THROUGH THE GREAT FOREST

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 270, 13 November 1937, Page 2 (Supplement)

THROUGH THE GREAT FOREST

TFIF. f]pttrnHi(,n of f.,re«t hm mi altered the ffi.P of the potintrv

that it i« difficult to tin.l a lar;re area of un-poiled |,u<h in any |»ut o f I"" Nor! h Inland. K\i'ii nioiin

lilin the. r r»,H ~f | ),e |, ln ,| trw! »hol||.| „,.v.. r hllW |,Pfi| 1.,,,. Ile<| l'.\ Mm wMH.-r. haw I „ ,!,i|,,„.,| of file. [.rotP.-t inif jMrment ~f tree* „ n ,| f-'MM iitnl left, u, n . „,„) ~X [MH. ,.,| ~, " l " Hi«nii!t nf the ruin-. Hut there "in ;i time when the hmh wa« thought tn ),o everla.tinsr. So one imagined Vl nr ri() vnr- that ,h " r " would rorne n" tiniLor famine in Tarannki, or that tlip <..iith Ait<-klnrirl rnnze* would ho ruined i r , and in •■ •«• fitlnr>«« a« watpi Kiipply »onro«H« hv the joint effort* of 1.u.1i .Pttlpr nri.l .awmiller. Flow

r\rr, thin ]« not n (I i««r>rtn t ion on our wn.tr.ful foro.t. rlonrnno*. hut a nnmnim of n gr-nt l-iwh joiirnpv in tho nnrlv rlnvo when thp foreot in ttio hp«rt, of the North Mnrwl wn< Un#r>oi|p,l n n,\ <*•„* tho hnmo of mvrinfU r.f native },ir<l«. whi«-h pro Vir|«l foo,| for tho U.iori ml*linion • nrl ynt nevir rlimini<h«v| in nnmlioni A Narrative by Donald Maclean. Tho plpinurpq of biwh travol in tho.n hnlryotl tiny« have I.ihmi «|pvril>p<l l>y nome of the r. (I r!v colon let*. Ph.. jniirney I ile.cTi'tin hr-rr. wn« rlifTfinnt from nirwt r.f (hour nlrenrly rr»rorr|r<,| hernim,. the rout >■ wn« rinn quito unknown to European « until it win frrivpr«p<l in IHoO hv thnt vr. r y notnlile mnn in our history, Donald \fn«*lenn. nfterwanN jjrnnt Vntivo Mini«ter nn d K.f'.MO. \fjir-lonn Wnmi. a kind of frovornmont nmhn««n>tor to flip Independent Maori trilx-o of thp Intorior; ho hn<| boon in Vow Zen Innd «iriPo lfl.»0, antl now nt thp »2p of .10 be w;i< * rjorwl eponker of Mnorl nnd wn« * relpbrntod and popttlnr flmtrp everywhere amonjr thp nn'tlve people.

From Taranakl to Upper Wanganui

On April .10. lfl-,0. Mr. Mnrlenn not nut from St>w Plymouth on an ••xprvfitlnn »fr«<ii country to th«> T'ppor Wnnjrnntil River. H* hncl pro-'loimlr rlWltwt T.*k* Tonpo ami many other inland r*jrion«. On th!« journey hr rlwUlwl to follow an oW nntlv# war trnrk, the Tntimata manor, route, from th« Waitara to tho I T ppcr Wan?anni River, penetmllnjy a nig?**! htwh country with a few ermtll prhnltlv* village*. Hl* Vf«iorl party numbered 14, and a younjr pakeha, William Kin» (son of Captain King, of N«w Plymouth) accompanied him.

, Th« trail fliwt led pan*' Ptikerunffiorw. th« famous) old fortress of thi. Taranaki people, overlooking the winding Waltarft Rlvtr. T take nn Maclean's aeeojmt of Ms tmrrln at h1« flrat, bnsß earn* beyond piikrranjrlors. The atory in contained In » hitherto onpubliabed MS.

