, and with rapidly-developing backcountry to maintain its progress, the fifth City can easily maintain and extend its growth.

The country along the Main Trunk line for many miles on each side between Te Awamutu and Taihape (166 miles) is known as the King Country, being the stronghold for many years of the Maori Kingites who took refuge in the rough and rugged interior and defied the pakeha. All the romance of nation building was experienced in this establishment of civilised life and industry in the heart of the old Maori domain. In the early eighties Otorohanga, but a few miles from Waitomo, was the “ back of beyond," behind the unbridged and often unfordable river. On one side green farms and townships, schools, churches and roads, also constabulary redoubts, on the other, fern and swamp, bush and blue mysterious ranges. Here and there was a raupo thatched village or green crop. Up till 1885 the Maori did as he pleased south of the frontier river. One pakeha Maori who disobeyed the Maori leader’s orders to "keep out” was tomahawked, and his heart tom out as an offering to Maru, the war god. Some wild scenes took place round that district. Big Bob Barlow received the £5OO reward for capturing Winiata, the murderer protege of the Maori King,

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taking away his revolver at night in a lonely hut, and hauling him out to meet the ends of white man’s justice. In 1883 Hursthouse, a surveyor, and his mate were chained in a whare, surrounded by a mob of yelling fanatics. Past Otorohanga, Mahuki and his gang of wild followers came galloping to raid and bum the township of Pirongia. Major Gascoigne, with his armed constabulary and Te Awamutu cavalry volunteers, promptly showed them white man’s rale and put them on their backs in gaol.

But settlers went and came in the “ Rohepotae ” unmolested. Gold prospectors. Government officials and surveyors were " not wanted.” Te Kooti’s large settlement was at Otewa—a model village well arranged and planted. Te Kooti was a born leader. He had made peace about 1887 with the Government and was hospitable to pakeha visitors. The Land Court nearby was a picturesque place. In its work of establishing tribal titles, grand old figures of Maoridom stalked into that Court, proud, dignified orators of note many of them. Lordly Wahanui, proud Taonui, grim, black tattooed Hauauru, dignified Te Rangi Tuatataka from Mokau, and a halfcaste Hone Karoa with clear-cut, fine English features. All have long gone back to the earth they loved so well.

The real breakers-in were the railway and tunnel builders, and an amazing story is theirs. For 50 miles into the heart of the King Country scores of teams hauled material. There were no roads, no bridges—they made their own. Heroic waggoners, canoe men working the Waipa as high as Otorohanga, and the Mangaokewa as high as Te Kuiti; forgotten

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most of them, but their work abides. When the country was a green sea of bush these men of thews and sinews drove tunnels, erected huge viaducts, and laid rails, that in due course those who followed after might do so in comfort and safety. To the women who made shift in a rough hut or tent, cheered their menfolk and reared sturdy, healthy young New Zealanders belongs also their meed of praise.

Between Te Kuiti and Taihape the country is very rugged and picturesque, and one is astounded at the marvellous engineering feats in the form of tunnels, bridges and viaducts. At Raurimu, a rising township, is the famous spiral which lifts the railway a sheer 900 feet on to a new level, the line passing over itself in the form of a figure eight. At Waimarino, the top of the spiral, magnificent views of the three peaks of Ngaruahoe, Tongariro and Ruapehu are obtained. Ruapehu is visible for many miles. These three volcanic peaks, of which Ngaruahoe is the only one still active, stand in the great Tongariro National Park, which bids fair to become one of the world’s play grounds in summer and winter.

Approaching Taihape, there becomes evident the rapid settlement and growth of many townships during the past 19 years, since the opening of the railway. From here on to Wellington the country is well populated and carries large flocks of sheep and dairy herds. Palmerston North, 80 miles north from Wellington, is the centre of this rich district. It is a well laid-out township with a population of 16,250. The gardens in the Square are particularly

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attractive. Fielding and Marton are other thriving centres.

Wellington, seat of Government, (population, 110,600) is picturesquely situated on the commodious and deep Lambton Harbour, second only to the Waitemata for area and shipping facilities. Hemmed in by high, rugged hills, some suburbs seem to cling to the hillsides, the effect being particularly attractive to arrivals by sea. The City (then known as Port Nicholson) was founded in 1840 by immigrants brought out under the auspices of the New Zealand Company. The first settlement at Petone, was found unsuitable and moved to Britannia, where Wellington now stands. The trials and struggles of these early settlers, placed as they were in the midst of wild, rugged country, thickly populated by the war-like natives, were very severe. War came right to their door, and always natural difficulties stood in the way of their progress.

It was necessary to pierce a great mountain barrier in order to reach the fertile Wairarapa Plains on the East Coast, this being accomplished successfully to the great and rapid development of the City. Making the tunnels for the West Coast railway was almost as stupendous a task. Some of the public and business buildings of the Capital are among the finest in the Dominion. In shipping, Wellington leads the Dominion, the port facilities being of the highest order. The City is modern throughout, and it is wonderful how some of .the difficulties arising owing to the peculiar contour of the land have been successfully overcome. Wellington has many pretty bays and beaches, and interesting drives and walks.

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Petone, near Wellington, includes one of the largest woollen mills in New Zealand.

The district East of the Main Trunk Railway, and served by the Wairarapa Railway Line (so tremendously steep that it runs on cogged rails part of the way) is known as Hawkes Bay, the chief industry being sheep raising, for which the country is most suitable. The coast includes the historical Bay of Plenty and Poverty Bay, named by Captain Cook because he could not get supplies. Curiously enough, the latter is one of the richest districts in New Zealand, and the name should be altered. It has held the place back for years. There are numerous rising townships and some of the sheep runs and beautiful homes excite great admiration. The principal town of Hawkes Bay is Napier, which celebrated its 50th birthday in 1924. In 1853 its town site was bought for £5O and is now valued at £3,000,000. Other coastal and inland towns are Opotiki, Whakatane, Gisborne, Hastings, Woodville, Masterton and Carterton. Inland from Napier is the Urewera country, the scene of the final conflict between the English supported by the friendlies, and the religious fanatical natives or Hauhaus, who, led by Te Kooti in 1868-9, caused much havoc and distress in the surrounding districts. The country is as yet but partly explored, and many of the natives continue their old-time methods of living, although everywhere travelling is unrestricted, save by the extremely rugged nature of the country. There is a regular coach service to Taupo and the thermal district round Rotorua.

The province of Taranaki, lying to the West of the

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Main Trunk Railway, is essentially a dairying province, and the up-to-date, beautifully kept farms in the province are a constant source of deserved admiration. Pedigree herds are met with everywhere and the great coastal plain is dotted with creameries and cheese factories for handling the products in the best ways known to modern science. The strenuous struggles of the New Zealand Company settlers against every obstacle, including war, massacre, and rapine can never be faithfully told, but the reward has been great, and forms a fitting memorial to these sturdy and patriotic pioneers. New Plymouth (pop. 14,000), the centre of this famous dairying district, is a prettily situated modern town founded in 1814 by the Plymouth Company formed in England by the Earl of Devon, which later joined the New Zealand Company and from which Company it had purchased its land. Being one of the oldest towns in New Zealand there are many interesting and historical spots. It was densely populated by the Maoris, with whom the early settlers had a most trying time. The Taranaki War was the result of disputes over land and dragged on with varying success for many years. Oil has been found in quantity and the neighbourhood is being thoroughly prospected with every hope of successful development. For 70 miles along the seashore, ironsand is found in limitless quantities, awaiting genius and enterprise to turn it to good account. New Plymouth is 250 miles from Wellington, is connected by rail, and is also within easy steaming distance of Auckland. Mt. Egmont (18,260 ft.) lies within a few miles of New Plymouth,

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and is an inspiring sight. It rises sheer from the fertile, cultivated plain, and the Maori legend is that it was so isolated from its companions, Ngaruahoe, Ruapehu and Tongariro, by the old-time gods. It is much visited. There are very beautiful bush drives and walks, the Dawson Falls are a feature, and climbers arrive in numbers. Mists have caused several deaths, but with experienced guides any active man or woman can climb Egmont, and the sight from the summit is ample reward. There is a thrilling sense of height and airiness because all around is flat ground. It seems somewhat like being at the top of an enormous pole. Egmont very much resembles Fujiyama, Taranaki has some of the best roads in New Zealand. The trip from Auckland to Wellington, over Mt. Messenger, is one of the finest imaginable. Other progressive towns in this district are Waitara, Stratford, Eltham and Hawera, all linked up by a splendid bitumen road.

Cook Strait, dividing the North and South (or Middle) Islands, is named after the great navigator, and every landmark is of interest. Queen Charlotte Sound is famous as being the place selected by Captain Cook and other discoverers as the most suitable anchorage and rendezvous. Whalers and traders at one time held dominion over the Straits. Mention can be made here of Kapiti Island, the stronghold and base of the Maori Napoleon, Te Rauparaha. It lies off the West Coast of the North Island, near Otaki, and is now a bird sanctuary.

When crossing by boat to Nelson the steamer calls at Picton, a township at the head of Queen Charlotte

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Sound. Nelson (pop. xi,ooo) is the chief town of the Province of that name and is the centre of the fruit and hop-growing district. It is known as the " Garden of New Zealand ” and is noted for its excellent climate and its average during the year of nearly eight hours sunshine daily. A restful, beautiful place, it has one of the finest golf courses in New Zealand. Around Nelson are actual hills of marble of all colours. Near Takaka are caves with stalactites and stalagmites of great beauty. It is limestone country, and coal and iron also abound near deep water, promising much wealth in the years to come. On the way to the glaciers, by car (which usually starts from Christchurch), the first lakes met with are Rotoiti and Rotoroa. The Murchison country was famous for its gold in the times past. The famous Buller Gorge, bush-clad and with all the wonders of the region, is negotiated, and then the beautiful bush flanks the roads and the rugged hillsides on the way to Westport. Greymouth is visited, a place of much natural wealth in gold and timber, and then 49 miles of rail journey can be undertaken to reach Reefton. This is all ground whereon history was made, and the scenes of gold winning by stalwarts from the world over. From Hokitika the Franz Joseph glacier is to be reached. It is interesting to note that the Maoris called it " Okitika ” but some purist thought it lacked an aspirate, and so it has remained Hokitika to this day. Around are lakes of wondrous beauty. Kanieri is 400 ft. above sea level, Mahinapua only 6 ft. Big Wanganui and Little Wanganui (a pest on these duplications of names all over the country)

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are lakes worth seeing, and this wondrous region, packed with rivers and well clothed with bush, begins to dazzle the eye with the distant views of snowy peaks that seem to reach the sky. They thrill the observer more than is the case when an actual footing is made on mountain and glacier. Kumara, once the scene of unequalled activity, is a town of dead hopes. Fifty years ago its gold diggers had 80 hotels, 20 years ago 13 sufficed, and now it has 9. However, that is sufficient for 475 people. As an example of the ephemeral nature of alluvial mining, Kumara would be hard to equal. Its very real claim to fame was its return of Mr. R. J. Seddon as its member of Parliament. This region would require a volume to describe its great peaks and rivers of ice, and its fascination and charm are scarcely to be credited.

At the Divide the newly-opened railway through Otira Tunnel is taken. Designed to avoid the coach drive over Arthur’s Pass, it is the only available passage across, and is the longest in the British Empire, the longer tunnels being those through the European Alps. It is miles long, cost £1,500,000, and took 16 years to complete. By completion of the Otira Tunnel, “ the Coast ” is now directly connected by rail with Christchurch, so that neither bad weather nor any extraneous cause could readily stop the supply of bituminous coal for which the district is noted.

Christchurch (pop. 110,200), capital of Canterbury province, is the best laid out City in New Zealand. It was founded in 1848 by the Canterbury Association, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord

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Lyttelton being the chief promoters, with a first expedition of six ships and 1,200 passengers. Land under the Canterbury Association was sold at £3 per acre for an area 40 miles north and south, which took up 2\ miles per acre. The balance was lowered to 10s. per acre by order of the Governor. The founders intended the settlement to be exclusively composed of Anglican Church members, but this intention was abandoned on account of the unexpected arrival of a large number of Australians who “squatted” outside the boundaries. The " City of the Plains ” as it is called, was practically a wilderness in 1861, and it is recorded that in 1853 a man was “ bushed ” in what is now Cathedral Square. (History also says why he was unable to find his way.) The Avon, which pursues its tortuous way right through the City, and is set out with grassy banks and scores of acres of parks, was named by a prominent early settler after the Scottish Avon, and not the English, as is generally supposed. The City is essentially English, and the different strata of society are more marked there than elsewhere in New Zealand. The primary industries in and around Christchurch are mutton, wool and wheat, and the secondary are those allied to these, such as meat freezing and preserving, tanning and fellmongery. All the industries usually found in and around a city are successfully undertaken, including large confectionery manufactories. Lyttelton, seven miles away, is the Port for Christchurch, and is reached by a mile tunnel through the hills separating the two places. Christchurch has some fine public buildings and Hagley Park (400 acres) is

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the largest public recreation ground in New Zealand. Lyttelton is connected by a daily ferry service with Wellington, 11 hours steam for the distance of 150 miles.

Akaroa, on Banks Peninsula, is a quiet, restful spot, but once it bulked large in New Zealand affairs, when it was thought that the French desired to proclaim sovereignty there. It has a Maori settlement, quite a rarity in the South Island. It was named after Mr. Banks, the naturalist with Captain Cook’s second expedition. Hanmer Springs can be reached from Christchurch. The mineral baths and a swimming pool and sanatorium, under Government control, are very popular. Also in the district is Weka Pass, with some of the quaint rock writings of a race which lived before the Maori.

Although Mt. Cook Hermitage is generally regarded as the centre of the glacial system, there will be, in time, scenic development of the country at the head of the Waimakariri, back of Christchurch. At present it is a very rough journey, but the grandeur of the scenery is some recompense. Glacierfed waterfalls tumble headlong over giant precipices —in one case with a straight drop of 400 ft. into a huge basin. The glaciers on the 4,000 ft. level are of wondrous beauty, and there is a glorious panorama outspread before the traveller, snow peaks and blue ranges, lakes and glaciers—a very paradise of rugged charm, embracing Westland as well as Canterbury.

Flourishing towns which are centres of farming districts are Ashburton, Temuka, Timaru and Waimate. The coastal plain here, along what is known as the Ninety Mile Beach, is narrow, only

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from five to twelve miles to the foothills, but it runs for 120 miles and is one of the principal sheepraising and grain-growing districts of New Zealand. Back of it are the great sheep-runs which for many yeais have made Canterbury famous. Timaru has a fine harbour, made from an open roadstead, and on account of its sandy beach and splendid facilities it is the premier watering-place of South Canterbury. By rail to Timaru the Alps are seen over the whole journey down the Canterbury Plains. From Timaru car, is taken to the Hermitage on Mt. Cook, the centre of the eastern section of the lakes and glaciers. Splendid accommodation is provided, and the season finds visitors from the world over. With Mt. Cook (as with other peaks in the North Island National Park) the Government is sparing no effort to popularise winter sports, and the Hermitage, now leased to a private company, is assisted in every way. It is the Switzerland of New Zealand, but curiously enough the elevation of the hostels in New Zealand is much less than in that country, even though they are equidistant from the equator. Possibly the influence of the Gulf Stream is responsible, but if New Zealand built as high, the visitors would do most of the journey on the slopes through snow.

From Mt. Cook by car the whole back country down to Queenstown can be traversed. It is a panorama of hills and more hills —rough sheep country that contributes much to the wealth of the Dominion. The roads are good, and the trip through the bracing air most enjoyable. Lake Wanaka is reached and then on the road to Queens-

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town the real Lake District provides never-ending interest. Rugged snow-clad heights, wild country that shows the hand of Nature applied by means of an ice mantle which ground and gouged the face of the earth, rushing streams and wonderful bush—all are to be seen and admired. Some roads give the travellers a catch of the breath, but as in all tourist resorts in New Zealand, competent and careful drivers have charge of vehicles, and passengers can enjoy the views without apprehension.

The car from Pembroke ascends to the top of Crown Range, 4,000 ft., and below, nestling on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, is Queenstown. Many happy days for sightseer and sportsman can be spent here. Sheer from the Lake rise the Remarkables, in their rough, ragged and precipitous grandeur, to 7,650 ft. (Ben Nevis). The Lake (52 miles) is the longest in New Zealand. The panorama from Ben Lomond (5,747 ft.) is of exceptional grandeur, including the Forbes and Humboldt Mountains (7,000 ft.) The notable Mt. Eamslaw, at the head of the Lake, on the way to " Paradise,” is only one of many peaks. Around Queenstown is the old goldmining country from which millions were drawn at a time when the Dominion needed it most. It is by no means worked out yet. Otago Central is also a great fruit growing country, and irrigation applied to huge areas promises to extend the industry.

Otago Province is mountainous and is largely a pastoral country. It has a temperate climate, and around the fine town of Oamaru, on the East Coast Railway, wheat, oats and barley are grown. The chief city is Dunedin (pop. 60,000), a picturesque,

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well laid-out city, like Wellington in that it has much hilly land. Secondary industries and manufactures are well developed and include fellmongering, tanning, soap boiling, and iron foundries, kitchen ranges being a speciality. Dunedin is also the chief manufacturer of gold dredges, which find their way to all parts of the world. Port Chalmers is its port, and handles a good share of the shipping of New Zealand. Dunedin was not established until 1848. Then the vessels John Wickliffe and Philip Laing brought 350 persons who adhered to the Free Church when it broke off from the Established Church. Captain Cargill and the Rev. Dr. Bums (a nephew of the poet), led the little band and established them on the rough hillsides which they and their descendants were to turn into such a pleasant abiding place for posterity. Education and freedom were the watchwords then as now, and Dunedin has reason to be proud of its share in the building of the nation. The discovery of gold in Otago made the centre what it is, and the impetus thus given has been retained. Dunedin has many fine buildings, and the only medical school in the Dominion. To Milford Sound west there are 300 miles of country containing some of the most fertile plains and some of the wildest and most magnificent scenery. Sport is here in abundance, red deer and fallow, lakes and rivers full of trout and salmon. North of Dunedin the railway skirts the sea cliffs, and far below can be seen a coast line which has a reminiscence of the South Seas in its white beaches and tree-clad hills.

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THE MILFORD [RACK

Dunedin can be made the starting place of what a British journalist called " the finest walk in the world,” that between Glade House, at the head of the Lake Te Anau, and the head of Milford Sound.

A new way to Milford, after reaching the head of Lake Wakatipu, is via Lake Howden, thence to the head of Hollyford, and down the valley of the Cleddau to the head of Milford. It is not so easy as the present route via Lake Te Anau and up the Clinton Valley, because it is higher and may be blocked with snow. It is interesting to note that William Quill, the daring explorer, lost his life in endeavouring to discover the secret of Cleddau’s source, and penetrate the unknown ranges from the Milford side. He did climb the precipices alongside Sutherland Falls, and discovered the lake from which they issue. But death overtook him in 1891 while trying to find the track just made available. Most of the precipices are avoided, but it must always be an arduous climb, therefore it will probably be found best to go via Wakatipu, and return via McKinnon’s Pass and Te Anau, the old track. The round trip will add a spice of adventure to the " finest walk in the world,” and may save expense.

This wonderful Lake Country of Southern New Zealand is grandly magnificent, the unspoiled bush having as a background the great snow-covered peaks. The climate is temperate to cold, and rain, sandflies, and mosquitos are added to the roughness of walking in some parts, so that preparedness

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should always be the watchword. It is only a matter of some lotion and a good waterproof and leggings in case of rain. With that proviso, however, the active walker will delight in the experience of roughing it temporarily, knowing that at all accommodation houses there will be an abundance of creature comforts.

The Otago lakes, mountains and passes were well known to the Maori long before the advent of the European, and indeed the difficult country which forms the west of the South Island throughout its whole length was criss-crossed with Maori tracks well known to the tribesmen. Over these they carried their articles of barter as well as using them for excursions of peace or war. Since the European occupation the forces of nature have been responsible for many tragedies and much arduous work for the splendid pioneers. A great deal of the back country is totally unfit for settlement, although sheep stations have been established wherever possible, but as a scenic reserve and as a recreation for the peoples of the world it will be always a magnet to draw lovers of nature in her wildest moods.

Otago peneplain (almost a plain) extends from Fiordland to the head of the Waitaki, and is a wild eroded region. At the close of the Tertiary era, geologists explain, there was either (i) a rapid irregular uplift with a gigantic fault in the valley of the Waiau and other faults at right angles, or (2) immense glaciers in Pleistocene times (just before the appearance of man on the earth, known as the Quaternary Era) which ground down the heights and in time would have made a plain such as one sees in

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New Mexico and Arizona, with moraine heaps on all sides. Whichever is right, the ice sheet certainly scooped out the Fiords, because the entrances are shallow, showing that here are moraines which had been thrust forward prior to the glacial retreat, which was caused by the milder climate melting the ice. Great rents in the earth may be either of earthquake origin or due to the sagging of mountain walls. An enormous stretch of ice-grooved rocks was discovered at the south end of Lake Manapouri, as late as 1919, but great areas as yet have not been traversed by white men, which adds largely to the charm of the region from the point of view of both the scientist and the tourist.

The Province of Southland is the most southern portion of the South Island of New Zealand. As in Otago, there is a large area of coal-bearing country. The chief commercial centre is Invercargill (pop. 20,000) which was founded in 1857 and bids fair to becoming a very large and prosperous town. It has the distinction of being the most Southerly town in the British Empire. Invercargill has a splendid surrounding country with many small towns, and supports several secondary industries, including rope and twine works and motor carriage and implement factories. Southland is one of the important cropping districts, and the visitor can motor round for scores of miles, and see nothing but beautiful crops of wheat and oats. There are great areas of level land and rolling downs, and in that vigorous climate cereals do extremely well. On all hands there is evidence of prosperity, and the people are of a splendid type, full of confidence in them-

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selves and their district, and of abounding health. To see the Southern fruits is a revelation. The climate suits peach and nectarine, plum, apricot and pear to perfection. The displays are on the lavish scale that one sees in California — big open shops, piles and piles of well-arranged fruit of excellent quality, and good service all proclaim to the observer that it is a fruit-eating people. The district's agricultural future is assured, especially as it did not suffer from the heavy inflation of land values; its industries based on agriculture are progressing, minerals are handy, the forest yields much timber, and the tourist traffic must increase with time. All round are seaside resorts with charmingly situated beaches, and life moves very pleasantly. Southland has very real possibilities and is a wonderful district.

Bluff, the port of Invercargill, is the nearest deep sea port in New Zealand to Australia. It is the first and last port of call for intercolonial steamers from the South of New Zealand. Its shipping is increasing rapidly, owing to the splendid port facilities, and it contributes to the prosperity of Invercargill.

Stewart Island is separated from the South Island by Foveaux Strait; the Maoris knew it as Rakiura, or the “ Isle of the glowing skies.” Only 39 miles long and 22 wide, it is packed with beauty and is of quiet charm. The climate is mild and genial, almost as warm and sunny as Nelson. Boating, bathing, fishing and rambling fill in time most pleasantly. The inhabitants love the sea, and the waters teem with fish. Stewart Island oysters, very

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large and succulent, are known all over the South Island. Stewart Island is rich in history because it was the centre of the whaling industry in the old days. As far back as 1802 such names as Hidden Island, Murderer Cave, Small Craft Retreat, Shipbuilder’s Cove, Misery Bay and Pearl Island commemorated some past event in the old days of the trading craft or “ blucher hunter.” Australian ships came for cachalot whales and we hear of the craft" Chance ” which must have explored the whole island —manned by Maoris. Oban is a picturesque settlement among pines and native bush, there is a fleet of fishing boats, and a comfortable boarding house. Tuis and bellbirds and kakas abound, and here may be studied, at close quarters, the native pigeon, weka, blackheaded tit, and yellow fronted parakeet. Launch trips are made to Half Moon Bay, Paterson's Inlet, Ulva Island and lona Island, also to three beautiful islands. Faith, Hope and Charity, blazing red with rata in the season. Near Paterson Inlet is a small Maori settlement. The finest harbour is Port Pegasus, seven miles long, named after a Sydney whaling ship, the Pegasus, in 1809. Here Capt. Nias, H.M.S. " Herald,’ hoisted the British flag in 1840. Capt. Stewart, after whom the island is named, was the " Herald ” pilot, and claims to have discovered the insularity of the island. Ulva Island in Paterson Inlet is a forest reserve and bird sanctuary. For those who desire sport there is deep sea and trout fishing, and flounder spearing. Wild cattle and pigs can be shot.

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THE WEATHER

New Zealand lies in the temperate zone, and its smallest island is the nearest habitable land to the South Pole, but North Auckland is sub-tropical, so that gives a range of 1,200 miles or 10 degrees of latitude. As it is very mountainous and comparatively narrow, no part being more than 100 miles from the sea, the rainfall (50 in. average) is well proportioned and is responsible in a great measure for the vivid green of the grass and the abundance of pasture. New Zealand vies with Italy for its beautiful blue skies and the charming tints of its surrounding waters, its average of sunshine the year round is 2,000 hours or 62%. Some portions of New Zealand are very much higher, so that it can well be termed “ the Land of the Sun.” The mean temperature in the North Island is 55.4 and in the South 51.8. Such weather conditions are conducive to the building of a fine race. The weather has of course its influence upon the products. Around Auckland and the North it is sub-tropical, lemons, passion fruit, marmalade oranges and guavas grow profusely, while a number have been very successful in growing sweet oranges.

As one goes further South, the weather becomes colder. In the centre of the North Island round the National Park, the position is further varied by the height of the country, 2,500 ft. above sea level, and the climate is much like that of the South Island. Further South at a lower altitude there is a milder winter and in Wellington frosts are practically

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unknown. Across Cook Strait the Northern portion has a beautiful mild climate, the West Coast is very wet on account of its steep mountains and nearness to the sea, and from Christchurch downwards the winters are colder, until in the extreme South there is an occasional fall of snow in the winter. A beautiful spring commences about August, and averagely good weather with bright sunshine is maintained until April in the South and June in the North. Even in the winter, although there may be grey days and a few days of wet, the most Southerly dwellers can be assured of sunshine following on frost, and the fact that they prefer the more bracing climate shows that they suffer no ill effects.

Visitors to New Zealand, whether for health or sight-seeing, like to know how our climate compares with others. Being in the temperate zone, it naturally resembles the climate of Britain in parts, with the essential difference that the sky is more blue and there are not the fogs experienced in the Old Country. As a whole the Dominion is mountainous, and everywhere there are breezes, thus making a climate bracing and invigorating. In some places the wind may be too cold, in others the shape of the hills may incline it to be too continuous, but these are minor matters. Winter or summer, north or south, we have ample sunshine; except in the hill country snow is a rare sight, and skating an unknown pastime.

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■w Zealand has re native plants and trees than any other country, this being partly due to its geographical position and its wide range of climate, and partly to the great fertility of the soil. Many of its trees and plants are found nowhere else. It is the most distant of any other large island area in the world. The nearest land is Australia, 1,200 miles away, to the North, it is further from Melanesia and Polynesia, South it is 2,500 miles from the Antarctic, where practically no plant life exists now, and to the East are thousands of miles of deep ocean. The isolation of New Zealand from all other land surfaces took place long ago, how long cannot be stated, for while its flora is allied to that of Australia, it certainly separated before that

Cabbage Tree, Punga Fern andrnative flax. /

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country received its eucalypts, acacias and characteristic mammals. Similarly, Melanesian and Polynesian elements exist in our flora, and more puzzling still are the South American and Antarctic elements, but all these imply long periods of isolation. Cheeseman’s “ Manual ” described 1584 species of flowering plants, 192 in the North Island, 536 in the South Island, which is much older. Over 360 species are met with only at over 2,000 ft. and 109 species are on outlying islands. In three months a noted cryptogamic botanist collected 612 species of plants, including 50 quite new to science, besides devoting much time to geology. Few towns in the world possess such a wealth and variety of plants as Dunedin and its vicinity. There are 500 native land plants, 150 seaweeds, hundreds of mosses and lichens, 39 trees, 71 shrubs, 350 herbaceous plants 75 ferns, 45 native grasses, 45 sedges, 19 climbers and 5 mistletoes. It is worthy of note that Cook’s first expedition included Sir Joseph Banks and Mr. Solander as naturalists. Mr. Sparmann and the two Foresters were on the second expedition.

Many people hold the impression that there are few coloured flowers, but a study of the bush calendar will show that in each month there is something of beauty, while at certain times the bush is a picture. New Zealand is really more leafy than floral, the charm of the plants depending upon the leaves, fruit and general habit rather than upon flowers and perfume. The most beautiful of the New Zealand flowers belong to mountain regions; great yellow and white buttercups and forget-me-nots in yellow, bronze and white abound.

j

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The forests or “ bush ” of New Zealand as now ‘existing convey to the observer only a crude idea of its former grandeur. Ruthless destruction has taken place, resulting in some instances in the almost total extinction of some of the most interesting, beautiful and useful of the bush growths. Owing to the efforts of a small band of enthusiasts, total extinction has, however, been avoided. Afforestation is the Dominion’s policy.

The New Zealand bush is evergreen, and from a distance a belt of forest will look almost black, gradually assuming a beautiful sombre green on a nearer approach. New Zealand lowland forests are generally of the sub-tropical rain-forest type, there being a wealth of tree and other ferns, climbing and perching plants, with beds of mosses and liverworts. The swamps are filled with raupo and flax, niggerhead and the graceful toi toi reeds. Tussock land is a great feature of Canterbury. This causes a sharp division with the forest land, as is generally found.

The great profusion of undergrowth in the New Zealand bush makes it impossible in small space to give a detailed description. The ferns are beyond description and are found in every form and size from the tall tree fern or punga to the tiniest of varieties growing among the moss at the roots of the large trees. The “ supple jacks ” and “ bush lawyers ” render the bush impassable in many places and the traveller through good virgin bush needs no botanical knowledge to enable him to admire and become enthusiastic over Nature’s bounty. The nikau, a tall, graceful palm, is of tropical appearance

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and is the Southermost palm in the world. The mangrove also is not found anywhere else so fat South.

The most striking and interesting tree, and one peculiar to the bush of the Northern part of New Zealand (with a variety in Fiji and Queensland) is the Kauri. As early as 1814 the long, round bole of the kauri, which sometimes reared perfectly straight for 100 ft. without a branch, attracted mariners. Many were the visits paid to New Zealand shores for the purpose of procuring masts and spars. The realisation of the excel-

lent qualities of this timber was the signal for wholesale slaughter without care or thought for

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the future and it is consequently now extremely scarce and only found in isolated spots. Successful efforts have been made in afforestation of late years’ and hundreds of acres have been planted with all kinds of trees.

The pohutukawa is the glory of the North Island foreshore, particularly in Auckland Province. At Christmas time it is a blaze of red and hence it is called the " Christmas tree.” The Maori name signifies “ splashed by the spray,” and nothing could be more appropriate, because its twisted and gnarled limbs hug the coast and perch on and around the seaside cliffs. Its leaves are backed with white hairs, which prevent evaporation that would be hastened by the salt. Sturdy and strong as an oak, it defies wind and weather. The story is told that the first migrants from Hawaiki arrived when the flame of the flower blazed for miles along the shore. The leading chief had a purple headdress of rank and he flung this into the sea, with the exclamation that one need not bring headdresses when they grew. True or not, it is a pretty story.

The rata is of a somewhat similar colour, and favours the South Island, although found in the North. The Southern Alpine slopes, covered with dense green bush, break into scarlet magnificence in a good season. As the ratas are full cousins to the pohutukawa this division seems a very fair one. The rata vine is found only in the North. Its seeds are light and easily blown. They find lodgment in the fork of a tree, usually a rimu, and in that secure position, supplied with moisture and abraded bark for soil, germinate. It grows as a perching plant,

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then sends roots towards the far-off ground. These grow all round the tree, and finally reach the ground, striking at last into mother earth and the rimu is doomed. The rata is a determined tree. In the Auckland Islands, away near the South Pole, where the fierce gales sweep and shriek, the rata has outlived other trees. It has lain along the ground, has made supports and buttresses for its trunk, and has then flung its defiance in the face of the blast.

The Kowhai.

The pohutukawa and its cousin have something of the oak in their make-up. Both belong to the myrtle family. Another myrtle, and one which is very common all over New Zealand, is the manuka. The manuka acts as a shelter for forest trees in early stages of their growth, then it disappears as the forest spreads. There are three kinds of manuka. The white manuka attains the size of a forest tree. There are smaller varieties, and in one of these the

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Bowers are bright red, sometimes the leaves and stalks being the same colour.

l in- kowhai la a legume, and has peculiarly shaped red oi yellow Bowers the shape of a parrot's beak, it Li to widely distributed, and so beautiful, that it baa been proposed m the national Bower of New Zealand, In October 11 begins to Bower, and for m\ week-, it makes the hillsides and bush patches a delight to >hc eye. Like many native plants it gTOXII well In a garden, and is being included in parks and private shrubberies.

