THIS WEEK YEARS AGO

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 66, 19 March 1938, Page 14 (Supplement)

THIS WEEK YEARS AGO

GOLD discoveries on the West Coast and the need for some improved and safer means of transport resulted in the construction, during: 1865 and 1866, of the famous route through the Otira Gorge to Hokitika. The official opening of the road took place in March, 1866, after one of Cobb and Company's coaches had made the first trip earlier in the month. The matte;- of the road first came up for urgent discussion in 1865, just after the West Canterbury Goldfielda had been Gazetted. The need for land communication was accentuated by the dangerous nature of the sea voyage from Nelson, many lives having been lost in shipwrecks. On March 15, 1865, Mr. Edward Dobeon and 50 men set out to construct tie road over Arthur's Pass. They worked energetically, and on July 15 the first West Coast overland mail arrived in Christchurch. The road was far from complete, however, and this was a nightmare journey taking ae long as four days. Work was pressed on, and just over a year after the road was started the opening took place. Terrible Privations Five days without water or proper food, survivors from the wreck of the barque Emilie, dismasted and waterlogged in a hurricane in Foveaux Strait on March 26, 1890, suffered terrible privations before they were rescued by mutton-birders. Carrying a load of timber* the 641-ton barque had left Bluff the previous day for Melbourne. Before clearing the straits, she ran into a ter-

8y... Max Whatman

rible storm, of such intensity that the vessel became unmanageable and finally lay over on her beam ends. Just after a boat had been launched, the masts were torn away, cutting the boat in half. Seven of the eight men in the boat were drowned, the survivor being picked up after floating about for two hours clinging to a balk of timber. The Emilie drifted towards Stewart Island, and finally struck on the rocks at its southernmost tip. The five survivors stayed aboard till she started to break up, and then swam ashore with the aid of floating wreckage. A bleak and barren prospect greeted them, and for seven days they wandered about the rocks, living on Maori hens, parts of a dead seal, seaweed and shellfish. Nearly dead from exposure, the five men were rescued and taken to Bluff, where John Brownrigg, the mate, died before he could be admitted to hospital. The Court of Inquiry decided that the timber load in the Emilie had shifted and burst the vessel open. Southey*s Death Famous poet and man of letters, Robert Southey died insane on March 21, 1843, after a brilliant career enriching English literature. The son of a poor draper, Southey early showed a love of literature and romance. He was expelled

from school for writing an essay protesting against flogging, but completed his studies at Oxford. A revolutionary at heart, he was stirred by the happenings in France and wrote his first epic poem, "Joan of Arc" to their inspiration. A meeting with Samuel Taylor Coleridge did much to influence the young man. Shortly after this meeting and the publishing of "The Fall of Robespierre" and "Poems," Southey contracted a runaway marriage and tried to study law. He then wrote, after visits to the country, his great "History of Portugal," and settled down to live the life of a country gentleman, dependent on monetary gifts from friends and what his publications, brought him. "Madoc," "Metrical Tales" and "Other Poems" appeared in 1805, "The Curse of Kehama" in 1810, and "Roderick, Last of the Goths," in 1814. He wrote regularly for the "Quarterly Review," his articles displaying the revolutionary tendencies which marked his life. In, 1813, through the influence of Sir Walter Scott, he was appointed Poet Laureate. A feud between Southey and Byron enlivened this period, and the publication of "Wat Tyler" roused a storm of protest against its republican enthusiasm. Southey was not in the highest sense a poet, but his prose was masterful, easy, graceful and skilful. He was a prodigious workers, his collected yer«e filling 10 volumes and his prose 40 volumes. Famous Painter Son of a manufacturer in Antwerp, Anthony Van Dyck, one of the greatest of painters, was born on March 22, 1599. Studying under Reubens, he soon showed great promise and it was said of him that his works even at the age of 20 showed scarcely less brilliance than those of his great teacher. At the age of 24, Van Dyck visited England and painted a full-length portrait of James I. He then studied at Venice, and an enthusiastic study of the works of Titian, Giorgior.a and Veronese left a deep impression on his work. Famous particularly for his religious subjects, Van Dyck executed many notable church decorations and painted

some of his finest works, such as "Adoration of the Magi," a "Crucifixion" and an "Ascension." Returning to Antwerp, he painted the great "Ecstasy of St. Augustine," which, however, wa« spoilt by alterations insisted on by the monks for whom he did it. After a short visit to England in 1629, Van Dyck returned to the Continent and there painted some of his most notable portraits. His work came under the notice of Charles 1., who appointed him his principal painter-in-ordinary, gave him an estate and an annual grant of £200, of which is recorded, however, that it was seldom paid. Van Dyck married in 1639, but continued to lead a careless life and spend money lavishly. He was frequently penniless and his patron the King could not always be relied on for prompt settlement of commissions. He returned to the Continent in 1634, and painted more religious subjects. Broken in health, he returned to England and died at his home in Black friars on December 9, 1641. Besides his skill as a painter, Van Dyck was also a great etcher. He was knighted in 1632. In 1885 the National Gallery paid £17,500 for his noble equestrian portrait of Charles 1 Great Statesman Great statesman and staunch Imperialist, Viscount Milner played an important part in the South African War and the Great War by his activities on the civilian side of conflicts. Born on March 23, 1854, Alfred Milner made his mark as a civil servant in Egypt and England, and in 1897 was appointed High Commissioner for South Africa and Governor of Cape Colony, followed by appointments as Governor of the Transvaal and Orange Free State five years later. He tried hard to maintain peace, but could not overcome the ill-feeling aroused over the Jameson Raid and the obduracy of Paul Kruger. When the war ended he devoted his energies to material reconstruction and introduced the indentured system of Chinese labour in the Rand mines. After his creation as a baron in 1901 and a viscount in 1902, he returned to England in 1905. In 1916 he became a member of the inner War Cabinet and in 1917 was sent on an important mission to Russia on behalf of the Allies. The following year saw him Secretary of State for War. His negotiations in Egypt in 1920 led to the granting of Egyptian independence. Crossing the Jordan March 24 is the anniversary of General Allenby's famous crossing of the Jordan in 191S to complete his success against the Turks in Palestine. Viscount Edmund Allenby was born in 1861, and at the age of 23 took a conspicuous part in the Bechuanaland campaign and again in Zululand in 1888. He also served in the second South African War, taking part in the relief of Kimberley. In the Great War he commanded the Third Army in Fiance from 1915 to 1917, and was then transferred in command to Palestine to direct operations against the Turks. The success of his campaign is one of the outstanding feats of the war. He captured Jerusalem and drove the Turks back into Asia Minor and shattered their resistance. His knowledge of affairs led to his appointment in 1919 —when he was created a viscount —to the High Commissionership of Egypt, a position which he held until 1925. Viscount Allenby died in 1936.