NEWS OF CANTERBURY IN THE MID-FORTIES

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25449, 22 March 1948, Page 6

NEWS OF CANTERBURY IN THE MID-FORTIES

EAftLY DAYS

(SpeciaUy Written for “The Press.")

EBy

C. R. S.]

Ong hundred years ago, in *B4B, Canterbury news was a regular feature cf the Wellington newspapers. It appeared in the form of shipping note?, farming peto. YItSJ statistics, personal items, church news, reports tom the whale fisheries—even in a book review and in political notes and leading articles. Because there was as yet no “Canterbury settlement” most of the news items refer to Banks Peninsula

Actually, the files of the Wellington newspapers from the end of 1840 onwards are a mipe of information about early Canterbury, supplementing and correcting m uch that has already been published about, the "pre-Adamite” period ip the history of the province. The year 1848. however, gives a good sample of the sort of news about Canterbury that the early Wellington newspapers were able to provide for their readers. It is also an important year in the history of the province, for at the end of March the Canterbury Associatfop ffi England began its campaign fpr the estaplishm en t Of the Church of England settlement of Nf w pante.-bury” (expected to -be in the Wairarapa), with the publication of its first pamphlet. News of the projeef reached Wellington nearly spt months later. The first item of Canterbury news for 1848 appeared in the “New Zealand ’ Spectator and Cook Straits Guardian,” op January 1. The shipping nqtps reported the arri va l the previous day of the 13-ton schooner Catherine from Akaroa, and the 98-ton Comet from Bapks Peninsula. . The Comet tod gone dogm a week earlier specially to firing fat sheep fp°m WB. Rhodes’s station at Port Cooper (actually from Purau). “Some of the sheen have an average weight of 761 b; ttoTargesi wps 951 b? stated the “N.Z. few days later, qn January fi, the schooner Agnes Hay (built at Pigeon Bay, find first entered in the" Wellington shipping register in 1847) from Akaroa. Her passengers were Dr. Butler and Miss Woods, and she carried a cargo of wool and whalebone' The Agnes Hay sailed for Akaroa again op February 25. her passengers being Dr. Healy, Mr Evans and a servant. She returned on April 3. The Harlequin, also for Akaroa, sailed on March 4, returning on March 17. An American whaler, the Sally Anne, was to Fjgto 1 toy wtoh the Agnes Hay Coastal fohoqpers were constantly trading between Banks Penmsula and Wellington in 1848. Usually, they were awe/ from Wellington about three weeks qr a m on th, but pne or other of rihem was sailing tom Wellington for Akaroa or other peninsula harbours at about three-weekly intervals. Besides foe Agnes Hay (Daymond) apd the Harlequin (Chmpery), there were the Comet (Cork), the Cafopripe (Pqrter), the Perseverance (Unthank), the Sisters (Bruce) and the cutter ply (S ffie ln Agnes Hay was unlucky, ®iie Shipping notes on November 4 report that she was driven op shorp on October 18, on the ninety-mile beach, about 30 mtos tenth pf Banta Peninsula “She left Crtakou afiqut 6 a.m. on foe day of foe apcidept. All hanejs were saved; foe vessel is not muph mW e d. apd sin attempt will be made to get hpr off.” Apparently thp schooner became a total loss, for there is hp further' mention of her in the shtPßffig lists. ■ pp September 10 the Harlequin brought 62 sheep and 20 head of cattle from Pigeon Bay. Mrs Price was a passenger. Whaling at Banjss Ppninsuta First pews of whaling was given op Japuary 8. when the “Spectator” summarised the catcfies of* the whaling gfc tebfe references are given here.) Weatherajl’s station at peraki, working with pne bpat and seven men, had no luck at alj—no' oil fig bone. Pricp at Ikft • laki (IkorakiJ , with 27 men find three boats, had talfpn 65 tups of oil; Wpofis at Goashore. 18 men and -two boats, 53 tuns; and Rhodes’s Island Bay station, ajsp wite 18 men, so tuns. By 1848 whaling catches were small. The great days of coastal whaling were over by 1844. So the “N.Z. Spectator- wrote: ‘I Last year the whaling season wag the worst experienced since the formation of the colopy, being less than one-half of that caught in 1845. which again was inferior in tp the seasons pf Later whaling news included the arrival bn March 25 of the 298-ton American whaler Favourite, which fiad teen cruising alppg te e east coast of the Sopth Island, arifi which had 'called fit Off the lianas peninsula grounds and further south the Favourite baa spoken three’ American whaling ships (Omega, Orion, and General Pike) and two Tasmanian (Pacific and Egmont). On September 4 thp Tasmanian whalep Cheviot arrived fc? tr? s H® r m a g S’i Id irtto , P £ iri f* toghtohder, Wallaby, ha d fooeutly been lying at Port Cpoper, apd bpd just left for the Wtoima grounds further off the coast. went to Akaroa in kW Inflexible, the first steam vessel to enter Canterbury waters. News of his visit was brought by the Catherine, whpse master reported, bn arriving at Wellington op February Mtay'-Tfip owners pf the different Stuck stations fiad seen the < toy e ?? D - r pn 6u fi) ect hi their runs apd thgir position in regard to the na.ives, gpd they are reported to be greatly satisfied with the result of