Told by JAMES COWAN

journal, nn" ot many M.K-lrnn doou-' with two pieoea of niveau heart 'ii«mir * irnt fo mo for publication, or |'itli. which would feed three men. A Forest Camp Picture. . i !" ,i %s, ! i,h ~aK n l"<"* r ? 1 in a ti'\v in 11) ii t ••-. Hmaii berries arc

"I am writing thi» journal."' Mr. mo-t i.1.-nt ilul. The oven U ln-ing Mh'-Ip.ui wrote. "under ;i Ijrue 1 opened; it. contain* a Urjjc r|iiantitv ma i.ej ~iml left-red by r omc natives ~f harore, or wild niu-hrr>otn->. This, who liitp in |MJ!i. | lie note- with pure wafer from tlie streams, ■•f tlin k.ika. the tni and fni'iller , wotild of it-elf lie a ;;oofl hermit's bird 4 ill the forest, with the nirtlin;.' , fea-t. F.eln and kokopu are found of the tree-*, the ahinin? of the sun jin the river. - ' * and the murmur of the Manjrahewa | N'ext day the party climbed the ■-tie;iTii jrivo pleasure to tip' «ccnc Keinjoi o-Kari. a *teep. narrow ridjje w here wo arc camped. There i*. «ome- i with a precipice on each «ide. The

thing Tery pleasant In camping with Maoris. All are engaged. Some are lighting firea, others breaking wood, other* getting fern for a bed and pitching a tent; lome are seated by a blazing fire, comfortably emoking their pipes; the rest are lying down, fatigued, to await the opening of the food oven, or employed mending their clothes, after the tearing of the bush. The sound' of the axe is rather cheerful in tha wilderBMfl. '''•/'

•.Tha young boys (three) are delighted that tha. day's journey is' ©rer. They eye the oven ; with an anxious look. There is • native

Menery was grand and wil<l. Far below the. Waitara Kiver flowed through the winding glen.

On the following day the party embarked in four canoes to pole up the Waitara. "A very agreeable trip through thickly wooded country," Maojean wrote. "At Tautnri, a village on the l>ank, the party was hospitably entertained by the people. frith abundance of taro, potatoes and bush pigeon. This ww the XgatiM«ru country, a place of retreat in war-time. Th« Waitara has a deeper and more navigable channel here.

THE STORY OF A PIONEER BUSH JOURNEY

"On the banks, overgrown with high fern and lovely grass, here and there are old stunted rimu andtawai (lx»ech) trees, with their shattered and leafless boughs, evidence that they had srtood the rage ""of many winter storms and torrents of water.

They were already old when the grey-bearded chiefs of the present day used to spear and snare birds on their branches, now covered with long white beardy filaments of mo*, giving a venerable gravity to the trees. On May «. after leaving the VTaitara. the pafty reached a small clearing in the midst of the forest with a'"few thatched huts, where the Maoris went to snare birds. "This is a Iteautiful spot, after leaving the dense forest." Maclean wrote. "There is n lovelv stream, fern and grass, with hundreds of birds keeping us company in our solitude."

"May 7. —After » good breakfast of Captain Kind's well-cured ham and bacon from New Plymouth, we panged throng* a rough woody country where we caught a fine fat kiwi. From the Makahu stream we ascended Waiparu-whanjra, a very steep slippery climb. We caught a second kiwi." We travelled about 20 miles today." Along the Range Top. The olden Maori tracks often kept to the high ridjre*, a precaution ■ gainst surprise by enemies. The Taumata-mahoe range, which waft now ascended by the travellers, was a famous trail of the cannibal war davs, when travellers were constantly on the alert against some likely" foe. This was a greatly broken country, range* beyond ranges, half hidden in the mist*. Of the route and camp here Mr. Maclean recorded:

"The track became so ateep that it can only be ascended by rope* and ladders of rough bush-vine construction. Camped early 1 in the afternoon to cook our kiwis and wild pig*. Our encampment in a beautiful spot; the sun's ray« *hine through a large tree, having the appearance of * lovelv decorated crown. Next morning we ascended the road above the Whangamomona (a river nearly the size of the Waitara) by the native ladder repaired by our Maoris vesterdav."

The party now descended the I'pper Wanjranni River from the lofty broken ranjres. They reached the little village called Matai-whetu ("flaw at the Stars"), romantically nitifcted on a flat between high misty ranges at the junction of the Tanjrrakau and Rivers. As they arrived there, after their roujrh bn<»h journey of ten day* they were received -with loud cries and chants of welcome from the women.