NORTHERN BUSH SETTLEMENTS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 236, 3 October 1894, Page 2

NORTHERN BUSH SETTLEMENTS.

Surely wo musb be more blessed (?) than other portions^ of the North Island in the rainfall, otherwise this season mueb be an exceptional one, for since the middle of May, with.only one fine week and five odd days, there has been continued web weather, and, at bhe bime I wribe,' rain is falling as if all nature required more moisture. .;■ It would be a grand place for Diokens' " Mark Tapley" to be in; ho would certainly find credit in being jolly here. Is- has had the effecb of keeping our work back, nob so much thab we have losb days ; we do not stop often for rain, except when the mornings are very wet, but one cannot got on with the work in the rain with clothes "wet through. However, tho work of clearing is. progreseing. Several sections are completed, and numerous others fairly on the way. On eomo the'underscrub ia very dense and difficult to cub, owing to which 1 musb say I think ib unfair to make the advance a uniform one. Some who have gob their sections completed have lef b, some I believe being unwell,; arid come doubblens want a resb or change of weabher; I believe they intend returning. I am inclined to believe that if continuous, remunerative employmenb is given to intending settlers, all (or nearly so) intend to give bhe land a good trial. The great trouble is not having their families near: at hand and bhe great expense and difficulty of bringing them up and erecting suitable buildings. We trust the Government will not fail us in this matter. I had hoped to explore the country away back, but in the face of such weather nothing could bo done. One intending eebbler for the Marlborough settlement passed through a few weeks back—a fine, strong-looking man he was, too. Ho seemed to make nothing of plodding through the mud and slush, half up to his knees, and lasb week I saw Mr Harrison (surveyor) doing likewise on his way bo survey the said block, so we conclude that he will be followed shortly by those for \vho:n ho is going to survey. As the outlet for them is along this same road we are now ca/nped on, we shall, when all are settled, not be on a lonely road by any means. On some of the sections there is an abundanceof stones, suitable for roadmaking purposes, and it is to be hoped that ere next wiaber this road will be put in order, otherwise, with a like season, it will be useless for six months of the year. Even the pack horses are beginning to find a difficulty-in getting through, and the storekeepers do not care to send their horses much further up the road. The men in the nexb block find greab difficulty in getting their provisions up. One great trouble is that we are unable to get fresh meat, and have had none since our arrival. There should be a good opening for some enterprising man. Rumour has ib that Mr Owen, tho owner of a large block of landf hero, has disposed of some hundreds of acres of land, and is also going to cut up a portion of his block into 20-acre sections. Should this be the case, it will be a splendid chance for diggers, both to secure land and sum, for it is said bhab enormous quanbities of ?um can begot, if only the swamp were dry. Another reporb alao gives ib thab Mr Owen is going to erect sawmills, as I think I before mentioned. If all thiseventuatee, itmustgreatly tend to the benefit of us eottlerr, and enable us to dispose more readily, of our produce. Wo have nob yeb arrived ab bhe year 2000, and therefore cannot give Mr Bellamy's view of co-operation. There have been hitches of various kinda in the several camps, natural to our common humanity as at present constituted. Upon the whole, work nas progressed. I fancy that had no one known until after /all bhe clearing bad been done, which section was to be his, thab ia, that the sections should have been' balloted for after the clearing, ib would have worked bebbor. Through the kindness, of Mr Watkins, junior, lam able to give you a list of the trees growing around here. As a rule the bush is very mixed, and shows that with the.exception of a few trees here and there,, that tho forest is a new growth, and in places one's feet sink in the decayed vegetation leaves, etc., a foot or more, while at times, in stepping on old fallen trees, one sinks up to tho knee. A few very old kauri are to be seen. One of our party measured one, 37 feet around 3 feeb from the ground, to 12 feet diameter. There are a large number of lotara varing in sizeup to about 18 feeb in circumference. You will soo by th^ following liabj that we have plenty of choice of timber to pick from, viz., kauri, totara, rimu, miro, tawa, taraere, towai, pukatea, maire or maai, kokekoho, rewarewa, pate, hangehange, neinei (spider wood), horoeka (or lance wood), toro, banekaba, rata, and a large variety of smaller trees and shrubs, some of whose flowers have a delightful perfume, and are very showy. Ib gives me a feeling of reereb when I think that all this beauty will, after the fire, be bub blackened remains'of trees,and stumps. . Ib is ,to be hoped tho fire will not go through the standing bush, but I fail to see, how that can be avoided in some situations where the forest iB dense. I may be able in a future letter bo reporb as bo the earnings, at present o^y a few can arrive at anythine like an idea, as parties have divided and in other cases only portions of sections have been cleared, but I am told by some who ought to know, that the price will nob on their sections give more than 4s 6d to 59 per day.—(Our Correspondent.)

A Government surveyor has been sent- up to the Paparori Block,*of 2,000 or '3,000 acres, on the shores of Rangaunu Bay, near Awanui, in the far north, in order to inspect the land and see whether it may be considered kauri gum land or not. Several local gumdiggers have made application bo take up 100-acre sections.