ROTORUA-TAUPO.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 99, 29 April 1933, Page 8 (Supplement)

ROTORUA-TAUPO.

AFTER THE WARS.

WHITE WOMAN'S VISIT. LOST TERRACES DESCRIBED.

I We published recently extracts from the diary of Mrs. Howard Jackson, who was Miss Laura Mair, a sister of those famous soldiers Major and Captain Mair. The latter part of the diary contains an account of a visit paid to the Rotorua and Taupo districts in 1873, only a year or so after the last shots had been fired in the campaign against Te Kooti. The contrast between the journey then and travel conditions now is striking. With two brothers and two sisters Mrs. Jackson left their home in the Waikato and travelled down the river as far as-Mercer, in the little steamer the Blue Nose. From there the journey was made to Auckland by coach. They then went by steamer to Tauranga, which they left on horseback for Rotorua. Some Maori boys drove the packhorses laden with tents and food. The second day they passed . a place where Captain Mair had at different times skirmishes with the Hauhaus. On one occasion 14 of Te Kooci's men were killed and Captain Mair had only one of his men wounded. Mrs. Jackson states: "We saw Kereopa'e house with several huts near by which he had locked up when he went to Ruatahuna, in the Urewera Country, whero ho was ultimately captured and paid the penalty for the brutal murder of the Eev. S. Volkncr." Their Arrival at Rotorua. "When we reached Ohinemutu," Mrs. Jackson says, "which was then a big Maori settlement, the natives came out in swarms to welcome us. They had just completed a fine meeting house, which had taken three years to construct, and had cost them £2000. We were amused to see some of the women nursing little pigs in blankets which they seemed to love as much as their little brown babies." The Maoris had grown a lot of tobacco, which they dried on hot stones. "I was horrified," states Mrs. Jackson, "to see little boys and girls in their birthday suite, smoking clay pipes—a really djoll sight. Men, women and children were all smoking." Even sixty years ago Mrs. Jackson was surprised at the number of geysers which had been noted for activity, which were extinct at the time of her visit. She states: "Waiheke at Ohinemutu, in 1865, was in splendid form when Major Mair took the Hon. Herbert Mead to see it. Then it suddenly eeased playing and remained silent ever afterwards. Another small geyser at Tokaanu, which was constantly used' for cooking purposes when the force under Colonel McDonald was quartered there in 1569, suddenly burst up while the men were cooking their Christmas dinner—joints of beef, and plum puddings were hurled 100 feet into the air. That geyser never played afterwards. One of the best geysers we saw was at Whakarewarewa, which is a most weird place. That geyser was throwing water into the air for a height of 40 to 50 feet. When pieces of soap were "thrown into it the geyser became furious and increased the height to 80 feet or more —a grand sight." Gilbert Mair's Soldiers. The party next visited Mokoia Island, and from there went to Ivaitereria, where Captain Gilbert Mair was stationed with his native contingent. Concerning these Maoris, Mrs. Jackson wrote: "It is astonishing what training has done for them. It was a pleasant sight to see them drilling. Many of them were tall, handsome men; in fact, they would do credit to a regiment of white men. They were fond of sport, played cricket well, and had a spring board, from which they plunged into the lake. I did some shooting at the butts nearby, making very fair scores, which pleased the Maori soldiers immensely. To see white girls was a new experience to them, but one who could fire a gun was indeed a rare bird."

The party next went to Te Mu, staying at a deserted mission station from which the occupants had been driven by hostile natives several times, the last occasion being three years previous to this visit. "Wo made Te Mil the headquarters and from there took excursions to various places of interest," states Mrs. Jackson. "We found some fruit in the old garden and shot plenty of game. In the comfortable sitting room was an old organ. We always held service on Sunday, the Maoris joining in singing the hymns they knew. It was in this old home that in brighter days, the old missionary hospitably entertained the Duke of Edinburgh. He was delighted to see the son of his beloved Queen coming up the path, and hurried to meet him, his hands outstretched to clasp those of the Price. He asked: 'And how did you leave your mother?' to which the Duke replied, 'Quit© well, sir. Thank you, sir.' " The Terraces. "Our next excursion was to the Terraces. Making an early start, we had an awful scramble through fern 6ft to 7ft high over a stony way down to the side of Tarawera Lake. There we got two canoes, each manned six Maoris. W e were landed at a little bay, the natives taking the canoes up the rapids, where, after a great scramble to meet them, we were rowed across Rotomahana Lake, and landed at the foot of the White Terrace, which was by far the more beautiful of the two. Just imagine an immense staircase of white coral, with every step a pool of celestial blue water. At the top was a huge cauldron throwing boiling water 40ft to 50ft into tlie air, which then flowed down, filling every pool in its course to the lake. The surrounding hills were covered by steam jets, mud volcanoes were constantly his6ing, spluttering and gurgling, as they may have been doing for hundreds of years. We were next rowed half a mile to the Pink Terraces, just opposite. The formation is much the same, but the staircase was of smooth pink stone, with clear water flowing down to the lake. At the side of the Pink Tei-ace near the top was a table of smooth stone with an inch of clear water running over it. On this were some hundreds of names written, including that of Sir George Grey, dated 1860. Some person had chipped off the Duko of Edinburgh's signature among others. We all wrote our names, and I was told some months afterwards a was had written under them, 'Quite a Hairs' nest.' We spent two nights in this fascinating place and then returned to Te Mu. A Dangerous Trip. The next excursion was to Okataina — a beautiful little lake situated among the hills surrounding Tarawera. We borrowed an ancient Maori canoe to cross to the settlement on the other side of

the lake, which was as calm as a millpond when we started. Suddenly the wind rose, and the waters too. In no time it was blowing a gale, and the water came over the side of the canoe, which also leaked badly. It would have been useless to turn back, so we kept on, the boys bailing the water out of the canoe as fast as it came in. Suddenly it became calm and all danger was past, but it was a close thing. We landed at the settlement in a sorry plight, wet to the skin. We were welcomed by an old man and a woman, who gave us grapes and water melons to eat. The woman gave us possession of her hut, made a big fire, and dried our clothes. Wild duck were shot, and soon stewed in an iron pot with potatoes, and my brother made some wooden spoons, so that we had quite a feast. An ancient mariner, who took us across the lake in the lovely calm morning, said, "While those girls were laughing and talking, my heart was in my mouth." Unsettled Country. Mrs. Jackson and her party went on to Taupo, and both there and on the way stayed in garrisoned forts. The picture she gives of the country shortly after the Maori Wars, with some of the natives still disaffected, is very interesting. There was an element of risk in the return journey to the Waikato, but Captain Mair seemed to know every native, and was "loved by many and feared by a few." Since the murder of Sullivan, a surveyor, a year before —the women in this party were the first to go over the road he was surveying—settlers beyond Cambridge had given up their homes, and as the party approached the town they passed deserted homesteads. They were clallenged by a guard on the bridge at Cambridge. Mrs. Jackson's description of Cambridge reads curiously to-day—an "ugly treeless little town," with a lake that was only a lagoon, but had possibilities.