Anothci charming plant ol wide distribution is • \ eronica, the koromiko. It dots the low scrub along sideland and railway cutting, growing in miniature, 01 becoming a large shrub in the bush. This form oi veronica is said not to be found elsewhere, so thai .is ,i Now Zealander bom it has a chum to be the national Bowei (1 have seen it g .ell in Ireland.) its Bowers are of pink or of red, of pure white or dainty blue. ringer raps in a - summer It I same ■

white -nd similar - ■ uri.

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Others are the whau, tanekaha or celery topped pine, the bark of which contains about 25% of tartaric acid and was used by the Maoris for making dye, and the miro, a berry bearing tree very beautiful with its pretty foliage. It grows to perfection in Westland, South Island. Its berries are the favourite food of the native pigeon and were also stored for winter by the now extinct Maori rat. The miro, like the totara, kahikatea and matai, is a podocarp, of which species New Zealand has more than anywhere in the world. The karaka tree, another berry bearing tree, is fast disappearing. The Maoris valued it as a food supply and almost invariably the site of an old pa or village can be located by a plantation of this tree.

The veronicas are a feature of the wonderful flora of New Zealand and are really the dominating plant. Of about 600 varieties of plants in New Zealand at least 160 belong to this species. They vary greatly and in some instances are so dissimilar that it is hard to believe they belong to the same species. The story of this form of plant life adds no little interest and knowledge when the probable position of New Zealand to the rest of the world in by-gone ages is discussed.

Phormium tenax or flax has no relation to the European flax, but is really a lily. This plant was connected with the earliest history of early New Zealand and well-known and understood by the Maoris, who were masters of the art of procuring and working its fibre into cloth and mats and basket work of every description. This particular kind is found nowhere except in New Zealand and Norfolk

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Islands. It grows almost anywhere in these parts, flourishing at an elevation of 2,500 ft. whilst in other parts it grows in profusion on the gravelly seashore.

The lily species is well represented in New Zealand, another well-known example being the Cabbage Tree, which is met with all over the country. Of the 13 species of astelias known, seven are peculiar to New Zealand.

In considering the plants of New Zealand mention has been made of the need to compile a proper catalogue with the correct Maori spelling as well as the botanical name of each plant. Co-operation between the Dominion scientists and the horticulturists will soon bring this plan to fruition. There is also a suggestion to form a national garden or series of gardens where under proper treatment the various plants could be assembled and so intensify public interest.

FAUNA

New Zealand is peculiar in that, with the exception of two species of bats, it has no animals of its own. The Maori rat, apparently, was introduced by the Maoris and is not indigenous, as is generally supposed. The wild pig was introduced by Captain Cook. New Zealand has no snakes or harmful insects of any kind, save the katipo spider which lives on the sea beaches under the drift wood in certain well-defined localities. Although the symptoms are very distressing and alarming, the effects of the bite of this spider are not necessarily fatal, and respond to elementary treatment.

There are 209 species of birds in New Zealand,

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104 resident and land birds, the rest sea birds and migrants. Of resident birds, over 80 per cent, are natives of New Zealand. Mopoke Kea Stitchbird .

There are a few species of lizards, notably the tuatara and one amphibian, a very rare and tiny frog, which is found in small grape-like balls filled with water, but is exceedingly hard to locate. This interesting aspect of the absence of indigenous animal life is variously explained by geologists and zoologists, one explanation being that New Zealand became isolated from the large mass of land in the Northern Hemisphere ages ago in the eocene period, by the sinking of the

Kaka.

Pukeko.

Weka.

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land between New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia, and has been isolated ever since. Whatever the reason, it has been proposed to place New Zealand in a class by itself for zoo-geographical purposes. It is certainly probable that the animals remaining after the great

subsidence were exterminated by the human race then peopling the Islands. One explanation given for the Maori’s cannibalism is that there was a scarcity of meat.

The wingless birds attract much attention. The moa, long extinct, must have roamed the country in countless thousands. In a valley near the town

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in which I lived as a boy was a large swamp, and in the cutting of a drain remains of moas were found in train loads. Apparently the birds were caught by a flood and penned in the corner where they were found. It is quite possible that the Maori hunted the moa, but it has always been an impression that he arrived after it had been exterminated. A newspaper correspondent avers that bones had been found in Maori cooking places, even portions of muscle, ligaments, skin and feathers with the colour unfaded, while the huge eggs, both whole and fragmentary, have frequently been met with. It is also stated that the folk-lore of the earlier tribes is full of legend and song telling of the hunting of the moa with spear and fire and the aid of a dog he brought from the north, now extinct. That seems too definite, even as regards the few legends and songs which mention the bird, and any finds I heard of or saw in the museums were very old and fragmentary. However, some native tribe lived at the time of the moa, and legends have a way of being amplified in later years. Certainly, when it was decided to reconstruct one of these birds in Auckland, great difficulty was experienced in obtaining measurements and an idea of the correct feathers to use. The moa was well distributed, for at Whananaki, North Auckland, in 1926, fragments of a moa’s egg were found in the sand dunes. It is believed that reconstruction would show the egg to have been the size of a football. The discoverer, an engineer, has found many moa bones, but never before had the luck to come on egg shells, and does not know of any previously picked up in the North Auckland district, although specimens

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found in the South Island are in some museums. The moa, like other indigenous birds such as the kiwi and the weka, did not fly, but had very small wings for its size, which it used chiefly to assist its progress on foot. Its feet and legs were enormous and its head very small. The largest of the three or four different species known was about 12 ft. high, the smallest being the size of a large turkey.

The kiwi is even more interesting than the moa and thanks to the timely intervention of nature lovers, is not yet extinct —some varieties are still found in various parts of the Dominion. Nowhere else in the world is there a bird anything like the kiwi. It is wingless and its feathers look like hair. It is the one bird with nostrils at the tip

Kiwi.

of its beak instead of the base," and'with a really keen sense of smell. Yet it snuffles as if afflicted with a perpetual cold. It has weak eyes, but extra keen hearing. The bill is longer than the head.

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and the bird, weighing 4 lbs., lays one huge egg of 1 lb. weight. The wild pigs eat this egg and hence the kiwi is heavily handicapped. Fortunately it is protected by being night-loving, and so splendidly tinted as to be almost invisible in the darkness. It is one of the creatures surviving the zoological world war. An eminent scientist said that nature was always experimenting, and the older pets like the kangaroo and platypus, the kiwi and the tuatara were out of date. Carrying more arms and being swifter the new types worked their way South, and had just reached the present-day Straits of Lombok when a huge earthquake made a cleft in the land at this spot, and saved the situation for the oldest inhabitants. Before this shock Asia was joined to Australia. Sir A. Russell Wallace was struck by the amazing difference in animal life on either side of the Straits, and soundings revealed a deep cleft now known as Wallace’s Line.

There are five species of kiwi. They differ from the roa in being half the weight, although the same in skeleton and form. Kiwis live in the light forests and the roas in the dark forest shades. Both are of the apteryx family. The kiwi has a straight beak, and the roa’s is curved. Much discussion has taken place over the kiwi’s method of catching worms by stamping on the ground and then picking up the worm as he wriggles out. It has been generally accepted that the worm will always come up, but observers say that the kiwi knows that where ground is solid it is no use trying. Therefore he selects the right kind of ground, and by his extraordinary sense of smell finds out if the worms are in

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residence. He does this by resting the tip of his bill on the ground, also being assisted by his keen hearing. On finding his prey he inserts his long slender bill and gives the worm a stab. The kiwi’s upper mandible is longer than the lower and has a hooked tip. On feeling the beak the worm bulges his body into an upward loop, and finds himself drawn gently out. A Maori demonstrated this to one of our best authorities. And there are some big worms, worth a kiwi’s trouble. In old straw stacks I have seen them very large and striped like a football jersey. There are some 2ft. 6in. long, but the New Zealand record is held by one on the Great Barrier which is 4ft. bin. long and has 450 segments. (Australia, by the way, holds the world’s records with a species of worm 6ft. long.) It is said that worms come to the surface if a stick is vibrated in soft ground. The whole subject is of interest from the point of view of birds finding their food and the method of the kiwi is not generally known. The world’s finest collection of kiwi skins and skeletons is in the possession of the Hon. Walter Rothschild—no less than 171 birds, 15 skeletons, and 44 eggs being included, so that the great variations of colour which puzzle ornithologists can be studied here and in several other notable museum collections.

The weka, another bird practically wingless, is about the size of a barnyard fowl, and is the most inquisitive bird in the bush, much resembling the magpie for its impish habits. It will pick up a bright object and make off with it. Campers take the precaution to hang lids and small articles out of reach. Of course advancing settlement, cats and

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introduced pests have pushed back the birds, but travelling at night in the real country one can hear the weka’s cry, something like a “ coo-ee,” ringing from the bush ravines. Forty years ago, when as boys we camped out in the summer, the wekas were about in hundreds, and their cries filled the night. Poor, quaint, defenceless things —they typify the survival of the fittest. Many a wild cat did we shoot, and with pleasure, because of its savage warfare against the cheeriest, perkiest bird that ever moved round a camp.

The notomis is the mystery bird of New Zealand. It is so rare, and so few have been seen, that the scientists write about it as of the moa and the great auk. The size of a goose and something like the pukeko, or swamp hen, it has a blue breast, olive green wings and tail, red legs and toes, and a great hom-coloured beak. It is a swift runner. All four specimens existing are from the great unexplored areas near the Milford Track. A Government official saw one recently, but his swift launch passed before he could take action, and the bird vanished silently into the bush. Reports come in from time to time that one has been seen, and expeditions are sure to go after specimens into the unknown fastnesses of Fiordland. The first idea of the bird’s existence was given by Mr. Mantell’s discovery of fossil bones in the North Island volcanic regions; afterwards he secured the distinction of having his name associated with his discovery. Later he secured the first skin of a live specimen known to science from a boat crew of a sealer in Resolution Island Sound. The crew ate the flesh. He also

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obtained a second from Secretary Island. Both these specimens were sent to the British Museum. In 1879 the skin and skeleton of one caught on Te Anau Downs by a rabbiting party went to Dresden Museum, and was named Notornis Hochstetteri under the impression that it was different to N. Mantelli. The fourth, a young female, was caught in the Fiord district by a shepherd's dog. The bird was at once taken to Invercargill, and under direction of an ornithologist there forwarded to Dunedin. Beautiful work was done by a taxidermist, and the mounted bird was purchased by the Government for £ 3OO.

North Island has its mystery bird in the huia. Its black and white feather was used by chiefs as a mark of distinction, and it was killed where found. With civilisation it became more rare, and now it is a memory. On the Tararua Ranges behind Palmerston North it is said to exist, and Maori children reported it as far back as 1910 in the rough country around Taumaranui. But in this hill country communication is difficult, and reports may be ancient history when they arrive. There may be a chance of seeing the huia in its native haunts, but a very slender one. These birds met the fate of the egret. Kiwi feathers were greatly in demand as shoulder mats and the huia feather gave it contrast. Very recently I was travelling and put up at an hotel. Going to my room I saw on the wall of the passage-way a kiwi and huia mat of beautiful workmanship. In the morning, the proprietress listened to my expressions of surprise that so valuable a specimen should be left unprotected. She said

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that people were honest, and few knew the value. It had been made for a Royal personage visiting New Zealand. It was hoped that his train would stop at Ngaruawahia for a few minutes, but for some reason this was not done. The poor Maoris, laden with rich gifts that would have been worthy of the recipient, and with their hearts over-flowing with loyalty, had the mortification of seeing the train glide by and disappear. Sadly they retraced their steps, and laden with treasures that will be worth their weight in gold, they sought out some pakeha friends, and upon them bestowed a part. The mat I saw was one of the rarest, and now it hangs on the wall of an up-country hostel instead of gracing a palace or providing pleasure for visitors to the British Museum. Perhaps it is as well. Our country is being denuded of its treasures, although private collectors could make up examples in all sections.

In passing, and on that topic, I know two other collectors who have rare feather cloaks, but their rivalry consists in seeing who can pile up the largest collection of stone artifacts. One is nearing the thousand mark, and the other had a beautiful collection of 900 examples of the stone axe and adze.

Pukeko, the cheeky bird that inhabits swamps and wheat fields, is a familiar figure. He is much like the notomis, having a huge red beak. The Maoris say that the canoe Aotea brought pukekos and parakeets from Hawaiki. With his love of explaining natural by supernatural, he said that the original Pukeko was a demigod, and once when ascending to heaven with his parents was met by a

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famous Polynesian god Tawhaki, who, being in a playful mood, pinched Pukeko's nose so hard that u bocame red, and be and bis children, the birds, have bad red noses ever since, it is met with in Australia, New Mimi',l, and some of the smaller Pacific Islands, r.uno. and easily Caught, it has a incisure of protection which allows it to increase. Recent correspondence in the pipers regarding a bird called the nioakcnia elicited the comment from an expert that this word came troni a natural history wnter who was unreliable, and yet who was much quoted as an authority. However, • lady wrote giving a desion and saying that it was .mother family of to with only s'.-.c': - .: differences. She has reared many and the eg bik that of the

knka ■ -and. .>b. Long

- c •.-.•.- :■.-.: sheep c \».\-.-.\. ; . ■.-.-. c .>....-.*-.-.'. :':.:- ..;...-.:. z ':■■.: :zi a shade - .-asaaJces among sheep «wt noticed ;.

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tered for food or being shorn. Curiously enough, not all the keas kill sheep, usually one or two of the older birds do that, and the others share the spoil. In some districts the keas do not molest the sheep. The choicest sheep in the flock are always selected, and the bird hops on the ground till it can leap on the poor animal, usually on the rump, which is a most convenient lighting place. It pulls out the wool and then bites through the flesh, the fat around the kidneys being eaten, but the kidney only on rare occasions. The kea seems to enjoy the sport of chasing the sheep and forcing them over precipices. and among snowed-up sheep indulges in a rare orgy of killing. Shepherds usually carry a light gun, and at dusk, or on misty days, when kea kills, it is possible to shoot many. The kea is fearless, he looks straight at the enemy, and as the leader is shot, the next in command climbs up on the lookout rock, and shares the same fate. In this way 42 out of a mob of 50 keas have been shot by one man.

One of the very rare birds of New Zealand, and very charming, is the stitch bird, now found only on the Little Barrier, and a few other islands off the Auckland coast line. In these sanctuaries they have a chance to survive. The male has a black head and neck, bright yellow breast and wing feathers, a white band on each wing, and a conspicuous tuft of white feathers behind each ear. The female is much less vivid. The stitch bird’s note is like the tearing of a piece of new calico.

The tui is perhaps the finest songster and has beautiful bell-like notes. It is sometimes called the

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parson bird, two white tufts on its throat giving it a clerical appearance. A great mimic, it will imitate almost any sound it hears. The belbird is a sweeter singer than the tui, but both are beautiful in the hush of the bush. It is in the morning, just before daybreak, that one hears the wonderful chorus of birds. Wherever there are trees, the songsters

Bclbird.

Tui.

Fantall.

gather, and greet with music the opening day. But New Zealand forests are not noisy. In fact there is a deep silence save for the sighing of the wind in the tops of the giant trees. From far up will come the note of a tui or belbird, like a person playing one

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note of a piano, and again silence. The little fantail twitters, and flits from bough to bough just ahead, and other birds make melody from tree to tree. The spell of the bush never leaves the forest lover. He feels in harmony with the veneration of the ancient Maori, who cut down trees for use and after many karakias or incantations. No one might burn the chips, and penalties were made for infractions of the forest laws. Then, again, birds were snared or otherwise killed in the bush, and under the dominion of Tane, God of Forests. To that powerful deity, therefore, the first and best were allotted, and laid at the foot of a noble tree.

Mention should be made of the pleasing and pretty little bush wren, with its tuneful song, also the playful and clever white-eye. The Kakapo, a species of parrot, resembling an owl in appearance, is peculiar in that it has large, strong wings but is unable to fly. This disability still puzzles observers. It can, however, with the aid of its powerful beak, climb trees in search of food. The kakapo lays every second year, and may even miss another year. It is a night bird (kaka = bird, po = night).

The mopoke or “ more pork " (so named from its peculiar cry) and the laughing owl, are night birds. The bittern is a fairly large swamp bird which when discovered, will so pose itself that it is not easily distinguished from the surrounding rushes and flax. Its cry resembles that of a bull bellowing in the distance. The New Zealand quail, much smaller than the Californian quail, and of more sombre plumage, is now extinct. New Zealand possesses one variety of crow which is unlike every other kind

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of crow known. They can fly short distances only' and are very trusting and quite easily caught. They have a particularly pleasing note, especially at breeding time.

Penguins and sea birds of all varieties abound around the coast, the most interesting being the wry billed plover, the only bird in the world with its beak bent sideways. Seabirds of every description are protected from destruction.

Among the migratory birds are the godwit, from East Siberia and West Alaska, and the shining longtailed cuckoo, which comes from the Pacific Islands in spring and returns in April. The knot comes from

the Antarctic —Ross Land. It is said that these birds have followed the same route from time immemorial and that as the land gradually sank, and New Zealand became an island in a waste of waters, they still retained knowledge of the route and transmitted it to their descendants. The little grey warbler is the host of the cuckoo, and one observer has put on record that the big bird does not attempt to lay the egg in the tiny structure as is supposed. It lays it on the ground, then flies up with the egg in its mouth, and places it ready for hatching.

The mutton bird, a petrel, visits certain spots, particularly near the Molyneux, in the South Island.

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It comes in countless thousands at the same time each year, burrows in the sand, hatches its young, and takes away what are left after Maori and European have had their toll. The young birds only are required, and they are preserved in their own fat. They taste like salt fish, which is natural for a sea-bird, and axe highly esteemed as a relish by Europeans. In the old days it was a boon and a blessing to the natives, who laid down great stores for the winter months. To-day they are just as fond of the old-time dainty, and the mutton bird never disappoints those who so eagerly await his arrival.

Many legends of the Maori mention migratory birds, and there seems no doubt that the old-time voyagers timed their departure to have the advantage of this guidance. By day the birds could be seen, and at night they could be heard overhead. (The seals, which until the arrival of the white man came to New Zealand and its outlying islands in the breeding season could also help. The natives were not likely to travel over the stormy seas in the winter, and when the seals moved off in the warmer weather they would form a line easily discernible and one which could be kept up for weeks. Furthermore, the voyagers could kill seals for food, and so eke out their provisions.)

Many are the causes for the rapid extinction of our native birds, chief among them being the human " sportsman ” both Maori and pakeha, and the wild pig. Rats are very fond of birds’ eggs and the introduction of ferrets and weasels, in an effort to eradicate the rabbit, has been responsible for the

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disappearance of many of the unique and interesting ground birds of New Zealand. Bush and scrub fires, necessary and unnecessary, have likewise taken heavy toll. Much, however, has been done by establishment of bird sanctuaries and many sympathisers have a lively interest in the preservation of the unique and interesting avifauna of New Zealand. The Little Barrier, about 60 miles from Auckland, is a wonderful place for the nature lover. In its forests the tui and the mokomoko vie with each other in melody, and the chirrup of the robin mingles with the chatter of the parakeet and the scream of the kaka. Once it was a secure fastness for Maori tribes, and the big war canoes often raided the mainland. Trenches, kumara pits, and watch-towers are still to be seen. Over 30 years ago it was bought as a sanctuary, and its wealth of flora and fauna rigidly protected from destruction. On the Great Barrier, only 12 miles away, are many birds which have flown over from the smaller island.

The native dog is another subject for discussion and controversy. The Maori called him perro perro or kuri, which may be of Spanish origin. But again it is open to doubt whether the old-time Maori had a hunting dog. On one expedition to see newly discovered earth “ dug-out ” houses of the old-time Maori I drove two of our leading authorities, both of Maori blood. Among the relics found was a small skeleton, which one pronounced to be the remains of a Maori dog, a very rare find. He explained that the first canoes brought a number of these little dogs in cages, much as we might bring

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canaries. They were about the size of a cat, with long, silky white hair. The women of the tribe loved to comb this hair, and in fact to make a pet of the dog, as modem woman does her Pom. They were intended to be eaten, but only by chiefs. A visiting rangatira would find on the bill of fare a succulent dog. Hence the bones would be scattered, and decayed, only accident revealing a complete specimen. Wild dogs abound in the wild country, but so do wild cats, horses, cattle and pigs. Very soon after the first whaler touched New Zealand, dogs would be introduced.

The Maori brought from overseas the forest rat, somewhat different to the one introduced later. This was snared for food, of course, because provisioning the larder for some thousands of people living communally meant that whatever was eatable was welcome.

The tuatara lizard is another of New Zealand's queer forms of life. It is not really a lizard, although it shares the lizard's power to replace lost limbs. It has as its nearest relatives reptiles extinct these many

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million years. It has a central or so-called pineal eye in the middle of the forehead when hatched, but as growth proceeds this cavity closes up. It is really the survivor of a pair of “ parietal ” eyes from which the sight has gone. The reptile lays ten large eggs in a trench near a rock, and they take a year to hatch. When Captain Cook liberated the pig he sounded the death knell of the tuatara, because the industrious poaka soon rooted up both eggs and lizard. Only on the outlying islands, where there are no pigs, can they survive, although wild cats and hawks are almost as destructive. There are many islands where they have a chance, especially Karewa, a rocky islet in the Bay of Plenty. There the oldest known reptile living basks in the sun and increases. It is said that the lizards gorge on the young of the mutton birds. An observer denies that the tuatara lives in the same burrow with the birds. He says that when it is frightened it simply dodges into the first hole it comes to. It knows of a better hole —its own burrow —but it waits till night to go to it, which shows that opinion is no use without observation. New Zealand has in all fourteen species of lizards, seven of the Geckos, and seven Scincidae, or Shinks.

FISH

The fish of New Zealand total 250, including all kinds both for sport and food. Imported fresh water fish do wonderfully well. The seas around New Zealand abound in all kinds, from the giant swordfish to the succulent piper. Whales are still on the

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coasts. The best all round fish for food and perhaps the most plentiful is the schnapper. The flounder, (a species of flatfish) and the mullet are much sought after. These together with the kahawhai, trevalli, gurnet, the rock cod, John Dory and piper are easily caught in all the harbours, either from boat wharves or rocks. The kingfish, although generally a deep sea fish, is sometimes caught close inshore. The hapuka, a large meaty fish, affords splendid sport and is good eating. The barracouta is often caught on line, with a piece of wood and a bright copper nail. Although many sharks and dog fish are caught around New Zealand, it cannot be said that the waters are infested, as of many sub-tropical countries, and accidents are almost unknown. Whitebait are netted all over New Zealand in the creek estuaries. Oysters and mussels are in profusion, the former being protected so as not to deplete the beds, most of which belong to the Government and are tended by the Fisheries Department. The pipi and the toheroa, a shell fish, great Maori delicacies, can be had for the digging. The stingray is fairly plentiful in some of the shallow bar harbours. Porpoises abound, and can often be seen in their gambols from the deck of a coastal steamer. Strange looking denizens of the deep are caught from time to time in the nets of the deep sea trawler. Crayfish and a small crab are plentiful in parts.

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new Zealand’s possessions

Time was when governing herself was enough for New Zealand, and even now there are those who do not take our expansion seriously enough. But if the Dominion is to be in very truth the “ Britain of the South ” she must carry on the British tradition, and bring the benefits of an ordered civilisation to backward people. It is well to remember that although only 80 years have elapsed since the establishment of our own country, we are heritors of traditions and of ideas, and at our service is the advice, assistance and protection of the world’s greatest colonising power. That being conceded, the peculiar problems of the Pacific should be the province of those living in the region. New Zealand legislators have taken their responsibility very seriously, and have striven to select the men most fitted for the work. Elsewhere I make the statement which may be well repeated here, that while New Zealand’s governing authorities may have their faults of omission and commission, like all others, the spirit of the country is to deal fairly and justly with all men. The governance of the Maori, and the long and complex work of adjustment, has built up a fund of knowledge which can be utilised for the benefit of kindred peoples now under our flag. The successful administration of Samoa is an earnest of the way in which New Zealand will fulfil her trust. The recent visit of the faipules (chiefs) of Samoa was a great object lesson to our people.

In addition to Samoa, New Zealand has extensive

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possessions scattered right up to the equator over vast sea spaces. They are mainly of the atoll type and life moves very pleasantly. The charm and brightness of the Islands, the wonderful efforts of Nature and the happy nature of most islanders, make a visit very pleasant. One turns almost with a sigh when the steamer’s whistle blows. As an interlude, a few months’ sojourn in New Zealand’s beautiful island dependencies might be an education and a holiday in one.

In the past, the Dominion’s outlying territory has been the scene of perilous adventure so dear to the writer of stirring fiction. The very air breathes romance, but in these days an administration has well-defined responsibilities and those who touch at the Islands see the result in the quiet orderliness of the villages and the cheerful demeanour of the natives. It is well to hasten slowly, for there are many who would force these fine peoples into industrialism as we know it, to their lasting detriment. To such end, therefore, administrators must possess wide sympathies and an appreciation of the merits which lie in that communal life which has endured so long. Contrary to general belief, the Polynesian has a strong sense of duty, he is devout, orderly in the division of work, and laborious to a degree not realised by the casual visitor who sees him resting in the heat of the day. The Samoan especially is a splendid type, and many of his ideas and ideals could be adopted with profit by ourselves. It is our duty to teach, but we should also be humble enough to leam.

I have taken the dependencies individually and

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have given some facts that should be interesting. This is not a romance but a work striving for historical accuracy. Yet from the few instances here set down, it will be seen that the lure of the Pacific has crowded the past with heroic deeds, and that a spirit of adventure brought all the dominant races to our shores. It is for us to show that we are worthy heritors of the brave who pushed out into the unknown, to conquer, or sleep the last sleep ere their work was done.

THE CHATHAMS

One of the oldest portions of New Zealand’s dependencies is the Chatham Group, of additional interest because it is the last home of the Moriori. About the time when Alfred the Great was burning the cakes, the Moriori was established in this bleak, inhospitable island. It is said that forty men under Kahu set out from the original home of Hawaiki and after many hardships from lack of food and water landed on what they called Whare Kauri. He found a few aboriginals on the island from earlier migrations and lived peaceably with them, but to his indignation the kumara would not grow, and he left for his tropical home. A few of his followers stayed behind, having formed blood ties, and many years later two canoes came from Hawaiki because of the usual family strife. They, also, suffered many hardships, but they brought the Karaka berry as well as the kumara, and this berry, with fern root, was to become the staple food of a very large population. The Moriori had a very lean time indeed,

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and it is strange that he stayed in so small a place when the mainland was available. Some of his tribesmen must have settled in New Zealand. Being used to a warm climate, the new-comers found the boisterous winds and bitter cold very trying. They had no idea of house-building, and in any case the trees which grew on the island were very small, so that they merely had a shelter of woven green flax with a V-shaped roof thatched with rushes and lined with the bark of trees. The Moriori had brought with him or had learned the art of weaving, and mats of scraped flax formed his clothing to commence with. But as he realised that seals came to his shores in great abundance he discarded flax, which was a poor protection at the best, and clad himself and his family in sealskin which would be worth a fortune to-day. So that when in the 18th century the white sealer found him out and absolutely decimated the seals, the Moriori was in parlous plight. Through long disuse he had lost the art of flax scraping and of making mats. He substituted mats of green woven flax, which shrunk as they dried and left the wearers clad in a light and airy lattice-work. Thus set in the decline of the race from consumption.

At one time he had been a fierce and fearless fighter, like most of the Pacific tribes, but one autocratic ancestor, an early apostle of peace, decreed that there must be an end to man-slaying and eating, and so he lost the art of war. Following the sealing vessels came an influx of the Maori from the mainlands. The poor Moriori was slaughtered without mercy, and filled the pot of his conquerors. It

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is a pitiful story throughout, and on the death of one man (the only full-blooded member of his tribe) the race will be extinct. The chief occupation of the Moriori was hunting for food, which left him little time for anything else. His supply depended entirely on his skill in fishing and his aptitude for snaring various native birds. Of vegetable food he had practically nothing, and therefore he did not cultivate ground. Fortunately, the karaka bushes grew plentifully and he had the unpalatable fern root. His amusements were few and uninteresting. At the same time, he has been fortunate in that one of our ablest writers upon the native races and their customs, a man of wide sympathies, lived upon the island from boyhood, shared the occupations of the Moriori, and has placed on record all the available facts about their method of making weapons and stone implements, their ways with the wild fish, flesh and fowl, and their mental outlook. He shows them to have been not one whit behind the natives of the mainland, simply that they were handicapped by climate and environment.

In another chapter is told the story of Te Kooti and his imprisonment on the Chathams. Settlement has been slow as might be expected, but on the main island there are about 25,000 acres of woodland and about nine times as much of broken country. It is covered with lakes, mostly brackish, and the hills are not much more than 600 feet high. A good many sheep are raised, but as they have to be lightered out by surf boats and then hoisted into the hold of the vessel, this is a troublesome and expensive task. With cattle it is worse, because they must swim to

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the ship at lull tide and then be hoisted on board. Some day a wharf will be constructed and that will help the island very greatly. New Zealand desires to develop the Chathams, and with some little encouragement, cheese-making and the fishing industry will bring a belated prosperity.

THE COOK ISLANDS

This group consists of eight islands : Raratonga, Mangaia, Atiu, Mauke, Mitiaro, Aitutaki, Takutea, and Manuae (Hervey). Although not the largest the best known is Raratonga, which lies in the track of the Pacific steamers sailing between America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Fruit is picked up at Raratonga from surf boats, the smaller islands adopting much the same method but receiving the visit of smaller boats. New Zealand takes a very large portion of the tropical fruits from these islands. Raratonga is of volcanic formation, well watered, with rich soil and superb bush and mountain scenery. The natives are good workers, intelligent and reliable, many owning their own plantations. The sale of native lands is prohibited by the New Zealand Government, and it is almost impossible to lease from the natives, who therefore live well and have an incentive to work. This rather unusual condition, as the average person would deem it, is simply due to progress and the desire to have modem comforts, especially the desire to dress the women-folk as well as their neighbours. The Cook islander, in addition to working harder than most native races, does much of the cooking and other

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house work, so that his women-kind have a very easy time. Most native races make the women work very hard. The Cook islanders are Christians and very devout. No native race in the Empire is better cared for. No alcoholic liquor can be sold except for medicinal purposes, medical attention is free, they are assisted by the Government in all their trading operations, and education, free and compulsory, both primary and technical, is available for all. A system of scholarships entitling the winners to three years’ education at St. Stephen’s College, Auckland, is in practice, and the most promising boys from the technical schools are sent to Wellington to learn trades. New Zealand accepts the white man’s burden as a serious responsibility. The total population of the Cook and Northern islands is about 15,000.

PENRHYN AND NIUE

Penrhyn (300 miles N.E. of Manihiki) is merely a ring of coral about forty-eight miles in circumference, supporting a number of low islands of about 300 yards across and enclosing a lagoon of 90 square miles in area, of which a third is covered with pearl shell.

Niue, 300 miles E. of Raratonga (called Tonga for short) is nearly 100 square miles in area and has a population of nearly 5,000. It is almost entirely of coral, but the usual tropical fruits grow well, and there are substantial areas of forest land containing useful milling timber.

The resident agent of Penrhyn, as a lad of twenty,

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was wrecked on the island in 1887. Curiously enough, the ship built to replace the lost vessel came to see what happened to her unfortunate sister, and struck a submerged coral rock.

MANIHIKI AND RAKAHANGA

These are beautiful islands of the atoll type, peopled by a most hospitable race. The former (400 miles E. of Pukapuka) is noted for its pearl fisheries. A wealth of romance, and tragedy for that matter, has been the lot of many of these islands. In the early days of last century, they were regularly raided by what were known as “ blackbirders,” who dragged the natives from their homes by the hundred to work in the Peruvian mines. The redoubtable “ Bully ” Hayes was well-known in these parts.

SUWARROW

Here again is the material for many a good novel. In 1889, H.M.S. Rapid hoisted the British flag over the island, which had the reputation of holding much buried treasure from Spanish pirate ships. (One meets evidence of the Spaniard very frequently in looking up old-time history.) Lever Brothers took up the island (which is 500 miles E. of Western Samoa) many years ago for shell-driving and planted the gold-lipped shell, but without success, a hurricane doing much damage to the lagoon and the islands. The lagoon teems with fish, there are turtles in great numbers and sea-birds by the tens of

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thousands. During the nesting season, labour parties boil eggs in bucketsful at a time, yet the most common of the birds, the tira, lays only one egg.

PUKAPUKA

The three islands which are habitable carry a population of nearly 600 people of the Samoan type, being only 500 miles from Samoa. Being very much isolated, the people are not forward, but a school has been established and better communication will soon bring the standard of the natives upwards.

