THE HOLIDAY ATTRACTIONS OF THIS LAND OF CHARM

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LII, Issue 8616, 13 June 1924, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE HOLIDAY ATTRACTIONS OF THIS LAND OF CHARM

H! 1. GII has been written. j ns beauties mate, and much will m <l- : ubt yet be written, but notiiing that has ever yet been Udd, or will be told, can adequatc--V 00,3VC T 10 t!) ft stranger the seductive charm of this wonderfully favoured spot. Take a map of the e 1 aid and first see exactly wh**"! 1 I dinanga lies, in relation to the : 'fi'idcr, and e .nqiarc 1 witji some < I the i.-es; known watering places, Sl i ,J f rurepe. Tn- r>■ are many reasons for this charm, in ( least henig hs fit lighti u! natural position, i laving taken a map of the world, study it carefully. It will then he iouiul that Tauarnga is situated in a tempi rate region (37d 40m 46s S. Lat,), a situation that at once commands a climate possessing no extremes, Its natural location could hardly have been bettered. Nestling on a promontory of thm harbour, the town it sell is almost entirely surrounded bv sea, and lies at the foot of a natural slope, which rising gradually from sea level, readies a. height of some 1600 fed in a distance of about 20 miles. From South-East to almost NorthEast, by Smith am! West' runs (his protecting shield of high land. The oistrict therefore enjevs a maximum of sunshine and, except during a few weeks in the Spring, experiences a notable absence of high winds. For over twenty miles the harbour stretches from its eastern Tnuranga entrance' to the western cut l ance at Bmvcnkiwii in the vicinity of Kaiikati. and as we (ravel ever this stretch of water, wc open up hays and hcadands that everywhere offer the most idealistic sis is for picnic aud camping parties. Throughout (lie whole Dominion it would be difficult indeed to find a more delightful place in which te spend a holiday. The visitor finds there not only that quiet rcstfiilncss which most- holiday-makers are in search of, but is aide to reside in a town possessing practically all the advantages of the city, minus its hustle and bustle. Electric light, gas, water, drainage, good accommodation all loud to make one’s holiday comfortable and enjoyable. Aud then when tired of the sea and its many attractions, the visitor can turn to tennis, bowls, 1 croquet, with golf in winter. For well over half a century Tauranga has remained practically unknown to the great majority of the people of the Dominion. Over those who know it, it oasts an unconquerable charm.

I: may indeed be said that Tauranga is a “Land of Promise,” As lias already been written of in “It is a laud where Nature with her fairy wand has created a scene' cf surpassing beauty, where' the sunlight plays <m a land-lcoked sea, on cove ami headland, valley and stream, backed by the everlasting hills, that make it a fairy spot in a land bountifully endowed. Despite many drawbacks due to her isolation, Tauanga .stands today, by reason cf her geuprapliieal position and her rich incomparable natural endowments as New Zalaml's “Land o f Promise’’- “The Land of Tomorrow” wherein at no distant date must dwell a people drawn front far and near, drawn lay that magnetic spell that Tauranga casts over all whose good fortune leads them thither. They come maybe for a brief visit, but fad an easy prey to the seductive charm of a land where gentle zephyrs fan (he sun-bathed bays and beaches; where sun rise and sunset in ever varying splendour add their charm to land and sea: where winter comes with cov reluctance, and spring' appears when frost and rain have scarce begun : where summer ushers in an autumn full of the charm and delight of an Indian winter.’’ The many attractions of the town and district have_ been dealt with under various headings, so that it is not necessary here to enlarge upon them, Tauranga does unquestionnblv present claims to the attention' of the holiday-maker possessed bv few other spots in tip- Prminlon. As a watering place it seems destined to enjoy a popularity second to none. With imprmcd road communication with Rotorua and the Waikato districts, the present large stream of visitors during the summer months must increase a hundred told, and "'itit the coming of better roads must assuredly come a return to Tauranga of much' of its former importance as an important stage in the journey of the many thousands of buuisis who annually visit Rotorua. An excellent round trip can be provided from Auckland or ether pans to R<> torua via Tauranga. or vice versa. With a geod direct tlm journey from Rotorua to hurr.-mga can be accomplished in a eoup.e o hours, and with the splendid steamer service thence to Auckland, a traveller can leave Rotorua between four and five in the afternoon, cateb the steamer at Tauranga at seven, and be in Auckland um hi cakfast. The value ,-f sue], a connection is inestimable. .b'U then it is net expected that dm tourist, in search of change of an and scene, will wish io scamper through so hurriedly. A lew days a week spent in Tauranga wd! be well repaid. Apart from the attractions of tile seaside there ase

