OLD-TIME KAWAU.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 177, 28 July 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

OLD-TIME KAWAU.

DESTRUCTIVE OPOSSUMS. Bin, GEORGE FACES THE BULL IMl'f'V cf.lJ .No. TV. • 1 tic jfi f r>rt»sT i 1 ! L' -•Tic*' -»t ' '''' Kuwait. Mr riiomas l.u Mnw. I; Rinv be " "" !>- hold* -1: f.•,v i, u'. ~,j ,i; ' • ' I '■ 'i \ c v«|.ahili: 1. - ~f ■ !"■<■>;'f<-- -,i \ i :,..y w. >11i,) ' Mr. Ihi rri- " •■••• "-I1 t'litt r111• \ ILn . '■ " ! '"•> i,U " \'|'C et a IJ< ;! 1 ' > »••••' . ■"!} t !l at ,1 I I j„| ' - '■ ' : " j i How h ■ 1,, t.,." ... i ; ;; ;• I' ll'"', ,vll : " ' i 1 '. v • ' '!•— .i ni inii I- ai. '.'Vr" - v " mi " of T lir- Mi) |"H- ki. I"- the,,, nfl" in tiinc. and the* «mid j I-o tilr . klo S(iriif7,V r 'i l " >iy ,J r U "" ' ■ vo " r '"''-liard i>U \ ' k ' Km ,h -y «'"- M Tin. ilif'iriuatii'i M, X lew J „T T( . ru)(t (J . •In Aur-kInTif 1 .V'Hiiiuit i-at ion v. v t; ' i "" l " r, ' ! "" ac <>t»> " 11! -it !t;i Kor. T-ar... -. ri-Jn on b,r "I h I" i L'f fr n i t-2 n ,\v ino eounirv Ul - '' iin i ~ ha- kiit.u n t .j || i r ,- . w 'I"' and 1... found "}' !1 1 ''I '< "hild'- era.11,.. Whe, "'"«li.t oi l!i.■ child t!]( 1 ; 'd !(• tile nniinal |i.. i,. T |, ; , t j, ■ lUVorie i„ handle it i),.- li-iil bewail. f Tl i TT<a7 biting and s.-rat, hin- like «ri> ' .i'ne. The opo-sum i- a v,.r A l lan ] ""'"lal Mr. Hams being able t- • ni"'" »yi-e- w I,. in animal with hall " ' '"' :m , ' i " u 11 "'l'. ill Ua- full ~f ;;• j, T . r>- • ! al-.. i 1,..,: i,,|) ~t ; ) |t , r,,. fnv . 1 g-n.-ralU in the garden- ami '"'hard-. Inii-hing i.tl" what tli.' let:. Tliii,u- -..I -nth ""I<T- were l: i\< •11 tl. mill--,. i" rna M<> pivi|»r.r» ion.. Wnila!..-- * l>ri ' SO MMiifrnn- l li;it < \,-n « ||..|| the lally "ihowpil that sli.fino lia.i i.fcn -hut <.'tf they were still thick. Trippers' Paradise. In Im«* can.e a at Kuwati. fur s.i <; icy went Home to ttie'Old 1 ni|iitr\. and Mr. A. T. Harris, who iiad l«.ng and tn.nouratil.v atl'airior the jrreat Pn.-Con>iil. left and came up to Auckland, ihe i.-iainl wa=- let to a man who went ;n \vh(.le-%a lc tor ctittinc! "ur bit?li. and many tI.MU-and- of ton- . "f tea-tree firewood were shipped awav. ■r-i^rht or nine cutter- trading there. In !",0. wliph Sir George returned to New : Zealand, he was shocked to see the havoc . that had been made of his lovelv ir-land home, but gradually got thine? back to normal.

Air. Harri- then goes on to speak of the days when excursions began to be run from Auckland. Kawau being quite h show place. At one time people werallowed to pick in the wonderful orchard but the trees were knocked about, -o that privilege wa= revoked, and men were put on to protect the trees from the carele-s t ripper.