PALMERSTON ISLAND

This is associated with the Cook Group, being only 220 miles away, and has a notable history. Long before the days of Captain Cook, even before those of Abel Tasman, a Portuguese sailor named Magellan took service with Spain, pushed through the wild waterway that bears his name, and crossed the Pacific. The first land he sighted was Palmerston Island, because by some strange fortune in that waste of waters he missed the other islands which dot the sea. Poor Magellan was to lose his life before his voyage was done, but to-day New Zealand holds for the Empire that small piece of land which for a brief moment had contact with one of the greatest of European sailors whom Columbus had fired with the ambition to discover new lands. In 1774, about 250 years later, Palmerston Island was again discovered by Captain Cook when on his second voyage, and later on it was to be visited by the mutineers

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of the Bounty. The island, which was in the track of sailing vessels, was very dangerous, and several vessels were wrecked on it. It is interesting to know that Palmerston Island has been leased to the Marsters family since 1862. Marsters went to manage the island for a man named Brander who did not return, and the manager stayed on without title for thirty years. In 1892, he applied for and was granted a lease for twenty-one years. He died in 1899, and on October 18, 19x3, a renewal of the lease was granted for ten years from the beginning of that year. A further renewal of the lease until 1933 has been arranged. The island is occupied entirely by the Marsters family and their descendants. William had three native wives and the population is now about one hundred. The island is an atoll with a land area of a square mile so that it is not a very extensive domain yet the inhabitants are all healthy and strong, show no signs of degeneracy through intermarriage and are improving their output of copra. The lagoon, which is about eight miles in diameter, is not carrying pearl shell, but the New Zealand Government has under consideration the introduction of spawn from other islands.

SUNDAY ISLAND

Here is another of the lonely little islands of which few people, even in New Zealand, have any knowledge, yet which have a history as romantic as any imaginative novelist has penned. A portion of the Kermadec group, almost directly opposite Norfolk Island, and equidistant with it from the north of

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New Zealand, it has been the scene of much colourful life. Over a hundred years ago, when the longbearded wearers of the skipper’s cap, in tiny craft filled with hard shell sailors, roamed round the Pacific in search of adventure, they almost invariably made the Kermadecs. Some of them were wrecked upon the islands, because the little craft could not always withstand the fierce hurricanes of the region, but there was money to be made by trading, and adventurers came from all the ports of the world. Among the captains was one who traded to Samoa, and being young and good-looking, he caught the eye of a young and good-looking damsel of high degree, just as sailor men have been doing for these many years. The lady is said to have been a Samoan princess, and pride of birth is very strong in that country. White man or not, there would be no chance of a princess being permitted to marry a sailor. But love laughs at native chiefs as well as the world at large, and the lady decided to abandon her rank and cast in her lot with the simple sailor man. Here commerce came in. The natives threatened to so injure the business of those who took up the captain’s duties that an arrangement was made whereby he should be punished. How this was done and by whom, it is not necessary to state, but the couple were taken to Sunday Island and left to their own devices. For years the ex-skipper and the Samoan lady lived a romantic lonesome life on the island and reared a large family. They could have had no great desire to leave the island, because later, when sailing vessels called with supplies and gave news of the outside world, they made no attempt

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to leave. They followed their Robinson Crusoe existence until the family grew up, and then the captain decided to leave and settled in the north of New Zealand, taking up the calling of a whaler. When other settlers went to the island, the exile laid claim to it, but was unable to obtain a title. His descendants have several times mooted the question of renewing the claim. Now the plot thickens, because Mr. Thomas Bell, senior, with his wife and eleven other islanders, have paid a visit to New Zealand, one of their objects being to lay claim to the title of the island. For nearly fifty years, this old New Zealander has lived with his family on the little island vacated by the old-time sailor and his Samoan bride. Mr. Bell was trading in the Pacific in 1878, and, with his family, landed on the island with the object of inspecting it thoroughly. He arranged with the captain of the schooner to call for him later on. What happened to the little vessel we know not, but it failed to return, and the Bell family, the second to be isolated on the island, suffered great privations because the produce of the land was devoured by a plague of Maori rats. For a time they had to live almost entirely on the flesh of wild goats which they captured on the hillside. Finally, relieving steamers called, but the Bell family decided to stay on. There must be something very attractive about Sunday Island. Nine years later, the New Zealand Government notified them that the island had been annexed by the British Government and that in future they would be tenants, to be given two acres apiece in settlement of any claim they might have. This the claimant does

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not consider sufficient, and he thinks he is entitled to the fee simple of the island by reason of his fortyeight years occupancy, especially as the island's resources are only sufficient for one family.

Kermadec Group, (600 miles N.E. of Auckland) consists of Sunday Island, which has been described, and a number of uninhabited islands ranging from one-tenth its size down to 12 acres—tiny L’Esperance. Two of the group, Macaulay (named after Lord Macaulay’s father) and Curtis, were discovered by a transport ship, the Penrhyn, the remainder by Rear Admiral d’Entrecasteaux, when searching for La Perouse. The group was named after the captain of one of the ships. La Perouse, who went out in the end of the 18th century with two staunch boats to complete the work of Captain Cook in the Pacific, sailed round the Horn and finished one voyage at Macao in China. After refitting he visited Botany Bay, in New South Wales, and left on his work, to disappear from human sight. The rescue ships sent by France tried to follow the route La Perouse intended to take, and one day raised these rocky islands. Sailing north-west, and searching always, they came to an island north of New Hebrides. They did not think it worth while to search carefully, probably having been disappointed so often, but almost in plain sight were traces of the mariners’ life ashore. Forty years were to elapse before this was discovered, and one can only conjecture as to the fate of the ships and their gallant crews. Little could be learned from the fierce and warlike natives, but it is almost certain what happened. Possibly La Perouse and his men held off the savages until over-powered and

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starved into submission, perhaps the ships were wrecked and only a portion of crew made shore, but no one knows, and the mystery of La Perouse must be added to the many that the Pacific keeps unsolved.

South of New Zealand, and in that order, we have Bounty, Antipodes, Auckland, Campbell and Macquarrie Islands,

Bounty Island was named by that Captain of Cook’s who sailed the " Bounty ” and was afterwards set adrift by the mutineers, who ultimately landed on Pitcairn Island, and whose descendants were in part transferred to Norfolk Island. This strange drama of the sea has been told in detail by one of the islanders, and I have had many interesting talks with descendants living in New Zealand.

The Antipodes are very small, rocky and uninhabited. They lie south of Bounty Island. The Auckland Islands are 290 miles south of Bluff Harbour, and have several good ports. Port Ross was described by the eminent French Commander D’Urville as one of the best harbours of refuge in the known world.

Campbell Island lies 150 miles south east of the Auckland Isles and has a circumference of 30 miles, is rocky and has several good harbours. Here again we meet with romance and mystery, and it is likely that few people will agree as to the details. It is said that a lonely grave in this wild cold spot is that of a sweetheart of Bonnie Prince Charlie, that she was banished, lived there alone till death overtook her, and was given burial by the crew of a whaler. In confirmation is shown a winding path to the hut from the beach, bordered with pebbles,

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and planted at the side with Scottish heather. But research by competent people has shown that the unfortunate woman lost her life in a boating accident when the ship that discovered the island called in from Norfolk Island. It was a habit of the old-time whalers to carry women on their vessels, and either drop them in out-of-the-way places when it suited them, or put them aboard other vessels, so that the woman’s presence on the boat is easily accounted for. Another story is that it was a mysterious Frenchwoman, but that is due to the fact that a French midshipman was buried there. The heather and path are ascribed to some old-time sealer of neat habits and Scottish nationality, who lived in the hut. So goes an old myth which has been written up so often that it may be hard to eradicate.

The Macquarries are next on the list. Over 700 miles from New Zealand, well towards the South Pole, they are not attractive places of residence. The temperature averages 38 to 40 deg., and the lowest is 12 deg., while the wind averages 30 miles an hour and can do 75 quite easily on occasion. During the winter months hurricanes are particularly violent. Wrecks have been frequent right back as far as 1811, and the General Grant, carrying treasure, is supposed to be wrecked in a cave on the coast. Many futile attempts at salvage have been made. Sailing vessels had little chance in a gale there. Snow falls heavily, but frost is a rarity. There is a long twilight in summer, but in winter only five hours daylight. Sir Douglas Mawson’s party of five stayed on Macquarrie in 1911 and established a wireless station to communicate with Adelie Land, 850 miles further south.

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and the most southerly wireless station in the world. The island swarms with rats and wild cats, descendants of those from the wrecked vessels. It was once a whaling station, and hardy followers of the great game came from the world’s ports. Since the early Bo’s there has been an oil station established by an Invercargill man, and from September to March is a long time of slaughter. The bull sea elephants are killed in great numbers. They weigh about five tons, the head alone about 3 cwt. These are shot. Penguins which have arrived for the breeding season are yarded into special pens near boiling down works, and are clubbed. A man can kill about 1,600 a day. In the six months about 100,000 penguins are killed. Feathers and all go into the pot, and 12 hours boiling brings out the oil. The journeys to and fro on this business have meant the loss of many fives. Still the work goes on, and the world’s needs are supplied.

The Snares are six small islands 56 miles S.W. of Stewart Island. On all these outlying islands the New Zealand Government maintains a depot of food and clothing for castaways.

Ross Dependency has memories for the Dominion, which is a jumping off place for Antarctic exploration. Great British names hallow this wild and forbidding spot. Scott, gallant Oates, Wilson and Evans fought their heroic fight, and sleep as wardens of this icy solitude. New Zealand is the admin strator of the land, and may well take pride in the trust.

Western Samoa, administered by New Zealand under mandate of the League of Nations, was

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German territory before the war. It consists of four large islands, and many smaller, and has a population of nearly 40,000. A very good trade in fruit is being established with New Zealand.

Nauru Island, also German before the war, was operated for the vast deposits of phosphate rock, and rights held by the trading company were purchased by Britain, Australia and New Zealand for £3,500,000, the desire being to place this necessity of agriculture at the lowest price. There are the most up-to-date facilities for quarrying and shipping the rock, and this goes to the Dominions for further treatment. Nearly 2,000,000 tons have been taken away already, and the deposits seem scarcely affected.

Tokelau or Union Group consisting of Atafu, Nuknonu and Fakaofo, has been annexed recently, and will be governed from Samoa.

Such are territories over which New Zealand holds dominion, and this brief mention of the outposts of Empire will show that she has a great and important duty to fulfil. She can draw her supplies for home use and export from many varied climes, and grow in statesmanship with the exercise of her responsibilities.

CHAPTER II

THE MAORI

SPECULATIONS AS TO HIS ORIGIN

The Maoris prove an enigma to scientific men and general observers alike. Cook found them people of high intelligence and regal bearing, who had lived for centuries in a country possessing great deposits of iron, copper, gold, coal, lime and potters' clay and still remained in the Stone Age. They had not in these 800 years progressed past the primitive gourd jar, they slowly evolved weapons from stone, and painfully hewed down and hollowed great trees by the aid of adze and fire. They had no written language, no inscriptions, and their carvings, while beautiful, intricate and interesting, betrayed little advance towards sculpture. They had no idols or stone structures, but did an enormous amount of work in building and palisading their great hill pahs and in making the punga whares in which they spent the cold nights. In these whares, the central fire

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in a trench supplied light and warmth, and to pass the long evenings as well as to retain tribal records, men, women and children recited, checked and corrected their genealogical trees. With unfailing accuracy they can go back to the great migration in the " Grand Fleet ” of six to nine canoes. They have oral records of their journey, but whence they came is a mystery to them and to everyone else. They state that it was from “ Hawaiki ”, but this was simply the term used for their “ Home Land,” as we speak of Great Britain as the Home Country, although many have never seen it and rely upon what they remember from their parents’ conversation. Looked at thus, we can understand the Maori’s difficulty. There are also “ Long Hawaiki ” and " Great Hawaiki,” together with descriptions of geographical features which might apply to any island, just as those who left Great Britain, even in these days of nomenclature and writing, have only vague ideas of their original homes. It is stated that there were waves of immigration between 1150 to 1350 A.D. when the final fleet arrived, and a regular coming and going of canoes, but there is no absolute certainty.

There is said to be Malay blood in the Maori, with a Mongoloid strain. So there is in the Japanese. And the North American Indians on physical resemblance might be blood brothers to the Maori. It is claimed that parties set out from the recognised centre of the human race, India and the Persian Gulf, and spread along the shores. This they would do because their sea-going appliances were too crude to risk the wide stretches of water. They might

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work along the mainland, or travel across Siberia perhaps as the Ainus did, towards the rising sun, thence over the great natural bridge of land which probably existed as far as British Columbia and was not yet reduced by erosion to the chain of the Aleutian Isles. Again, working along the coast, they would gradually reach California and Mexico.

The " tiki," that grotesque image thought to be peculiar to the Maori and to be a fructifying symbol worn by women, was said to be originally the " melon god " in old Mexico and represented a frog.

In those days the population of North and South America would be little short of its present total, about 200,000,000, and the difficulty of feeding such a large number on grain raised by primitive appliances, aided by natural game resources, can be imagined. Both Americas had developed a high civilisation. Therefore it would seem that at a very early period, possibly 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, sections of the explorers, after residing for many years on the continent, embarked in their canoes and made land at Hawaii, opposite the coast of Mexico.

This would be a long resting place, amidst tropical fruits and in a wonderful climate. With additions to population, however, either the natural resources would fail, or contentions arose and further voyages of exploration would result. Running down with the trade winds, they could go from island to island in the huge space of the Pacific, ultimately reaching the Paumotus, Tahiti and Raratonga, and thence New Zealand. This seems the most likely reconstruction of events, and the only way to account

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for failing to populate New Guinea and Australia, which they would have done had they come direct from Malaya, across the island-studded sea, although in those remote days there might well have been a vast South Western continent, as believed, with population at the South Pole.

A LONG STONE AGE

But the fact that the Maori, Polynesian and Melanesian all remained Stone Age people until the 19th century, argues long centuries of insularity and isolation and that migration was spasmodic. They must have broken away at a time prior to the growth of systematised knowledge (which had reached a very high standard in Asia, India and Egypt many thousands of years ago,) possessing none of the arts of civilisation, merely the ability of primitive man to adapt himself to his surroundings.

STONE IMPLEMENTS LITTLE GUIDE

The similarity of artifacts is used as evidence of relationship. But all people the world over seem to have an instinct which leads them to chip flints and make, at a certain stage of development, stone weapons of strikingly similar appearance, whether eoliths, paleoliths or neoliths. The Swiss Lake dwellers, those in Ancient Britain, America and Central Africa, all made their artifacts so much alike that a row of either section from various places would be regarded as coming out of the same

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“ workshop.” Therefore this aspect of ethnology helps us but little as regards the Maoris.

They could not have been of the old Easter Island or Ponape people, whose vast monuments fill the explorer with wonder and whose hieroglyphics are yet unread, because they did not work in stone. Had they come from South America, they would certainly have brought the potato as well as the kumara (or sweet potato), both originating there. But the South Seas acquired the kumara after New Zealand was settled and an expedition was sent for some, according to one story.

It is stated that the Maori word for the sun (ra) is used in Peru, but it is also the same in Egypt. However, it will in all probability be along the road of language that the solution of the puzzle is found. The native might alter and adapt, just as “ alofa ” is “ love ” in Samoa and it becomes " aroa ” in Tahiti, “ aroha ” in New Zealand and “ aloha ” in Japan and Hawaii. But the etymologist may find out.

A RACE BEFORE MAORI —WROTE ON ROCKS

There was a race anterior to the Maori, named the Morion. They discovered and inhabited the Chatham Islands. Whether they occupied New Zealand is a disputed point.

A prior race known in New Zealand is said to have been fair skinned and light-haired and were known as the Pakepakeha, from which the Maori word " pakeha " was used to describe the sailors of Cook. However this may be, either of these prior races has

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left, in various parts of New Zealand, rock writings which are not the work of the Maori. They are on the walls of lime-stone shelter caves, are of black and red colouring, probably red earth and charcoal, mixed with the oil of birds. They bear a strong resemblance to the rock writings of the North American Indians. Some rude sculpture on a North Island pah recently reproduced in the Polynesian Society's journal, also seems very like Moriori carvings brought from the Chathams. Both the terms Maori and Moriori, it may be noted, are given by the whites, and are not the names the natives give themselves. They refer to each other as of a certain tribe —-Waikato, Arawa, Maniapoto or any other of the many which divided and sub-divided as time went on. Maori simply means “ Artisan.”

CERTAIN FACTS ARE KNOWN

Here we must leave the realms of speculation, interesting though they are, and deal with what are accepted as general facts concerning the race which came here by sea and took possession of what they named Aotea-roa, the “ long White Cloud.”

Polynesian and Maori tradition agree generally as to the early Maori navigators who discovered New Zealand, first among them being Hui-te-rangiora, the second Ngahue, and the third Kupe, who sailed round the North Island in the canoe “ Matawhaorua.” Ngahue is regarded as one who first arrived and returned to Raratonga or Tahiti, suggesting in glowing terms the desirability of migration to New Zealand, or, as he called it, “ Land

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of the Long White Cloud ” on account of the white shimmer of shore and cliffs. He is said to have landed at Tauranga, to have seen the moa and discovered some fine specimens of greenstone (although greenstone is found only in the South Island and is not green until polished). Ngahue himself was satisfied with his adventures and did not return to New Zealand. The myths relating to Kahui Tipua, a band of ogres who were said to inhabit New Zealand, probably belonged to this period, and made a splendid traveller’s tale for the intrepid explorer. The canoes “ Mamari ” and “ Mahuhu ’’ brought the ancestors of the Ngapuhi and Ngatiwhatua tribes and arrived about the year 1150, the canoe called " Paoa ” about 1200.

THE PIONEER FLEET

The great migration of what is usually known as the " Pioneer Fleet " took place about 1350, seven great canoes, each capable of containing 140 men and women certainly being used, perhaps nine or more. It is not quite clear whether the canoes

Starting from " Hawaiki."

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started from the West side of Tahiti or from Raratonga, yet it was said to be not a casual flight, but a well-considered decision. After great preparation and many false starts, they sailed away once more to seek the lands of greater fertility and freedom which had been described to them. Many times in their age-long history, the elders of the tribe must have sat in solemn conclave and weighed up the reasons for a thinning of the ranks which rigid tribal customs and wars could not keep down. There would be tearful leave-takings among the women, while the big sailing canoes were overhauled and provisioned and the tohungas awaited favourable omens for departure. This was to prove the last abiding place, because it was the land furthest South, beyond which man cannot live, and the Polynesian knew this because his traditions told him of the ice.

'■ No one who has travelled over the vast expanse of water in a fast steamer wall under-estimate the courage and resource of these brown people, who were primitive only in lack of knowledge gained from the outside world, but had developed as navigators and sailors through century-old contests with wind and wave—exactly as the British navigators did. Their canoes were not mere hollowed trees, but were fashioned to resist all forms of waves, which they had experienced before and had carefully noted. Each man had his station, and the captain and his aides ordered preparedness when their keen eyes caught the first hint of a coming squall. Anchors, balers, covers for the open boat, covers for the provisions, extra bulwarks for this kind of wave and

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that, all were in readiness. With a storm approaching the urge for life lent lightning speed to the skilled hands of the voyagers. In sail and out paddles, down sea anchor and ride to the waves while wind and water rage, or, brown faces agleam with spray, eyes alight with excitement, and stalwart limbs flexed to the strain and pitch of the laden boat, give her the sweep of sail and foam along with gunwale ploughing a furrow in the sullen waters. Life triumphant was on the deep and the Maori’s ancestors knew no fear of wind or waves.

The question whether the Polynesians could ever voyage the Pacific in their frail canoes must be simply answered by the fact that they came. They were sailing enormous distances, but in general the Pacific is true to name, there were possibilities of landing here and there, and they were as well equipped as possible in their boats, and in knowledge of the stars, to meet whatever befell. Mortality there must have been, ships that never arrived, but the sea people have made scant murmur as they passed on and ever on.

It seems to be accepted that the “ Grand Fleet ” set sail in early summer, because when they made land in New Zealand, they at once saw, along the edge of the shores —its misshapen branches and gnarled roots obscured by the deep green leaves — that glory of the North Island Christmas, the red pohutukawa, and named it so, “ the kiss of the sea god.” Before that happy hour and that auspicious welcome, let us attempt to follow this momentous voyage in imagination. Day would drag after day and night would bring small relief from the cramped

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quarters, but the coolness would relieve them after the blistering heat and glare of the tropical sun reflected from a polished ocean. Most of the voyagers toiled uncomplainingly at the paddles or fished and slept while the inevitable calms endured, and it was deemed wise to reserve their strength. There were those who possessed faint heart, and as the days stretched into weeks and there was still no break in the horizon, bethought them of the coral reefs and fringed lagoon, the sheltering palms and the luscious tropic fruits of the land they had left. Hence, as the captains handed out the dried taro, the scrap of fish and the few drops of water, there must have been sullen looks and muttered threats. Some there were, fierce, primitive men, who had their loved ones and who clove to them and fought for their share, even as the more civilised would do under like circumstances. Jealousies there must have been, blows given and taken in the narrow space of the hull. The leaders doubtless strove to hold their forces intact and overlooked some rebellion because of the hostile reception they might experience on landing, but for the sake of authority, there would be a swift blow from a stone club, and the reddened water would wrap the boat as the remnants were cast over and the food stores were replenished by the quivering carcase. What scenes, what sights must have been passed through in those weeks of voyaging, till the emaciated band, forced back by fierce winds and forced forward by fierce leaders of indomitable will, wakened one day to see ahead the faint line of those long white cliffs that had haunted their vision since Ngahue returned to

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far “ Hawaiki ” with his wonderful story. It is a thousand pities that we have no authentic record and details of that wonderful voyage of an heroic people.

It is noteworthy that all made land near the East Cape, not a boat lost, and with their precious taro seed and the no less precious fire still safe—although with firesticks they could always produce it. They went their ways at once, after having drunk their fill of fresh water and eaten heartily of birds and shellfish. Three canoes rounded the North Cape and sailed along the narrow portion of the North Island, certainly not arguing great haste to make a selection and showing a wonderful eye for good land. Tokomaru elected to settle in North Taranaki, Kurahaupo landed portion of her crew at North Cape, while others went on to what is now Foxton, doubtless through some dissension. " Aotea ” beached at Aotea (near Raglan) and her crew marched South to Wanganui. Four sailed down the East Coast, the Mata-atua landing at Whakatane, Te Arawa at the Bay of Plenty, Tainui entered the great Hauraki Gulf, left its wonders, used the Otahuhu portage and sailed thence down the West Coast to Kawhia Harbour, while the last, " Takitumu ” sailed on and on, past Cook Strait, left Banks Peninsula astern, sailed past the great stretches of the Canterbury Plains, along the Ninety Mile Beach, only to be wrecked and cast ashore by the ocean swell at Moeraki near Oamaru, and her crew settled there. What wealth of birds and fish, what preparation of ground for their precious seed and the building of their huts and forts. Forgotten the perils of the voyage, strife and jealousy

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temporarily were put aside. Land was theirs in abundance, the land hunger which had driven them forth was to be appeased at once, because this limitless area was all theirs.

But very soon it was discovered that they were not the first. From the dense forests out to the cleared lands came a kindred people, the crews of the " Mamari ” canoe from their own land, long mourned as lost, but now joyfully hailed and mingling their tears and joining in the mournful wail of tribal grief for those whom death had claimed by land or sea. Soon they learned of the Tangata Whenua, tracing their origin to the Polynesian demigod Maui, the legend of whose fishing up the earth is well-known. These Maui Maoris (who must have been in the country hundreds if not thousands of years judging by the positions in which their paleolithic weapons have been found), were active, tall and lean, inferior in physique and knowledge of agriculture to the burly, thickset new-comers, and the planting of the seed brought was eagerly watched by them. As all spoke the same language and the land teemed with birds and the sea with fish, there was no immediate need for rivalry, and the new-comers recovered strength and established their homes and families. The latent savagery and masterfulness of the Hawaikan Maori and his taste for human flesh —a taste not shared by the Maui Maori —soon led to trouble, but this assumed no great proportions, and the two races lived, intermarried and became one. The Maui Maori built his pahs in strong positions, on hilltops, and this became the accepted method, resulting in a race

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which worked hard, lived in the open air of the plains and fields all day and retired to the higher elevations and still fresher air to pass the night. In consequence they evolved a physical perfection which has been excelled but seldom. They lived in close communion with Nature, upon whom they depended for their daily food, and in her service and by her grace they became as one with the earth, responding to its moods and seasons, trembling at its wrath and rejoicing in its placid, sun-bathed glory. Truly an idyllic existence for the rover whose days afloat on the long swelling seas were done.

THE NEXT 450 YEARS

It was not to be supposed that the new arrivals would rest content with their first choice and so we find them dividing up into smaller parties, intermarriage increasing their numbers and their relationships, until in 1776, when Captain Cook arrived, they were estimated to number 150,000 in the North Island alone, and knowing as we do that every sea inlet of importance and every river had its “ hapu ” or its tribe, a Maori census would probably have shown a total of 300,000. The Bay of Islands and the North carried a large number, as did the isthmus between Auckland and Onehunga (Tamaki) —Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, the Waikato, Wellington, Otaki, all were great centres. Practically the whole Island was occupied, and natural food supplies were so abundant in forest and stream and sea, that with diligence and a little care the Maoris could live

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happily and comfortably. They made their tribal laws and built up an organisation on communistic lines, as was their wont. But the tribal wars which decimated the populations from time to time were responsible for preventing any permanent improvement.

How the South Island progressed was not known for many years. There was ample to do in the North, and the turbulent waters of Cook Strait rolled between, so that Te Raupuwai, the pioneer tribe, was free from persecution for over two centuries. Then, like a bolt from the blue, the war canoes of Ngati-mamoe struck and struck again, ravaging each coast, storming each pah, and pitilessly hunting down the remnants to force them into slavery. The conquerors occupied the South for zoo years, occasionally defending themselves against sporadic attacks, but nemesis overtook them at last, in the person of the Ngaitahu, who in 1677 wiped Ngatimamoe out as completely as they had dealt with the Raupuwai, and held the land from 1677 to the coming of the pakeha in 1825. It is interesting to note that by virtue of this conquest and occupation the Ngaitahu became owners of the tribal lands which were the subject of purchase later on and for which heavy compensation is now to be paid.

The chief causes of inter-tribal war were the desire for more land, primitive loves and jealousies regarding women, and the violation by one tribe of another’s “ tapu.” The spoils of war were land, slaves and human flesh, including baked dried heads. The killing and eating of prisoners had its origin in

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a legend surrounding the murder of Hotu-a, by Rauriki, one of Tiki's descendants, the curing and baking of heads also deriving its origin from this legend. Cannibalism was not resorted to first as a means of sustenance, but was really a satisfying of the lust for satisfactory revenge on their enemies. To be eaten was the very epitome of degradation. Theoretically, under “ tapu ” law, the women were not allowed to eat with the men or to eat human flesh.

However, the reason for cannibalism is said by the early settlers and those who had opportunity of judging, to have been due to a lack of meat. The country contained no animals save the native rat and the dog, which later migrators brought, the latter a small creature so scarce that only chiefs partook of his flesh. It may be that the Maori ate his slain enemies in order that “ good food might not be wasted,” as a Maori speaker recently told his audience. But soon after Europeans arrived the Maoris gave up the practice.

The Maori rarely fought pitched battles. Usually he retired to his intricately fortified hill forts or pahs and the enemy tried to get him out by strategy or by the help of relations in the pah. Either that or they camped around the slopes of the hill and starved the besieged into surrender. If they rushed the place eventually the defenders were likely to be slaughtered, save those kept for slaves, but they were fairly reasonable people, and where the matter was not one of absolute life and death, it was often settled by conference. The whole people sprang from a few canoe loads, possibly 1,500 in all, so that

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they were closely related and thus the way for negotiation was open, as they honoured their blood ties. To the Maori, war was a matter of course, prepared for and engaged in after due consideration and due notice to the enemy. Save for punitive raids or parties bent on conquest, the small wars did not occasion much loss. They were possessed of a peculiar chivalrous generosity, often giving their enemies food when starving so that they could fight on fair terms. (General Cameron while engaged in the Waikato War was treated in this way, the Maoris thinking he was short of vegetable and could not advance.)

A hill pah or fort.

Most visitors from abroad who go to Auckland climb Mt. Eden, or Maungawhau (the “ mountain where the whau tree grows ”) as the Maori knew it. Therefore, as that was a typical fort or pah, a few details will be of interest. Around the warm slopes of this volcanic peak were many acres of kumara plantations, for the Maori had to live, and he was not lazy. At the foot of the mountain, closer in, were the general whares or huts, inside a palisade. Then the whole mountain, as can be seen to-day, was terraced to the summit, and here was placed a final citadel with embankments 20 to 30 ft. high, and approached by well-defined pathways through the various fortress areas. Each of the intervening

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terraces was parapetted and palisaded, even with three lines if deemed necessary. Entrance to these many fortresses was by means of a portcullis known as the waharoa. The whole place was organised for war, because none knew the day or the hour when an enemy would choose to strike, although it was usually when the crops were ripe. At the proper places were food pits containing dried and shell fish, taro and kumara. Water was stored in hollowed tree trunks. Every possible contingency was thought of by the Maori military geniuses. The volcanic lava cracked at certain spots, and these were enlarged to make a possible way of retreat underground, although not often used. The Maori was a fighter, he loved the rough turmoil of war, and his encounters were to the death and got over quickly. On Maungawhau there would be about 4,000 natives, grouped as round a feudal castle. Before dark sentries were posted on watch towers and eminences. Eagle eyes scoured the darkness, and loud voices called at intervals, partly to warn the enemy that there was a lookout, and partly to keep the people awake and ready. (One could not imagine sentries being popular.) Still, eternal watchfulness was necessary for safety. If an enemy was prowling round he was warned of his nearness to the cooking oven. If an attack was launched a warning was called, and the great war drums were beaten. All flew to arms, and tried to repel the attack on the outer line. The battle raged among the huts. From slope to slope they fought, and if the defenders were beaten back the huts were fired and then they had to maintain their defence from terrace

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to terrace. It must have been a weird and awful scene. Sometimes in the daytime when the enemy was seen approaching, a challenger went forth to give defiance and the result of the duel determined whether there should be more bloodshed. It was said to be an ill omen for the defence if the challenger was captured. It certainly was ill for the warrior, because he would be cooked and eaten in front of his friends, and his bones taken to be made into whistles.

The spear was not much used save for initial stages of the attack or for thrusting between the spaces of the palisades; and the Maori had no bow and arrow or other missile thrower. He relied on hand to hand work with the mere, a spatulate weapon, like a Roman broadsword, which might be used for striking, but was principally employed for thrusting under the floating ribs. The Maori fought almost naked, so that this method of attack presented no difficulty, although a flax corselet, closely plaited, was used in later times as armour.

Instruction was given regularly in the arts of war, hence the Maori developed wonderful skill and speed, and was a fighting foe worthy of fame.

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The war canoes with their great carved figureheads or tauhiu and stem ornaments or taurapa, were used to carry the war parties on their expeditions. Practically the only one in New Zealand is in Auckland Museum and it is 85 ft. long and 6ft. wide, accommodating 100 paddlers. In the old days the war canoes must have been a sight to strike terror into those about to be attacked, as they came racing up to the beach and discharged their array of huge, fierce, tattooed warriors. The first thing was usually to dance a haka or dance of defiance, hurling taunts at the enemy and tellmg him of his near approach to the “ Umu ” or ovens. And then visitors and visited settled down to the old routine of war which they knew so well.

THE MAORIS AT PEACE

Like many other primitive peoples, the Maoris were very happy in time of peace. Their life of communism did not entail the fierce competition of more civilised peoples, although it had its drawbacks. But they could have their games and leisure, tell their stories and leam the facts of nature. I have often thought when walking barefooted from the beach over the warm earth and grass of my home at Kohimarama, how the hundreds of thousands of natives who down the centuries trod the same historic shore must have thrilled to the touch of the soil. The Maori loved his land for itself, as well as for possession and use, and it was cultivated well. He had a regular system of education in autumn and winter, when cropping was completed. The priests

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were the teachers, and though the priestly office was hereditary, other qualifications were necessary to the office of Tohunga. Each of the six principal Atuas, namely Tu (god of War), Tawhirimatea (God of Sky), Rongo (God of Kumara), Tangaroa (God of the sea and fishing), Haumia (God of the fem

root) and Tane (God of the forests) had special priests by whom he might be invoked, and as no important undertaking was commenced without invoking the aid of the god, the priests were kept busy.

The classes for instruction in arts and crafts were open to the common people, but those of mythology and history or Wharekura were open to the priests

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and chiefs alone. A course of three to five years teaching was necessary to enable one to become a priest, or Tohunga.

In the school of agriculture on which everyone depended, all classes of the people met and discussed with the priests details regarding their daily occupations. The occupations taught were the cultivation of the kumara, taro and hue, snaring and spearing birds, fishing and fish-curing and digging fern roots. The garnered knowledge of centuries was thus available to all the tribe.

STUDYING THE STARS

The astronomical school dealt with the accumulated knowledge of the heavenly bodies learnt from tradition and experience. It was purely oral and was confined to the chiefs and priests. The exact date of opening the school was determined by the star Puanga (Rigel), one of the constellations of Orion. The stars were very real aids to the Maori and he entered with enthusiasm into their study, all classes of the tribe having a wealth of knowledge about them.

Puanga (or Rigel) in ascendant was a planting sign invoked in many folk songs and in the oft sung kumara planting chant. The old English name of the constellation is the Hen & Chickens, which is the name Captain Cook gave to a cluster of islands in the North of New Zealand.

