PASSING OF A WEST COAST PIONEER.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 13095, 21 April 1908, Page 9

PASSING OF A WEST COAST PIONEER.

HOW WKSTLAND WAS DISCOVERED.

With tho removal by death of Mr Edward Dobioii, 0.X., there has pa.vcd away a man of remarkablo energy. From ]8-3<i to in shaping tho public works of Canterbury ho was indeed a man or strenuous action, and it was really due to tlio work of Mr Doltiou that the East Coast was linked up with tho We*t Coast. In S"i>i ember. 1857. it is recorded that a discovery had been made by Mr Dobsoii, provincial engineer, in the profiling lowosoeks which added wonderfully to the knowledge of the geography of Canterbury. A Maori patu had been believed to exist from Kai-t to West by tho gorgp of the lluruniti at Mount iNoble, at what was then Mr Mason's station, Waitohi. A certain precipitous gully in tho river gorge- which ttie Maoris it was found c-.rosstxl with ladders of tree vines and flax rones was pointed out to Mr Dobj>oll, tivkl with Mr .Mason, Mr Taylor, and ->ir Danipier, and a shepherd, in order to discover a track to tho West Cc-ast country that might bo passable for horses, they attacked this gully with spades and picks, and in a few days, under the late ilr Dobson's direction, a track was cut by which horses could bo led through, and the party, pro«siiig its way up tho Hurumii Gorge above the river level, came out on some flat land superior to their anticipations in many respects. Tho main branch of the Hiiruntii flowed slowly through it, and on all its streajns wore lakes, of which Mr Dobson drew several sketches showing them to be very beautiful reaches of water. The head watcra of tho Huruuui wero reached for the first time. Mr Dobson was not content with exploring tho country, but proceeded to lay" out a road through it, and this eight years later became the first road to the West Coast, for the diggers who made tho rush to the Coast goldfields which in ono year produced a return of such a amount of gold. Tho whole available 60.000 acres of land referred to as discovered at the head of the Hurunui wore taken up in a few weeks for a sheep run. A local paper, commenting on tho matter, said: —"When wo consider the facts now determined that tho island instead of being longitudinally divided by a back-bone range cf snowy mountains is traversed by a road, going ; nowhero higher than ltiGOft above highwater mark, that this road opens tho West Coast to us and passes through country which, instead of being rock and snow, is a smiling and beautiful valley, with almost every capability for use, that abundance of timber is afforded to the destitute plains of tho Hurunui, and that there is an extensive torntory hero added to our province, wo have surely said enough to show the importance of the discovery. It is almost too exciting to bo told that the protruding rock in tho neighbourhood, described as abounding in quartz indicates tho more than probable presence of gold." Later years found Mr Dobson. a busy man with Lytteltqn wharfage for the "safe and commodious berthing of vessels likehr to frequent the port,' ,, preparing plans for tine breakwater, attending to the Cbxistchurch and Lytteltpn railway and tunnel works, with occasional visits to the Waimakariri, and tho points or the river from which inundations of the embryo city <of Christchurch were threatened. His services wetro in request throughout the provincial district wherever a public work had to bo begun, whether on the North road or on the Croat South road. .mc reports and mope show tho immense physical exertion and engineering skill displayed by one of tile most prominent of tho pioneer engineering staff. In 18G5 ho accompanied tho late Sir John Hall— f»art of the tirno in a enow storm— aying out a road through the Otira and putting the gangs of men to work in order to assist the constant stream of gold diggers on their way into West-laud, and the late Sir Jorui Hall in no measured terms expressed his sonse of tho vahialjle work and advice givon by Mr Dobson on that occasion.