A LAND OF MEMORIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 194, 17 August 1932, Page 6

A LAND OF MEMORIES.

THE NORTH'S PROMISE. (By HALL THOMPSON.) Our northern peninsula above "YVhangarei mt'js't a.t one time have carried a dense population of Maoris. The Maori as a rule wae a shrewd judge of the productive capacity of a district. Yet to-day in this land which at one time teemed with life you can travel for miles without seeing a single habitation. If this northern land could, at one time, carry a numerous population of agricultural people, who tilled its soil with the most primitive of implements, why is it now so sparsely settled?

We read in Judge Mailing's "Old New Zealand" that when he landed on the shores of the Hokianga Eiver he was met by hundreds of gesticulating natives. We can picture the river as Mailing saw it—smoke rising from every hill and valley along its shores; trading ships at anchor; canoes and boats moving in every direction; a populous water way; yet even at that time he mentions that there was every indication of the population having decreased tremendously during the previous hundred years.

A trip along the Hokianga Eiver to-day is full of interest. Everywhere may still be seen ■the relics and signs of the past, and also in the thriving townships and increasing farming population, a great promise for the future. The two main townships on the river are Eawene and Kolmkohu, bath with a population of about five hundred. At Mot.ikaraka one of the largest dairy factories of the North is situated and pontoons laden with cream cans may be seen making , for the factory from every direction. The pontoon plays an important part in the traffic of the river, and many 6trange cargoes may be seen. Motor cars, sheep, cattle, pigs and farm produce of all descriptions are poiitooned in every direction. I saw a circus which travels the North being loaded on to a pontoon at Eawene, and the performance, which was enjoyed free of charge 'by the local residents, far exceeded in humour and novelty any act which they staged at night. A tale is told of one family living a long way up one of the branches of the river who iiad a strange adventure. It appears there was a dance which none of the family wanted to miss. To catch the tide, however, they must leave at noon, and there was the milking to do at night. The matter was settled very simply. Loading the herd on to one pontoon and the separator, milk cans and bedding on the other, they all floated happily down to the dance.

Everywhere along the banks of the river abandoned sawmills may be seen. With the passing of the kauri a great source of revenue was lost to the North. It also los.t with the passing of the mills a. hardy population of bushmen and mill workers. The Maori and the bushnian have had their day; the war drum and the axe must make way for the spade and the plough. No part of New Zealand offers more in opportunity than these Northern lands. Oranges, lemons, grapes and every kind of tropical and semi-tropical fruit can here be grown. Although at present farming is mostly confined to butterfat production, the day is not far distant when the farmer will realise the value of having more than one string to his bow, and tobacco, fruit, pigs and poultry will add materially to his income.

The advent of the 'motor car and lorry lias recently diminished the launch traffic on the river considerably. It is now possible to get to Auckland in one day; not so long ago the journey took nearly three days. A trip to Auckland even now is looked upon as quite an adventure, and many and strange are the talee that are told when the bold traveller returns. One of these related by Billy, a well-known Maori character of one of the river towns, is worth retelling. Billy, who turns the scale at eighteen stone, had just returned after attending the Easter meeting at Ellerslie and was holding forth to an audience of his cronies. As I came near I overheard the following: "You know, boys, I just having a drink at the bar on the course, and a fellow come up and he elap mo on the shoulder and he say, 'Hello, Hori! I give you the good tip for the Easter Handicap. I'm Snowy Morris, the jockey. . Well, boys, I look at him and I see he pretty fat and must weigh eleven stone, and I know Snowy, he ride about eight stone, so I grab his hand and I shake it hard, and I say, 'By cripes, Snowy, you got the short memory not to know me —I'm Hector Grav!'"

With tho improvement in the ronds more and more motorists are touring the North in the summer months. I am going to prophesy that a. .erpat increase in settlement will take place during the next two or three years. The Maori found this a desirable and productive land, and the white man is just beginning to realise that lie was right. A few more years may see the old Hokianga River again come into its own, and this time the population on its shores will be a permanent one.