Orion is Tau-Tora or the “ Three friends ” from the stars in the Belt. Also he sees it in the shape of a “ pewa ” or bird snare.

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The Milky Way is “ Te Ika Mango-roa ” (The Long Shark Fish) or “ Te Ika-a-Maui ” (The Fish of Maui) the old name for New Zealand.

The imaginative Maori saw fish forms in the sky, as did the Chaldeans, Arabs and Greeks. The Southern Cross is " Te-Whata-Titipa ” or “ Titipa’s Stingray,” the pointers being the tail.

Starry canoes were seen in the night. The Waka-a-Tamarereti or “ Tamarereti’s Canoe ” is of great antiquity as he and Titipa were far-back Polynesian navigators, forgotten save for their brave names enshrined forever by their hero-worshipping descendants—as the Old-World ancients emblazoned the names of classic heroes upon their familiar heavens.

"Maohu-tonga” (or Maohu of the South) is another designation for the Southern Cross, again telling the name of a daring South Sea explorer, who navigating by sight and instinct, flung behind his long sailing canoe many thousands of sea leagues before Columbus adventured across the Atlantic. Perhaps Maohu followed the birds in their movings and migrations. But ever at night when the faint whimpering overhead cheered the voyager, yet told him not his direction, there were the low-swinging Cross and wonderful Canopus, enshrined in Maori astronomical lore as Atutahi. With this glorious constellation as a steering mark, the brown backs rose and fell to the rhythmic swing of the paddles, or the grass sail was set, and the prow swung unfalteringly forward. Atutahi was guide, counsellor and friend to the sea-rover. If he twinkled more brightly on one side than the other, the sharp-eyed Polynesian knew that the wind would blow heavily

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from the bright side. It may have been imagination, but from Papua to Hawaii and Raratonga to New Zealand, the lone navigators of the trackless deep believed what Atutahi conveyed to them, and went upon their way with a confidence we have scarcely faith enough to credit.

The Coalsack was "Te Rau 0 Maohu ” (or Maohu’s Pit). Perhaps, who knows, there hangs a story. From one voyage the daring pathfinder returned not, and legend has it that he disappeared into this pit or chasm in the sky, a fitting end surely for so brave a man.

The Magellan Clouds were “ Ao-tea ” (White Cloud) and “ Ao-uri ” (Dark Cloud).

Venus was “ meremere-tu-ahiahi ” (the quivering star of the time of fires), seen when the firelight glowed in the wharerunanga and the hapu settled down to the long evening hours, to dream and talk and sleep, and to see shapes in the coals and to live again the days that were gone. Brave times when passed with friends ! What though the night wind moaned and the spirits were abroad, the casual peeper-out could see the quivering star, and returning to his seat, join in one of the waiatas or songs composed in her honour.

The forerunner of the dawn, when the war parties stole out into the bush, or the work of the day in the fields began, was Tariao or Mercury. The star of the winged god sped the taua on its way, or looked kindly at the workers who took up their wooden spades to cultivate the kumara land, or dig the succulent tuber. It was scarcely light in the forest clearing, and the glorious chorus of birds was in full

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progress, the wahines bustled about the fires and earth ovens, the little ones played or raced with merry shouts and glimpse of white teeth. So with bare feet brushing the heavy dew from the grass, the encampment dwellers went about their several occasions, with a grateful glance at the constellations which had watched over them during the night, aiding Hine, (the moon) if she were present, and giving way to the strengthening beams and overpowering brilliance of Ra, the ruler of the day.

All this and more was taught in the class which studied the wonders of the heavens, not alone for their beauty, although that was appreciated to the full, but because a knowledge of the star-marks and an experience of bye-gone navigators not only had been an unfailing chart during their voyaging, but on land had guided their planting and sowing, their gathering and storing.

STUDYING NATURE

Another section of necessary learning dealt with the trees and flowers. Age-long experience told them that when the cabbage tree and the toi-toi reed were profuse in bloom, the seasons would be dry. They knew by berry and bough exactly what the tree was preparing for, and with no magic save keen observation and memory gave the correct reading of the future. They knew the edible qualities of this and that plant, how to treat the poisonous karaka berry and render it palatable and wholesome, to take the edible portions of fern or flax, or cabbage tree, and what herbs cured various ailments.

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I have seen a Maori in a few days make a cure of affections which would yield but slowly to other treatment. All this was necessary, because upon themselves and their knowledge depended life and health.

LEARNING THE ARTS OF WAR

It would be expected that a fighting race studied its weapons and their use, and that on the marae (open space) of the village and upon the riverbanks and seashore in the evenings the young men would practice manly sports. The trained warriors who had looked death fair and square between the eyes in many a desperate hand-to-hand fight, the tohungas who were wise beyond the ordinary, and the proud chieftains who gained and held pre-eminence by strategy and cunning in war as well as by personal courage, joined in the congenial pastime.

Blow and parry, feint and thrust, all the sleight of hand of man-to-man combat were discussed and practiced. Speed of footwork and quickness of decision, attack or defence, everything was prepared for and regarded as supremely important, because knowledge might mean life.

CANOE BUILDING

Then there was the building of canoes, the time to cut down selected trees, the method of felling by means of a double scarf, punched with a great stone adze on a sapling propelled by strong arms and the

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midway piece painfully pecked out with a stone chisel. More muscle than science perhaps, but felling a tree and hollowing it out is not child’s play even with proper tools, and for lack of steel, the Maori had to be taught to use his brains. Small wonder that after centuries of this woful toil the white man’s axes were accounted cheap, when received for hundreds of acres of super-abundant land.

FASHIONING WEAPONS

Clubs and a wooden battleaxe called te whatewha were the principal weapons —the Maori had no bow and arrow and scarcely used his wooden spears save for killing birds. The stone clubs called ' ‘ mere ’ ’ were beautifully made of greenstone, while wood, black stone and schist were also used for ordinary weapons. Greenstone was never plentiful, and a softer form of nephrite, known as " tangiwai ” (tear water) was still more highly prized for ornaments. In fact, to possess greenstone was to the Maori what a necklace of pearls is to the lady of to-day, a joy, but a responsibility. The hard green stone, (known as pounamu) is only found on the West Coast of the South Island. It is often in huge blocks and these were obtained by barter (or force) and carried away by various tribes. But the tribe must be strong to retain its treasure, because many would risk life for it. Consequently there were no tattling tongues allowed, and at the first cry from the watchtower, the precious block was buried. The finished articles also were secreted, but owners died, so

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more is yet to come to hght. especially after *.iMen>- :

Few who look at the e-xnnsrte Saws at nimawe :/■: --: -._-. :-- r-.;:r. :i.i: :_--7 - :r.-. «•-. - :■.•: :. v. -■-- - :L- . :- ~_-: -.-: :'- -: -..-:■- -:.':■. _r "-- ■■ _: - '-..vr _r. :'~t --..uv.-i of one, knowing that the work would take several :t"t:'.:: ~- :: ~r -" ■■ ~. .: - :ty r r."_r";.r ;.\;v.:"> they most have possessed. It might be that the .":. ; i". :."—: ; ?::•.> : ~- ■: - ' >::" :■- . -S.:. >: ~-.- r. .'. '.::-.' ».".;.?•: : .: ~r.:.: • : > z.~:.i .'- >: ?.-. :< r\>- Lr-;>. r.iri ir.i : 7:h.-lir. :.-iiv :"-< :.-":• rizi-~ •':.- - ::? - • .:>. 'ii: ::.v Lv. .-._-■, ; . it is readily pohshed. the Maori had bo sack aids. n: ::.—. ::_s ':. :;- ?:.--. .. ?". .': •••-_;>. -.v.-uli r* ?.-■:-.:'.:■ '.':. i : - :\i_-t-.: ~:f 7 i; :7> :.-:.-... v.-.:-. patience was essential, bat he saved on and on, day after"..' 7- : 'he tribe went on, the seasons for planting and gathering, the birds were snared and put down in fat—and the stone-worker proudly showed an inch deep art round his slab of stone. Perhaps he was ir There was the call of war, and wrapping the precious stone in rr. was buried in safety. If he came back, he resumed the work, if not. someone else took up the task. Even when after unremitting toil the slab was off the block, it had yet to be chipped and fashioned and polished. Haste was imposssible and unwise.

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Before me as I write, is part of a small greenstone chisel. The Maori had fashioned it from a flake, rubbed it down and roughly polished it, then took up the work of cutting it out. He persevered on one side, meeting the two cuts and snapping off the edge cleanly, he made shallow cuts on the other side and (perhaps with patience exhausted), tried to break the stone, with the result that a transverse fracture occurred and the labour of years was lost. Truly a sermon in stone.

Regarding the prodigious output of meres, axes and adzes of greenstone and the labour involved, either a very great number of people engaged continuously in the work, which is not likely, or our estimates of Maori occupation must be far out. Greenstone meres were not the only article made. Thousands of tikis and pendants were made, hundreds of thousands of ordinary stone weapons and crude tools for all purposes were fashioned in the " workshops ”. Granted that the stone artisans became proficient in flaking off, there could be little speed in finishing and polishing. Where canoes were habitually built, one can see cartloads of broken scrapers and sharpening stones worn into great grooves, all arguing wear and tear on transient tools. It is a point worth discussion, although we may under-estimate the skill of the Stone Age man and over-estimate his wastage. Either that or there were very long periods of peace.

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MAT MAKING

The women, who worked very hard indeed, bearing burdens of shell fish, planting and tending the kumara crops and doing the cooking and camp duties, made mats for sleeping, and soft mats for wear. The phormium tenax (a broad leafed species of lily with blades up to Bft. in height), yielded a fibre as soft as silk if desired, and this, in various grades was used for many purposes. Geometrical

patterns were produced and colours introduced. The fringed Maori kits

I remember in my youth were exquisite articles. Even £5 years ago it was difficult to obtain one of like quality, so rapidlyhad the Euro-

pean machine-made article superseded hand labour

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WOOD CARVING

Carving was a passion with the Maori, and his scroll work was used not only for canoe figureheads, meeting houses and gateways and palisadings of forts, but even on the rudest wooden implements to give them dignity. He was an artist at heart, and his volutes are the admiration of art schools. It usually is thought that these spirals are imitative of the markings of the thumb and finger, but another theory is that it really represents the tradition of Snake Worship as carried on by the earth-dwelling Celts. There were many famous carvers in the old days, but the art dies out quickly, and as wood rots and crumbles, comparatively little remains save in museums. The motif usually included grotesque symbolical figures.

My friend, of Western Samoa, who read over this chapter before I left New Zealand, told me a most interesting fact, recently discovered, regarding Maori carving. Instead of being motiveless, it is full of meaning to those who can decipher it. Legend points to the Maoris living in Western Samoa on the Island of Savaii, in the district known as Palauli. This seems proved by one of the sacred names in the Arawa tribe of Maoris being " Rauru,” an important title in Palauli district now. It signifies " bread fruit branch ” ; in the Samoan “ laulu ”, the "1” becoming "r” with the migrants. Moreover, Arawa legends (depicted in their carvings) show that a dispute occurred between two brothers over the " uru ” tree, but the Maoris of to-day did

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not know what this tree referred to until philologists found the explanation. This is simply the " ulu ” or bread fruit tree, which is even now a subject of continual dissension. The breadfruit is a precious tree, because its fruit is of high food value ; it is very prolific and eases up the strain on the banana crop, while the wood is used in building the best houses, so that even as timber it is of considerable value. It also marks a boundary, and the next generation to the man who planted it may have a dispute as to whether it is on his land or his neighbour’s. Another point is that where a man is known to be using his neighbour’s unused land for catch crops such as taro and banana, there would be a stipulation that he must not plant breadfruit. The fact of his planting them, to the Samoan, implies possession.

TATTOOING

Tattooing was practised on chiefs and free men, women were tattooed on the chin as a rule. The process was exceedingly painful, the patient lying down while the operator tapped the stone chisel to draw blood and rubbed in the pigment, which when completed and healed, left a blue pattern. The process made the warrior a fearsome object, which probably was the underlying idea. Later on the faces of slaves were tattooed and the heads taken off for the purpose of selling to curio hunters.

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TAPU

Pre-eminent among the social laws was that of " Tapu ”, which means sacred, and the ramifications of the law were practically unlimited. The persons of all chiefs and priests were tapu, so were bodies of the dead and all that came into contact with them, persons employed in planting the kumara, sick persons and their attendants, war parties, those engaged on weaving, fishing nets or in fishing excursions, food touched with anything which was tapu. Trees suitable for canoe building, particular tracts of land or fishing grounds —in fact, it was within the power of the priests to render anything tapu. Those who violated tapu were told they would be punished not only by men, but by the gods. Many of the deaths of Europeans in the early days were not due to the bloodthirstiness of the Maori, but to the supposed necessity for avenging desecration. The law of tapu assisted the priests in the execution of “ Black Magic,” all that was necessary being a lock of hair or scrap of clothing belonging to the person to be " makutu ” and the days of the unfortunate victim were numbered. His own terror usually killed him. Women and slaves were the chief bearers of burdens, men having carefully had their backs made tapu.

The marriage observances were entirely civil. Priests were allowed to have several wives.

The tribal festivals were occasions for cementing the friendship of the different tribes and showing that hospitality for which the Maori is so well known. An enormous amount of food was prepared and con-

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sumed, so much so that tribes have been known to starve after their visitors had departed. To guests they would offer their last morsel of food and conceal the fact behind a show of plenty.

Dancing was a favourite amusement, and although some of the old-time forms were symbolical and ritualistic, and would have no place to-day, the graceful poi dance, usually performed by the women, and the haka are still in vogue. The latter was once a dance of defiance performed prior to battle, with tongues protruding, feet stamping, and harsh, fierce voices yelling imprecations on the foe. It was a blood-curdling sight, as those who witnessed it in the old days can testify. No wonder ships’ crews did not want to come ashore when they saw a haka in progress.

Music was primitive, but much work and canoe travelling was beguiled by songs with soothing choruses. It is a sweet experience to hear a group of Maori children sing. Large and small flutes were made from the quills of the albatross, or from the thigh bones of an enemy, there were also war trumpets, and shell and calabash trumpets were used on various occasions, large sounding boards being used as gongs.

The passion for ceremonial found ample scope in the burial services, those of the chiefs or priests being accompanied by long-drawn out and mysterious rites, while those of the common people were very much simpler. Only the polished bones of a chief were buried, the eldest son in some tribes retaining the atlas (or tu-uta) bone, sometimes, as in the case of a prominent chief. The head of the dead leader

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was taken off and, after the hahunga or feast of the dead, was carried around to all his kinsmen near and far.

Land-love has always been very marked with the Maoris. The land of a tribe belonged to all the people of that tribe and a chief’s territorial rights came to him in direct descent from the pioneer ancestor. Failing male representatives, the land descended to the female. The clearing of a patch of land by a member of a tribe constituted title to it, but the land was inalienable. Every Maori was required to know by what title the land claimed by his tribe was held, whether by right of original occupation, conquest, purchase or gift.

Each tribe governed itself, such government in higher matters being dictated by the priests, and in small matters by the people at their meetings. Military chiefs were distinct from the chief of the tribe, who was rarely a military general. An insult to a member of the tribe was considered as one to the whole tribe. Insults from man to man of the same tribe were settled on the Mosaic conception of justice (An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth). Intermarriage with the different tribes caused much intrigue, treachery and bloodshed.

RELIGION

The whole universe, according to the ancient Maori belief, was divided into three great states, Rangi (the heavens) represented the spiritual, Papa (the Earth) Mortality, and Te Po (the Darkness) Death. The highest heaven was known as Te

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Rangi-a-mai-waho and was the abode of lo or A, the Creator. In Rangi, the spiritual world, there were no less than 20 divisions. The soul of man was believed to be a ray from the power or " mana ” of lo or A, which becoming detached in the heaven of Tama-rau-tu dwelt there for a period and then descended to the lowest heaven —Te Rangiotane. Before the fully developed soul spread the uninhabited space, containing the sun, moon and stars, and across this each soul must take its flight before becoming enshrined in the body of an infant, where the dim flutter of " quickening " was the signal for its arrival. Below the abode of man lay the regions of Te Reinga or Te Po, also divided into 20 planes of darkness. Whatever might be the cause of death, it was believed that the freed spirit set out on its journey to Muri Whenua at the extreme North of New Zealand and there entered a cave to the first plane of darkness known as Te Uranga-o-re-ra or Reinga. Here was a river named Karo Karo Pounamu, whereon was stationed an ancient ferry woman Rohe. The spirit gradually descended and finally reached the lowest plane (Toke) and assuming the shape of a worm crawled blindly back to earth and died. Such was the tale of the soul's life for the common people, the " canaille.” Very different was the life eternal which was the heritage of chiefs and priests, who being the descendants of the gods, went back to heaven after death, and retained their ascendancy in a glorified earth.

The Maori conception of the beginning of all things before the dawn of light upon the earth was a period of darkness and empty silence gradually

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passing into life and consciousness, this period being called “ Kore ”, meaning literally “ nothingness Through countless ages and by slow process, there gradually evolved the wonders of creation. The gods, who were the offspring of the Supreme Powers, lived in utter darkness, since it was impossible to separate Heaven and Earth. Finally, weary of the age-long darkness, five of the principal sons of Rangi and Papa conspired to separate their parents. This was accomplished after many failures by Tane, with the aid of his brothers and a charm, or karakia. At the parting of earth and heaven, some of the gods remained with their Mother Earth and of these, Tane was the chief. Rehua, God of Beneficence, accompanied his father Rangi to heaven. Tane, filled with filial regret at the nakedness of his father, roamed to the uttermost limits for coverings for him and brought back the various clouds and also the stars, and desiring to beautify his mother, obtained, from Rehua, trees and seeds, all of which he planted, and therefore became God of Forests.

All people have some story of the creation, and that of the Maori closely follows the fines of Genesis, so much so that many have suggested that it was built up after knowledge of the pakeha Bible. But the Maori was not likely to have heard much theology from the old-time whalers, and it could not have penetrated the legends of the natives so completely before competent observers arrived. The Maori version of the beginning of the earth includes the rebelling of the heavenly dwellers against Rangi. Tane, having adorned his father and mother with clouds and stars and foliage, caught aIT the winds

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save two and created the great ocean of Kiwa and all living things down to the wingless weka. But he burned to create man, and did so from red earth brought from Hawaiki, moistened with his own blood. Into this he breathed the breath of life and called the first man Tiki. In the same way he created a woman whom he called 10-wahine and gave her to Tiki as a companion and wife. Their children and descendants peopled the world, and Tane, his labours ended, ascended to his father and remained in heaven. He fought many battles against the rebellious spirits and drove them into Hades and endless night. In revenge they stirred up the people of earth, exciting them to cruelty and bloodshed, thereby causing all the vices of mankind and animals. The resultant evils brought about the Flood, which lasted seven moons.

It is regarded as difficult to reconcile the Maoris’ lofty outlook upon affairs spiritual with the savagery of their warfare and treatment of their enemies. But records of early peoples abound with similar instances, and a Jekyll and Hyde nature is not unknown among the civilised peoples, as witness the diabolical crimes committed in the name of religion by all sects. The Maori held to his religion until the white man came, and then he discarded it at once. This may seem strange, but for untold ages the Maori and his forerunners had been held under the bondage of the priests and tohungas —they were priest-ridden to the last degree. Their interminable karakias or incantations, on each and every occasion, the instant death that could follow a breach of ritual or the intolerable tapu, the makutu or killing by

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suggestion, all became so nerve-wracking and burdensome that they gladly turned to a gospel of peace and love. Prolonged isolation leads to stagnation and eventual decay. The Maori had reached a stage of intensive warring and had no chance to develop. The Pakeha saved him from himself.

CHAPTER 111

THE COMING OF THE PAKEHA

The great migration of the Polynesian to New Zealand is set down at 1350, although the Maui Maori may have been here 1500 years before that time. That the country remained undiscovered so long is not strange if we look at the history of the so-called Old World. In 1489, about 140 years after the brown sea-rover came to rest on the shores of Ao-tea-roa, the brothers Columbus were petitioning the Courts of England, France and Spain for aid in those voyages of exploration which Christopher dreamed of after he gave up weaving to follow the sea. The rest of the world past the Mediterranean was unknown land peopled with demons, and regarded as flat until Galileo gave his life to prove it round. We can hardly imagine that Asia and

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India, the East and West coasts of Africa, North and South America and the great Pacific were as if they had never existed—knowing this, we view the past in the right light.

But with Christopher Columbus and his three little ships discovering the Bahamas in 1492, the West Indies in 1496 and South America in 1498, a new impetus was given to exploration. Cabot discovered Canada in 1497, Vasco da Gama made his famous voyage round the Cape and discovered the sea way to India. Many lesser men of no less daring followed these leaders, and the world became a new place full of interest and not of evil. With the great Elizabethan era, the seamen of Britain came into their own, Frobisher and Drake pushed into the Arctic regions in search of the North West Passage, and another old sea dog, John Exenham, was the first to lay keel in the Pacific round Tierra del Fuego. Drake sailed right round the world in 1578 and up as far as California. The way was clear then for extension of knowledge, and with the crudest instruments but with undaunted faith and matchless skill, another generation of sea-rovers entered the sun-kissed waters of the Pacific, with its thousands of tropic palm-girt isles. In the Dutch East Indies, now occupied by that sea-faring people, the Governor was Van Dieman, and he might have died practically unknown had he not possessed the idea of a Southern continent and despatched Abel Janszoon Tasman to make sure.

So that by 18th September, 1642, the Dutch navigator after turning the prows of the “ Zeehan ” and " Heemskirk ” South and voyaging through

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the tropic seas, arrived at what he called Nieu Zeeland. These quaint old boats dropped anchor in the bay just where the present town of Nelson now stands, but due to conflict with the natives, Tasman sailed away, calling the place Massacre Bay. He made accurate observations along the coast —and put the land on his charts, went away and discovered Australia on November 24th, 1642, then Tasmania, Fiji and the Friendly Isles. Returning, he made a second voyage in 1644, and discovered the Gulf of Carpentaria. Arriving in Holland many other matters claimed his attention, the question of this far-off land was pigeon-holed in the State archives, and, except by a few, was forgotten.

Nearly 127 years were to elapse before the Maori was visited, and then Captain James Cook, commanding the “ Endeavour,” dropped anchor in the bay off Tauranga on October Bth, 1769. Cook was bom at Marton, Yorkshire, in October 1728 and entered the Navy as a volunteer in 1749. Every spare moment was spent in study, his trend being towards mathematics and science, including astronomy. He was appointed master of the " Mercury," was sent to Canada during the FrancoBritish War, and detailed for survey and piloting on the St. Lawrence, the wonderful work he did bringing him the friendship of Sir Charles Sanders and Lord Colville. After the fall of Quebec and the conquest of Canada, Cook was appointed in 1759 as master of the “ Northumberland ”, in 1760 he was appointed Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and in September 1762 assisted in the recapture of Newfoundland.

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In 1763 Lieutenant Cook, serving under Captain Graves, surveyed the coast of Newfoundland and the adjacent islands and later the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In 1765 he was at Jamaica Station, his vessel being employed as despatch carrier, and in 1766 he observed the eclipse of the sun in Newfoundland. His studies in astronomy entitled him to high rank among observers, consequently when he returned to England in 1767 the forthcoming transit of Venus was the absorbing subject of interest among astronomers. It was to be observed at Otaheita or Tahiti as it is now called, and on his splendid record, Captain Cook was given command. In June 1769 the chief object of the expedition was successfully accomplished, but Cook had received further instructions to go South and see the land discovered and chartered by Tasman. He sailed South from Tahiti and found no Southern continent as was supposed, but he set his vessel towards Tasman’s early discovery, and on the afternoon of Monday, October 9th, dropped anchor in what is now Poverty Bay, on which Gisborne is built.

Cook discovered that New Zealand consisted of two islands, naming Cook Strait after himself. Then he made a complete survey of both Islands and spent from 6th October 1769 to 31st March 1770, a total of 176 days, doing the work with his usual thoroughness. Proceeding to Australia, he explored the Eastern Coast for 2,000 miles, returned Home on July 2nd, 1771, after three years of absence, was promoted to the rank of Commander and thanked by the scientific Societies for his wonderful discoveries. On July 13th, 1772, he set out on his

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second voyage of three years, to explore the supposed Continent south of the Arctic circle, the vessels given him being the " Resolution ” and the " Adventurer.” Prior to Cook’s visits, the Pacific had been partly explored by Wallis, Carteret and Byron, but how far the ocean extended to the West or by what lines it was bounded and the connection of these lands with former discoveries remained unknown until Cook brought back the solution. In after years and in the memory of this generation, many attempts were made to reach the Southern Continent which Cook included in his itinerary. By wonderful skill and perseverance amidst perplexities and dangers in these unknown seas, Cook reached a point nearer the Pole than that of any previous navigator. In fact it was not until 1823 that Waddell penetrated further South and finally in 1841 that Ross proved the existence of an Antarctic Continent, 450 miles in length. But with Cook lies the honour of the initial attempt. He did not find the Southern Continent, but he discovered New Caledonia and explored the New Hebrides. Then he turned again to the country which held a high place in his affections and returned to New Zealand, remaining 74 days (March 25th 1773 to June 7th, 1773). He came back again on 21st October and remained 36 days, leaving on 26th November for an absence of nearly a year. For the third time on that voyage he returned, staying from 19th October to 10th November, 22 days. These 132 days were packed with work and with observation as those who read his Journal and the book of his voyages will recognise.

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For his third and last voyage another expedition was fitted out, and on July 12th, 1776, he set sail with undaunted enthusiasm in search of the mysterious North West Passage and added much information to that illusive quest. He discovered the Sandwich Islands, now known as Hawaii, explored the Western Coast of North America (then a virtually unknown land) and ascertained the proximity of Asia. He passed through the straits between them and surveyed both coasts. He returned to the newly-found islands and was landng on the island of Ohaewai when he was killed by the natives.

One of the results of Cook’s visits to New Zealand was that the Maoris were fully aware of their backwardness in civilisation, particularly as regarded firearms. They had tragic evidence that the white man possessed something that they must have if they were to hold their own.

The way was now open, and occasional vessels touched New Zealand, but it was not until about 16 years after Cook’s visit that the adventurous spirits of the day began to make their appearance in search of seals.

THE SEALING INDUSTRY

Until 1808 few seemed to have visited the sealing grounds. In that year a vessel came from Sydney, and all the crew were killed and eaten, which further discouraged adventure of the kind. However, the Auckland Islands and the Chathams and Campbell Island became the resort of many sealers, the business being at its height between 1810 and 1820.

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Fortunes were made by the early discoverers of these grounds, a cargo of no less than 80,000 skins being obtained from the Macquarrie Islands. Abundant as were the seals, such extravagant slaughter was bound to exhaust the supply, and in 1815, instead of 100,000 skins being taken as was the case in the first year, the catch had fallen to 5,000. At that time a sealskin in Sydney was worth about 15/-, but prices rose as supply grew less, and in 1831 the last of the big catches came to hand. They were wild days, and vessels from all nations thronged the bays. Some of the sealing masters were great ruffians and drove their crews so hard that a number of them deserted and lived with the Maoris. There are many evidences of those early pakeha Maoris, the men being tattooed and living as natives. In spite of everything, one comes to the conclusion that these men, illiterate and brutal as they were in many cases, had an influence upon the natives that was not altogether bad. The native gained from the white people what was needed to help him leave the Stone Age.

WHALING

As might be expected, whaling ran at the same time as sealing. From 1808 to 1836 were really the palmy days of the industry, and enormous catches were obtained. American vessels were prominent in the business and did extraordinarily well. The whaling stations were scenes of idleness and riot while the fishing was not actually being done, and the men were bound to remain a considerable time,

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because they were in debt. Sydney became a great whaling centre as well, and vessels regularly made trips in the waters of the great continent as well as those of New Zealand, encouraged by the Maori chiefs, who obtained arms and ammunition by barter. In 1836, a total of 116 vessels called at the Bay of Islands alone, but as with the seals, demand reduced supply, and the industry languished for many years, later to reappear as a steady source of income, carried on under modern methods and with modern appliances.

THE TIMBER INDUSTRY

This followed hard upon the presence of ships in New Zealand waters and at first the chief requirements were for kauri masts and spars, a number of them being taken to Australia in 1814. Captain Cook had pointed out to the British Government the value of the Kauri, but it was not until 1820, when a shortage existed in Europe, that the “ Dromedary ” was sent in company with the schooner " Prince Regent ”, which had, as a passenger, Rev. Samuel Marsden. Mr. Marsden did all he could to push the sale of flax and to make the trade worth while, so that with others’ efforts the export of dressed flax to Sydney increased from ten tons in 1827 until in 1830 the Marine Department were purchasing all they could get for £45 per ton. This stimulated production, but the quality fell off and the price dropped to £2O per ton. Flax being obtained in swampy districts, very often far from the sea, many who sought it went through hard and

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precarious times. In each of the villages there was one British resident purchasing provisions and flax, and trading with both races. He usually married a chief’s daughter and was a person of influence in his district. With the advent of more population, these initial industries settled down into routine, and only came forward again in the years following fairly complete settlement.

WHAT ENGLAND THOUGHT

The Mother Country had no great opinion of New Zealand at this time. Information was slow and probably inaccurate, and when it was suggested that convict settlements might be formed as in Australia, the plan was promptly vetoed on account of the fierce and cannibalistic tendencies of the Maoris, among whom they were unwilling to trust the life and safety of the convicts. Captain Cook had displayed the fine mats made by the Maoris and the value of the fibre was immediately recognised, especially in view of the accounts that it grew in abundance.

In 1806, Governor King of New South Wales realised the importance of being on friendly terms with New Zealand and sent a present of five stock to Te Pehi, whose tribe resided in the Bay of Islands. The Chieftain appreciated this gift and shortly afterwards desired to visit his friend, the Governor. The matter was arranged, and with his four stalwart sons, Te Pehi was brought to the New South Wales capital in the H.M.S. " Buffalo ”. From this small courtesy, how far-reaching the effects. The Rev.

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Samuel Marsden, chaplain of the settlement, and a friend of the Governor, came into constant touch with Te Pehi during his visit. Full of zeal, he took every chance of learning about the country. Shortly after, Marsden visited England, and here again, as if by fate, he met Ruatara, a nephew of the great and terrible Hongi, who knew Te Pehi and his sons. With his usual great foresight, Marsden had this youth trained in farming for 12 months, with the idea of christianising and civilising the Maori through his initial influence. Giving him advice which fell on receptive ears, Marsden sent him to prepare the way for a friendly visit of two missionaries. Then came news of the cutting out of the " Boyd ” and the slaughter of her crew at Whangaroa. Undoubtedly this was one of many instances where disregard of the native law of tapu, as well as the British ideas of fair play, caused a terrible retribution being exacted from the natives.

New South Wales, under whose dominion New Zealand then existed, was greatly disturbed, but Governor Macquarrie realised that the white men were in the wrong, and he passed a law, penalising to the extent of £l,OOO, the captain of any ship who quarrelled with the natives. This was the only way, because the reward was offered to those who informed, and the crew were only too glad to pick up money so easily, so that matters remained much quieter. Following this decision, the first resident magistrate for the Bay of Islands was appointed in the person of Mr. Kendall, and although the advent of Christianity was delayed, civilisation on an improved scale was going on. White men had

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inter-married with the Maoris and their influence went to prevent any of the incidents which would have occurred in other years. Numbers of the Maoris being excellent seamen, joined the whalers and visited Sydney and even London, where they were greatly impressed by the wealth and magnitude of the pakeha’s country.