Sir (ieorge wa« a man or kiiomi courage. and one of .Mr. Harris' .-tone-, well illustrates this. IMie day Sir * >eor;_ r e was helping Mr. Harris to carry a table up from the boat to the schoolroom in a lovely cove in Bon Accord Harbour. There was no weight in the thin". but t hat was the kindly wa v ot Jsir (-eor'je— to help everyone. I hey had not gone far when a savage bull appeared, and Harris! warned Sir George. Ihe animal pawed the ground, snorted, and carried on, but t-ir fo-orge refused to retreat, and. taking bis stick, walked up towards the animal, saving, "You bull, I atn your master; what do you mean by this?" There was only about twenty-five feet between them, and Sir George still continued to approach the infuriated beast. Then, waving his hands, and giving a sudden jump, he scared the bull away. Twenty yards off it stood its ground again, but ii was soon away at top speed. The ftJtimai bad chased many peoyde, but Sir < ieorge had his measure. "Stand your ground and face them; have no fear!" "a - his recipe for dealing with wild bull-. Although Kawau is only an island, it whs quite possible to lose oneself there, »t least, that is what happiened to the chaplain on one occasion, for he got bushed, and, fearing the wild pigs, took to 1 he shelter of a tree, where he spent t lie night, and was found next day by the urixions people at the Mansion House, who thought he had fallen down one of the copper mine shafts, or something equally terrible. Another parson, who went down to the island by invitation for a couple of weeks, was told that if he could u«e a gun he might go out and get a couple of brace of wild turkeys. Hi- reverence waited till the evening, v hen lie went to the place where they roosted on an old stockyard, and, getting in a line with the row of birds, he let fly, killing quite a batch. That was the Inst time a parson was asked to go shooting while Sir George had Kawau.

Halcyon Days. i >n Boxing Day there used to be a jolly lit i le regatta at Lower Matakana, where the pakehas and Maoris would foregather and have much fun. There were some fine sailing boats, including a fast one owned by Galsworthy, of Mullet Point: then there were the Glance, the Tay, tin Stag, the St. Kilda. the Marion, and the Kagle. and other cutters which have all long since sailed their last race. Web known and trusty skippers of those days iie luded Jimmy Dickson, W. I). Jones l ed Matthews, Andrew Joseph, and John T< \eira. Built just opposite Kawau was a fine cutter called the Sovereign of the Se.-ip, which was the vessel in which C.if Trey and Penn sailed away after the murder of Taylor at the Great Barrier, over thirtv vears ago.

Kawau people also Used to keep i>[' N< w Year's Day with suitable ceremony. ■i.iet.inies a "\\ar:-Tiiy> would be in port and it was difficult to say who e!ijo\e<! themselves most, the .Tack Tars, ashoie for a frolic, or. the Kawau people. wh< entertained them. I here would be ah frorts of games on these festive occasions both shore people and the sailors takin; p;ii i. "("Morions and happy day.-, Mr. 11., i n-, i• irretfully. Jj,u i! ,'i iiii 1.11 on the i-dnnd, and liar in" v.rkcd i..;- Sir Grey durin; the i.-l-ind"- I."" -b > «»i • i air. Hai ri» i- 11,-It. I r;i n'v \ ri'v inn-li niuched ti til,. 111 ;n. ai;• I 111- n''M T lire- of tellin; Of t!n. h.,1'1 v 1 i \ III" p-o |• 1 e used t< ]i,,. in,),.',- -r (.".Ibenign rub evi-r. 11,i■ i" went like <•!•>< kwork; every bod\' V..-,- veil treated: ihe place wa: kepi |, .. one of Ihe line old English 1,,,:.,- - ve;iii> ah..»i in the feuda tin,— - ami all the beautiful vegetatioi VII- „i>lv | ire-r r\ ei I. Except whert cnlii'.'aiioii wa- -- :, ry for feeding the tuiek. v ir i-li-iously preserved the bll -11 ami where in ere wa s no be v'atiteil ev.nics for shelter and to imTjroVe t'le \ iew. as. for example, the splendid gimcs of pines 8 ™ House Bay and on the islands off the entrance—Pineapple, fcugar Loai , «>rn Rock, Mays Island, and so on-wheh Sir George bought from the Crown, usi c pome a* sanctuaries for aw _• <