many .'-pots t.f nito-rcd to visit Gale Pa. (the scene of the memorable figlit) the Old Militare eenicterv, the Eodewbt, and manv old M.uii tonifications. A trip tin the ha.rL ur, tn Mount Maunganui, to the higher levels cwnocking the harbour, all provide sujoyablc uutings. Boating aud fishing, croquet, tenuis, bowls, golf all ran be enjoyed. The Tauranga Tourist Traffic Teague, which came into existence primarily through the efforts of Mr B. King of Te Puke, then chairman f t the Tanranga Harbour TV-ard. has already dc.’.ie- much to make bet-t-T known the aitra'(ions' of rlie d str'cl. Tlte present President of the 1. 1 ague, Mr A. J. Mirridees, is taking an active interest in (1m purpose for which the- League was crea! <l, aud any inquiries addressed to him, or to the Secretary, Mr (.'. Lowe, will secure all possible information .

Deep Sea Fishing

FSTIIK ,sea-fisliing grounds near Tau- *- niny'ii have always been notably prolific, and .schitapper. kahawai, Irevalli. mullet, flat-fish, inaomao, gurnet, kingfish, liapuku and numerous other species abound. In the old clays these grounds were jealously guarded by flic Maoris, who regarded fish as a very favourite food. Many of the old natives are ardent- and successful lino-fishers ami worked numerous fishing teds in various places off tin' coast. The lish ing grounds are well spread over a wide area. hut the best are in the vicinity of Mayor Island, where the finest deep-sea fishing in New Zealand is obtainable. Here scores of the smaller varieties of fish find habitat, as well as giant sharks, Inipnku, kiugfish and swordfish. I lie sport is fascinating and annually attracts many visitorsfrom Australia and various parts ol

New Zealand. For many years local residents and visitors availed themselves of the exciting sport provided by kiugfish and mako shark, and it was not till five years ago that the magnificent sport which sword fishing offered was made known by the late Mr Harry Calthorp, who was a, keen fisher and landed many swordfish, some being about twelve feet in length. The ground* off Mayor Island are worked from Tiiiirangn as fho base. For no me year* two local sportsmen, Messrs AA . Edwards and A. Chadban have assoc-

einted themselves with the big game Jishing and are well equipped with very (suitable launches lor the swonllish and mako sport. I hose two sportsmen are regarded as authorities on the sport and no party goes out without cither Messrs ltd wards or Chadbau accompanying them. V\ hen following tlie swordfish after it i.s hooked the working of the lamu-li calls for great skill and resourcefulness and the average helmsman would be simply out oi it Messrs. Kdwards and t 'hadban have mastered every detail, hence their experience and aib ice is a considerable factor iu connection with the sport, and is always sought and generously given. In hig fishing the strike may come in ten minutes or in two hours, between tho first dip ol the rod lip and the-strike proper the engine is started up ready for the toUou-oii. for if the fish is heavy three hundred yards i ainiot hope to lire him. Tne swordtisli is a, bold tighter and it is nothing unusual tor the contest to occupy two or three hours. Hie hooked fish tears (Ins nay and that, back and away again in showers of foam and spray, head and flukes above the surface, and giving tremendous long distance hounds