foeir interviews.” The Governor was pleaspd With foe suitability pf th. place for settlement. While the Catherine was at Port Lew the ship Speed arrived at Port Cooper with a cargo of sheep for Mr Greenwood, but a great proportion ol then, had died on the passage from Australia. There was a further official visit to Akaroa later in the year. Qn August 28, H.M.S. Fly. which had sailed Iroffi Nelson earlier in the month, returned from Akaroa, passengers in her betas Lieutenant-Governor Eyre and Messr*. £? b had remained in Akaroa to mark oat tfie native reserves and complete arrangements "relative to the late purchase of lands” from the M a °ris. Thp death of Joseph Greenwood, one of Canterffiiry’s pioneer pastoralists (established af Purap from IM3 to 1847), was reported on December 6 "Mr Greenwood left Port Levy on October 14 in a whaleboat with a European and a native for Komptinaii (Mptunau), haying arranged with « party of natives to follow him irf a second whaleboat at an interval pl tfiree weeks. On the latter party reaching their destination, they found Mr Greenwood’s party had not arrived: nor have any tidjfigs bgrii heard, of them since, but parts pi'T whaleboat have been washed ashore to ifie south of Kaikoura, apd it is §unpioneer farmers were drowned on voyages bptween Bunks Peninsula and Wellington, Captain Sinclair, of Piaeon ms- i^” 11 pean * A French priest was established at Akaroa with the French settlers from August. 1840, until about 1844, but by 1848 the religious needs of the settlers, bath English and French, were served only by the occasional visits* of missionaries, or (much more rarely) of the two bishops, Pompallier and Splwyn. “The settlors pt Akaroa complain that there is no ininisipr of religion Q i any denomination at that settlement,:: reported the ’’N.Z. Spectator” on April 8, apparently qn information supplied by the master of the Agnes Hay. ‘Some ape anxious to be rparried. others are parents anxious to nave their children baptised.” The European population at fikaroa was incfeasing. A report qn July Js (presumably frprp official statistic!', gave foe figures as follows—lB46. males 139, females 62; 1846, males 157, females Thp “New Canterbury” Settlement The proposed “New Canterbury" settlement received its first notice in the “N.Z. Spectator” on August 9. 1848. papers received from Englajid included copies of the Canterbury Association's prospectus. “’lt is reported thqt the Chqrcfi pf England settlement scheme, which was talked of spme years sines and laid aside, figs been reviyed by the H-S-Company. ... An association has been fopmed to carry ft out on a similar plqn to. that for Qtakou. The -site cl the new settlement is to be in foe Wairarapa district, and if the land fie speedily acquired from the natives if iS believed immediate measqrps will be taken for 'founding foe spttlefoept. phe price js to be £3 an acre. “Mr Godleyf who some shprt time ago obtain sd considerable reputation in propounding a scheme of ’systematic emigration' from Ireland ... has accepted a seat in the direction of tfie bf.Z. Company, and has again turned fiis attention to this subject.” The proppeptus qf foe Cpnfprbmy Association was publisher bv Spectator” on September 9. Practically the full text of tne association‘s first pamphlet (a much largepdopfiment) was published ip ffie issuer at November 22 and November 2Jji. On September the paper fidtfeji to its discussion of the Canterbfiry proposal (still destined toy the Wairarapa) a note trial “toere i® also a report that a Roman Catholic- settlement will s|iprtly be formed at Akaroa.” The Wairarapa, according |o the “N.Z. Spectator.*’ was obviously best place for the Gfinterbury settlor ment The setUepnents shoffid pot be widely dispersed: and population in one pfift of .the PPuptry wduld hasten development and -prove to trig advantage of all (and particularly of w-ellington). With the Cante r " bury settlement in the Wairarapa, the paper wrote, “the wriplp of the southern part of this island will fte cpp£entyated" into one cpffibact and fipurish-r ing“ settlement with Canterbury ite metropolis, and Wellington for its Sfifiimercial port-” In |he passpnger list pf the Bprenicia, which arrived in Wellington from London vifi Nelspn pn Ufoyember 20, are the names of Captfiin Thopsfs, W Cass and Mr Tprlesse. The Spectator” nqtes that ‘'J-deutenaut Thomas” is the agpnt and Chief Surveyor of the Canterbury Association. Thomas appears to have been prompted during his visit to England. He was one of the original Wellington settlers in 184fi ? explored the Eagt Coast along the beaphes from Woffington to Table CfiPe in 1845, and throughout 1840 Was surveying jfi Otfigp. During tee earlier period he was always referred to as Lieutenant Thomas. The test reference to Canterbury in 1848 is in the shipping list for December 16: "Sailed, 13th December, cutte? Fly (Swann) for fort Cooper- Passenger, Captain Thomas.” Op Pecerph® f 15. Thorpas landed at Port Cooper. al“ Sost tyzp years to |he day ahead of the Igrims, to begin the work of pxplor* ation apd confirm his opinion before he left Wellington) that ’the Port Cooper plains’? were a much better site for Canterbury than the Wa*“ rarapa.