TE MOEHAU.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 202, 28 August 1888, Page 2

TE MOEHAU.

BOTANY OF THE MOUNTAIN.

At the meeting of tho'Auckland Institute last evening, an interesting papor entitled " The Botany of tho Moohau Range " was read'by Mr James, Adams, B.A. MjAjJams illustrated his remarkß by means of two large maps, one showing the whole of the Cape Colville peninsula (on the northern extremity of which Te Moehau mountain is situated), and the .other the mountain itself and its immediate neighbourhood. Mr Adamssaid that theMoeliuu range might bo said to commence on the saddle between Cabbage Bay on the west and MatamataHurakeko on bhe east, f rom e whenoe rising gradually it extended to the saddle between AVaioro \raHey arid Port Charles. Then it rose with a steep incline "into the M'oelmu mountain, which had ah altitude of 2,750 feet. All the' approaches to the mountain wore very steep, eppe.ciaUy at the northern end, whero the spurs rose übcuptly^fcom the sea. The appearance of this end was the more forbidding from tho high and rugged rocks' that .stand in the sea at aj little' distance from tho shore- Theie was a weird look'about tho mountain from whichever ■>point it was seen, which was greatly owing to; two peaks which to \Ver up to form tho summit. Tho Maoris in the neighbourhood" had a" dread.of the upper parta of- the mountain, and avoided 16' as - touch as "possible.:' The ! Maoris had sfcill a; belief that the mountain j was peopled by Patiipaia.veho, or a^rafce akin to fairies, ahbrt in itatttre; arid 01 fair skin, and many legends were extant with regard to them. 'Even noir, the nativeß said, voices otPatupajareh.o men, women, and children coHli sometimes be heaifdjn the dense bush on misty day_s and dark nigh fcs. The dreas of the Patupaiarehe (or Tureliu, as they were sometimes called) no I doiibt hindered the natives from ascending j; the mountain, but it was surprising that the natural "indomitable curiosity of some colonists did not urge them to the summit. Several had made the attempt, but for ope reason or another gave ife up, and a successful ascent! vf^a not made un.til January lasj;, when Mr Adams and bis son succeeded in accbmplißliing it. Mr Adams cpn'fbased his belief that if thero Kad been among bbtanists a suspicion that the top of To Mpehau was a Vfetltab)o gai'dtin" ipi* rare lilants, which cojuld not be found nearer than .the Ruah'iae raiigQ in the Hawke'e Bay disfcriqt, this would Kaye been, a sufflblenti inducement to havo hadtM mountain topexplored long flgo^ Bufc thero was no ground uy* such a suspicion. The botany of tho other high peaks on the main rangtj of Cape Colvino peninsula was very well known, and although there mightbe a flight variation in some of the plants, yob the vegetation on all the peaks was.''Strikingly similar. .A cataloguu of the. plants on Kaitarakihi, tsasb of Puriri,'and of Mamapuko, easfc of Tapurdiffere<l very slightly. Before making the ascent of the mountain, Mr Adams had been enabled to spend some time inspecting the botany of thei surrounding lowlands, and he described tho geological foi-nvitioh "of th 6 coiihtry>about the neighbourhood of Cabbage Bay. Along the eeashore and for aotno disbanc,o; inland ho noticed the pohutukawa, hgaio, karo, kowhai, karaka,; veronica pubeacens, ■ eoprosma; baneriana, and others.; After describing the islets near the shore and their vegetation, the open land was stated by Mr Adams; t6 bo covered with the usual oncebal plants, leptoapermum, &c.j,, and Jn sheltqrecV plftcls/kowhai, akda.ke, tupakihi,, iuireao, wharangi, titold, which formed pretty grovetoiChe open land wa3 surrounded by steep ridges that rose abruptly from streams which flowed at their base. Both sides and -Bumniits were, thickly clothed with dense, green forest; amongst the ".trees' found being mahoe, nikaiij puriri, kohekohe, ponga and tawa. On the highest; peak of these ridges, Te Matau,-a-Maui, 1,018 feet high, thera was found a fine specimen of veronica pubescens, fully seven feet high, and symmetrically grown; The vegetation of the Pakorero swamp near by was described, and the yaripuH plants, native grasses, etc., enumerated. ...Mr Adams then "recounted1' the preliminary [ difficulties which attended the ascenb.of the Moehan. After ascending the Waiaro Valley, from Cabbage Bay; a leading spur was' ascbuded, and after a steep .climb of about 1,000 feet, tjiick^bush w*s; reached, : and great difficulty was experienced in following up the spur owing: to the intertwining kiekie, mangemange, kareao, etc. At the trig station, at an elevation oi 2,054 feet, he observeii the pukatea and the tawhero sas the largest trees. After camping in a favourable fepot for the nigh b, the ridge was followed up, and. after much' difficulty the rounded peak, covered with stunted, vegetation, was reached. Evei'y step pn the open ground showed that nob only was the vegetation, a contrast to that on the ridge, but also that it was unlike thab of any obher high peak on the. main range^throughout the peiiinsnla. There was an astonishing similarity between the Moehau plants and those ;qf the Nelson mountains. The Moehau peak was a'roundedmassof arigiticaudesite, intruded between, the slate formationi of I which the woiVnbairi was 'comnqifidv and

the open land on tha ewmmlfe Vrn,« about 100 acres lv extent. "• On the /Mb and rounded top the tallesb-piarite were ebunbed neinei and olumps 01 phor-. mium coleneoi. Mr Adama enumerated the plants which ho observed on the peak, including upwards of 40 varieties, some of which wore nob found nearer than the top of Hikurangi on the Ruahiner range; The ■appearance of Roahine plants on the summit was the more remarkable, aaMamapuke, Kaibarakihi and Ta Aroha were respectively two or three hundred feet higher, and it appeared to Mr Adams that Moehau was the oldest land formation on the Cape Gblville peninsula. An extensive and unimpeded view was obtained from the sunjmit, from Mamapuke in the south to the islands in the vicinity of Auckland Harbour, and east and west for a great distance. ' There was nothing upon the mountain to support life, save perhaps njkau and a few berries, so that there was libble iriducemenb for th.c ancient Maori to ascend it, and as np kauri, grew there above ttio level of I,OOQ feet there was no"attraction" for the gum-digger. _ So, aftev a few expeditions had bean made to fully explore the summit for plants, le Moehau >vpuld probably be left unclistprbed •save by the winds. ,"