variing lroi!i thirty te tony ivei. A iter ite fish is- booked ■ the cli.im may stretch to a dozen miles, culling on resourceful tiller work tor the lanuelmian ami hard work for the rodman bo!ore the hdi is tired out and the launch L worked into harpooning reach ul the quarry. The swordfish is the lighter of all big fish in New Zealand and mo sport at flavor Islam! is eompcmibi ■■ to that offering in the tamed waters of the Caribbean .Sea. .Make and olle-r fqjec-ios of shark abound iu tlu> m-igli-boiirhoii of .Mayor Nam! and provide

exhilarating spoil for rod men. The mako is a formidable fighter. After being hooked it will leap straigl.it out of the water, ten or fifteen feet. It then settles down tenaciously under water till near the end before showing up again in frenzied leaping. which eventually brings it within harpooning distance. The kiugfish or yellowtail is a fiiio sporting lish and for its weight is as great a fighter a.s the swordfish. A few years ago Mr CTiintside. of AA’eri-

hee Park, Victoria, captured a magnificent specimen, which was estimated td weight llglh and fought with the rodilian for over an hour. The king--.(ish are seen u/f Mayor Island in -shoals of countless nmnhers and afford excellont sport all the year round. Jlapnkn up to !Aolh in weight may h-c caught at any time with the hook. They are captured in -water LOO fallioms deep. They .kite readily and it is no unconiinoii sight to hook three or four on the same line. The sport oil Mayor Island has hern wonderfully good this season and has been enjoyed hy a iiumhcr of sportsmen. win* have keen kind enough I" give the results of their sporting enterprise for publication. Mr -I. AThomson, of Kp.som. Auckland, spent several weeks at the island in January ami February. lie hooked eleven swordfish and landed seven, each ranging between JOOlh and -1001 k. Good sport- was also obtainable with the make shark and he was siirrcsstn! in landing several. 'I he -wordc-sh that were caught put up 'cry gallant and ppectacular tights, making tremendous leaps into the air. Mr Thomson sm many other li-sh at a distance making

he. try in s to ml tin msc-lves ol parasites. Nearly all tlie swordfish and shark- ; eoruaiiied tiro -'utaT lu-h in ikeir gills. line of Che swordfish that v, as hooked Cull edit for an hour am! a half and at one polled it sounded and had dill rards of line out alum-: vertically. ?de.s':s Cliff McCulloch, (.f WTiakalane. and Samuel MeCulloeh. of .Mol-

bourne, spent a fntrmght in February at Mayor Island, and during that period captured nine swordfish and four sharks. The swordfish included one broad Till, which w eighed over -ItOlb. T he weights of the oilier swordlish ran from 22011 1 to (!70lb. During one day Air S. .Alet.'ulloeh lulled two swordlish and lost a third when it was alongside the Jannh ready for harpooning. On another day .Messrs AlK'ullocli hooked two lish simultaneously. This, double

- event called for groat skill and re--1 soureefii! handling- on the pari of the rod-men. and Mr Cliadban. at. the tdl- - cr. especially as Mr dill' Met ulloi-h's . line uas carried out to the extreme ■ end and only held hy the reel-knot. Alter a- very exciting lime the two ' swordfish were worked up to the boat and harpooned. Two swordfish were captured on another day one hy Mr ■ t bll-Mc( ’ulloi h and the other hy Mr fs. McCulloch, One mako f-hark weigh ed JB()Jb. and a brown shark AOOlb, its h-ugth being ill. A hammer-head ■ shark that was killed was lift Oin hum and was estimated to weigh between oWib and ifiHill 1, The hammer-head has a peculiarly shaped head, about 2lt Mil across, with tin- eyes at the extreme end. Mr Samuel Mc< ‘nlloeli, who ha« fished all over tin- world, said he was greatly impressed with tlm w-onderiu! fighting propensities of the swordfish and their gorgeously vivid colouring. 110 considers that the Mator Island waters provide the fir,cm- fish mg' in the world and he will have n . hesitation in recommending iho grounds to his Australian friend-. If., came specially tram Meihonnu- for the k'huig and was greatly pleased.