MISSIONARY EFFORTS

During these years 1809-1813, Marsden was making constant attempts to secure help from the London Missionary Society, but without success. So determined was he to carry on the work of evangelisation that he decided to go on his own account and in November 1814, in company with Mr. Kendall, sailed in the brig “ Active.” His first service was held at Russell on Christmas Day, 1814. Unfortunately, after an absence of two months from Sydney, he had to return, but he left everything in order. In the initial work, Ruatara, Marsden’s prodigy, did wonderful work, so much so that after his untimely death, Hongi of the Ngapuhi became the protector of the mission. Like a number of the other chiefs, Hongi had already been to Sydney, and being impressed by Marsden and Mr. Kendall, and having a high sense of the responsibility he had taken on, decided in March 1820 to go to England. Waikato, a chief, and Mr. Kendall accompanied him. He had a triumphant progress, was presented to King George 111 and made much of both by Church people and Society in general. These two finelooking men, beautifully tattooed according to the

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Maori standard, were objects of interest wherever they went. As a man of war from his youth up, Hongi was mostly interested in war-like matters. He looked around and kept his own counsel, but he enquired about the deeds of the great Napoleon again and again, and sometimes, we can imagine from his after actions, thought he saw in himself a likeness to the " scourge of Europe.” Hongi received many presents, what he valued most being a suit of armour given him by King George. And so he sailed away again, with his mind made up as to his future actions. Not for him the protection of the missionaries alone, although craftiness would warn him against quarrelling with them, but he knew what he could do with rifles against the other tribes. Arriving at Sydney he heard that his son-in-law had been killed by Maoris and thought it his immediate duty, as well as his wish, to take fitting revenge. He sold every valuable he had save his suit of armour and returned to his home. Early in 1882, less than 18 months from the time he set out for England, he was sailing up Hauraki Gulf in his war canoes with 1,000 men, camp followers, and 300 stand of arms. They swept up to the Thames in full war array, as was the custom of time and race, making no secret of what, in their opinion, was going to happen to the Ngatiraaru. This tribe hastily retreated behind its palisading and defied the invader. The defences were so strong that even with rifles, Hongi could not take it by assault, but by the old Maori method of treachery from within, gained admittance, and he and his followers killed and ate 1,000 people. Next year Hongi appeared with his canoes at the Tamaki,

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neax Auckland where two pahs were destroyed and another gruesome cannibal feast marked the victory. The broken remnants from these two pahs fled for their lives to the Waipa river in the Waikato, and with their Ngatimaru relatives gathered together a garrison of 4,000, but like furies, Hongi and his war-crazed men, supreme in their possession of guns, marched night and day to the attack, slaying as they went, fell upon a hapless rabble armed with stone weapons, and slaughtered 2,600. This awful holocaust and the cannibal orgies which followed it for many days, struck horror into the native mind, but also gave the survivors a determination that they would secure guns without delay. Consequently lands and tribal possessions of all kinds were parted with to secure what meant a chance for life. Hongi, satiated with his vengeance, returned home and continued his role of protector of the missionaries. This was quite in accordance with his character. He had a duty to do and he did it, but afterwards could resume any other method he wished. From time to time he sallied forth on the usual road of vengeance, and it is recorded that in 1826 he fought a desperate battle at Kaipara, clad in the suit of armour King George had given him and of which he had never relinquished possession. It is quite probable that in giving Hongi this out-of-date suit of armour, King George thought he was supplying him with a curio, but Hongi belonged to an age when armour was not obsolete, and he put it to the best use that he could. However, it did not save him the next year when he made another raid on his old enemies at Whangaroa, to take more “ utu "

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for the death of Te Pehi. Here he received his death wound, and passed away after a year of lingering pain. With all his other faults, Hongi was friendly to the missionaries, and asked his people to protect them.

It will be seen that the development of New Zealand in the early days was not rapid, and most of it was due to the missionaries. Sixteen years elapsed from Cook’s visit to the arrival of the sealers, and 22 years of wild and lawless semi-occupation preceded the arrival of Marsden, rightly called the “ Gregory of New Zealand.” It is difficult to estimate a man of such qualities, who, practically defenceless, landed on the inhospitable shores of New Zealand over 100 years ago, for the sole purpose of spreading Christianity among a horde of ferocious cannibals. The dual qualities of an unflinching courage of purpose and a sound commonsense helped him immensely. His serene Christian confidence, so nearly like the qualities of the old time Christian martyr, was almost superhuman. With courageous and daring spirit, helped by his serene belief in his God, he travelled on foot through the virgin bush, in the midst of the most warlike and bloodthirsty of the savage tribes he had come to subdue. He came to no harm, and his message bore immediate and lasting fruit. He did not attempt to enrich himself in any way, and paid for the purchase and outfitting of the ship which brought him. A farm of 200 acres he established was bought on behalf of the Missionary Society, as also was the 13,000 acre block purchased from Hongi. Not one acre did he buy for himself, nor did he allow any of his

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missionaries to do so. To Marsden largely is due the position of the present day Maori among civilised society. He was loved by his friends and honourably respected by those with whom he was obliged by his principles to disagree. Marsden was not regarded as of brilliant attainments, but was a plain man of tremendous moral earnestness and missionary zeal, with a faculty for understanding savage races and gaining their confidence. A sense of his own unworthiness seems to have been present with him always. He had the difficult post of chaplain to the convict settlement in Sydney, and was also a magistrate. Exposed to the constant hostility of the authorities of New South Wales, it was strange that he should have thought of missionary projects at all; still less inaugurate them. Yet he took keen interest in a project in Tahiti, his idea being to make his parish of Paramatta a centre of missionary enterprise in the South Seas. His views on the relation of Christianity and civilisation in the evangelising of the heathen were explained before his death. “ Civilisation is not necessary before Christianity, do both together if you will, but you will find civilisation follow Christianity easier than Christianity will follow civilisation." He had the chance to prove his words. Marsden was a great civiliser as well as a great missionary. He brought the first merino sheep to Australia and caused the first wheat to be planted in New Zealand, services which, added to his great and self-sacrificing work, can never be over-estimated. Great natural gifts, and the wide experience gained in his work, fitted him for a task few could have accomplished. He lived to see the ful-

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filment of his hopes and prayers, and died in 1838 esteemed and regretted by those who during his lifetime were his hardest critics and his most bitter opponents. He was honoured by New South Wales and worshipped by the Northern Maoris, among whom he repeatedly visited in journeys of increasing radius.

Marsden did not reside continuously in New Zealand, but paid seven visits between 1814 and 1837. On his fourth visit he was accompanied by the Rev. Henry Williams, one of the most notable figures of New Zealand’s history, who came out to supplement the work of the first missionaries, the Rev. John Butler and Mr. Kemp. The Rev. Henry (afterwards Archdeacon) Williams who thus landed in July, 1823, was afterwards joined by his brother, the Rev. William Williams, and so great was their zeal and so effective their work that Marsden deemed it necessary to remain in New Zealand only five days on his fifth visit. On his last visit, cheered by the progress made, he felt that his work had been successful and in the following year he entered into his rest. If ever any man deserved the words “ Well done, thou good and faithful servant”, it was that grand figure who moved among convicts and savages with confident trust and eyes of love.

It has been said that the Rev. Samuel Marsden was the Apostle of New Zealand, Bishop Selwyn the Organiser, but Archdeacon Henry Williams was the Evangelist who made the Maori turn from the horrors of continued tribal warfare, and the cruellest heathen and cannibal rites, to the faith and life of the Christian man. Born of a good Welsh family in 1792 he

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entered the Navy at fourteen and served honourably in nine years of active service, retiring after Waterloo. He studied for Holy Orders and attained knowledge of surgery and medicine. Ordained in 1822 he was at the Bay of Islands, North New Zealand, on August 3rd, 1823, with Mrs. Williams and their three children. The Maoris were impressed by his character and ability, by his great physical strength, fine appearance and dignity. He had the grand qualities of the British naval officer, and the hard, trying and dangerous life did not daunt him. What the missionaries suffered can scarcely be credited to-day. The natives were superstitious, uncertain, and cruel, and had to be handled with the greatest tact. Over seventeen years were to elapse before the establishment of law and order, and as may be imagined, the lawless spirits among the men who came in ships or settled on shore were antagonistic to the work of evangelising the savage. The Archdeacon persisted in his efforts and built a 50-ton vessel to allow him to visit other parts of New Zealand. In this he did a great deal of travelling on our rough and dangerous coast and when wrecked soon built another vessel. Nothing daunted him. He was far-seeing and knew what a wonderful future lay ahead of this beautiful land. His hand was always ready to help his fellow missionaries, the Government and Maoris or whites. His advice, taken by Governor Hobson, resulted in Auckland City occupying its present site. But above all he was the great peacemaker. Many times he passed between the lines of frenzied yelling savages, engaged in desperate warfare, and unheed-

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ing the bullets came out unscathed and made peace.

On the day of his death a great tribal war began. The fighting ranks were drawn up, and hostilities were about to commence, when a messenger rushed up to say that the great man had just died, worn and sick, but with his last words asking that there should be peace. Stricken with sorrow, the rival factions laid down their arms and joined in a tangi of real grief for the man who through forty-four years of unceasing endeavour had been their friend. Not since that day has tribe fought tribe.

While we talk of the great men who devoted their lives to missionary effort, it is fitting that we should mention the name of one of the gentler sex, Mrs. Henry Williams, devoted helpmate and companion, who accompanied her husband to those savage wilds, and dwelt alone, with her tiny children, while her husband was away on missions of peace among the fighting tribes. Against the dark background of massacres and cannibal feasts stands this serene figure of a young Englishwoman, buoyed up by a religion that expressed itself in fifty years of unremitting work. She it was who said amidst every horror, “ God will protect us,” and believing it, made the Maoris accept her faith in a Divine protector. Her work was extraordinary, and no circumstances made her relax the orderliness of her household. In 1830, when Russell was burnt during a tribal fight, she could see her husband striving to make peace, and the wounded were brought to their beach for first aid. Next day, Sunday, the fight still raged, but sendees were conducted as usual, and

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in the afternoon, with the uproar of savage warfare so near, Mrs. Williams took her class of native girls. With the vision of genius she brought the Maoris to appreciate her beautifully-ordered home, and the repeated failures and disappointments that would have wearied the most earnest missionary never disturbed her composure. Hers was a noble life co-operating with and supplementing the efforts of one of our greatest missionaries.

There were many other tireless workers, the Revs. W. Williams, Henry Davis, Puckey and Matthews, of whom much might be written, and Bishop Pompallier did wonderful work for the Roman Catholic organisation.

Bishop George Augustus Selwyn, Fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge, was appointed first to that high office in New Zealand on 17th October 1841, and arrived in Auckland in May, 1842. He reports the laying of the foundation stone for St. Paul’s Church and the selection of a cathedral site and dedication of a cemetery. He left for Wellington in 1842 and was a tireless worker and efficient organiser. He was appointed with Judge Martin joint trustee with the Chief Protector of the Aborigines.

GREAT MEN OF THE TIMES

In regard to the history of New Zealand for the first thirty years after the commencement of missionary effort, three missionaries and three men of affairs stand out as having had the most decisive effect upon the establishment of an orderly State.

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The three churchmen are Marsden, 1814, Henry Williams, 1823, and Bishop Selwyn, 1842. The others are Busby, 1833, Hobson, 1840, and Grey, 1845. The three first we have dealt with individuaally, the others are considered now.

James Busby, first British Resident, was appointed by the New South Wales Government, New Zealand then being part of that country.

A civil engineer, he arrived in New Zealand on sth May, 1833, and anchored at the Bay of Islands, to be received by missionaries and chiefs. He resided for some months with the Rev. Henry Williams while his own residence was being built. His period of office was unsuccessful, partly because of his own unsuitability for the position and his ignorance of native habits and customs, and partly through his powers being much curtailed by the authorities. The natives suffered him in silence, after not only insulting him but attacking him personally. The residents called upon him to do his duty. Yet Busby proposed the national flag of New Zealand, and on 28th October, 1835, induced 35 native chiefs to sign a declaration constituting an independent state called the " United Tribes of New Zealand.” Under this a provisional Government was to be established, one half of the council being natives and one half English. Mr. Busby also drew up the Treaty of Waitangi. In March, 1837, a petition was forwarded to the King pointing out the danger of the threatened usurpation of power in New Zealand by De Thierry and asking that the country be taken over by England and a Governor was decided upon in May of the same year.

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Governor Hobson, the first to hold office in New Zealand, arrived on 29th January, 1840. A lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he saw service among pirates in West Indies, afterwards commanding H.M.S. “ Rattlesnake ” which was sent from India to New Zealand. The hopes of the settlers raised by the Proclamation were disappointed in Governor Hobson. On 6th February, 1840, he procured the signatures of many Maori chiefs and others to the Treaty of Waitangi. It was said that one of the main objects of the Treaty was to forestall the New Zealand Company and others who were quickly acquiring large areas. So far as the Treaty went he had performed this part of his mission. An attempt was made by Hobson to establish the seat of Government at the Bay of Islands but after an effort to purchase an island for which an exorbitant price was asked, he gave in and went to Auckland, where the flag was hoisted in September, 1840. Hobson was hostile to the settlers, probably his attitude being due to the influence of friends. One of his earliest acts was the appointment of Native Protectors, chosen mainly from the missionaries. On sth May, 1841, a Proclamation was issued forming a Legislative Council for New Zealand. His troubles increased with dissensions between Government and settlers, and the difficulty of collecting revenue. Some officials he brought from Sydney turned out badly, and the people clamoured for his recall.

It must be allowed that he took control at a most unsettled and critical time, and had to work harder than any Governor since. Being of indifferent

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health he wore himself out in the thankless task of dealing with an indifferent Government at Home while friction existed between two races and the Government in the infant colony.

Hobson, with his ill health, was not the man for the situation. A system of local Government had been formed in Wellington, rendered necessary by the apathy of the Home Government to provide necessary authority. In the midst of this strife and turmoil, Hobson was informed that the New Zealand Company had arrived at an agreement with the Home Government and was told to treat the settlers on the Cook Strait with kindness and consideration. This was the last straw, Hobson sank lower and lower, and died at 49 on September 10th, 1842, after 31 months office.

Sir George Grey, K.C.8., D.C.L. was bom at Lisburn, Ireland, on 14th April, 1812. His father, Lieut. Col. Grey, fell at the siege of Badajoz three days before the birth of his son. Grey was educated at Sandhurst and joined the 83rd Regiment, later on commanding an expedition to Australia. On the death of Governor Spencer of South Australia, Grey, being in command, took over the reins of Government and the Home Government ratified the appointment. In 1845 Grey arrived in New Zealand. Hone Heke’s war was then being carried on in the North and he immediately took vigorous action to bring it to a close, and terminated it by the storming of Ruapekapeka. Disturbances took place in Wellington and Wanganui, but were soon quelled. Grey was knighted in 1848. In 1847 he established pensioner settlements around Auckland

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and the Imperial Government was ready to give a constitution to New Zealand but acceptance was postponed by Grey owing to the unsettled state of the Colony until 1853. After governing New Zealand well for eight years he was made Governor of Cape Colony, but in iB6x circumstances were such that he was again sent to New Zealand. The Taranaki War had commenced and the Waikato tribes were in a very discontented state. Grey left New Zealand again in 1868 but returned in about two years and took up his residence at Kawau Island in the Hauraki Gulf where he acclimatised flowers, birds, and animals, collected many valuable books and records of native life and other subjects, and wrote several books of value, chief among them being " Journals of Discovery in Australia ”, " Polynesian Mythology ”, " Traditions of New Zealand ”, and “ Proverbial sayings of the Ancestors of the Maori Race.” He later accepted office of superintendent of Auckland Electorate. His politics were distinguished by his ultra-democratic opinions and his objection to the abolition of the provinces. On the defeat of the Atkinson-Vogel Government in October, 1877, he became Premier of New Zealand.

The stage was thus set for those who were to play leading parts in the great drama of New Zealand, with tragedy as an unlooked-for interruption. Great missionaries and many minor ones of all creeds, leading minds in the Government, and those who sought to colonise on other lines, were to come into the discussions that inevitably arose as the various acts unfolded themselves. Even at this brief distance of time it is difficult to arrive at the real reason

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for many things that were done; to be very definite involves a close study of the personalities and the times, which might not be warranted. In this book there is no desire to act as a judge or to impute motives.

THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY

To explain the sequence of events it is necessary to give details of this land settlement Company, which preceded the Treaty of Waitangi, and was, indeed, the cause of its being drawn up so speedily. During 1825 a Company was formed in England to procure spars and flax. The Board of Trade approved of the scheme, and a Royal charter was promised. The project cost £20,000, but came to nothing. This company appears to have been the parent of the 1839 venture, as eight of the directors of the former are found in the latter, but the real founder of the new Company was Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who was managing director until 1846. The capital was £400,000, the Earl of Durham was Governor, and there were several members of Parliament amongst the directors. On the faith of alleged agreements for the purchase of lands a capital of £lOO,OOO was paid up. The old Company stood in the way of the new one in obtaining a charter, and it was necessary to recoup the losses of the old Company, £20,000, out of capital subscribed. To add to the founder’s troubles, the Colonial office strenuously opposed the project. The promoters persisted, and sent out the “ Tory ” from Plymouth on May 12th, 1839. Those were

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troublous days afloat, and she carried 8 guns and a picked crew, the passengers including Colonel William Wakefield, Edward Jemingham Wakefield (son of the founder), Dr. Dieffenbach, naturalist, and a slave from Cook Strait who had been in Mr. Wakefield’s house for two years. After a three months’ voyage, on August 18th, the “ Tory ” anchored in Ship’s Cove and then proceeded to Port Nicholson. Colonel Wakefield was met by two chiefs, was offered the harbour and adjoining lands, and in two or three days the purchase was completed. Goods given as purchase moneys comprised among other things 135 stand of arms, 21 kegs of gunpowder and one cask of ball cartridges. The New Zealand flag was hoisted and saluted. With characteristic vigour Wakefield at once went to Cloudy Bay, where he learned that Wairau Valley had been sold to one Blenkinsop for an old sixpounder gun. From Cloudy Bay he went to Kapiti Island, where he found the natives fighting over the proceeds of Port Nicholson sale. He then purchased the interest of the Ngatitoa in all their lands on both sides of Cook Strait, leaving the interests of the Ngatiawa and the Ngatiraukawa and Wanganuis to be obtained, which later was done. He left Kapiti but was unable to land at Wanganui, and reached Taranaki on 27th November, 1839. Leaving Mr. Barrett to purchase land he proceeded to Hokianga in the Far North, and reached there on 2nd December. Next day Baron de Thierry came on board, and these two nation builders met. On 13th December he bought Blenkinsop’s interest in the Wairau. Leaving Hokianga the “ Tory ”

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went aground at Kaipara, Wakefield went overland to the Bay of Islands, and eventually boarded the " Aurora,” the first of the settlement vessels dispatched by the Company, which brought 146 passengers. Locations were allotted on the beach and huts and tents erected. Wakefield meanwhile dispatched the brig he had chartered to bring him from the Bay of Islands to render aid to the stranded “ Tory.” The barque had on board goods to complete the purchase of Taranaki and Dr. Dorset had instructions to call in and bring away Barrett and Dieffenbach. The " Guide ” left Kaipara for Taranaki on the same day that Governor Hobson arrived in New Zealand.

After the dispatch of the “ Tory ” from England, the first thing the Government did was to extend the boundaries of New South Wales to include portions of New Zealand, and on 13th July, 1839, Captain Hobson was made Lieutenant Governor of any territory acquired by England in New Zealand, receiving instructions to persuade the chiefs to unite with Great Britain, establish a settled form of government and induce the chiefs to agree to sell no more land without first offering it to Britain. As the New Zealand Company apparently not only wished to buy land and settle it but also to set up a form of government, appoint their own magistrates, raise a militia and levy taxes, Hobson was instructed to stop this. The Treaty of Waitangi which was signed not long after his arrival was the outcome of this policy of the Government and Hobson’s instructions.

Up to February, 1840, the Company had dis-

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patched 12 vessels with 1,125 passengers. A provisional constitution formulated by the Company was agreed to by many chiefs. On 23rd May, 1840, Hobson issued a proclamation calling upon this illegal Association to be broken up, the proclamation being taken to Port Nicholson by Shortland, and received without opposition. The British flag was hoisted, the Provisional Government declared illegal and the proclamation declaring the United Confederation of the United Tribes of New Zealand (as drawn up by Busby) was read. A meeting of citizens thanked Wakefield for what he had done. A further meeting resolved to petition the Governor of New South Wales to look into the question of land titles, which it seemed would mean a state of chaos, owing to the attitude of Hobson. This Land Bill, which excited much indignation among land owners in New Zealand, was passed by the New South Wales Legislature and empowered the Governor to appoint Commissioners to examine and report on claims to grants of land in New Zealand, 45,000,000 acres, or about one-half of the country, having been bought from the natives. The New Zealand Company’s purchases were about 20,000,000 acres for which £8,983 was paid in muskets, tomahawks and trade goods. A proclamation by Governor Hobson put an end to land “ buying ” of this kind. The Land Act was subsequently repealed by the Legislative Council at Auckland and a statute empowering the Governor to appoint commissioners was passed, no grant exceeding 2,560 acres to be recommended unless specially authorised by the Governor. The New Zealand Company’s scheme,

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though not perfect, was far in advance of the measures adopted by the Government. Wakefield’s original scheme was defeated by the introduction of foreign capital, and it is a matter of regret that the Company did not receive more encouragement, instead of being allowed to carry its plans a certain distance and then have to stop.

On 12th February, 1841, the Company was granted its Charter on condition that it waived all land claims and agreed to receive from the Crown a grant of one acre for every 5/- reasonably expended by the Company for colonisation. This offer was accepted. The New Plymouth Company was formed in 1841, and their first purchase from the New Zealand Company was 10,000 acres, to which was soon added another 50,000 acres to be allotted out of lands Wakefield claimed to have purchased. These operations of the New Zealand Land Company worried Hobson, although he had procured the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, but he felt that in the main the hurried purchases of Wakefield would be illegal. The two factions were therefore at loggerheads, but the Company determined to carry on. Hobson issued a proclamation that no notice would be taken of any claims of the Company excepting 110,000 acres immediately around Port Nicholson, but the Company took no notice, relying upon influence in England to ratify their proceedings. This they received, and Hobson was obliged to give way, but that did not in any way settle the native side of the question. Encouraged by their success in selling lands in Taranaki and Wellington, the Company issued a prospectus in England offering

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to sell a block of land in Nelson, and much controversy arose with Governor Hobson, but the Company would not give in. Colonel Wakefield claimed this land as part of his purchase from Te Rauparaha in 1839, and dispatched surveyors to peg out the block. The natives calmly pulled up the pegs and burned the huts. Captain Wakefield with a magistrate and armed force immediately proceeded to Wairau and met the natives. Apparently in ignorance of the “ tapu ” which made the body of a chief sacred, he handcuffed Te Rauparaha. In the general excitement, a shot was fired which killed the daughter of a chief, and who was also the wife of another chief. This was too much for the natives, who rushed the party, killing Captain Wakefield and eighteen others. Only the influence of Mr. Hadfield and Wiremu Kingi prevented the natives from following the exhortations of their blood-mad chiefs to drive the British from the country.

Governor Hobson died in 1842, to be followed by Captain Fitzroy, who forgave the natives for the Wairau Massacre, apparently because he thought the whites were the aggressors. But such forgiveness was taken by the natives as a sign of weakness and cowardice ; the prestige of the pakeha sank and the arrogance of the natives rose. The efforts of Selwyn, Hadfield and the Williams family were of no avail.

In December 1841 more trouble arose by the claim of the Taranaki natives that they had not sold the Taranaki lands, that the Ngatiawas had no right to sell, as they (the Taranakis) were owners

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by right of conquest. This matter was eventually settled by further payments.

In 1844 the Commissioner appointed to investigate titles allotted the New Plymouth Company 60,000 acres. The natives were much incensed and sent for Governor Fitzroy, who arrived, declared the whole transaction void, and allowed title to 3,500 acres around New Plymouth. After this the Waikatos objected to the sale and the award, and events then commenced which led finally to the Taranaki War. Owing to opposition by the Governors the Company suspended operations in 1844. Parliament granted them loans of £236,000, but default being made the Charter and all lands then held were forfeited, the directors to receive 5/- an acre for all land acquired by the forfeiture. This money was paid over in 1858 and the whole matter settled.

The name Wakefield is a household word in New Zealand, and rightly so when we admit that the present prosperity and well-formed society comprising the inhabitants of New Zealand are mainly due to his and his brother’s great knowledge and ability in colonisation. His character was complex, inheriting as he did from his mother, a Quakeress, imagination, decision, romance and philanthropy, and from his father the characteristics of a man about town, buoyancy of spirit and a certain irresponsibleness. It was these latter traits that secured for him a term of imprisonment when a young man for abducting a young girl of thirteen and marrying her at Gretna Green. His association while in prison with criminals destined for Botany Bay may have

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been his first reasons for his thoughts and plans on colonisation. After his release he went with Lord Dunham to Canada and was mainly responsible for the able report which was given by Dunham on his return. He had no wealth, but was a great student of human nature and interested many prominent men in his colonisation scheme. None could gainsay his ability to carry out his ambitions. Wakefield had literary ability of a high order, and amongst his many writings can be found prophecies of what is actually happening in the various Dominions at this day. His proposals for settlement were original, attractive and generous, and were carried out in New Zealand as far as possible, and so as not to conflict unduly with the efforts, such as they were, of the Home Government. He was bold and fearless, and when every other means failed, took the law into his own hands, as instanced by his operations with the New Zealand Company before obtaining a charter, his actions regarding the Taranaki lands (which he maintained had been wrongly taken from him) and his conflicts with Captain Hobson.

THE PART OF THE FRENCH

Perhaps no subject is less clearly understood than the part the French played in the settlement of New Zealand. When Britain hesitated to annex the territory the presence of the French stimulated them to action, together, of course, with the setting out of the New Zealand Land Company. The story of the French desire to hoist their flag at Akaroa, often referred to as the " Akaroa Myth,” has been

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told again and again, with a wealth of detail. Without pretending to settle a controversy that has lasted so long, it is sufficient to say that a careful reading of Captain Hobson’s letter of instructions can only mean that he was sure annexation was complete, but with a French war vessel in our waters and a ship load of French settlers about to land at Akaroa, it was as well to make assurance doubly sure. Therefore he sent a vessel with magistrates to open Courts and let the world see that New Zealand was wholly a British possession.

This was in 1840, but in 1858 there was a project by the Marquis de Rays to establish a colony for people of colour, on much the same lines as that now prevailing in Liberia. No mention was made as to how land was to be acquired for these people.

The French were ever active in the Pacific and New Zealand waters, and long before the Treaty of Waitangi was thought of, or the subsequent safeguarding action at Akaroa, many notable Frenchmen had visited the land. D’Urville a century ago discovered and navigated the channel to-day known as French Pass, at the head of Tasman Bay, between D’Urville Island and the north of the South Island. His corvette, the L’Astrolabe, lost part of her false keel in this perilous adventure. The same intrepid navigator made a visit to Hauraki Gulf and the Waitemata in 1827. He anchored between Motukorea and Motuihi Islands, not the first to see the present site of Auckland, but took more pains to describe and examine it than others. Even Cook lay off at Tiri and speculated on the possibility of sheltered waters, Marian du Fresne, whose tragic

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fate and that of his crew at the Bay of Islands has been a topic of many writers, discovered the kauri tree, and he with Crozet, his subordinate commander, drew the naval world’s attention to its value for spars. A noted forestry expert said that it was a pity for our forest resources that the French did not annex the Islands, as no French Government would have tolerated the incredible waste of natural resources that went on for a hundred years and resulted in the destruction of our kauri and other forests, the like of which the world had never seen.

In 1840 the French frigate L'Aube, famous for the Akaroa visit, had proceeded to the Bay of Islands, and was anchored. The Ngapuhis were in a great state of unrest, and the French commander, Lavaud, offered to stand by and help the white settlers in the event of war. In the absence of a British ship this offer was accepted and deeply appreciated by the inhabitants of old Kororareka. When the danger was past and L’Aube sailed out, it was with an address of gratitude, and amidst the ringing cheers of the admiring and thankful settlers. New Zealand’s relations with the French have, in truth, been very happy and mutually helpful.

There remains the matter of Baron de Thierry, whose operations were carried out long before the New Zealand Land Company’s second attempt. Here again, the popular idea is incorrect. This gentleman, a British naturalised subject, and an officer in the 23rd Lancers, has been greatly misunderstood and maligned. In 1822, when the new land was being discussed, many versatile minds

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thought to establish a state that would be an improvement on the old social system in regard to land. De Thierry was at Cambridge when Hongi and Mr. Kendall were there on a visit. Kendall possibly interested De Thierry, and agreed to purchase land on his behalf. This purchase, of 40,000 acres, was made and the deed forwarded in 1823, the land being on the Hokianga River. On receipt of his land title he applied to the British authorities for advice and recognition, to be told that New Zealand was not a possession of the Crown. He applied to the French Government without success. He could not get a party of colonists in either country. He went to London in 1826 and opened an office for intending colonists. In 1835, still trying, he went to New Granada and negotiated for permission to cut the Panama Canal and so bring New Zealand within 80 days sail from England and also to establish a mail service. Mr. Busby, the Resident, hearing of these efforts, told the chiefs that De Thierry laid claim to the sovereignty of the land and advised them to make a declaration of independence. In his position Busby could scarcely do less, he made the best of a situation created because no one at Home in power wanted the Dominion.

De Thierry landed in November 1837 with 93 followers, and a salute of 21 guns and the display of flags led him to believe that the royal state he aspired to was a reality. But disillusion awaited him. The purchase had never been properly completed, and the natives repudiated it. He was given 1,000 acres, and set to work with great good sense and skill to make roads and build houses on the estate.

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He kept law and order, he ruled as a minor king in his small settlement, and introduced trial by jury. Fair to Maori and white man, he said the rights of the natives should be protected, as was done later in the Treaty of Waitangi. He had pressed the British Government for protection, but this was not given till the Treaty was signed. De Thierry died in obscurity in Auckland, a man who by reason of the failure of his associates was in a measure a failure himself, but who, under better auspices and lacking the bitter and underhand opposition he received, might have comported himself in a manner worthy of a king and ruled wisely and well. De Thierry does not rightly come under the heading of the French enterprises, but he is so regarded and is here mentioned. One day the imaginative writer will find material and to spare in the lives of these dreamers, who were inspired by the tales of a wonderful land and sought to order it that their dreams might come true.

GENERAL SETTLEMENT

Now launched on the road to stable Government, the young Colony grew apace. Settlements were formed in all directions. In 1842 the " Jane Gifford ” and the “ Duchess of Argyle ” cast anchor in the Waitemata, the first settlers to travel direct. In 1844 a tract of 400,000 acres was being bought from the remnant of natives who occupied the coastline between Otago and Port Molyneux, and in 1848 a band of Presbyterian settlers had landed. In 1849, a second colony was planted in the South

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Island under the auspices of the Church of England. The great central plains of Canterbury were handed over by Governor Grey to the Canterbury Association, which was founded on the Wakefield lines.

At that time extraordinary inducements were offered in Australia if settlers would come over. One party obtained 400 square miles from Tewhaiki (Bloody Jack) for £7O worth of trade goods, but could not carry out Government residence conditions and lost it. That area on the Molyneaux includes what is now the town site of Balclutha and the coal mines, and is worth two millions.

The town of Waipu was founded by Mr. Norman McLeod and a number of tenants evicted from Sutherlandshire. First they went to Nova Scotia, built a boat and proceeded to Ohio. Then, on invitation from a friend, they built a 100 ton boat and 130 of them sailed for Adelaide, where Sir George Grey made them an offer of land in North Auckland. They came over, and their descendants hold it to this day. Men strong enough and bold enough to thus set out for a new land must be a wonderful asset to a new country.

Puhoi, north of Auckland, was entirely inhabited by Bohemians, and they keep up many of their old customs and dances to this day. They have “ made good,” but at first they had hard work to keep destitution away.

John Robert Godley, agent for the Canterbury Association, having faithfully discharged his duties, returned to England in 1852. He left a flourishing settlement, yet in 1837, when the Society was formed in London for the colonisation of New Zea-

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land, the Government refused to sanction it, and twice the Canterbury Plains were abandoned as unfit for settlement, whereas they now form the granary of the province.

It was in 1850 that the first colonists arrived in Lyttelton, and a number went to South Canterbury a year later. It was a country of wonderful possibilities, beautiful in its virgin state. Mile upon mile of huge tussocks could be seen. Settlers had to take up land where there were not even tracks, or bridges over the rivers. Makeshifts of all kinds were adopted but even gently nurtured women did not flinch from their share of roughing it. The pioneers, as always in a new country, had big hearts, abounded with enthusiasm, and a determination to work incessantly, and leave nothing to chance in order that they might achieve an independence, however small. It was a hard life in many ways but we of the next generation were very happy. There were not many luxuries, the lads chopped all the wood for the homes ; there was neither gas nor electric light, of course, but there was the wonderful bush, full of beautiful birds, and as we grew older we had our guns, and game abounded. Many places were very isolated. When a child I had part of a finger cut off, and it meant a 30 mile coach ride to a doctor. There was not much prosperity about 1870-86, because sheep were in over-supply and had to be boiled down for tallow, but after 1886 refrigeration came in and the new era of sheep-raising arrived. People turned their hands to anything. One man was a milkman, and afterwards founded a newspaper which is a fine property to-day. People encouraged the settlers to do what-

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ever they thought they could succeed at, and it is still the charm of the Dominions, that a man or woman can step out into any occupation they fancy.

New Zealand to-day can show isolated places to compare with those of the old days, but the degree of comfort obtainable is vastly different. Then the land was in the making, now it is a place of smiling farms, and a healthy population living in a general state of prosperity. Butter and cheese factories, grain, cattle and sheep are all helping to bring in wealth, and make the path easier for the many thousands of new-comers that the Dominion can readily absorb each year. New Zealand can readily keep ten times her present population, thus forming a gradually developing market for the old country and an outlet for her population who desire to go overseas and yet remain British.

It is difficult to believe that so much has been done by a mere handful of people and it is a great tribute to their character. From the first they were picked colonists, men of their hands, not afraid to work, with plenty of ability as well as muscle, in some cases perhaps hard bitten, but men of character, as a rule temperate and clean-living, many remote from churches but ready to welcome priest or evangelist. Climate and natural resources were in their favour, also the betterment of communication with the markets at Home. Hospitality was unbounded. The people lived the simple life, and the women did much of their own work. Years take toll of the pioneers, but their work remains.

