THE ALBERTLANDERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 19, 23 January 1926, Page 27

THE ALBERTLANDERS.

STORY OF MAUNGATUROTO. TRANSPORT PROBLEMS IN THE SIXTIES. THE BIRTH OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT. MARK TAPLEY IN THE BACKBLOCKS. (Edited by HEXEY HOOK.) We now turn to the business conditions of the time; the facilities open to the settlers for getting their everyday requirements in provisions and clothing, in addition to seeds, tools, and building requisites. There was not much money in circulation providing the wherewithal to buy, and when the people had the cash to spend they were faced with the bugbear of bad communication and long and vexatious delays in the transport of goods. Looking back to the limitations and adversities of pioneer days, we not unnaturally ask, " How did the people live ? " for some years all supplies came from Auckland. There was a small store at Mangawai kept by Mrs. Seymour (wife of Captain Seymour), but only a very limited stock was held, rendering it of little use to far back settlers. It was customary for several families to combine and make up an order for the goods they required. A typical order for division among several households would be, say, lOcwt of flour, two or three bags of sugar, rice, oatmeal, etc., a box of groceries, and at times some parcels of drapery; quantities had to be regulated to not exceed a dray load from Mangawai to Kaiwaka, nor a fair load from Kaiwaka to the settlement by " the Punt," the cargo boat which appeared to be the common property of the settlers. The order decided on, it was dispatched to town, the time being carefully estimated as to how long supplies on hand would last, and guesses anxiously made as to when the goods ordered were likely to come to hand. And here there were many possible TWO FINE OLD MAUNGATUROTO PIONEERS.

contingencies. Presuming the order duly reached its destination, the movements of the Mangawai boat were uncertain. It might be in Auckland, or on its way there, or have left again for Mangawai before the tradesmen had time to ship the order. The boat's movements were anxiously debated, on the latest information as to her movements, and parties interested were close observers of wind and weather. Often, after a favourable run up the coast, it would be necessary to beat about outside for several days, owing to the state of the bar. The only means of getting information as to any of these possibilities was by the mailman once a week, or by a chance traveller from or near the coast. The anxiety of the housewives, with diminishing larders, and faced with uncertainty as to when the next supply would come, may be imagined. However, when the goods had arrived at Mangawai, there was still some uncertainty as to when the bnllock wagon could be "commandeered" to haul them the next stage to the Kaiwaka store. This old building, which has long since disappeared, was, at the time of which we write, in a dilapidated condition, lacking doors and windows, and a portion of its floor; having been used as a goods depot for a long period, an army of rats had quartered themselves in the vicinity, and made heavy inroads on the flour, oatmeal, and other edibles which were stored awaiting removal. The bags had often to be repaired before loading for the river iourney home. Hence, when it was ascertained that the goods had reached there, both the fact that they were urgently needed at the settlement and the wish to safeguard them from the rodent invasion, led the settlers to get the old boat under weigh on. the iollowino- tide, en route for Kaiwaka, to secure them.

