A FAMILY ON SUNDAY ISLAND

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22201, 18 September 1937, Page 19

A FAMILY ON SUNDAY ISLAND

Arrival and Disappointment (SPECIALLY WHITTEN FOR THE PRESS BY A. M. ROBSON.) II A Story of a struggle for existence on Sunday Island by a party of settlers who lived there for two years from October, 1889, is told in these ai tides. Beginning with a perilous voyage from Napier to Auckland, on which the small schooner bearing the party was tossed by high seas for days off East Cape, the narrative is eventful to the end. The courage and resourcefulness of the members of the party, both men and women, were well tested in the difficulties of daily life on the island. The settlement was begun with ambitious intentions to tiade in tomatoes and potatoes; but no sooner had the setdcis landed than they found that the promised trading vessel would not be provided. Some returned; but the author’s family decided to remain. Means of preserving meat and other foodstuffs had to be discovered, and the meagre agricultural resources of the island exploited. Though the story is told with mattei -of-fact simplicity, it loses nothing by the lack of stylistic fancies. It is a story that tells itself.

After a stay of about five days In Auckland we onre more embarked and sailed for our Eldorado. The trip was slow because of lack of wind, but uneventful. It took seven days instead of the usual five. Our destination was Denham Bay (sometimes called Fleetwood), which lies to the south-east of Sunday Island, and which was uninhabited. When we anchored in the bay on October 11 a mist covered the islands, lifting every now and then to disclose liigh. Hills covered "witVi fcush of a crimson hue, which we afterwards discovered to be a species of pohutukawa covered with blossom. The effect was charming as the mist floated up and down, and in most places the island seemed clothed with bush from the ocean's edge to the very tops of the hills. Our captain anchored in what was thought a very safe place in the

and got busy, while the boat returned to the vessel for the night. I The landing of the passengers and ( goods took three days; and when I j mention that among our possessions,! large and small, there v/ere a Collard and Collard piano in a case, a small spring trap, and a 200-gallon corrugated iron tank, it will be realised that the task was not a light one. The journey was now over and wc were all safely ashore. It was with very mixed feelings that we all sat down to our first meal on the shores of what was to be our new home. There was a great feeling of disappointment and disillusion. The hills looked steep and inaccessible. We could not visualise garden plots on those rough-looking places. A few last words about our voyage from New Zealand. We were a very* friendly party and the crew could not do enough to make the trip as comfortable as possible. We had plenty to read. Of course, playing cards were much in demand;

fcay, only to find that as the wind rose we were far too close for comfort to the Wolverine Rock. The spray was breaking over the rock in fine style. So our boat, which we had brought from Napier for our landing, was launched and manned, and the schooner was pulled out of danger. This was our first thrill, and I am sure that the men were very glad of something to do to break the monotony of our long trip in such very congested quarters. A Difficult Landing We began early the next morning to look for a suitable landing-place. This seemed impossible from the vessel, for nothing could be seen but high surf breaking on beach and rocks alike. The boat we had secured from the Napier Harbour Board was not of the best for working in surf. But because of the expert boating knowledge of one of the would-be settlers, and a willing although not expert crew, not a single accident occurred in the landing of goods and passengers, in spite of great difficulties with surf and rocks. After some hours away in the boat the men returned to the schooner to report progress to those remaining on board. The captain was very dubious about a landing being made at all. He was quite sure that the project would have to be abandoned and that everyone would have to return to New Zealand. However, when he was assured by the steersman of the boat (the young husband of the writer) that a safe landing could be made, he consented to allow the loading to begin. The first loads comprised tents, bedding, and cooking gear, camp ovens, and so forth. With these Went some of the men who had to be landed to fix up the camp and help unload the boat, which had to be done in a certain way so as to insure the safe and dry landing of Everything. The first landing was done on the beach, and the next had to be done °n the rocks, where the five women °f the party . were put ashore. We Women were 5 put into the boat, one ?n each thwart. The boat was pulled into the rocks, where some of the men were waiting ready to help us to land, which we did one at a time, ooing passed from man to man as “hoy stood one behind the other, fill we were high and dry on the focks and out of danger. Disappointment There is always a certain amount of danger in landing on a surfheaten coast. The steersman of the ■oat has to watch the oncoming Waves, and if he considers they are Setting dangerous he has to order the crew to back oars find wait fipr a favourable chance to pull * n a §ain. Otherwise the boat is likely *o be smashed on the rocks or cap**2ad in the surf. j. When the women had been landed proceeded to the camping sites

community singing (as it is now called) was a great enjoyment. One sailor (a merry chap) used to entertain us with solos accompanied by an accordion. The tune was always the same, but he fitted quite a variety of words to it as the fancy took him. Choosing Land After a day or two of thorough inspection of Denham Bay, which was to be our home, the men were quite satisfied that because of the steepness of the hills and (except in a few places) their inaccessibility, we would have to abandon all ideas of taking up land on them for planting. We would have to concentrate on what land there was available on the flat. The shareholders and directors who were with the party, Mr and Mrs Hovel! and my father (Mr Carver],, chose areas on one side of the fresh-water raupo lagoon in the centre of the bay. My husband and I, with some of the other settlers, took land on the other side of the lagoon. The lagoon, which is about 40 acres in extent, had once been a freshwater lake. The tradiLion is that settlers from New Zealand in years gone by preferred feathers from the sea-birds to the "one one" (Maori for raupo seed head) which they wore. They emptied the seed heads into the lake, bringing about the growth of raupo. By digging wells at the side of the lake we found fresh water—a wonderful boon, as there was no other fresh water in the bay. After a meeting of settlers our true position was made known. The vessel which we thought was to carry goods to and from New Zealand would have to be sold on her return to New Zealand. There was not enough money in the hands of the directors to pay the instalments due, through some would-be shareholders backing out at the last minute. Further, no doctor had come or would come to the island. (To be continued.)