After the original settlement by Provinces, im-

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migration was repeatedly checked by rumours of wars with the Maoris and by substantial stories of distress amongst settlers. In iB6O there were 80,000 whites in New Zealand, but in 1861 the gold rush took place at Gabriel’s Gully in the South Island. During the next four years this brought 100,000 men to New Zealand from all parts of the world and even when the easily-won gold was secured and the fields were deserted, the population had increased from 80,000 whites in iB6O to 237,000 in 1869. The gold output reached its height in 1866, when £2,844,000 worth was mined. The South Island had enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity, but the North was troubled with Maori wars. Except for a common feeling of resentment at neglect by the Home Government, the Provinces were absorbed in their own affairs. The public debt rose to £8,000,000 and then development and wealth awaited two agents, men and money. The man of the moment was Julius Vogel, who held office in the Fox Cabinet of 1869. He became Premier in 1873, but long before that was the real head of Government. Vogel’s scheme to lift the country out of the slough of despond was to borrow £10,000,000, over a period of 10 years, for general development. Fearing the opposition of the all-powerful landowner he abandoned the best part, dealing with the reservation of land for immigrants he intended to bring out. New Zealand entered upon a term of prosperity, building railways and public works, and between 1872 —1881 the public debt increased from 10 to 28 millions. The land intended for settlement of immigrants was secured by the moneyed classes, who

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forced values up, and the small settler was prevented from settling by various artifices such as " grid-ironing ” which meant cutting up in such a way that title could not legally be secured to adjacent blocks. Then there was the battle of the abolition of Provincial in favour of Colonial Government and this brought out Sir George Grey. Vogel retired and Grey formed a Ministry, after defeating the Government on a want of confidence motion. His first act was a tax on land values and he also reformed the tariff, but before completion of his scheme his hasty temper and petulance estranged many of his old friends and supporters and he was defeated in 1879. Hall took office and adopted Grey’s programme. The country was then in the depths of its depression, but by 1882 had recovered, and has never looked back.

To sketch the political history of the Dominion is not in the scope of this work, but it was a time of great men who faced the problems of a new country unflinchingly and brought to the task a very high standard of ability and of personal integrity. To these’qualities in its statesmen, of whatever political party, is due the undeviating progress of the Dominion in wealth and general happiness.

CHAPTER IV

THE MAORI WARS

As is often the case after the arrival of white men, the natives had difficulty in adjusting their point of view to that of the pakeha. Many of the very able men, educated and otherwise, who came out took a sane and logical view of the position and tried to see that the Maori had fair treatment. The Treaty of Waitangi was designed to settle the whole question with its three clauses, but recent history shows that no such easy plan can be followed, and that no mind is great enough to foresee and guard against individual and factional desires. Hence, with jealousies existing in the Government, friction with the New Zealand Land Company and the effort of the early arrivals to acquire tracts of land by barter with the natives, the general feeling was one of unrest.

HONE here’s WAR — 1845-1846

The Bay of Islands, centre of Government, attracted, in addition to our own nationals, a great many foreigners, wild and lawless men who felt that their freedom from restraint was a thing of the past,

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and took pains to sow discontent among the natives. The British flag which fluttered from the staff at Kororareka was pointed out as the symbol of subjection. Then arose a leader in the person of Hone Heke, a high-spirited chief, educated at the mission school and married to the daughter of the great Hongi —a chief whose savage warfare, aided by the first firearms, decimated the tribes. Small wonder that with a father-in-law emulating Napoleon, Hone Heke himself should have felt the call to arms.

He organised meetings, and the natives assumed a new attitude, roving about in bands, asserting that their rights had been taken from them by the Government. They did not interfere with the settlers until a quarrel arose between the Maori wife of a storekeeper and a woman of Heke’s tribe, and, the white man refusing to pay " utu ” or payment for the supposed insult, Heke and over 100 of his followers, helped themselves from shops and stores. Archdeacon Williams and the Native Protector induced Heke to promise that next day, Sunday, he would not molest the town. He kept his promise, but on Monday he started early, and after a fusilade of musketry, cut down and burned the obnoxious flagstaff. Action was imperative and Governor Fitzroy promptly sent 30 men to Russell in the boat " Sydney,” with instructions that she should then proceed to New South Wales for help. Time elapsed and the Governor, with Bishop Selwyn, the Native Protector and 15 men arrived at Russell to find the " Sydney ” landing 150 men of the 90th Regiment, and two guns. The country was very difficult of access and the troops were taken to Kiri Kiri en

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route for Kaikohe, 29 miles from the east coast, Heke’s headquarters. Matters were serious. On all hands there was apprehension. Waka Nene, friendly to the white man and fearing for his own people, sought audience with the Governor and persuaded him to retire, undertaking to keep Heke in order. The flagstaff was re-erected and the troops sent back. Heke wrote to the Governor and asked him to come and see him and discuss matters, receiving a promise that this would be done, but further disturbance was immediately caused when a constable arrested a native for drunkenness, and accidently injured the native wife who was attempting to rescue this man. Again " utu ” was considered necessary, and the natives seized a number of horses, breaking into the gaol and stealing arms on October 23rd. Events simmered for two months, with every effort to make peace, but early in January, Governor Fitzroy felt it neccessary to offer a reward of £5O for the apprehension of three native chiefs who were accused of fomenting trouble. Hone Heke, as the leader, promptly took up the challenge, and to show his feelings, on January 10th again cut down the flagstaff, although this time with no disturbance. A week later a reward of £lOO was offered for Heke’s arrest, which he resented very bitterly. Again troops were sought from Sydney, but not being used before, there was no response. The authorities in Auckland did not wait, 50 soldiers were sent from the City, and an ironshod flagstaff was erected in a blockhouse, the warship which conveyed the soldiers standing by in the Bay. Against the orders of the Governor,

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residents flew to arms, and volunteers drilled in every centre. On March 22nd, the gunboat " Hazard ” with the American corvette " St. Louis ” and the whaler " Matilda ” put into Auckland filled with refugees, and news that Russell had been taken and sacked on the nth. Scarcely had she dropped anchor than the ship “ North Star,” with 200 men of the 58th Regiment, arrived from Sydney. The story of the refugees was that the town of Russell had been attacked, the blockhouse surprised and taken. The magazine blew up, accidentally, and, without ammunition, the defenders retired to the ships. Had the natives so desired it, they could have cut off every man. Their actions throughout showed that they had no quarrel with the settlers, but were incensed against the Government, to whom they looked for redress. Russell need not have fallen had the military been prepared and not overconfident.

Immediately the young City of Auckland was put into a state of defence and a garrison of 300 men raised. Martial law was proclaimed at Russell, and the natives told that those who were not for the British must be regarded as against them. Waka Nene engaged in overtures with the natives, who listened to his arguments and seemed favourably impressed. On April 28th, 300 men under Colonel Hume and 50 refugees under Mr. Hector, landed at Russell, moving on to Kawa Kawa, where a white flag was flying over the Pah. Nevertheless they seized the place and the chief, sending him to Auckland. There was nothing provable against him and he was soon released and given a boat as

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“ utu.” Further troops embarked at Onewaro Beach, marching along the banks of the Kere Kere to attack Heke’s pah at Okaihau. Desperate fighting took place all day. Heke was prepared, his men were well armed, and desperate in the thought that their dissatisfaction and desire for constitutional adjustment had resulted in the call to arms. Fifteen killed and 41 wounded was the heavy loss of the British, and this was not compensated for by the fact that the natives lost still more heavily. After the fight, as was often the case in Maori warfare, the natives decided to retire to a stronger position. Waka Nene took the side of the British, and in guerilla warfare, Heke was badly wounded. However, Tawhai took up the work of building the new pah at Ohaeawai, and this was put up rapidly and strongly, because British forces were massing and being reinforced by soldiers, sailors and volunteers, so that by the 16th June, when 700 men and four small guns started a gruelling march of nine days through almost impenetrable bush, to cover the few miles that separated them from the enemy, Heke was ready for them. Determinedly they battered at the defences with their four-pounders, and strove to carry the palisades by assault, but all efforts were in vain against the quick work of Tawhai. Fighting day by day, messages were sent to hasten despatch of bigger guns. On arrival of the 32 pounders, Colonel Despard ordered the assault, directly against the advice of Waka Nene, but this was repulsed with heavy losses. It was a second Badajoz in that the attackers stormed up to the broken and splintered palisades, strove desperately to climb up and throw

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themselves over, but were shot or clubbed before they could gain entrance. Notable among the dead was Lieutenant Philpott of H.M.S. “ Hazard," who, while gallantly leading his blue jackets to the assault, scaled the palisade and was shot dead. The result of the battle was a tremendous blow to a young colony, over 100 being killed and wounded out of the little force of 200 which moved to the assault, and among them being a number of wellknown settlers. The British would have given up their camp, but again the friendly native used his persuasive powers and they held on until more ammunition arrived for the big guns. Then the natives, seeing that they were about to be beaten, evacuated the pah. After these losses and the exhaustion of the troops due to fighting in such desperately rough country, reinforcements were necessary before moving on to Ruapekapeka, or the " bat’s nest,” a pah harder of access, and much stronger than the one they had just taken.

Preparations were made slowly to crush the rebellion, which was likely to spread over the whole Peninsula, but no efforts were spared to bring about a satisfactory peace, it being no part of the Government’s desire to have conflict with the natives, especially in the light of the newly signed Treaty of Waitangi. Therefore when Governor George Grey arrived on November 14th, 1845, he at once took active measure to bring the conflict to an end. But no parleys could effect this, and as a force of 1,200 was now available, together with many friendly natives, the Bat’s Nest was put under fire on January Ist after sortie after sortie was made by

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the beseiged ; they strove to carry the war into the attackers’ camp, but were repulsed by the friendlies under Waka Nene with heavy loss. The fight continued day after day, until on Sunday, nth January, Waka Nene’s scouts approached breaches in the palisades, and found the occupants outside engaged in worship. They signalled to the troops, and thinking the end justified the means, possession of the pah was gained almost before the natives realised what had happened. Seeing the forces arrayed against him, Chief Kawhiti sued for peace, and was granted a free pardon. Due to the urging of Waka Nene, a true friend to both sides throughout, clemency was exercised, and there was no attempt to punish the natives more than had been the case. Our losses at the Bat’s Nest were 13 killed and 31 wounded, while the natives had suffered heavily from gun fire and had lost position and prestige. Poor Hone Heke pined away, and at the age of 42 years, died of consumption. The chief Kawhiti, 72 years of age when he took over the command after Heke’s wound, died at the age of 80 years in 1854, and lies at Russell, his resting place marked by a monument. So ended on January 22nd, 1846, what is known as " Heke’s war in the North.”

FOUR OTHER WARS

There was to be no further fighting with the Northern tribes, but even while Heke’s war was in progress, trouble was taking place between the settlers in Wellington Province and the natives,

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chiefly over land. The Maoris not agreeing with certain sales, resumed a fairly large acreage and dispossessed the owners. Governor Grey was promptly on the scene, and after satisfying himself that the natives were wrong, showed them that he had sufficient forces to make them leave. In this he was supported by leading chiefs like Rauparaha and Wi Kingi, but some Maoris got out of hand and plundered settlers’ homes. A strong force of regulars, volunteers, and native friendlies was established in Porirua district, the road through this rough country, already started by the New Zealand Company, being pushed on. The murder of an old settler and his son brought matters to a head, and as the chief Rangihaeata announced his support of the murderers, two gunboats proceeded along the coast, where the natives were friendly. Rauparaha came on board the steamer, and agreed to the suggestion that troops should take possession of the pah of Rangihaeata, who had retired to the hills and was occupying the stronghold of Pahautanui, amidst tremendously difficult country. Grey occupied a strong post and pushed on his road, being always alive to the great importance of good communications.

A month later occurred the incident of Boulcott’s Farm, which will live always in our history, by reason of one of those deeds which shine among the annals of the British race. Fifty soldiers of the 58th Regt. were stationed at this farm, in what is now the Upper Hutt, guarding the approach to Wellington at the Bridge. A non-com’s guard, with a bugler named Allen, a little lad of barely 13 summers, slept

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in the tent, while a sentry, posted on a height nearby, paced to and fro in the darkness. In the hour before dawn a strong body of natives crept through the dense bush and encircled the tent, one dispatching the sentry. The Maoris silently rushed the tent and aimed blows where they knew the soldiers were lying. Aroused instantly, the gallant bugler crawled out and raising the instrument to his lips, stood up to sound the " Alarm.” A tomahawk stroke cut off his right arm, but snatching the fallen bugle with his left, he succeeded in blowing a part of the call in the instant before a further stroke sent him to eternity. Instantly the camp was awake and alert, and by desperate fighting the attack was repulsed, but not before six of our soldiers were killed and four wounded.

Further attacks and the killing of three soldiers from a reconnaisance party was followed by the murder of another settler, and there was an outcry for decisive action. The Governor preferred his own quieter methods. Rangihaeata interfered with the supplies for the troops on the coast at Porirua and although it did not cause serious stoppage, it was inconvenient, especially as Rauparaha was suspected of playing a double part. The Governor determined to seize Rauparaha, and he and a few followers were taken as State prisoners to Wellington. There has been much discussion about this action. However, the capture made Rangihaeata abandon his pah and take to the bush ; this pah being occupied was used as a centre for operations. In August 1846 many fights took place, losses on both sides being heavy. But the ringleader, Rangihaeata,

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having fled, and his forces being broken, it was decided to pursue him no further, and operations ceased after having lasted for five strenuous months.

Peace reigned for 14 years, and the young colony grew apace. There was no war in the South Island, but in the North, where the country was inaccessible, heavy forests and huge mountain ranges alternating with tremendous swamps, and all inhabited by a large and very warlike population, it was possible to cause a conflict which would take a good deal of stamping out. In consequence of many and peculiar causes a war was started in Taranaki which lasted intermittently from iB6O until 1869.

In the early part of 1863, a temporary cessation of hostilities in Taranaki released a number of Waikatos who had been helping West Coasters, and returning to their homes, they started a disturbance of their own (the Waikato War) which required desperate fighting before peace was finally declared in 1864, so that from iB6O to 1869, there was fighting on the West Coast against the Taranakis, in the Auckland Province against the Waikatos, and on the East Coast against the turbulent Te Kooti. It is well to hold this in mind in order that the difficulties of the situation may be appreciated.

Te Kooti. in 1868. escaped from the Chatham Islands, with a number of his fellow prisoners, landed in Hawkes Bay and swept through the country like a whirlwind. This necessitated fresh operations, and the rebellion was not quelled until 1869.

There were also spasmodic outbreaks and chiefs

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like Te Whiti came into prominence, but all had the same cause in dissatisfaction over the growth of the European settlement and the occupation of the land as viewed by a native race.

THE TARANAKI WAR — 1860-1869

After a long interval of comparative peace, no one dreamed that so disastrous a war would have been brought about and that in turn it should be the spark which would kindle the hatred of the Waikatos for the white people and precipitate a bitter conflict which would be carried to the gates of the Capital itself and threaten the Sovereignty of Britain. In some ways the Waikatos themselves were responsible for the Taranaki War, as slaves returned to the West Coast claiming that the Waikatos in occupation of Taranaki land had sold it without right. Many other causes, no doubt, led up to the war, but it began as a quarrel between different tribes of Maoris themselves. The New Zealand Company was again in trouble, because in pursuance of its thwarted desire to obtain land after having been forestalled by the Treaty of Waitangi, they purchased from the Waikatos, and when Governor Fitzroy refused title, the consequent ill-feeling on both sides, caused the natives to form an anti-Land Selling League and proclaim Potatau as the Maori king. Great efforts were made to prevent another war. At this date it is hard to assign blame, but afterwards the missionaries were accused of not using their great influence to prevent the conflict. However, the

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spark which eventually ignited the conflagration was the action of certain natives who prevented the Government officers from surveying a portion of land purchased from Teira.

This was in 1859, when Sir George Grey had gone to England after eight years of splendid and strenuous work, and Governor Gore-Browne was installed. In March this Governor went to Taranaki because of the extension of the movement to establish a “ King ’’ who would uphold law among the Maoris and stop tribal feuds. What the Maoris meant was not so much a king as a Chief Magistrate, but Governor Browne, as distinct from Governor Grey, did not understand the natives or their language, and took a high-handed attitude with them. The poor natives were thrust back upon their own resources, not even being able to make their explanations to the Governor. Therefore, when Te Whero Whero was installed with much ceremony at Ngaruawahia in 1857 it was held to be a hostile movement. Tribal quarrelling did take place, and blood was shed.

Therefore at the Taranaki meeting, when the Maori chief Teira offered to sell land on the Waitara River, and asked for immediate acceptance, the Governor agreed, providing the title was clear. Wi Kingi, whose services on our behalf during the Wellington operations should have entitled him to consideration and respect, immediately protested. He said Teira had no right to sell the land, that he himself had it in his hands, and he would not permit its sale —never, never, never ! To his tribe he said " Let us go ”, and withdrew. Unfortunately the

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Governor thought this rudeness, not remembering that when Tamihana had sought to see him in Auckland he had been refused, which was the cause of the whole trouble. What Wi Kingi meant was that there was no use talking further, as his mind was made up. The Governor was urged to disregard Wi Kingi, and he did so, though the Maoris tried to explain that Wi Kingi had the right of disposal, and that Teira was practically a tenant, or lessee. In those days there was no Native Land Court, as now, to determine titles. It is of little avail to say that in four years the land was returned to Wi Kingi, and he was shown to be right. Few and broken was his tribe, and the country had been plunged into a conflict which decimated the tribes and cost many brave settlers and soldiers their lives, apart from the legacy of debt and trouble descending to future generations. Wi Kingi, thus made the scapegoat of a fancied grievance of Teira, was to be ejected from the land. Surveyors were sent, and started to lay it out in sections. Even then the Maoris did not really resist, but the ugliest old women of the tribe were sent each day to kiss and hug them, and so delay the work, and to pull up any boundary pegs they succeeded in driving, Martial law was proclaimed and the 65th Regiment camped on the disputed land. The Maoris still urged enquiry, but more troops were sent, until 500 soldiers were on the ground, with a gunboat at the mouth of the Waitara. No resistance was offered, but a stockade was built across the road, and this being abandoned on demand a pah was built in a night and on March 17th iB6O the pegs were again destroyed. It was

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the tale of Heke over again. A few days later the pah was bombarded, an assault made, after three soldiers had been wounded by bullets, and the pah was found empty. Only then was the task ahead realised.

The news flew from pah to pah, and the natives rushed to arms. Wi Kingi took charge, and wasted no time. With 500 men he occupied two strong pahs, one in the disputed area and one outside. Three outlying settlers had been murdered, while the Rev. Brown and his family and other settlers were in danger and were rescued by No. 10 Company of the 56th Regiment with blue jackets and volunteers. A sharp engagement was fought all day on 28th March and Wi Kingi was defeated and wounded, with the immediate consequence that his forces became disorganised and started to melt away. There was not a great number of natives capable of bearing arms, possibly 1,000 in all, opposed by an almost equal number of regular troops and able-bodied volunteers. On April 16th a gunboat arrived from Australia with 141 of the 12th Regiment, 45 artillerymen, four guns, six mortars and a large amount of ammunition, followed eight days later by 230 of the 40th Regiment. Wellgarrisoned stockades were erected at Omata and Bell Block. Nothing eventuated for two months, but the tribes were busy, and on June 23rd iB6O a party of the 40th Regiment w T as fired upon. Preparations were made for attack which did not succeed by failure of one force to junction. Reinforcements arrived, the Royal Engineers and the 64th Regiment, 200 blue jackets, 112 of the 12th

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Regiment, the final detachment comprising 250 of the 40th Regiment. New Plymouth was fortified and entrenched and preparations were made for decisive battle.

Wi Kingi meantime was not idle. He scoured the country and appealed to the Waikatos to join in. They assented with enthusiasm, and on sth November crossed the Waitara in force, and entrenched at Mahoetahi Hill, but were immediately attacked and driven out by Major John Pratt, with a force of 600, which lost four killed and six wounded, while the natives lost 71 killed, among them the chief of the Waikatos. Pushing forward, position after position was taken around Huiranga, and one of the longest saps on record was started towards the foot of Pukerangiora, where the natives were strongly entrenched. As a diversion, the natives from the South occupied Waireka and Burton’s Hill, and erected 10 pahs with great rapidity. Again a plan to dislodge them failed by lack of co-ordination, but January 3rd 1861 resulted in the turn of the tide in favour of the British. On that morning, as the day dawned, a party of 140 natives, headed by two noted chiefs, suddenly appeared before No. 3 redoubt and with fierce yells and cries tried to rush the position. But the sentries were alert, the alarm was given and a desperate struggle took place in the semi-darkness, lasting until 6 a.m., when the natives were compelled to withdraw, after having killed five British and wounded eleven, but themselves lost 49 killed and many wounded. The same day the 57th Regiment arrived from India with 342 officers and men, seasoned veterans of the Mutiny, and General

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Pratt maintained his sap, entrenched the position, built and garrisoned three more redoubts. Colonials considered sapping questionable strategy, because the natives were ever alert and picked off the men, while there were forces and guns enough to have stormed Pukerangiora.

From time to time guerilla warfare resulted in officers and men being shot, and there was no sign of submission in March, although the natives must have known that they could not win. Bishop Selwyn and Chief Justice Martin repeatedly wrote to Wiremu Tamehana asking him to negotiate peace, and on the Governor joining in these overtures, he consented to discuss the position, and met Governor Ferguson with Waka Nene and Major General Cameron. A lengthy korero ensued for several days, speeches being made covering the whole of the subjects under dispute. At length Hapurona and a few followers of the Waikatos agreed to return home, but Wiremu refused the terms. These were (a) that title and survey of lands at Waitara be continued, (b) all land in possession of the army to be disposed of as thought fit by the Governor, (c) the Governor to have the right to reserve blockhouses and redoubts and land around them for public reserve, and the rights of those proving title to Waitara lands to be respected, (d) all guns belonging to the Government to be returned, and Ngatiawa must submit to the authority of the law. There were 64 signatures of chiefs to this treaty, but the Taranakis said they would await the decision of a native conference. Matters remained quiet until 26th September, 1861, when Sir George Grey arrived

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as Governor, in place of Governor Gore-Browne, who became Governor of Tasmania. With his previous knowledge of New Zealand and of the natives, Sir George Grey thought he could settle the question, and in December set out a new policy, which however, turned out to be a failure. Matters remaining quiet, the Taranaki militia were disbanded on February 14th, 1862, and settlers who had fled to Nelson returned. In July, 1862, road construction was being carried on, and the natives held a great gathering of protest, declaring that if the road went past Waitara, this would amount to a declaration of war. No notice was taken, and parties of natives commenced to move overland. Mistaken confidence prevented any steps being taken to know what this movement meant, but too late it was found out that they were emissaries of the tribes coming to Taranaki to ask the disbanded natives for help in starting another war in the Waikato.

To readjust matters in Taranaki Province, the British decided to take over Tataraimaka, which the natives claimed by right of conquest, and declared would not be given up unless the British in turn gave up Waitara. Between the 12th and 30th March, 500 soldiers arrived, and on April 4th the place was taken and a redoubt built. Once more the native population seethed with discontent and their threats of retaliation were heeded by settlers, who gave warning of ambuscades, but Governor Grey, still over-confident of his powers, took no heed. On 27th April, 1863, the momentous news was spread that a rebellion had broken out in the Waikato, that troops were wanted for Auckland. A detachment

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of the 40th, 56th and 70th Regiments was despatched. On May 4th a party of the 57th, going to New Plymouth, was waylaid and killed. A week later, the Government issued a proclamation giving up Teira’s Block to the natives, the reason being that there were circumstances unknown to the Government at the time of the trouble. Had this belated enquiry been made when the natives protested, and the justice of their claim been acknowledged, war for that cause at least, would not have occurred. Whether it would have stayed ultimate conflict is another matter, because the age-long question of the ownership of land was cropping up every day.

However, once more forces were moved forward and rushed the native position, inflicting heavy loss. Once more battle raged along the Kaitake Ranges and Tataraimaka was given up for the second time. On March 24th small engagements took place in which the success was not all on the side of the British, but on April 30th, 1864, the natives were heavily defeated at Sentry Hill, and by Bth October, the long sap made by General Pratt was concluded. Hapurona’s stronghold at Te Arei fell on the nth, while village after village was secured. In October 1864, the Governor felt so secure that he issued another proclamation offering pardon to rebels, who were not murderers, surrendering by September 10th, but this had very little effect and the beginning of 1865 saw General Cameron proceed to attack the rebels at Wanganui. Fighting through to Patea on March 13th he heavily engaged the enemy at Kakaramea, with a loss of one killed and three wounded, while the natives lost 33 killed. General

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Cameron did not proceed much further North, but Colonel Warre pushed forward and took Opunake and Warea. These operations took nearly half the year and considerable dissatisfaction was evinced on all hands at 10,000 troops being kept idle, while General Cameron wrote secret dispatches to the Home Government, complaining that the Colonial Government were recklessly exposing troops. Due to various causes, General Cameron resigned, and Major General Trevor Child took command. As the Imperial Government had been reluctant to provide the military aid Taranaki required, the Colonial Government had passed the New Zealand Settlement Act of 1863 confiscating 93,435 acres, of which 35,000 were allocated to military settlers, so that they would combine for protection. About this time the Imperial Government began to recall its troops in accordance with Imperial Regulations, and the majority returned —leaving the war unfinished and the responsibility upon the Colonial Government. Command now fell on General Chute, and he determined, if possible, to crush the rebellion without delay. He marched from Wanganui on December 30th, 1865, through the bush, took a number of strongholds early in 1866, and after a trying march, arrived at New Plymouth on 27th January. He pushed forward at once and ended a five weeks’ campaign on 6th February.

However, this did not end the war, and all remained inactive, while the Imperial troops continued to be withdrawn, until at the end of July there was not one Imperial soldier in Taranaki.

For a time everything lulled, but the menace was

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present. Nothing had been properly settled, and in consequence neither Government nor settlers knew exactly where they stood. Isolated quarrels with the natives were frequent, and finally, as was to be expected, the position became intolerable. The Waikato War had long ended, but disaffected natives were passing and repassing, therefore the Government ordered the raising of an armed constabulary force, under Major Von Tempsky. In the middle of the year, the Maoris surprised and defeated the garrison at Turuturumakai, and the new forces attempted to cut off the natives, but did not succeed. Bush fighting in those days was no light work. The natives knew every crag and every track. Adaptable as the settlers proved themselves, they could not be expected to cope with the knowledge of generations. Therefore victory and defeat were evenly divided. The newly organised Forest Rangers performed prodigies of valour and thendeeds are worthy to be made the basis of many stirring stories. But at Te Ngutu oTe Manu, the famous Major Von Tempsky, Captains Buck, Farmer and several others were killed, and the force disorganised by lack of their clear heads and long knowledge of bush strategy. Murders and ambuscades followed hard one upon the other. Titokowaru, one of those splendid leaders who seemed so plentiful among the Maoris in all ages, made for Wanganui, burning farmhouses and spreading destruction in his wake.

To crown all, the news came that Te Kooti had escaped from the Chathams, and was flinging his band across the Island. Excited by these successes,

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and encouraged by the withdrawal of troops the native “ mana ” was great in their own eyes. They suddenly appeared at a British post, near New Plymouth, and murdered three men, a woman, and three children, with the Rev. Whiteley, who rode up unsuspectingly. Then, without further atrocities, and as if this slaughter had satiated the Maoris with blood, the war was ended then and there, after having dragged on for nine weary years.

The war had continued under circumstances which prevented all development, and which drained the district of all its best settlers. It seemed best to accept a cessation of hostilities and to end the conflict that was keeping up bitterness between the two races. To have'done otherwise would seem to have committed the New Zealand Government to the Maori principle of “ utu,” a constant vendetta of revenge. This had been the curse of New Zealand for 600 years under Maori rule, and could not be tolerated in a civilised Dominion.

THE WAIKATO WAR — 1863-1864

As if the war in Taranaki, which had gone on for three years, was not sufficient, a temporary cessation of fighting on the West Coast released numbers of the Waikatos who had been assisting the Taranaki natives, and they returned to their own homes imbued with the idea of keeping up the fight against the pakeha. They warned settlers and missionaries, and smashed up the small Government printing works at Te Awamutu. Perhaps it was all a case of larrikinism, as some people think, and might

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have been stopped by more conciliatory methods, but at this distance, and in a settled community, it is not possible to visualise what conditions were like in those days and how arrogant and dictatorial the Maori could be, especially if he were given any latitude. So when Aporo, the leader of the gang, flaunted himself in Auckland streets he was promptly arrested. At once the natives demanded his release and threatened reprisals. Unlike the Bay of Islands natives, the Waikatos hated the settlers, and were only too ready for an excuse to fight. In spite of the efforts of Wiremu Thompson and others, the spirit of rebellion spread, and an attack was made on settlements as near Auckland as Drury, 26 miles away. During the Taranaki War a military road had been pushed on, and this being completed, a detachment of the 40th regiment which was garrisoned at Auckland erected a large redoubt at Pokeno, as a base for operations. A camp was formed at Otahuhu, nine miles out of Auckland, and the towns of Wairoa, Drury, Mauku and Waiuku were placed in readiness. Meanwhile the natives had drawn up strong fortifications near Rangiriri swamp on the Waikato River. On 23rd June, 1863, Sir George Grey issued a proclamation calling up the citizens of Auckland between the ages of 16 and 40, for a militia. The names of the 400 required were drawn by ballot and the pay was 2/6 per day. There was a very poor response, and a proclamation was issued asking information as to shirkers. Then, as now, there were men who came forward readily and from public spiritedness as well as from a love of adventure, but there were others who thought it no part of their

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duty as settlers to engage in war. Reinforcements came steadily from England and camped at Otahuhu, the 12th, 14th, 18th, 65th and 70th Regiments being represented with an artillery section of 170 men and nine guns. On the West Coast the gunboat “ Harriet ” dispatched, with 30 seamen, six large boats, which were carried overland to the defence post at Maungatawhiri Creek. Nearly the whole force at Otahuhu with other reinforcements under General Cameron and to a number of 2,000, occupied the Queen’s Redoubt, and were thrown across a strong position in the hills. Isolated settlers were now in a precarious position although a great many would not come in, but preferred to stay on their holdings and take their chance of defending their homes and possessions. The dogged spirit of the British was never more in evidence than during those perilous days. Men, women and children went about their business in the bush clearings, never knowing night or day when the dread war-cry would be heard and the tattooed warriors would rush their frail defences. With increasing danger, too, recruiting became more brisk and colonial defence forces and rifle volunteer forces were formed.

On nth July, 1863, Governor Grey issued a proclamation to the natives threatening repeal of the Treaty of Waitangi, which had been entered into by both races, and which had been deliberately broken by the action of the natives. No notice was taken, and murders of isolated settlers continued to take place. A week later the natives were reported by the scouts to be in force about two miles from the outpost, and a party immediately sallied forth and

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engaged them heavily, inflicting casualties of about 150 killed and wounded, while the British lost one killed and 12 wounded. Next day a convoy was attacked and repulsed, but our losses were five killed and eleven wounded, this attack showing that the natives did not intend to retreat into the Waikato, but to harrass the lines of communication. It became necessary to establish posts along the road, which absorbed one-tenth of the forces.

At this time, under General Cameron, there were over 4,000 Imperial troops, from many famous regiments, and later on in the campaign, further reinforcements were received, together with other field artillery, a military train, Royal Engineers and the Hospital Corps. Auckland had settled down to war and all resources were available. From every hand came strong, able-bodied men, intent upon concluding the fight, and four splendid regiments of colonial militia, each 1,000 strong, were added with the naval brigade under Commander Wiseman. After the attack at Koheroa, the militia were ordered to active service and men of all trades and professions took their place in the ranks, a matter which is regarded to-day by the survivors and their families with justifiable pride. Meanwhile, the natives had taken up strong positions around Hunua and Pokeno Ranges and from this broken, heavily-wooded country they attacked isolated settlers. General Cameron stayed on the defensive, awaiting the arrival of the steamer “ Avon ” which came up from Onehunga to the position at the Bluff, near Drury. Around this wooded region there was now incessant activity, Major Von Tempsky and Lieutenant

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Jackson distinguishing themselves, among many brave men, by their hazardous expeditions in search of information. The natives had two cannon, taken from a wreck. These they dragged 200 miles across country and mounted at Mere Mere. They had no shot, but they used sash weights or any old iron. The Maori was not one to tolerate inaction and in consequence he sallied forth in several instances and killed numbers of the soldiers and captured their rifles. The work of the campaign went steadily on. Reinforcements, stores and arms arrived regularly along the great waterways of the Manakau, and along the Waikato River. Great deeds of heroism were displayed, some of them meriting and receiving the Victoria Cross. Week after week, month after month, the conflict continued at different parts of the battle area, and the natives, being driven out of one stronghold after the other, scattered about the country, attacking individual settlers, waylaying convoys and working parties. The peculiar mentality of the Maori in regard to war was shown by a singular incident. They apparently took the whole thing as a matter of course, and believing in taking no undue advantage of an enemy, they were grieved to leam that General Cameron was short of food. This they regarded as extremely inconvenient to a fighting force, and they sent a canoe full of provisions, under a flag of truce.

