OMANAWA BUSH BLOCK

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume XLII, Issue 6134, 8 July 1914, Page 6

OMANAWA BUSH BLOCK

I (Cunt nhuicd) j I ! hud ocimmoii recently to make a j I a trip i<> the * imaruswa * >u-h block, a | ! l.nraiitv ! li:ui not visitnl for quite a j I number of years, chieliy on account |..it the. dililcuitv of access from Ake I Ako. A short lime ago a ruling (track, was put Jsiouiih, and now one I , ; -m male*.-, the joun-u y without the j,ii-,;ui!::'.-rt of era \vl i u,ij lor several ! iniii'S aii'Dtr a parllv obltU rated surI \vy line f.Jiic of the must urgent i!inct~-iius ot tin i road is a b» luge j I ; if]] Ihe Kopui ci>.; ua .Stream, the lord j 1 i»< -ii:g an < .\t remely bail on*1, and 1 ; uuih- i;i)j.i;i-.sa})](! for vehicles. A ! ijiiiiu'r iViil. huM vs. r. be ercc':ed here ; ill 1 Ilil Mt ill' ! ill lii'C. j ! <j.i < iitcriiii^ thi-* ou^m, ihe iw-rt j : ; >j^;} ni ii,ii;ii:i! ion is the clearing ot j M Mr !t. M. with it- JVrn : ! tree uhare rooted with iron, nnw a | I well knowii laii'J-Jnark". j A little furtlu'i- ot1 is the (in;1 cl»;arj imlj locciitU Jiiade )>y "Mv A. Norris. j | and on the opposite side of the road | two new settlers, Messrs Maynard j and Davis, are erecting a camp, and I urrourii:l' f<>f tho arduous task of I'••" i ' t I ( iiKiking a bit.sn tariii. I Passing along one is struck by the' | liur.iie [nopui'tiuns of the trees in this i bush, lie rimus though noi veiy \ plentiful, being wt huge size, lofty, and of i;n>a': girth. Then there are puke teas wi'J) iiangfd lititts and I round boles. towering to a gro;ifc ! height. Kewarowa and mangeau aie | also plc-ntiful. with here and there a j rata of gigantic ])!'oportions. One of the must striking features of the .bush are the tall and graceful tree ferns, which abound on every hand. On the froniage of Mr P. Dono- ' van's section a waterhole is seen on tlie side of the road, and memory here goes back with a jump, fui it was on this spot eight or nine years I ago, while engaged in roadmaking on this block, t liar i occupied a solidary camp ri^ht in the heart ot' the. virgin I bush, Tho chief characteristics of the. place ar tliat time were the viieness of the water, and the numbers and enormous size of the rats in oc- | eupatiou. I I'emember one eveniug at dusk seeing four or five of them perch on a log in front of the tent, ) I and in the waning light they seemed of such gigantic proportions that my hair literally stood on end at the sight. It was no pleasant sensation to be wakened in the night by brutes i like these, running over one's face, as 1 I they odd upon occasion. | Adjoining tho wattihole is t lie clearing of ]M rI. Donovan, upon' which the recently sown grass is now assuming tne tint of his own " Emerald Isle.'"' | Further on, occupying a stretch of f i level land, are the goodly clearings of > j .Messrs "Philips liros and C P>r(.»wn, s j each with its neat and comfortable cottage. Upon arriving at .Messrs Philips j gate I was greeted with a cheery "come in," and was nothing loth to accept the invitation. The day was | cold, a keen south-westerly blowing, j and my appetite was by this time sharp set. However, the kettle was soon singing merrily and in a short time I was regaling myself with a i heaitv meal, the menu consisting of an excellent piece of bush pork, bush ! hone}', and the finest quality of camp i oven bread, with butter and milk of 'local production, thus conclusively I proving that cows do not immediately fall down dead upon being brought to this locality, as some people think. The Omanawa bush block' consists | of over 0000 acres of really^, excellent i couutrv. cut. up here and there by | di-ep ravines, but containing, on the whole, a large proportion of easily worked ground. The soil is good, and this block is destined to be more in evidence in the near future than it I has Lcen in the past. That ifc has not made more progress is duo in great part to the want of communication, and also to the fact that a I numoer or tne sections were originally taken up by settlers who never put in an appearance, and, consequently, the land reverted to the Crown. It is only recently that these sections have been reopened for settlement. It is evident that in Messrs Norris, Philips J»ros, C. Brown. Ward and others, there are now in possession a ; number of settlers of the right stamp : j genuine frontiersmen, self reliant, rei soureeful, and possessed of a fund of that hopefulness which has enabled I men of our race to go forth into the wilderness, to endure its solitude, and pluis occupy and subdue tine waste ; j places of the earth. j