MUTTON-BIRDING.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19643, 12 June 1929, Page 14

MUTTON-BIRDING.

! LITTLE KNOWN i INDUSTRY. activities in the sol th. THREE -MONTHS ON ISOLATED 1 ISLANDS. ' Pew people, especially those in the more northern parts of New Zealand, ' are able to gain any authentic information on an industry peculiar to Southland and Tasmania alone, employing well over 300 Maoris for two or three months in every year-that of muttonbirding. Most of us recognise the mut-ton-bird when it has been treated by the cook, but have little idea of its habits in its native state or the means employed to snare them. This year s excursionists have only recently ' etur °* ed from the Titi Islands, as the Islands south of and adjacent to Stewart Island are called by the Maoris, .-.nd a special correspondent of The Press was able to collect some valuable and interesting information. When in 1564 the Native customary owners, by deed of cession, ceded Stewart Island, with all the large and small adjacent islands, to the Crown, certain of the islands were reserved under the protection of Government, for muttonbirding purposes for the Native vendors and their successors. Each island has a history of its own and much excitement prevails when the rights of Natives to take birds are i:i dis; ::te, for substantial cheques are earned by the Natives on their annual trips thither. The parties concerned argue over feuds, ehiets, and relationship dating back as far as 300 years ago. In earlier years n.uch trouble was caused by Natives without ancestral rights trespassing on the islands, but in February, 1910, a special Native Land Court sat at Invercargili for the purpose of deciding who were the rightful beneficiary owners and matters were finally settled. Again in j 1922 another special sitting was held to j determine the interests of who were not satisfied with the decisions. given in 1910. The latter Court gave j certain rights to those who could prove j both ancestral rights ar.d right by long occupation. The mutton-bird industry itself flourished long before the advent of Europeans to New Zealand. The southern : Maoris then exchanged the birds for pro- j ducts of the North Island Maoris, and j in latter years they were made use of, to obtain goods from the many whaling and sealing ships which, in those days, j frequented Biuff and Stewart Island. To-day the Natives receive as much as 1 from eightpencc to tenpence per bird,;

so that it is possible for the more active and experienced among them to earn up to £5 a day throughout the season. It will be gathered from the foregoing that only certain of the Natives, their wives, and . families are permitted on the islands. These numbering up to 350 leave for the islands about the j first week in Marcrh, as it is illegal for j the islands to be occupied or visited out of season. The landing places on the islands are] very primitive. As they are required only very infrequently no stages have been erected, and they have to make the best of natural conditions. Some are on sandy beaches, while others are on steep, unsheltered cliffs, which make them very difficult to negotiate in the continuous ocean swell, frequently the boats have to lie off the islands for days on end before the passengers can be safely got ashore. Birds called passage birds are collected as payment for the transport of the Natives to and from the islands, th« fare being somewhere in the vicinity of 250 birds for each passenger.

The Housing. The Natives take up temporary residence on their respective islands, prepared for three months' isolation. The houses are hardly worthy the name. They are for the most part whares and hastily constructed shacks sufficient to protect the occupiers from the severer weather. The Health Department has been making some enquiries in respect of conditions, bnt reports show that it is impossible to enforce regulations which are applicable only in towns. The Natives are not, and for that matter conld not, be expected to build bungalows on isolated roeks and small islands nor are they expected to install sanitary and drainage systems as effective as those in the towns. They are on the islands for only three months at the most so that their arrangements must necessarily be of a temporary nature. As it is, the Natives throw _ all refuse and offal from the mutton-birds into the sea and do not allow rubbish of any kind injurious to health to accumulate. The weather on the islands is generally regarded as being more congenial than on the mainland owing to the warm currents which flow in the near vicinity of Stewart Island. j Catching the Birds. The season is divided into two distinct periods. The first part commences on April Ist when the Natives start to dig the young birds from their burrows in the ground. Then from about April 25th to April 28th, they block up all the burrows that require attention to preserve them for the following season as the birds will not return . to those that have been destroyed. A different method of taking the _ adopted during the second part or tnc season. By this time the young birds have grown sufficiently to come out of their holes and stretch their wings. Torches arc used at night to attract the birds and then they are easily caught and killed. There are various methods of killing the birds, but it is common to use clubs or sticks, to even to bite their necks with the teeth. This ends on April 30th.

Their Habits. The habits of the mutton-birds are peculiar. All the birds arrive at the islands about the end of September when they clean out their ho;es or burrows for the ensuing season. Later they return to lay their eggs, only one egg apiece. These are hatched out about Christmas time, and the male and female birds set about hunting op food for the young bird. Finally the young bird becomes a ball of f3t and has s n ®* cient nourishment to sustain life until it matures and is able to fend for itself. The parent birds then take their departure to places along the West At lantic coast, while the yoLZg bird is not able ti> follow uatil aboat the third week in May. It is remarkable to find that the young birds that eseape cap* tare are able to rejoin the older birds which left the islands before them. On the return journey the next season the younger birds precede the older ocea thus showing that they pessees at ua-

wriaf instiiifor locality and direction. Almost invariably the birds return to the giime borrows each «eason.

Finding a Market. When the vounr birJa a fe a • they are plucked, the down coming off readily when scalded. They are then preserved and placed in keip bags in numbers varyiag from ten to 100, the average bag. dependent to some extent ob the condition of the bird?, holding about 40 to 45. The baps are made by biowir.g up kelp with an n-r puir. ■> :.:.u leaving then out to dry. They are ::..r----tight and are thus oonsidered :<y the Natives to be the sr.d chor.' receptacles for the purposi.. Strii s >'f oark ere used to protect the kel;\ Some of the Natives save the feathers from the birds and And a ready market for them as thev ar>" ideally suit en for the --.akirjf or' Maori :::at.<.