When General Cameron was ready, he advanced and turned the native position at Mere Mere. Towards the end of the year, large forces went towards the East Coast and erected Miranda Redoubt, and the natives who had retreated at Mere Mere, fell

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back on Rangiriri. This position was attacked by troops who came by land and water, General Cameron having a staff of many brilliant soldiers.

At 3 p.m. the boats arrived simultaneously with the land forces and heavy bombardment was commenced. The main redoubt was protected with a parapet 20ft. high, and for this the scaling ladders were too short. For some reason, a small party of 36 artillerymen, under Captain Mercer, were ordered to make an assault, although 600 infantrymen were lying under cover. The little force was cut to pieces, losing its captain and most of its officers. Next the general ordered Commander Maine with 90 men from the " Eclipse ” to move to the assault, but the Commander was severely wounded and the attack was unsuccessful. Darkness stopped the conflict, and the troops took cover against a hot fire continued all night by the beseiged. Early next morning, engineers commenced a mine in order to make an approach in the palisade, but almost immediately a flag of truce was raised, and the garrison surrendered. Not all, however, were taken prisoners because of the 600 who were invested 100 were killed and 183 gave up their arms, so that half the force escaped by the back way through the swamp. The British casualties were 43 killed and 89 wounded. The Maoris are said to have surrendered as they did because they had absolutely no water. The prisoners were sent to Kawau Island, but afterwards escaped. The moment was propitious for a conclusion, but although urged by Wiremu Thompson, the natives would not surrender, and retreated further inland. A petition was sent to Sir George Grey

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asking for restoration of the Waikato, but he replied that no negotiations could be entered into until all arms had been laid down. The natives would not agree to this, and on 18th December, General Cameron moved up the Waikato River and hoisted the British flag at Ngaruawahia. With extension of the lines of communication, transport had become a big problem, and a large depot was established at the Waikato Heads, coal being found and mined at Taupiri, a few miles from headquarters. Again and again Governor Grey started out to make peace but without avail, and the battle line was moved further and further onward. The tremendous difficulty of the conflict was recognised at Home, and Britain kept pouring out reinforcements from barracks and detaching them from India until the largest force Britain had herself put in the field was here. The natives in different parts were also helping their fellow-countrymen, which necessitated troops being detached to divert these reinforcements.

By January 28th. 1864, it was seen that although there was hard fighting still ahead, the wild, difficult country had been so completely traversed and was so well-known that the troops were on much the same basis as the Maori. For this, great credit is due to the Forest Rangers, whose useful work had gone far to shorten the conflict. Still, with the best will in the world there were many surprise attacks, as for instance, on February nth when soldiers were bathing and the natives surprised them, to receive a surprise themselves as the soldiers sprang from the water and fiercely engaged the Maoris. It was thought that General Cameron intended to advance

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on Paterangi with its strong and well-placed fortifications, but instead of doing so. he made a swift march past it and reached Te Awamutu with i,ooo men on February 21st, immediately pushing on to the fortification at Rangiaowahia, which was tumultuously deserted. The fortifications at Hareahi were assaulted and taken, and on March 2nd, two river steamers ascended the Waikato River system to where the town of Hamilton West now stands, afterwards proceeding as far as Cambridge. This meant that a position had been secured in the very heart of the Waikato Territory, and General Cameron proceeded to attack at Maungatautari.

Before this action, Brigadier-General Carey advanced to dislodge Rewi Maniapoto from a very strong position he had taken up at Orakau, a few miles from Te Awamutu. In this he was supported by an adequate force including the Forest Rangers, under Major Von Tempsky, and a part of the Waikato militia. This was one of the bestknown encounters in the whole of the wars against the Maoris, famous for the stand the natives took and for their shout of defiance when called upon to surrender. The fight raged for three days and two nights. Backwards and forwards went the tide of battle. The natives, outnumbered and with their muskets and clubs against big guns, save that they had the shelter of their wonderful palisading, repulsed attack after attack. During a lull in the fighting, and with the same love for a brave enemy as had the Maori, the British Commander asked the chief to surrender and so save needless bloodshed, but was refused, with the reply that will five while

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New Zealand history is told. There was no help for it, the pah had to be taken, and assault after assault was made until at last the British would not be denied and they forced their way into it. As might have been expected, the native losses were very heavy, besides several chiefs there were 130 of the rank and file killed or wounded, while the British losses were 16 killed and 252 wounded. The result was a blow to the Maoris, they abandoned Mere Mere and fled into the interior. Once more Governor Grey deemed the moment opportune to arrange peace through the means of the kingmaker, Wiremu Tamehana (or Thompson). In consequence, Mr. George Graham, a member of the House of Representatives, volunteered to see Tamehana, with whom he was well acquainted. The Chiefs were supposed to be at Matamata, which to-day is a few hours’ run in the train, but then it was indeed a perilous journey. However, Mr. Graham was as good as his word, and by tact and good judgment, induced Tamehana and 60 other chiefs to agree to make peace. An opportunity was made for the chiefs to dine with General Cameron, and this desirable peace was inscribed on the fly-leaf of a private letter. All was rejoicing among the settlers, but unfortunately it was the prelude to further trouble. No sooner had the Waikato tribes dispersed to their homes than their allies who had come up from Tauranga menaced the tribes at Te Papa, nearly 400 natives appearing in front of the British outpost and with wild shouts and yells of defiance, opened fire on the sentries. Driven back, they took up their position at Pukehinahina, after-

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wards known as the Gate Pah, and here another sanguinary encounter was to take place.

On April 21st, General Cameron arrived, with a flying column of 300 men. The Arawas, a friendly tribe, having been threatened by the Ngatiporou, a detachment was sent to their assistance, but on the relief coming up, the Arawas refused to advance against the enemy and the party had to return to camp. Further trouble ensued through some friendly natives not giving the alarm and enabling the enemy to entrench themselves in front of the British Fort at Makitu and sapping towards the redoubt. The situation was critical, but in good time two gunboats steamed up the river, and turned their guns upon the enemy, scattering them to the winds. The same evening a detachment of seamen arrived at Te Papa and three days later was decided upon for storming the pah. The previous evening, under cover of a feint attack, the 68th Regiment and the Naval Brigade drew across the rear of the pah, to prevent escape. Proceedings opened immediately after daybreak on the 29th, and the artillery, comprising 15 pieces, including a gun throwing a Ixo lb. shell, concentrated incessant fire upon the palisading. A breach was formed and widened every hour. The enemy would have attempted to escape by the back trail, but being forestalled, were driven back by the alert soldiers and sailors. At 4 a.m., the breach being wide enough, a signal was given to move forward, the honours of the storming party being divided between the Naval Brigade and the 23rd. They gained their objective and actually drove the enemy out of the pah again. But for some

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reason they retired, and caught between two fires, desperate as cornered animals, the Maoris fought with all the skill and bravery of their race. So great was their impetus that the British could not face them, and retreated to the nearest cover. Again and again futile attempts were made to rush the position, till night fell on the battlefield. Throughout the hours of darkness, the natives made a great noise, which was thought to be lamentation for their dead, but morning broke on a deserted pah, the Maoris having escaped through gaps left in the disposition of the troops. A sad sight met the army when they entered the tom and twisted ruins. All around lay their comrades, dead and dying, although to the credit of the Maoris, it is recorded that they had not touched or mutilated in any way the bodies of the killed. The British casualties were ten officers killed, four wounded, 21 men killed and 76 wounded. This was with artillery against 400 men of the Ngaiterangi tribe, who lost 60 killed and'wounded. So that the losses were very heavy on each side and honour was due to the bravery of white and brown. After the fight at Gate Pah, a strong redoubt was thrown up and the district was scoured, but no natives were met with. A force was left in Wairoa and the Commander returned to Tauranga, being visited next day by the Governor with General Cameron and staff. The position was vacated a few days later, the Governor holding conferences with a large number of friendly natives, and then returned to Auckland. On the following day, General Cameron and staff also left for Auckland with a portion of the troops, because of the

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menacing attitude of the West Coast natives at Wanganui. Three hundred of the Waikato militia reinforced the position at Tauranga and matters were quiet until early in June, when scouts brought in word that the enemy was collecting in force at Te Ranga, about four miles from the Gate Pah. Colonel Greer immediately flung forward his line of battle and with 600 men against the same number of natives, took Te Ranga, inflicting terrible slaughter upon the natives, who lost 120 killed and 37 wounded and taken prisoners, the British loss being 13 killed and 39 wounded. This heavy loss once more struck terror into the hearts of the natives. They saw that they could not hope to win against the Government forces, and the Ngaiterangi tribe surrendered unconditionally. For this reason Sir George Grey promised that not more than a quarter of their lands should be confiscated.

Still the Maori King Potatau and Chief Rewi maintained a hostile attitude across the Puni, but although the troops remained for some time on the watch with Te Awamutu as their chief outpost, the state of war really concluded, and the settlers returned to their homes. The British losses from July, 1863 to July, 1864 were no killed and 460 wounded, besides about 100 murdered and killed accidentally. The native losses were estimated at 800 killed and wounded and 220 prisoners. As to the cost of the war, that was nearly £3,000,000, a great sum in those days. It was intended to recoup this expenditure out of the confiscated lands, but very little land was taken. So ended the year in which the tide of war swept up to the gates of the Capital. With all

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the destruction and dis-organisation, it is quite possible that the opening up of the country by road and by telegraph would not have been accomplished so expeditiously had the necessity not arisen, nor would this rich portion of New Zealand have been settled as it was.

te kooti —1868-1869

When the Government forces stamped out the rebellions in the Hawkes Bay and Poverty Bay districts numbers of prisoners had been taken, and for safety’s sake were sent to the Chatham Islands. Among them was Te Kooti, who for some years had sailed the schooner " Henry ” on the East Coast. This schooner, on his deportation, was sold. The prisoners for two years resided on the Islands under a small guard, in command of Captain Thomas. A promise to release them when the war was over was not kept. Te Kooti was an extremely able man, acquisitive, secretive, cautious and possessed of mechanical and inventive talents. Such a man would bide his time, and after two years, when, naturally, he would stand well with his fellow prisoners, he made a bold bid for freedom. On the morning of July 4th, 1868, the schooner “ Rifleman ” and the ketch “ Florence ” were anchored in the Bay. The sergeant of the guard had gone off to the “ Rifleman ” ; during his absence the Maoris mutinied, and seized the captain of the " Rifleman ” and Captain Thomas. The guard rushed up to apprehend the mutineers, but were driven back with the loss of one killed. The natives then looted the town

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and boarded the “ Rifleman ", which they were able to do without opposition, as they had nearly 170 men, apart from 70 women and a like number of children. The hawser of the “ Florence ” was cut to force her on the beach, and Te Kooti, his men fully armed, 4,000 rounds of ammunition on board, a large amount in cash, and ample provisions, set sail for New Zealand.

After he had gone, the two captains were released by natives who had refused to join in the desperate venture. Te Kooti, a capable mariner, shaped his course for the East Coast, and within a week arrived at Whareongaonga, to the consternation of the officer in charge of the district. Major Biggs, who had only a handful of men and little ammunition. Knowing this, Te Kooti defiantly landed with the whole of his people and marched into the wild Urewera country, until a few years ago absolutely "No man’s land ”, his force being added to by recruits as he triumphantly marched from village to village. Word was sent to Captain Westbruck, who had a small force at Aria, near the West Coast, and he gave battle to the escapee, but was forced to retire and take refuge in an old pah, after two of his men were killed and several wounded.

As might be understood, the escape caused great alarm in Auckland and Wellington. The Government was tired of fighting, because the Taranaki War had dragged on for eight weary years, and the Imperial troops had been withdrawn, leaving the conduct of war to the colonials themselves. The Waikato War had been settled four years, and those who had taken the field then were scattered over the

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country attending to their own affairs. Everyone, like the Government, was sick of warfare, and few desired the tremendously arduous task of hunting down desperate and savage Maoris in their native haunts. Therefore Te Kooti was able to establish himself firmly in the wilds of the central North Island and started the Hauhau religion, which swept the country like wildfire and added religious enthusiasm and contempt of danger to the difficulties already experienced. Seeing that he was to receive no reinforcements, Colonel Whitmore, with his little force of 130 constabulary and friendly natives, crossed Hangaroa Stream and determined that they would do their best to cope with the situation. The country was trackless and bush-clad, reft with great ravines, and in every way suited for the native form of guerilla warfare. Entering a deep gorge on the Ruatire River, they were ambushed by the natives. They gallantly sustained an unequal fight all day and until darkness fell, when the Colonel was forced to retire and arrived at Turanganui with a thoroughly dispirited force, and the loss of an officer and two of his volunteers.

On September 2nd, scouts found Te Kooti strongly entrenched at Puketapu, near the scene of the last fight, but at once he made a military demonstration against the Wairoa district in Hawkes Bay. He sent his warriors here and there over 100 miles along the coast and terrorised the countryside, which knew not where he might strike. However, in spite of their anxieties and their disposition to lay the blame on others, they formed a vigilance Committee and built two strong redoubts, so that on

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November sth, when the enemy was descending the Putatahi Valley, they were able to head the natives off by small scouting parties. This reassured the settlers, and the Committee relaxed its watch. But Te Kooti did not stop, and on November 10th, 1868, accompanied by great numbers of fanatical natives, he crossed the Pahutahi Ford, through the scouts, surprised the Matawharo Redoubt, and massacred most of the inhabitants, including Major and Mrs. Biggs. A stockman took the news through, and the settlers crowded into the redoubt, with 150 friendly natives. Numbers of the fugitives made for Napier, and the whole countryside was in a ferment. But once more Te Kooti’s horde had gone back, and the settlers returned to bury the dead. They found that 38 Europeans and 32 friendly natives had been killed and the whole settlement burned to the ground.

The countryside, slow to move at first, took fire, and from all hands reinforcements, mostly of friendly natives, arrived to hunt down the marauder. But with all their skill and enthusiasm, they had to reckon with a wily foe, and though they brought about an engagement, and were successful for a time, a detachment with their ammunition was cut off, and they had to retire. Reports of murders and burnings were stated to have occurred all around the district, but proved incorrect. Colonel Whitmore was on the march, and without delay flung his forces against the strong entrenchment at Ngatapa. Major Ropata, with 350 friendlies joining in, the encampment was taken and destroyed. The friendlies were incensed with the rebels, and captured and executed 120 of them without quarter.

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Despite this set-back, Te Kooti, by a long march, struck at Whakatane on the East Coast, but hearing that reinforcements were after him, he threatened Tauranga. The Auckland Naval volunteers, under Lieutenant Featon, were hurried down to the East Coast, and Colonel Whitmore, joined by a force under Colonel St. John, started for Te Kooti’s new stronghold at Lake Waikaremoana. But misfortune dogged their footsteps, for after traversing some miles the enthusiasm of the friendly Arawas gave out. The expedition could not proceed without their help, and retired to Fort Galatea. On their way to this refuge, Lieutenant Smith and a party of troopers were ambushed, and all save the Lieutenant and two troopers were killed. Colonel St. John’s force came into contact with the enemy and inflicted severe losses, but Te Kooti escaped.

Forces under Majors Perrier and Ropata kept up the pressure, and drove Te Kooti into the King Country, where he was held in check for a time. Meanwhile an expedition under Messrs. Hamblin and Witty started for Lake Waikaremoana. They knew the country and had with them 350 natives of the Ngatikahunguru, born soldiers and keen to avenge the death of their friends. In addition to the leaders, there were Sub-Lieutenant Large, and Messrs. Sanders, James Carroll and Dr. Scott. They reached the lake and reconnoitred the Hauhaus’ stronghold, which was on the other side. They made their preparations carefully, disposed their forces to do the most good, and by means of canoes attacked the pah from land and sea. They were vigorously opposed, but eventually were successful and Te Kooti’s power had gone.

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A number of the chiefs surrendered, but the leader was never captured. He settled in the King Country, and it was thought best to issue a pardon with certain restriction. He attempted, against the Government’s advice, to return to the East Coast, but learned that the hostility of the settlers in that district which he had ravaged was so great that they were determined to kill him if he appeared. Fully 20 years later, as a feeble old man, he went back for a brief time to the district of his birth. On 17th April, 1893, at Ohaeawai, Bay of Plenty, at the age of 79 died Te Kooti, one of the most desperate, cleverest and most fanatical fighters of a warlike race.

THE CONFLICT ENDED

Thus ended the wars with the native races of New Zealand and, except for the Te Kooti campaign, with mutual respect and admiration by those who had fought against each other down those long years. As a boy I listened to the tales of an old Imperial soldier who was through all the campaigns, and from him there was no expression of bitterness. Rather was his summing up in favour of the natives. It is no secret that Imperial officers of high rank bitterly regretted having to fight the Maori, regarding the campaigns as land-grabbing schemes. After the fight at Ngaio, General Cameron asked a wounded warrior in the field hospital why they resisted. " Did you not see that we were in overwhelming force ”, he asked, and received the reply. “ What would you have us do. This is our village, these are our plantations. Men are not fit to live if they

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are not brave enough to defend their own homes." And a doctor, after a conflict in which the dead lay on the ground, heard the impressionable Irish soldiers murmur, " Begorra, it’s murder to shoot them. Sure, aren’t they like our own people, with their potatoes and fish and children."

Savages, yes, once cannibals, but one could wring the heart if he would but write of their sufferings against the might of England and the forces of the colonies. The women, too, and the Uttle children bore the brunt of war. Both sexes stood side by side in the trenches, the wahines loading guns and even pushing their men before the breaches made by the great cannons. What New Zealander has not thrilled at the defiance of Orakau, five miles from Te Awamutu? Three hundred in a pah with a medley of old muskets, against 1,500 with modem guns, battered and beaten by British men who hated to press on against so brave a foe, but had no choice. Chance after chance was given for surrender. Finally firing ceased, and they were asked to give up the hopeless task and be treated with honour. Then a chief, said to be Rewi Maniapoto, flung back the proud, yet sad defiance : —“ E woa ma, te kupu tenei ate Maori. Ka whawhai tonu, ake, ake, ake." Which means:—" Friends, this is the word of the Maori. They will fight on for ever, for ever, for ever.” On being asked to allow the women and children out before operations were resumed, a brave wahine sprang to the parapet and repeated the refusal of the men.

Who but a Maori would have sent his enemy powder and provisions in order that he might be able

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to continue fighting? Reading of that, while deploring our own losses and the burdens laid on us by the war, can we withhold admiration for a chivalrous foe fighting for his own country and people. In accordance with legend, we, too. will go North in the night to the Place of Spirits on wild Cape Reinga, and for company, in one last look back at our own land, may we have some of that race which proved its worth as a friend in our Empire’s need, even as it resisted when Maori and Pakeha stood face to face in anger.

Twenty years after the Waikato war had ended, the Maori King, Tawhiao, with a hundred chiefs, made a pilgrimage through the British settlements on what had been their ancestral lands. Most of the old landmarks had disappeared beneath smiling farms and homesteads, but at one place, where a famous war party of days gone by had swung across the plains, the remnant of a great people halted and joined in this pathetic lament; —

" The old tree stands withered and dead,

Its branches are broken, its leaves are gone ;

The war-gods, all are silent and still.

Tu's scarlet belt, with the sharp-pointed spear,

Lies in the dust, in the dust.

The shout of the warrior is heard no more,

The dance and the songs have departed,

We look at the graves of our warriors,

But the foot of the white man is there,

Our ancestors silently sleep.

The day breaks! why do we weep?

Though the sun shines on Pirongia's peak

We are in darkness and shadow and gloom.

Hark ! the cry of the night-bird

Dies away in the morn.

It is the call of the dead.

It calls, it calls, we die.

The day is breaking,

We live, we live."

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It is the wish of the people of New Zealand that the old days of war may be as dead, and though we may not relive the past, yet we can take pride in the fact that under a more kindly dispensation the Maori is increasing in numbers, that, in his own words, he lives.

CHAPTER V

MAORI WELFARE

Despite many deviations from the Treaty of Waitangi as originally set out, the people of New Zealand have little to reproach themselves with in their treatment of the native race, and indeed, past injustices are being brought up and rectified. Money so allocated is applied to Maori welfare, and administered by a competent Board composed of members from both races, under Government jurisdiction. A certain portion is devoted to the publication of ethnological works. One specific case of adjustment was the “ Kemp purchase,” whereby 20,000,000 acres in the South Island had been " bought ” for £3,000, and as the terms of payment had not been met, revision gave the natives £354,000 in Government bonds.

For 60 years there have been Maori colleges for boys and girls, and these have done good work. It is recognised that the native race should learn to use their ancestral lands, of which they hold about 7,000,000 acres. On much of this they have paid neither rates or taxes, nor have they been able to keep down the weeds, and in cases where white men are endeavouring to farm adjacent lands this has

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been an unlooked for injustice to the settlers. Where, by reason of the reading of lands and the laying down of railways townships have sprung up on land leased from the natives, further injustice has been done to both peoples. The unearned increment goes to the native owners, who are thereby made landlords in perpetuity, which is exactly the position the early settlers sought to avoid. Here some adjustment fair to both sides is being sought. The Maori is not altogether to blame. For long he was the prey of the speculator, while the Government forbade him to sell his lands. For the sake of the community it is to be hoped the Maori may be made an integral part of the population, seeking no undue favouritism at the hands of the white race and helping to work out their joint destiny as a nation.

Communistic holding greatly discourages enterprise among the Maoris, the younger ones especially. Communism among natives means that the industrious man has just gathered his crops when a number of the idle ones come along and eat them, or if sold borrow the proceeds. Blood ties are so strong that the Maori will share to his last penny. But even this communistic spirit may be turned to account, and able leaders of the race have at least one striking example to show in the Ngatiporou country round East Cape. Here by a system of cooperative sheep farming the natives for 20 years have maintained themselves in comfort and happiness, preserving the village life instead of isolating the families. They have large, well-fumished houses, the latest implements and woolsheds, and all the luxuries of the towns. Throughout a hundred miles

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of country can be seen pretty villages, each with its decorative meeting place, church and school, and the flag-staff where the Union Jack flies with the New Zealand flag and the tribal colours. Now they are adding dairy factories, and always they have sown great areas of food for their community’s needs. No one who sees this example of what the Maori can do under wise guidance can doubt that the problems of the race will be solved. Mr. Ngata and other educated members of Ngatiporou have led in this movement, aided by the advice and active assistance of the Williams family, who have been friends of the race since the Rev. Henry Williams stepped ashore at Russell in 1883.

The Maoris were regarded as a dying race, but the reverse is the case. There are now over 54,000, of whom 38,000 are in Auckland Province. North Auckland is the true Maoriland, and 12,000 are living between Russell and North Cape. Certainly that does not bear much relation to old numbers, which in 1842 were said by Dr. Dieffenbach to be 114,890, and by Sir George Grey in 1849 to t> e 120,000. A Maori census was not easy to take, because half-castes living as Europeans complicated the figures, but there has been a definite increase since 1901, which shows that the race retains its virility, a unique and gratifying position. Some observers consider that the race will be absorbed, but this will take place very slowly.

It cannot be said that there is no colour line in the Dominion, as so many assert, but that applies mainly to marriage. So far as my observation goes, the Maori man is not agreeable to the white woman as a

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husband, although there is some marriage between half-caste women and white men, the latter, in country districts, marrying full-blooded Maori women. The children, marrying half-castes or white men, still further dilute the blood. No one dreams of thinking any the worse of them. Indeed, often they themselves are more proud of the Maori side of their ancestry than of the European, especially as it entitles them to a share in tribal lands held communally. Many of partly Maori blood occupy positions of trust in the Civil Service and are making their way steadily in the professions. It has been the earnest desire of his many pakeha friends in authority, from the earliest days, that he should have his chance. Judged by results, the Maori has started on the upward path, and his growth and progress will be accelerated with the years.

CHAPTER VI

CONSTITUTION AND GOVERNMENT

Until 1828 New Zealand was without government of any kind. Then it became an appanage of New South Wales, but control from that distance was not possible, and lawlessness on the part of both pakeha and Maori was rampant. Subsequent events are set out in Chapter 3. Constitutional government started with the Treaty of Waitangi, surely the strangest ever made with a native race. It consisted of three clauses :

1. Queen Victoria was to be the ruler of the country.

2. The Maoris were to have the right to the whole of their lands, but if they desired to sell, they could only do so to the Queen’s agents —the New Zealand Government.

3. The natives were to have protection and the full rights of British subjects.

Naturally the Treaty has been the subject of much contention, some holding that it was illadvised and over-fair to the natives, others that it did not go far enough. But no Treaty yet made has given universal satisfaction or failed to produce

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unforeseen problems. The subject is too great to deal with here, and in any case there is an abundant literature upon it by able historians. But examining the subject in the light of conditions then prevailing, one must come to the conclusion that no other course was possible than to place before the natives something simple and fair. The position was pre-determined by the great difficulty experienced in securing the British Government’s consent to annexation, and the idea that other nations might take over the country. There were reasons for this hesitancy, as any student of the history of the times knows. The Mother Country might well shrink from involving herself in further trouble, after her experience of the breaking away of America, and during the adjustments following the close of the Napoleonic wars. However, in view of her possession of Australia, the question of further extension was only a matter of time, and the vigorous prosecution in London by influential people of schemes for land settlement in New Zealand, and the determination of people to settle there, decided the matter.

Mr. James Busby has been blamed for his action in forming a Federation of Chiefs, which affirmed in effect that they were the rulers and owners of their nation and its lands, but if the Maoris had been of the type to show a united front they could have done that at any time. The idea had been put forward by many of the extremely able Maori chiefs, who ruled in pre-European times. Hence, when this was done, such a treaty as that of Waitangi was inevitable. Talking with those who know the

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Maori race well, and are in some cases of part Maori blood, one gathers that they are not satisfied with the carrying out of the Treaty, but much was due to the march of circumstances, and difficulties were accentuated by the occurrence of disastrous native wars. Volumes of intense interest could be written upon the history of those times, and the efforts of great men to unite the races in harmony and honour the British word, but it is without question that the Government of New Zealand from the commencement held in mind the responsibility they assumed. That spirit, undoubtedly, has been influenced by, if not based upon, this public recognition of the original owners’ rights in their lands.

Out of all the chaos and quarrelling between Hobson and the Land Company, what both he and Wakefield hoped for came to pass, and in 1852 the Constitution Act was passed, practically constituting New Zealand a self-governing and independent Colony. On 27th May, 1854, Wakefield sat as a member in the first General Assembly. The first Ministry was formed in 1856.

The country had been peopled by the New Zealand Company with a class representing a solid basis for a properly organised Society. First divided into two provinces, New Ulster and New Munster, it gradually became divided into separate provinces, each with its own characteristics, laws and customs, and at one time there were no less than nine distinct governments among 60,000 inhabitants, subject, of course, to the General Assembly. Settlement of outlying portions of different provinces brought people into touch with one another. After much

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bitter controversy the separate Provinces were abolished in 1876. Each Province has produced men of outstanding merit, and for this again the early selection by the New Zealand Company must receive praise. The first General Assembly in 1854 consisted of 40 members, the present Parliament has 80, including four Maori representatives. Triennial Parliaments were introduced in 1879, and the poll on the question of the abolition of the liquor trade takes place on the same day as that of the General Election. The first Legislative Council, or Upper House, sat in 1854 and consisted of 141 members, the present Revising Chamber has 41 nominated members, at a salary of £315. The cardinal principles of the franchise are universal voting, women’s suffrage being adopted in 1893. The qualifications in general, with slight exceptions, are residence for one year in New Zealand, and three months in a particular electorate. Failing the latter condition the elector votes in the district wherein he or she previously resided for the statutory time. There are as yet no women Members of Parliament, although there have been candidates.

New Zealand’s Railways, Post and Telegraphs, Hydro-Electric Power schemes. Radio, Afforestation, Public Health, Education, Tourist Resorts, Pensions, Public Works, Land Settlement, and Immigration are all in the hands of the Government, although sections are delegated to local authorities under Government jurisdiction and support. As regards local government, the principal classes for which representative bodies are elected, with rate levying powers, are Counties, Boroughs, Town

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districts, Road districts, and Electric Power Board districts. Franchise for election of local bodies is universal, but polls for the sanctioning of loans are confined to ratepayers, holding qualification in their own right or that of husband or wife. Hospital Board revenues are from rates, patients’ fees where they are able to afford them, and Government subsidy on donations. Schools and some religious bodies have very liberal endowments in the shape of early land grants.

EDUCATION

For primary education there are nine districts, but these Boards have no rating powers, the whole of the money required being supplied by the Government. Under these Boards are school committees elected annually by householders. The education system of New Zealand is free, compulsory and secular (from 7 to 14) and by a system of National Scholarship any boy or girl competent can obtain free tuition right up to the University, thence following on with bursaries. Fifty per cent of the college students now have their fees paid by the Government.

The importance of education, whether academic, technical, or vocational, is thoroughly recognised, and of late years very great progress has been made, to the lasting benefit of the boys and girls who are to be the citizens of the future. It is sought to supply the benefits of this training to all, whether in town or country. Certainly there are hardships due to the circumstances of parents, and the cost of board

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in towns away from the pupils’ homes, but this again is being coped with by means of correspondence instruction.

Free transport is provided for country scholars. All girls are taught needlework. Each pupil passing the sixth standard is entitled to secondary education for two years, and as a further preparation. Junior High Schools are being established. Pupils who pass before 14 are entitled until 19 years to free technical full-time instruction.

There are many private schools, which, with the High and Grammar Schools, follow the best traditions of the English Public School system. Sports are encouraged, and children develop a physique which augurs well for the race.

The vital question of education for agricultural pursuits is met by the establishment of agricultural colleges, and in the country especially a part of the curriculum is directed towards arousing interest in the minds of pupils who may elect to stay on the land. State Farms are established in both Islands with boarding accommodation and a course covering two years practice and theory.

New Zealand’s annual expenditure on education now amounts to nearly four millions, but practically the whole of this sum is provided by the general Government from the ordinary revenue of the Dominion. With the development of the country this sum will have to be constantly augmented but it is unanimously regarded as money well spent.

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LEGISLATION

A new country naturally adopts the laws and customs of its Mother Land, and for many years the Imperial statutes were almost wholly applicable to New Zealand, apart from necessary legislation to deal with the native race and the settlement of time-expired members of the Imperial forces. From the layman’s point of view the most interesting laws are those dealing with humanitarian ideals, and the experiments to solve the vexed social problems of older lands. Many of them go very far in the direction of extending State powers, but they have the general support of the community, which places public and individual welfare above that of property —in theory, at all events. Compulsory conciliation and arbitration have been much discussed, but the general outcome is that the owner of property is available for punishment when there is an infraction of the law and the worker is not. Strikes are not prevented, and emergency legislation has been necessary even in recent years. Constant adjustment is necessary to meet individual cases, and to harmonise idealism with economic law. However, in a producing country such as New Zealand, where the larger proportion of the population is not directly affected by the Labour laws, such experiments can go on for many years without ill effects. They have hastened the evolution of that humanitarianism noticeable throughout the civilised world, and

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prepared the mind of the community for the establishment of measures calculated to give the majority of the community an opportunity to develop their own powers.

LAND LAWS

Very early in our history the Government took control of the remaining lands, and thereby was compelled to pass much legislation. A good deal aimed at finding a form of tenure which would settle the people without alienating the land from the State, but that was abandoned and the freehold tenure became the accepted policy of the Government. With the Treaty of Waitangi to observe, and much isolated land to be settled, the perennial question of land ownership became a bugbear to the political parties, and constant consolidation of Acts was necessary. Land is not cheap in New Zealand, but title is easily obtained under the Land Transfer Act, and is secure and free from the onerous restrictions prevailing in older countries.

GENERAL LAWS

The Laws governing Commercial and Mercantile relations, Companies, Banking, Sale of Goods and Bankruptcy are with few exceptions practically the same as in England and have from time to time been amended in accordance with the decisions of the Higher Courts of that country.

In the Acts relating to Shipping and Seamen full advantage has been taken of the errors of older

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mercantile countries without forgetting local peculiarities.

The Statutes relating to Crime and Punishment have been codified. The parties to a crime are clearly defined. The provisions relating to this important part of the Criminal Law are somewhat different to those of the English Law, the main difference being that in New Zealand accessories before and after the fact are made parties to the crime in respect of which they are charged.

The Acts and Regulations relating to Prisons and similar institutions were for some time, and in some respects still are, in advance of those of the Old Country. The treatment of some classes of offenders by way of reformation apparently follows in a measure the American system, although there is nothing in New Zealand in any way approaching the methods of the famous and successful Elmira Reformatory. Prison Reform in the New Zealand sense means the reformation of the prison conditions, rather than that of the prisoners.

PENSIONS AND HEALTH

The first statutory recognition of the right of the indigent to claim relief from the community, was the “ Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act" 1885, when New Zealand was divided into 35 hospital districts, governed by a Hospital Board. The Old Age Pension scheme then started has been extended from time to time in accordance with the cost of living, and as the finances of the country warrant, almost undoubtedly will be increased. In

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addition legislative sanction has been obtained for widows’ pensions, for miners who have contracted miners’ complaint (phthisis) and epidemic pensions, for those women whose breadwinner died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. This, of course, in addition to the pensions awarded veterans of the Maori and South African wars, as well as the much larger obligations accruing from the Great War, and the Public Service Superannuation.