Mr _ vii um and party, ot Auekiai.d, i i-uei Ala;> or Island duriiit' Feb. inary and tested the sport. .Mr Court captured a swordfish of 4001 b. which was eleven loet long, Air J, A. C. 1-leming. o; T nitration, who accompanied the party, (aught a largo swordfish . which imemdiately starter! to light and sustained the conflict tor live hauls before it was killed, A mom I viol' this party .stated that the swordfish were very plentiful and lie observed numerous swordfish rising; at the same time in various parts of the ocean. Air C ourt paid a scee-nd visit to Mayor Is--1 ~nd in March, and included iu the party w ere Messrs - . Hodgson and K. Faye. They hanked nine swordfish in one day and eight on another day. Mr Hodgson, who has fished at Ibisseil for many rears, stated that he had never seen so many fish in his life as lie did at Mayor Island. In Mareli last, i)r F. ,1. Watson and Mr K. W. Dairytuple, of bulls, \isited Mayor Island wafers and captured four swordfish and three sharks —two malm and one hammer-head. Two swordfish w ere j ecu red in one day and the largest was estimated to he lOOlb. In addition to the catches above recorded it is known that other parties ai-o visited the waters off .Mayor Island this rear and were successful in seen niia - w ord fis! i aud -sharks. A Waikato part.' hooked half n-dozeit swordfish but wei'c unfortunate enough to !■('■•' all i bei■- genr. Mayor Island lies nineteen miles north of Tanranga Heads, and is situated on ilm friii/.e of the hundred fathom line, to which fin-f fishermen attribute it to he. the favourite haunt, of the tug fish already referred to. These waters are regarded as one of the finest, sportin'; areas and heneelortli are likely to he well patronised by Australian. New '/calami and overseas sportsmen. Those who desire information coiieeniing the sport, or who wish to test the grounds, cannot do hotter than eouiniiimVato with .Mr If. Cliadbatt or Mr William Edwards, of Tauranga, Lull of whom are well versed to all tin l points associated with idg game fishing. NETTING AND SPEAKING The neUmg of lish is constantly carried out ill the waters between Maltkana Island and the iiui.laland and on. stretches of shallow ocean areas during westerly weather. .Some of these hauls of Kbnapper. mullet, flatfish and tievalli have been phenomenally good, and

run a.-> high as (II ty dozen iidi ol g'witl at era go sr/.c. The M-hna[if)ci- provided the best of sport with the hand lino amt have been caught up to fMdh. Parties. with torches for illumination, arts oficii made up at night and -search for Ihttiish over the large areas of benches, which are sale for wading. Mold fishing, tilt a, light rod, is another lorm of spmt which finds lavotir wijlt the tampers at Mount Maungaiuti.

“The Mount”