impressed on my memory than all else is the early mornings on the beautiful Kaiwaka. I have already spoken of the mystical suggestion of its moods under a starlit sky; no greater contrast can be imagined than the picturesque display in the same river under the flooding light of the rising sun. To add to the charm of the scene, birds innumerable used to frequent its banks, and tuis in particular made the air vibrant with their notes." Assuming the safe arrival of the party at Kaiwaka, and the return trip safely negotiated, after anchoring at the river junction to await the returning tide, on reaching the Wairau landing the cargo had to be carried ashore and carefully covered, after which the walk home, a climbing journey of over a mile, ended the excursion. The goods had yet to be divided, according to the orders, and carried by the men on their b&ek3 to the several from a mile to two miles from the landing place. The road was designated the " Tiger Hill Koad," and ran in almost a straight line from near the site of the present hotel to the old Congregational Church—a climb nearly all the way. These conditions prevailed during the first ten years in the settlement life. Travel, transport, and communication conditions were execrable. For want of just that information which can now be got in a few minutes, people wanting to go, for instance, to Auckland, would waste from a week to a fortnight waiting for a boat at Mangawai. Working under crude conditions, much of the old settlers' time and labour were wasted—a maximum of effort for a minimum of result. The contrast between then and now is brought home forcibly by a simple comparison between the business service and communications. Xow a ring at the 'phone brings the household requirements to the door in a few hours, or secures any information we may want from a neighbouring district or Auckland. Train and motor services convey passengers and daily mails, many main roads are metalled, though " the battle with the mud " still continues on the side roads a≤ an unpleasant heirloom of the past. Pursuing now the progress of our newly planted settlers, the inquiry arises: Where was the cash coming from to purchase the necessaries of life and meet other immediate liabilities ? It did not come from the land, nothing accrued in actual cash from that source for a long time ahead. Most of the colonists had, however, a certain amount of capital, and returns for work done outside the district added to their moderate reserve. The produce of farmyard and garden also was coming in to supply the household needs, and thus family expenditure was greatly minimised. Gardens yielded good crops of vegetables, milk was plentiful, and the useful barn door fowl thrived in increasing numbers, providing an abundance of eggs in season. But a substantial addition to "the menu" waa the native pigeon. This beautiful bird abounded in the bush, and was the mainstay of the settlers' tables as far as meat was concerned. Kaka and tuis were also used, but to a limited extent. The newcomers had had little previous knowledge of ISTew Zealand bird life, they had not heard of the pigeon, the tui, the wild parrot, or any of the native birds, and each of these feathered denizens of the forest, as it came under their notice, was a fresh interest and surprise. Under date April 7, 1867, the settlement records briefly minute the first tragedy in its history. " A distressing accident occurred in the family of Mr. J. T. Clark, his child, two years of a<r e , beinJailed in the bush by a piece of dead wood (a branch) falling on itthis was the first death recorded in the settlement/ April -10 • Inquest on the child held by Mr. Evan, J.P., of Hakaru." Thus death cast his first shadow over the" young community; and the inquest, the gTave dug in the new clearing for an innocent child spoke to the settlers their solemn and touching message. Mr. Clark and family, who had resided in the district several years, left for other parts in 1868. When sickness occurred in the community it was brought home what isolation really meant. There was no medical man nearer than the respected Dr. Fisher, of Matakohe, and a special journey of some fourteen miles was" entailed to secure him. It was, however, fortunate that the people possessed a "Mother in Israel," in the person of Mrs. J. Cullen. She was one of those skilled nurses who never passed an examination. When accident or sickness befell the people, they naturally sought her aid. As a maternity nurse she excelled, and the recollection of her kindness and practical Christian service is a memory which lives. Local Government had its birth in Manngaturoto at a meeting at the post office (Mr. Eowsell's), on May 3, 1867, when Messrs. J. Hurndall, E. Boat, E. Martin, J. B. Mason, and J. Gurnmer were elected as a Board of Highway Trustees. The first business act of the newly constituted board wag to levy the crushing rate of 2d per acre on the district lands! The tax seems moderate to the point of absurdity, but the infant community was legislating for its day. and. admittedly, men whose acres were to cost them a great deal in "money and labour before they could realise any cash return, did well to tax themselves at all. Further, behind the establishment of this Highway Board and the levying of the rates on all holdings, there was the principle of equity. In Maungaturoto and the adjoining blocks of Brynderwyn and Peroa a'large amount of unoccupied land was held, the property of absentee owners. Now, the resident settlers were politicians enough to sense the betterment principle, and to scent the injustice of unearned increment. It began to dawn on them that by settling on and improving the land they were also enhancing the value of the property held by the non-resident landholders, who were themselves in no way contributing to that end. In constituting the Highway Board they were enabled to include under its jurisdiction all those adjoining properties, of themselves almost equal to the Maungaturoto Block, and secure from the owners a contribution in rates toward district revenue. The outsiders—those who could be located—thus paid in their moiety to the local treasury, and' the rate levied, instead of bringing in only about £60, yielded more than £100. The movement was manifestly fair, and had the effect of bringing in a certain amount of money into the settlement—the rates when expended provided earnings for the bona fide settlers. County councils and highway boards nowadays think in thousands, and have much more ambitious ideas of revenue and public works, but to the " fathers of the hamlet" in Maungaturoto, back in the 'sixties, that £100 released for expenditure was a distinct boon. During many years the Eoad Board continued to do useful work. Mr. J. Hurndall occupied the position of chairman almost continuously till the time he left the district—about 1883. Mr. J. Gummer held the treasurership for a long period, and was a member of the board up till the time it was merged, in the Otamatea County Council- The late Mr. E. J. Howard was also for many years foreman of works. In the late 'sixties Mr. Walter Eowsell, sen., secured the contract for the conveyance of the mails, and thus became mail carrier as well as postmaster. During his first contract Mx. Eowsell met the mails from Auckland at Pakiri, where they were brought by boat from Auckland, returning through Tβ Arai, North Albertland, Mangawai and Kaiwaka, taking- several days on the journey. There wre quite a number of mail carriers during the first years, but among them Mr. Eowsell stands out as a unique and interesting personality. Possessed of an enterprising spirit, a kindly nature, a fund of humour, and a Mark Tapley faculty of cheerfully facingand overcoming difficulties, he was a favourite with old and young. Fondly and familiarly spoken of as " Daddy," he was one of the best known men on the road. Boads were ** in embryo "; the rivers were not yet bridged, and the mail carrier had to travel on foot and ford the streams on the way. A regulation time-table was an impossibility en account of the difficulties and delays on the journey—storms and floods often delayed Mr. Eowsell for several days. There was no means of commnnieating with his home while away. He could not advise his wife as to his whereabouts, and many anxious hours and days were spent by Mrs. Eowsell, at home with a young family, in. uncertainty as to bis safety. However, "Daddy" always came sreflfncr through, undaunted by the misadventures of the road. The settlers' correspondence was very light at first, and the mails were carried on foot, but as population increased they grew in weight and a horse for the mail man became indispensable. "Daddy's" first horse, Turpin (also one of the first in the district) was a hardy, upstanding chestnut, freely decorated by the branding iron which'had seen service in the Maori Wax (probably in the commissariat). For a number of years Mr. Eowsell was not only mail man. but general commission agent and parcel delivery factotum, and the arrival of our friend on Turpin was to many the one notable event of the.week. " Mail day "in a country community is usually one bright spot in its quiet routine, but a source of interest m Mr Eowsell's Arrival —apart from letters and papers—was goods, much needed goods of all sorts. This versatile mail man carried anything, from dress material, groceries and tools, to live stock in the form of poultry and little pigs. - £To be Continued Next Saturday.)