Public health is the concern of Hospital Boards under Government control and for the proper working of the Health Department legislative powers of a wide nature have been necessary. This Department co-operates with the Education Department, in order that the latest ideas in preventive treatment, medical and dental, may be carried out.

STATE ENTERPRISES

These have necessitated many Acts, because of their diversity, but the object throughout is not to stifle private enterprise, but rather to act as a curb on the predatory instincts of the few. Generally speaking, the State has not aimed at making a profit in the ordinary commercial sense of the word. Handling millions of acres of land, reclaiming vast swamps, and pushing on great public works in a new country early constituted the State a trader, and how this unique and enormous problem was handled and dealt with would require a volume to explain.

The regulation of industry by the State dealing with the conditions of labour, the grading and examination of exports, and of food for consumption

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within the Dominion and other like matters, do not fall within the definition of State enterprise, but are the recognised functions of good government for the benefit of the people. The same remarks apply to the foundation or encouragement of industry either by subsidy or protective tariffs. State loans to Municipal bodies are products of the same healthy socialism. The Post and Telegraph and Telephone Departments are undertakings commonly undertaken by Governments all over the world, and can be classed among the payable business undertakings by reason of their being monopolies and necessities. The Public Works Department of the N. Z. Government is an absolute necessity for the benefit of a Dominion where there are no large contractors, in which case foreign help would have to be called in to carry out many of the undertakings necessary for development.

The State has in some instances interposed in actual competition with private individuals, but even in such cases the object has been humanitarian in an effort to benefit the many.

The Public Trust Office Acts, the first of which was passed in 1872 (Vogel) is perhaps one of the finest examples of experimental legislation brought into being in New Zealand. The main objects of the Act are to provide a State guaranteed Trustee who can be appointed in the ordinary way by any person as trustee or executor under a will or settlement or for any purpose for which a trustee can be appointed. The Public Trustee also has the right to apply to the Court to act as trustee or executor in any case where it can be shown that such appoint-

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ment will be for the benefit of the estate or the distribution thereof between the persons entitled thereto, more especially if the beneficiaries are infants or persons of unsound mind. Remuneration is based upon the actual amount of property passing through the hands of a trustee, by way of a commission, and is much lower than the costs and charges which would be incurred in the usual way. For some years past the Office had been rapidly and successfully extending its operations.

The State Life Insurance Department which commenced operations in the year 1869 (Vogel) following the distress occasioned by the failure of a large Insurance Company operating in New Zealand, and was from the first very successful.

The State Fire Insurance Department commenced operations in 1905 with the object of reducing the premiums then in force, and may still justify its operation for this reason, but if, as many still hold, the rates existing prior to the State Department’s operations were minimum payable rates, then the State Office may yet have to require further adjustments. The fire loss in New Zealand is a comparatively large one amounting to about £500,000 per annum and there is also some little danger of earthquakes, both of which factors call for heavy reserves which can only be built up from a proper margin of premium.

The State Coal Mines were first opened in 1904, by the late Mr. Seddon, the main reason being the dislocation of the industry in New South Wales and the consequent shortage in New Zealand. It was thought, as the railways consumed such a vast

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quantity of coal that if the State could supply this the position would be alleviated for the public. Although the State has many advantages over a private Company, its operations have been conducted along fair lines and have not been detrimental to Companies existing at the time of its inception, nor has prevented new mines from opening and operating successfully.

State Enterprises remotely affecting private enterprise are found in the Government Advances to settlers and workers. By the Advances to Settlers Office established in 1894 (Seddon) the Office was authorised to borrow money from abroad for the purpose of lending to settlers for purchasing or improving their rural holdings. The rate of interest and method of repayment were both extremely reasonable, although the State has made and maintained a good profit. The Act has also a good effect in regulating the rate of interest payable on mortgages of land. In 1906 the Government Advances to Workers Act was passed to enable the worker to acquire a home, repaying principal and interest in easy instalments, the only stipulations being restrictions on sale to discourage speculation and that the worker was not in receipt of a greater wage than £6 per week.

Municipal enterprise does not show any marked departures from the recognised rules in force in other parts of the world, and New Zealand has its Municipal Tramways, Gas Works, Electricity Department, Waterworks and Zoos, many of which have received material benefits from being able to borrow direct from the Government for almost any

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purpose. Where Municipalities have embarked on enterprise in direct competition with private concerns, the results in many cases have been disastrous to the public body. The Hydro-Electric Schemes for the cheap, efficient and widespread transmission of electric power for all purposes of the town and country, are under the control of quasiGovernment bodies known as Power Boards and bid fair to be a great success. Initially these works will supply 96,000 H.P. The available waterpower in the North Island on a 50 % load factor is 776,000 H.P. and in the South Island over four millions of H.P. The possibilities in this direction are almost limitless because of the enormous number of rivers and lakes all over the Dominion. The procuration of cheap power and lighting has already worked wonders in the amelioration of life in rural districts. Mention must be made of recent legislation to regulate the sale and export of produce by Co-opera-tive Boards which handle the whole of the output, from the farm to the market and can therefore negotiate for its export just as would one individual. The Meat Board early realised that to use all its powers would not be wise, and confined its operations so as not to interfere with the liberty of anyone outside the Dominion. The constitution of these Boards met much criticism, but the producers had to make the decision. These Boards have the support of the Government, who are advised by competent people. It is unlikely they will persist in any course not in the best interest of all parties. The ties which exist between Britain and New Zealand are of a sentimental as well as a business

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nature, and for the benefit of the Empire all such business arrangements will be the subject of full and free discussion. Any difficulties either of transport, storage and marketing can be adjusted.

CHAPTER VII

LANDS AND IMMIGRATION

New Zealand produces from three groups, tussock lands carrying sheep, sown grassland for dairy herds, and agricultural land cropped annually. In the past there has been a great annual

Starting a farm in the bush, 219

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increase of available lands, through clearing of forests and reclamation of swamps, but naturally this cannot go on forever. But it will be long ere all the vast areas now idle or partially idle will be utilised to capacity. Much of the country denuded of bush has gone back to fern, and constitutes a problem now being faced. The so-called “ poor ” gum lands of the North and of Auckland Province are practically untouched, and areas of pumice country will yield wealth to the right treatment. Huge swamps are being reclaimed, and there are sand-drift areas on North Auckland coast which will have to be taken in hand. Therefore the pioneers have by no means exhausted the possibilities. Mistakes of treatment have been made, but with sufficient population to undertake the work, these can be rectified. Lands must pay a return, but if any plan can be devised for bringing these areas to profit, there is not likely to be any hesitance on the part of the State in giving assistance.

For deforested land gone back to fem, or gum lands, it seems to me that organised group settlements are far and away better than cutting land into sections, and leaving a man and his family to fight out their own destiny. If readily accessible areas were selected and soil analysis showed that they could grow certain crops or take grass, moveable buildings including a hall and dining-room might be built, with small houses for the prospective owners of the land. Then the whole area could be worked co-operatively for a year or two with proper powerdriven implements. When ready, the land could be fenced and homes built for permanent occupation.

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But meanwhile the farmers would have been helped by competent instructors, they and their families would not have been overworked and deprived of the benefits of association with others, and would take up their own sections with every prospect of success. The official buildings then could be moved on and the process repeated. Possibly small townships would spring up in these centres, and later on grow to large towns.

That chiefly applies to areas constituting a problem only soluble by applied science and intensive work. On an accountancy basis such a system might not pay, but on a broad basis, it is better to spend £6 per acre bringing back deteriorated land or working up pumice or gum lands, now of little value, than to keep them an eyesore and a breeding ground for weeds. The history of farming countries shows that first and second grade lands are eagerly sought, and competition forces up the price unduly, while the third grade lie idle and are thereby a loss to the community. With the progress of settlement comes a demand for other services and thereby the whole country’s wealth is increased. If New Zealand is not able to work up her poorer lands it might pay to place them under a British emigration scheme, and give expert advice and general help.

Group settlement is the logical sequence to our Dominion legislation. We aim at giving each citizen the best chance possible, and to place an untrained man on isolated land in a country new to him, is not fair to the man, still less to his wife and children. To keep people on the land there must be as much real life, and mental development, as is provided by

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the towns. That is not hard to attain, because the country in itself generally provides good shooting and fishing, or boating and mountain climbing, apart from the interest in seeing crops and flocks and herds grow. If a dozen or more families were located handily to each other under expert instruction, there would be fewer failures, and areas of what is now regarded as poor land could be brought into profit.

In North Auckland district, with a wonderful climate, are huge areas of land almost on the border of the tropic zone, and which will one day astonish the Dominion by their productiveness. Indeed, until recently few realised the potentialities of this great section, which yet looks so small on the map. There are miles of delightful country right up to the extreme north of the island, a land of lovely valleys watered by clear rivers, and rolling downs ploughable all over. One township, on the West Coast, Kaitaia, had a dairy factory making 30 tons of butter per year. To-day the few wooden houses have given way to a modem town, and the factory turns out nearly 500 tons of butter each year. That is what happens when settlement arrives and the land is worked. Yet dairying in this part has scarcely commenced. Apart from all the surrounding drained lands, there is here one swamp of 25,000 acres which should on average bring in £300,000 per year in farm products. On the other side, the delightful Bay of Islands, fruits of every kind thrive, from the orange and the grape to the apple and the peach, and a small holding will grow most of a family’s food. There are golden beaches upon which the warm waves

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roll softly, and yachting, bathing and launching may be enjoyed during most of the year. As for the fishing, it is known to the ends of the earth, for here is the home of the great swordfish that attracts the fisherman who likes a spice of adventure, and the waters teem with fish for food. Many thousands of idle acres are here, yet four tons of cream per week are brought out of the little bays by launch.

The North Auckland country, right down to the City, is patchy, but a great undeveloped land—despite all the wealth it produces. Over 50,000 acres per year are being brought in, and better cultivation will result in greater average returns. The Department of Agriculture for years had a competent official making experiments, and testing the poorest and most intractable gum-bearing soils. He has shown that even the worst can be turned into useful farm country wherever ploughable.

In the King Country, about 150 miles south of Auckland, a vast territory, once a wilderness of fern, flax and scrub is being brought in, and a splendid virile population is taking possession of the lands. Steady years of industry have made many independent, and herd-testing is raising productivity. Three million acres comprise the King Country, yet few travellers who go through on the Main Trunk Railway realise what a splendid land it is, or the great service rendered by the men and women who carved out their homes from a roadless bush country. The work of those days will provide a story to cheer later arrivals who come now to the work that lies

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ahead. When the railway was put through in 1908, the land was densely forested, yet in that brief time 600,000 acres have been brought into grass. Perhaps for miles the train traveller may see no sign of settlement, and here lie further possibilities for those who can emulate the wonderful work of the pioneers who opened up the country. In the King Country, one trouble is native areas which are lying idle, and pay little rating. Some plan is being sought which will make them productive and ease the burden of the white man.

In the middle of the North Island, stretching over to the volcanic country round Lake Taupo, are 5,000,000 acres of pumice lands which experts are considering. All round this National Park country in the future there will be many hundreds of farmlets. Small fruits, such as gooseberries, currants and raspberries, which do not grow well in the warmer north, find ideal soil and climate, with the ready markets of Wellington and Auckland in direct communication.

In addition to non-forested lands, are thousands of square miles North of Lake Taupo, timbered and arable country.

Towards the Bay of Plenty are great areas, indeed the Rangitaika Plains, with the Whakatane and other Valleys opening out of them, comprise one of the greatest stretches of rich level land remaining in New Zealand. Drainage is being carried out by the Government and soon 120,000 acres of the district will be ready for productive use. Here could be established 1,000 farms, carrying 4,000 people, and yielding £1,000,000 worth of dairy produce per

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year. AIL around are low hills, and much other land that will add to this wealth.

In the Urewera Country nearby are thousands ol acres of rich land lying almost useless, and barely keeping the Maori owners in food. When they farm their lands co-operatively, as the Ngatiporou have been taught to do, they will share in the prosperity that must come to this favoured district.

Hauraki Peninsula, four hours steam down the Gulf from Auckland, includes over 1,200 square miles, and has in the past produced enormous wealth from precious metals, kauri gum and timber —in gold and silver alone some £17,000,000. Two million acres are available on pastoral lease. Mining regulations tend to hold up the district, but are not unreasonable.

Around this mining country, where it is hoped that railways will open up the land soon, are huge areas rich enough to give a family a living from 100 acres. Lack of communication, as with most of the unused lands of New Zealand, is the chief barrier. Around Paeroa and Pokeno it is estimated that within a ten mile radius of a railway, when built, there could be taken a return of £3,000,000 per year. Even by fairly crude methods of farming this rich land yields £lO per cow per year, taking skim milk and pigs into account, and herd testing and intensive cultivation might raise it to £l5.

Areas in the North Island only have been mentioned, because they form the greatest portion of the unused or partly used lands, I have been over much of it, during the past 17 years, and have seen the gradual conquering of the wilds, and the growth of

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pasture where there was once forest and scrub traversed by mud tracks. There are problems of ownership, of course, and difficulties in regard to native leases, but an enormous acreage is unused simply because it is not accessible. This problem could be settled by the more rapid pushing on of rail and roads. There is in the Dominion a very live sentiment in regard to the proper development of our idle lands as expressed in immigration, and by cooperation between the Dominion and the Mother Country surely some scheme will be devised whereby progress can be accelerated. Idle, weed-infested land is no use to a country, rather does it hamper the efforts of those who are industrious.

In the South Island the lands are more settled, because occupation was never interfered with by warfare and the coastal and Southland lands are less rugged. But the semi-arid district of Central Otago, dealt with in the first chapter, has half a million acres of fine fruit-growing land suitable for irrigation.

It is not to be expected that all who leave the Old Country for this newer land will be satisfied within a brief time of arrival. Therefore New Zealand papers at times contain correspondence on the subject and one is enabled to gather the viewpoint of the new arrivals and what they are likely to write Home. A young man from another country came out as an “ advance agent ”, but failed to find employment to his liking and wrote to the local newspaper stating that New Zealanders were suspicious, inquisitive, narrow and hard to know. In the exchange of views that ensued, another new-comer said the writer

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should have waited a reasonable time before complaining. Another said there were some splendid, helpful colonials and New Zealand would be a New England for those who would work to build it up. A native bom pointed out that he had a profession, but after an absence of years came back to contract scrub-cutting. The wife of an immigrant thought the first correspondent could not have met the “ real colonials ”, but “ homies ” who had only lived in New Zealand a few years. Her advice was not to waste time over labour agencies, but get out into the country, where one can earn a living.

In New Zealand (or any of the Dominions) people have opportunity to make a change if their own employment is not available or if they are tired of it. But the land is New Zealand’s chief source of wealth, and workers on farms or industries connected with our primary products have the best chance of acquiring the independence they seek. It may be obtained by opening a shop or in some other trading adventures, but these things come after a country is developed, and the Government rightly stresses its opinion that the most suitable people are those able and willing to work in the country.

There are parts of New Zealand where good land simply cries out for population, and there are millions of acres in scrub, fern, pumice and swamp that require only intelligent handling. In this development the immigrant can take part. If he is a married man with a family, he may milk on shares, or he and his sons may take farm work until they know the run of the ropes and take up farms of their own. There are many opportunities to

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acquire land on easy terms, very many farmers’ trading concerns which are ready to back the " trier.”

Over 25 years ago there was a noticeable drift back to the land, and as conditions become better and electric light, power, telephones and radio make life more pleasant, a similar movement is observable.

The more educated and alert people who settle on land, whether from New Zealand towns or British Cities and country, the better for the Dominion. If we have any tendency towards the narrowness of insularity, if we think we can rest on our laurels after having developed the country thus far, a fresh influx will give the necessary stimulus. New Zealand has nothing to fear from over-development of her lands during the next hundred years. There is room for 10 millions to live in comfort and happiness, and with all our great export trade we have not yet 11 millions.

Developmental ideas incline towards two methods —group settlement (as dealt with) and bringing out boys under various schemes. It is well to proceed carefully. Ours is a mountainous country and not easily roaded or developed by railway, but all this work is under way. or foreshadowed. The housing problem, too, is acute with us, simply as a result of war and post-war causes. The present system of emigration thus becomes the method which presses least heavily on the Dominion’s resources and gives the best hope of future return. The Farmers’ Union are interesting themselves and the sheepfarmers have in Flock House, near Palmerston

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North, a splendid training ground for the sons of disabled and killed British seamen. This is financed by a fund started as an acknowledgment of indebtedness to the sailors of the Navy and Mercantile Marine who kept the seas open during the war. The lads are to be given six months’ preliminary training and placed with farmers who undertake to train and employ them. It is hoped that the majority will take up land for themselves, and experience shows that such will be the case. Therefore much is being done in a quiet, methodical way. Public bodies of all kinds. County and Borough Councils, Road Boards, Chambers of Commerce and Associations of business men everywhere are sympathetic, and will give time and money willingly to develop any well-devised form of emigration from Britain. The individual from Home may come across persons who do not give him help, but not everyone is in a position to do so.

With artisans and the trading classes it is more difficult, but all seem to settle down in some niche and do well. It is a pity to see leases of small suburban shops purchased at once by people who come out with a few hundreds of pounds and do not know the country. If, as is frequently the case, the shops are in advance of settlement, or of the district’s needs, someone has to go under, and it is more likely to be the new-comer. However, many are doing very well in the towns and are on the road to a competence, simply because their old world experience and economical ways give them greater net profits in a country peopled by open-handed folk

16

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who do not need to consider every penny they spend. The extension of motoring gives many the opportunity of opening small service and supply stations, yielding a fair living to a man of initiative. There is not much use coming out to work at highly specialised trades. Our secondary and manufacturing interests make an impressive total, but dissection of the figures will show that most are derivatives from the primary industries and will not admit of the division of labour met with in the older countries. This position will improve as our industries keep pace with the growth of population. The development of Government hydro-electric works and extensive reading and drainage works being undertaken, will provide a good deal of employment. Travelling through New Zealand, I have seen very many men of the Home type on these works, which explains why few are seen in the ports of disembarkation. They go to their nominators throughout the country and get straight to work—a most laudable method. Wherever possible, I have talked with immigrants, and save for a very few, the answer has been that they are well satisfied. This is as it should be, and it is an indication that the Imperial authorities and the New Zealand Government officials have correctly gauged the situation.

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NATURAL WEALTH AND INDUSTRIES

The development of our natural resources, especially that of dairying, is a romance of industry. Since refrigeration came in 1882, tables show a steady increase in quantity as well as price, so that this small country, with its scattered population, supplies pastoral products to a total of £52,000,000 per year, of which the Mother Land takes 80%, and the people are able to purchase nearly £50,000,000 of imports, an increasing proportion from Britain. In the interests of Empire trade every effort should be made to see that this is maintained, because in the future New Zealand should be one of the most valuable outlets for British goods. The people are very willing to give preference and assistance, it is all a matter of getting together for mutual benefit. From the start the Government of New Zealand fostered the primary industries, and no one can foresee what the total of exports will be. At present there is one dairy cow to each inhabitant, and that can be maintained no matter how the population increases for many years. The details given at the commencement of this chapter form sufficient proof of the statement.

There are over 25 million sheep in the Dominion, which is sixth on the world’s list of wool producers. With the destruction of the rabbit several millions more can be carried on present areas.

Timber is a great industry even now, and with the progress of afforestation will maintain its promin-

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ence, and provide employment for a great number of people.

New Zealand has huge deposits of coal, iron, and lime in close proximity, and the development of the steel industry is only a question of time. Enormous deposits of ironsand on the North Island beaches await methods of treatment. The Dominion was enormously rich in gold, and there are deposits of copper and many other minerals.

Grain growing supplies local requirements in most years, the yield of wheat averaging 30 bushels per acre and of oats 40, good lands yielding up to 80 of either crop. Maize runs to 52, potatoes 6, and onions 10. There are 3,000 commercial orchards, and in time this will mean a large export trade in tinned fruits. Brother bunny and the possum give nearly three quarters of a million in skins. Cordage and binder twine are made from'native flax, which promises with cultivation to ; be a great export trade. Over 2,500 hands are employed in woollen mills, and 12,590 in clothing factories. Footwear to the value of millions is made in local factories, and as much more is imported. Three million pounds worth of flour, biscuits and confectionery are produced, and much imported.

The engineering industry is growing, for local needs which must be produced quickly, and the building of locomotives is becoming a valuable source of employment. New Zealand is the home of up-to-date dairying appliances, and many are made locally. Motor body building is essentially a local industry, especially for heavy duty vehicles, which are used so largely in opening up country where

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railways cannot be built either for physical or financial reasons. The building industry must continue to flourish, by reason of house shortage and growing population.

On the land, near centres, small farm products such as eggs, table fruits, and flowers afford a good living to many people, supplementing their earnings and reducing the cost of living.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE

It is important for people visiting a country, especially for those who contemplate settling, to have a fair idea of the types of people they will meet, and the prospect for harmonious development of their families and themselves. Geographical and occupational considerations make generalisation difficult for the many who essay to write of what the New Zealander is—or is not. Fewer than a million and a half people are scattered over territory one-seventh larger than Great Britain, in a country ranging from sub-tropical to sub-temperate, and separated into two islands, one of which was peacefully and promptly settled and the other still in the making, despite all its progress. Eighty years ago there were no cities or towns, there were savage wars to be fought, the laws of a new land to be made, settlements to be established in virgin country, and the manifold problems of land ownership to adjudicate upon. From this wild, bush-clad land, in less than the span of a long life, the produce exported is worth £50,000,000 per year, nearly £5O per capita. This

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was not the result of waving a fairy wand, but of real, honest, hard work. Land was not ready for the plough. Most of it was under heavy bush, miles from a railway, and accessible only by packhorse. Some day there will arise writers capable of making alive the great epic of our country’s breaking in, the slavish toil to fell and burn, the hopeful planting and stocking, the day to day monotony of that ceaseless work necessary to wrest a living from the soil, cow punching, sheep and cattle rearing, fighting this and that impediment, working, hoping, fearing, to be independent or “ broke ” in the end. One has to sit at nights in rabbiters’ camps or in the bush shanties and listen to the tales that run round the fires. Here is found no brag or boast that some of our critics write of, but exchange of ideas on work done, simple narratives of accidents suffered in the lonely bush, heroic rescues taken as a matter of course, tales of wild fife that show observation and sympathy, all mingled with a friendly simplicity which makes the stranger feel that he is one of them, sharing their ambitions and interests as well as their hospitality, which has been given as a matter of course.

The country life and that of the developing towns are different, and one meets varied types, but generally, like attracts like. New Zealand was peopled from Great Britain by the physical type mainly, hearty, healthy men and women who had the independence and initiative necessary to make them go to an unknown country peopled by warlike savages, determined to make for themselves a place and a fortune.

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The answer to all critics is that the New Zealander is typically Anglo-Saxon. He is the product of the four sections of the United Kingdom, so that in a new land, under altered conditions, he will adapt himself to circumstances and develop a type of Briton suited to the climate and the work. Already there is a great change in the physical make-up of the fourth generation. The third suffered considerably from the hard work of the parents, and the scanty living. The boys and girls attending the secondary schools (and naturally coming from homes where food and comfort are abundant) develop into splendid specimens of humanity.

Class distinctions are not so marked as in older lands, but always there must be certain circles which gather together the like-minded.

That people are free spenders is shown by the magnitude and up-to-dateness of its business houses and the stocks of goods imported from Great Britain, together with the amounts annually spent in motor cars, palatial residences and other luxuries —but other than New Zealanders enjoy modem comforts.

The speculative spirit is evident, but again the New Zealander follows the world. The civil servant, who forms a large part of the community, is independent in his bearing, but this no doubt is the outcome of the democratic spirit prevailing. Practically no tipping is done, or expected.

The New Zealander prides himself on his experimental efforts towards community betterment. Dominion legislation shows that he will, in spite of rebuffs and disillusionment, look for solutions of the great social questions. He is notably charitable,

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hospitable and loyal to the Mother Country, he loves sport of all kinds and is what is known as a “ good sport” in every way. The qualities of self reliance, determination, independence, and love of one’s neighbour so splendidly applied by the pioneer settler are really in no danger of dying out, and are evidenced in the country especially.

FARM WORK

As regards the farmer, conditions vary throughout the Dominion. Even in the early days, settlers who came from Home with money, experience and education assumed much the same position as they had occupied in the United Kingdom, modified by circumstances. They hired adequate labour to break in their holdings, while others not so well off were either hard up and overworked or depended very largely upon their families. The same was the case in both Islands. As the dairying industry grew, the separator and the milking machine run by electricity took away much of the drudgery.

Old conditions are changing rapidly. Farmers as a whole had to keep their families too hard at work for them to have much time for sports, but now in the dairying country it is noticeable that every small cpntre has its tennis court and many have golf links. On a Saturday afternoon one can see perhaps 40 cars and motor cycles drawn up and the young folks playing while the elders make tea and chat. People are coming out who realise the value of sport. That is to the credit of the Mother Country, and

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will be a source of wealth in the time to come. It is a splendid means of getting the young people together and keeping their interest in the land. On the next generation’s influence will depend the viewpoint of the people of their districts as regards agriculture. Aided by scientific training and Government advice, the farms can evolve a yeoman type of which any land might be proud.

The trouble was that not only on the farms but in the country towns the young people, especially the girls, had no real games at all. A few might play tennis and golf, or motor, but the majority had no interest save housework after leaving school. Often their parents were not broadminded enough or generous enough to release the young folks and to provide them with materials for play, failing to realise that games and a pride in physical dexterity improve mental calibre as well. Perhaps it was due to a puritanic spirit. In each centre there should be a good dancing hall and more meetings of an educational as well as a social nature. Much has been done in that direction, of course, but more systematic work is needed if the life on the land is to be made as attractive as it could be. Here is the place at which to arrest the drift in the towns which always exercises the minds of legislators. Rather it could be made a drift to the country. Wireless will play a part in removing isolation and the Government is taking that into account. The telephone, too, has made life pleasant and worth while.

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THE TOWNS

The small towns are prosperous, depending on the back country, buying and selling farm produce and needs. The people generally are hard working and neighbourly. But the continual meeting of the same people day after day has the usual deadening effect. The more “ live ” ones, or those whose specialty finds no adequate scope, leave and go to the larger towns, the residue stay and become more or less set in their ways. New blood is the saving factor, and as the country grows in population any tendency towards stagnation will grow less.

The larger towns are collections of small towns, simply a larger growth of the same material and a little more chance for breadth of thought and action. But being governed by the back country and its needs, there is not much difference.

The Cities, as yet, are collections of larger towns, with buildings to suit the trade, trams, buses, more picture theatres and shops of a higher standard. The ships help the cities by bringing a different population and more variety of goods. Town planning, and quickly, is the remedy for big, loose-jointed, scattered towns. Until modem thought and knowledge are brought to bear on the construction of a town, it cannot help growing up awkwardly and failing to embody that dignity of appearance and civic pride which form the foundation of a truly great centre. New Zealand’s Government recognises this, and steps are being taken to make improvements. The enormous waste of land,

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and the huge cost of municipal control involved by methods unavoidable in the years past, make action imperative on national grounds, and the work should not be delayed. At present land-speculation has obscured the fact that greater benefit will accrue to all when the centres of trade and of culture are correctly designed and the area devoted to homes and factories is defined.

EDUCATION AND GAMES

The standard of literacy is good, but not as high as it will be very soon. In the early days representatives of many leading British families brought a high standard which was theoretically available for all classes, but the distance to the Universities, and the expense of living in the larger towns, was too great for a pioneering people, a handicap which meant that very few outside the cities could take advantage of what undoubtedly was available. Similar conditions prevail to-day, although population and facilities have increased proportionately. The general public have placed too high a value upon a primary education, which, even if it be assimilated, is merely a stepping stone to matriculation, itself the threshold of an education. But the recent highly-approved reorganisation of the educational system by Sir C. J. Parr, when Minister for Education, will in time remove that idea, and the standard of culture and efficiency will rise. One of the most refreshing signs of modernity is the interest being taken by the business people in vocational training, which must re-act upon the

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pre-business education of those who will be engaged in trade and commerce.

Games of all kinds are popular, and an astonishing progression has been made in the number of clubs devoted to tennis, bowls, and golf, while the younger men keep up their interest in the national game of football.

TENDENCY TO RESTLESSNESS

In consequence of the general prosperity of the Dominion and the world-wide failing (if it can be so called) of wanting to take things easily, New Zealanders have not settled down to the idea of a permanent occupation or a place of residence. They like to feel free to change either at a moment’s notice.

However, this goes to show that a country so far developed in so brief a time must have potentialities far in excess of most others and provide a flexibility of working and trading that enables people to find their proper avocations. Allowance must be made for the fact that an enormous amount of gold was discovered, which brought in the speculative element and perpetuated the " get rich quick ” idea. We slaughtered our wonderful timber resources and in the process reared a hardy race of timber getters who moved from place to place as the stands were cut out. Great deposits of kauri gum provided a living for another section of nomads, while shearing and harvest work were merely seasonal occupations. But as the lands are more closely settled, they enable people to steadily work in one place. Then the

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character of the citizens will become more set and like that of dwellers in older lands. Land speculation is, and must remain for years, a determining factor in the people’s make-up, but it is not altogether an unmixed evil, because it induces enterprise and courage in those who otherwise might be inclined to drift or to take things too easily.

A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

Those who come from abroad, with a clear idea of conditions as they exist, will find New Zealand a land of opportunity. None need be troubled about the lack of welcome that has been spoken of by some new arrivals. Taken all round the people of New Zealand are hearty and hospitable, they are not suspicious and they are very tolerant. They heartily agree with the founders of the infant colony in desiring to make it a land where the British race can build a new nation on lines of equity and justice, and throughout their history there have been exhibited all the qualities that have distinguished a fair-minded people. There have been, of course, many conflicts of opinion, and if we took notice of casual criticisms we might be inclined to think that our progress was likely to be slow. But the general standard of living and of comfort has advanced in the most wonderful manner. The people are encouraged to save, and despite their free spending, have millions to their credit in the Government and other savings banks. Patriotic to a degree, they endorse the principle of trading within the

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Empire, and Great Britain finds them one of her best customers on a basis of population.

Only in 1840 did the native race and the British settler make their famous compact, yet to-day each can take pride in the courage, enterprise and magnanimity which moulded the Junior Partner of the world’s greatest colonising Empire.

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MAORI PRONUNCIATION

Little difficulty will be found with the approximate pronunciation of Maori words if it is remembered that every vowel is sounded and given its full value. The word Maori itself is usually pronounced Mow-ree, but it is musical and correct when rendered Ma-o-ree, with no perceptible break between the syllables. On page 2 is the place name Kororareka. It is Ko-ro-ra-re-ka, pronounced as in English. A moment’s examination of what is apparently unpronounceable will show that the word can be easily divided into syllables, and that many contain repetitions, as Ngunguru and Whakarewarewa. Hone Heke is Home He-ke, with all vowels long, Waitangi is Wai-tangi, the “ water of tears." Wairau is Wai-ra-00, usually clipped into Wai-row, Whangarei is correctly Fonga-ree, and Wanganui is Fonga-noo-i, but usage gives the “ w ” sound, and they become Wonga-ree and Wonga-noo-i, just as the flowering tree kowhai should be ko-fy and is generally ko-hy, although in the latter case opinions differ. Maungawhau, the “ mountain where the whau tree grows,” is Ma-unga-wa-oo when split into its component parts, but in use is Munga-wa-00 or Munga wow.

The European either desires to speak more quickly or finds some little difficulty in the gliding of one vowel into the other. As a result his adoption of the nearest sound, gained by an over hasty look at the word, gives the words a less pleasing sound than

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they have when spoken correctly. In words such as Ngaruawahia, the ' nga,’ (as in hunger), should be from the throat, preceded by a forcing of the breath from the chest while the tongue is depressed, and the mouth is open. Then it becomes Nga-roo-a-wah-he-ah. But this looks so formidable that the tongue is pressed on the palate, and the usual pronunciation is Nah-roo-ah-waw-hee-ah, or more often Na-roo-waw-eea. Taumarunui is rendered Tama-ran-00-ee, instead of Tah-oo- mah-roo-noo-ee, and Aorangi is commenced with the sound of “ eh,” when it should be Ah-oh-rangi. The initial “A ” is read as in English, which also happens with Aotea-roa, the native name for New Zealand, meaning “ The Long White Cloud,” and should be pronounced Ah-oh-tee-ah-roa.

Terms Used.

Pakeha= White man.

Wahine = Woman.

Korero = Discussion.

Kumara= Sweet potato.

Hapu = Sub-division of tribe.

Makutu=To bewitch.

Haka = War dance.

Pounamu = Hard greenstone.

Mere = Club.

Reinga = Place of departing spirits.

Tohunga= Witch doctor, or priest.

Tiki = Ornament in form of immature being.

Karakia = Prayer or incantation.

Tapu= Sacred.

Utu = Compensation.

Rangi = Heaven.

L'mu= Earth oven.

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