A WESTWARD HARBOUR TRIP

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5488, 23 March 1910, Page 2

A WESTWARD HARBOUR TRIP

Taking advantage of a flue day reoently the writer formed one of a party of nineteen excursionists to Omokoroa, the picturesquely- 6i tuated home of Captain A. A. Crapp. The oil lauaoh Spindrift w&s requisition d for the occasion, the statt from Tauranga being made at 10.15 am. After passing Whareroa the vessel was steered for the Katikati channel, Waikareao Point coming immediately into view. Then in rapid succession we passed the homesteads of Mr Butcher, Mr Young, Mrs Corbett, Mr Tcnngson, Mr Matheson, Miss Snodgrass, Messrs W. Mirtin, Dickey, Hickson, and Mather, while a portion of Mr Tollemache's farm showed out prominently. Beautifully green paddocks, with their "well - kept hedges and tall trees, and carrying herds of contented cattle, interspersed with fine crops of maize, stood out in bold relief against .the smooth and silvery waters of the full tide.* The scene was indeed a charming one, and the observer could not help dwelling for a moment and thinking what a vastly different picture Otumoetai presents to-day to what it did half-a---century ago. At that time the Maori reigned supreme, and many hundreds of natives lived in the various pas ex ! tending from Waikareao Point to I Matuaiwi Pa, which is still to be seen on Mr Mather's farm. Then it was fiat the business of purchasing tho vr'. ext grown by tin mtives and the pigd which they fattened was carried out by a low European traders Otumoatai had its store and was somawhit of a commercial centre in those days, and it is stated that even the Waikato natives drove their pigs over the Whakamarama track, and on down to Ctumcetai, to be disposed of to the traders for transport to Auckland. In the. neighbourhood wheat is said to have been grown in the same ground for eleven years' in succession and as the manure firms were not operating in the locality at the time the excellent yields obtained speak well for the rich

quality of the soil.

The grain was so

highly thought of for flour purposes in Auckland that the trader could, always reckon on securing six* pence per bushel more for the wheat grown in the Tauranga district than for the grain produced elsewhere. Prior to the war the Maoris of Otumoetai and adjacent settlements lived in harmony. A ttoman Oatholie church stood on the property now owned by Miss Snodgrass, while the natives belonging to the Church of England attended services in the present church on " The Elms " property within the Borough of Tauranga. Off Otumoetai we passed boats, with their native masters engaged in fidhing. | When thr3 district was thickly populated in the old days these fishing grounds, well protected from the Pacific roll, wera most highly prized by the. Maoris. On the mainland, across fromMatuaiwi, lies the peninsula of Oikemoki, the intervening beach providing the outlet for the Wairoa river. Oikemoki is the home of the Faulkner and Bidois families, the Roman Catholic church, built on the latter's property, being a prominent landmark. South ward of Oikemoki the grass paddocks of Messrs Lochhead and Davidson could easily be discerned, with Mr H. P. Clarke's farm conspicuous to the eastward and Mr B. GL Armstrong's to the westward. A narrow stretch of water divides Oikemoki from Waikaraka Point (the farm which. Mr John Armstrong has recently sold to Mr R. Snodgrass), the paddocks all bearing a well-kept appearance, and being lined with sheep and 'cattle. Deep water separates Waikaraka from the peninsula of Te Puna Point, where Mr Plummer lives. In this neigLbournood evidences of up-to-date farming qje apparent on Messrs McOlinchie's, Me Morrin's, Briscoe's, Holyoake's, Spence Bros.' and other farms. The Manga • whai Creek divides Te Puna Point from Oraokoroa Point, where reside Captain Crapp, Messrs Edwards, Hutchins and others. The island of Bangiwaea lies* to the north of Otumoetai, and on it may be seen two native settlements. The Bangiwaea settlement first comes into view, and is situated on a fiat sloping to the sea. The houses are, in the main, built of timber and roofed with corrugated iron. A little further along is the Oponui settlement, where the Maoris have similar houses to those of Kangiwaea. % In the north-west corner of this island is Cabbage Tree Bay, known to the Maoris as Tauranga Some of the natives tell the story that the Maoris from Hawaikii actually dropped anchor at this spot and c >nferred the mame of Tauranga upon it It is a pretty nook and is occasionally visited by picnickers from town Just off Oponui we ran into a slight rip, but Mr Faulkner skilfully steered the Spindrift into smooth water, and Opureora Point, the south eastern ex tremity of Matakana Island, camp into view, with the Te Kotukutuku native school nestling amongst a clump of pine trees a few miles to the north - ward. A good number of natives dwell on Matakana, which is very fertile in places. The highly respected Hohepa Paama is the leading chief, and resides at Opureora settlement, on the south west of the island. % Lying between Matakana and the mainland is Motuhoa Island, about 250 acres in extent, and long noted for the production of oats and maize. Several stacks of oats and growing crops of maize were noticed as we passed, but there were no signs of any inhabitants on the island. It appears that the Maoris only live there when engaged in planting* horvesting or preparing the crops for market. Motu hoa is surrounded by deep water, and when horses are required fd assist in carrying out agricultural work-on it they have to swim across the deep channel separating it fiom Matakana. The bulk of the land held by the v natives at Bangiwaea and Matakan i is of excellent quality, and for a very long period crops of wlnat, oats, maize, potatoes, etc., have been raised there On both islands cattle, horses and pigs were seen in fairly large numbers. The balk of the land seems to be admirably adapted for dairy farming, portions of it especially so. Several oil launches are owned by the natives, which, if the j latter were engaged in dairying, would enable the milk or cream to be expedi tiously transported to any given point. If the Maoris there were educated in home separation there seems to be no obstacle in the way— unless it be finance — to tne Maotis of Bangiwaea and Matakana becoming participants in the dairying industry. The trip from Tauranga to Gmokoroa wan so fall of interest that the time passed all too quickly, and about an hoar and a- quarter after starting' the Spindrift was moored alongside Cap • tain Crapp'g private wharf. The party then landed, and after enjoying a mo6t lavish dinner, which was served in excellent style by the host and hostess on the sheltered flat close to the beach, all went for a stroll round the grounds and orchards. From many points of vantage a magnificent view wassecared both landward and seaward. Mount

Maungamti stood oat is majestic grandeur to the westward add right in front of the Omokoroa homestead,

while the native Mttlerasots on Rangiwaea and Matakana, and the many European homesteads on the mainland were readily discernible. One of the features of Omokoroa is its tree clad cliffn, ia which the pretty pohatukawa seems to predominate and flourish There is no other property on the east coast where can be found such a growth jof rare and beiutiful trees oa the fringe of tha ocean, and this chaming spot is compared by many to Sir Geo. Grey's old home •« Kawau." Fruit of all kinds grow and thrive at Omokoroa, the owner being at present engaged in the annual wine making operations After the members of the party had thoroughly explored the grounds and partaken of tea a start was mada for home shortly before five o'clock, the retnrn journey of ten miles being accomplished by the* Spindrift in less than an hour and a-half. Iu the future, as Tauranga becomes more thickly populated, the westward trip is one that is sure to come into high favour. For picnic parties, yachtsmen, and those in quest of a change of scene, there are few more picturesque places than Eangiwaea, Matakana, Motuhoa, and Omokoroa Point, to say nothing of the many historical places along the mainland.