Mcamt emnuenlv ki.osva “'I ho M<nnt" - stands seuiimd-like on the eastern side » f i lie hart) .ur cm ranee, forming bv its height < i 702 foot ami its ;vm-li.em-'al cenc-like shape, easily the ires: conspicuous natural femme of the distr.et, belli from land am! sea. Happily this grand asset has been set apart as a recreation reserve fee Mi limp, and our mav travel far left re muling its equal for this purpose. \ o- mfortably graded tra-k v imis rruml the southern, western, ami mrtbern slopes, from base to summit, and mute win arc capahlt nf tins easy climb, should miss the pjensinv it will nflerd. From ilw smtimit, on a clear day preferably a bright winter morning after a touch of frost a vi-nv, vast in its i align and wonderfully beautiful in Ms composition anil detail, is obtains'!. Far to th.i- eastwaid. some ho miles away, may be seen White Island, ever steaming, st metimes fiercely but more often quietly ; ranging more to the south-east, in summer a (lint blue peak, in winter M may hr :i glitter of snow, reveals Mount Hiknrangi, king of tin' nigged Fast Cape peninsula, toweling over ;t mile towards the heavens; h. Iri'.it. and nearer, mav he sren Mount Hardy, and some of the lessor peaks; nearer still, and mere to the southward or east, rises from the sea the lofty cone of Whale Island, six miles of Whakalanc. an ancient, shattered volcano, still h- a ring signs of its former life in the shape of a few Im! springs ami strain vents, with deposits of sulphur; ranging the rye ye( mure to t lie southward, (Jie summit of v*t another vor-anie conn arrests the gaze, over an intervening rangegrand ami io.ndv Mount Fdgcenmlic at (he head of (he HangiI tiki Plains, nearly 3,000 feet high with a beautiful busli-nnbewcred crater lake, and boiling springs and sulphur deposits as its outer foothills; to (he right' and in front, of Mount Edgeeumbe arc seen (ho prosperous uplands cf the. partlysettled Manawahe country; traversing with the eye the distant scene from llicnee by south to west and ri'-.-f'-uer’-wosl, where it again meets Hie ocean, lies an ever varying panorama- of gradually sloping uplands backed hy high, forest-clad ranges; passing seaward again forty-odd miles (<> the north stand The Slipper and the Shoe, and further out the jagged group of the Aldermen, v hose president “The Mayor” shows baldly up nearly 30 miles due north of the Mount ; Tuhiia. the Maori name of Mayor Island, ••signifies ilu obsidian or volcanic •glass, tin* broken flakes of which ■supplied tlieplaee of knives, and of which this vast extinct volcano possesses boundless supplies; closer at 'hand is Karewa, most famous haunt of tinit prehistoric reptile the tnale.ra lizard, ami mere to (he east lies fertile Motili, fame,us for its maiz • and Imrses. an evergreen gem in tlv hoimdlrss b.lne of the ocean. And now, having tired the eyes with this hng-rangc roving over land and sea, look di wn from this same summit of The Mount at what lies, as it were, at your very feet. Beautiful as have been the distant scenes, they cannot compare with the enchantment e.f this. Scattered broadcast are the little dots which one. recognises as the habitations of men. while armnul them lie the evidences of their labour as tillers ef the soil, and in and out, round countless promontories and bays, are woven Hu; blue waters of Tauranga llar.be.ur, forming the background fry a whereupon Nature has lavished all the soft and tender colours •wall which Hie loves to clothe tin* k aanji the green of the meadewibidi,. ilie varying tones of the growing in l lipcnirig crops,the brown of Hl<- ploughed laud, the (h ep grey’.hlue of i;ho woodlands, and so mi in landless change and profusion.. Truly bur those who have eyes to see, there is here- a scene of beamy wlmli enn hardly bo surpassed, and which, once beheld, can never eni. fade from the memory. A low, narrow isthmus ot sand 'connects Mount Mauuganui with (lie mainland, widening gradually as it sweeps down the Bay o! Plenty ■on one s ide and up Hie harbour on iho ether. <bi this isthmus, immediately under Hie Mourn itself .are manv seaside cottages and wliar<s, owned bv irsidriifs <f Tan range ami To [hike. When not occupied bv (heir owners triev ar>- readily let during the summer months. ?,n fact, those count Hi’niselvis for.innate who can scieure a house ai ‘’The Mourn” during the season. There are a numl*T of porm'jnent, i - iih■ in s at “The Mount.” p;wt i'Milarlv in the vi<inltv of (he Public Work- IVpartiimnt s dept ! and w< rk-hops. H was at this spot that tit- first sol of the East Coast rail-

wav was niMi'il. mu! trains arc now run ivgularlv hv the Public Works i leparl limit between ‘’Tin* Mount ,iini Matata, sonic fitly miles ji!nn;,< ih" ••;e-l towards Whakatanc.

A ni'iilar daily ferry scrvuv maintained between ‘‘The Moisul ami Tanrnn"a hv Messrs. Faulkner Bros., who with e'lnmendabh- enterprise. have recently purchased the “Ktirn." a strainer previentslv enyauetl in tim fcrrv service in Auckland.