KAIHIKU IN THE FIFTIES.

Clutha Leader, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2137, 20 August 1907, Page 5

KAIHIKU IN THE FIFTIES.

Our report of the farewell social to Mr Andrew Moffat at Kaihiku, which appeared' last Friday, has brought forth, some early recollections of the Kaihiku district. Mr John Dalziel (Balclutha), one of the earliest settlers of the district, supplies the following : With Messrs Adam Sutherland (a brother of Donald Sutherland' at present residing in Balclutlha), and Jame9 Hepburn I went to Kaihiku in 1855 to look aft* some sheep for Mr Chas. H. Kettle. I had not hitherto had anything to do with sheep, but as men' were short at file time, Mr Kettle got me the job. It was very lonely there at ftrßt. Sometimes Mr Kettle would ride out from Dunedin nbVaniJ again ;.he did the journey in a day. The land at Kaihiku, Block 103, was originally taken up as follows:—John Barr, 250 acres ; Chas. H. Kettle, 609 acres, including 280 acres bush ; Geo. McNeil, about 100 acres; Robert Campbell had Glen"falloch, while I had sections 7, 8, and half, of. 9, 70 acres being bush. Messrs Chalmers Bros, had Moahill, but they never settled there. It went through several hands, and I remember Mr Healey (a well-known efrocer in Dunedin) had it for a time. Mr A. Moffat managed the place for him, and subsequently bought Mr Kettle out. Of course, we had no coal in those times, and all the land .next the bush got settled first. Plenty of firewood and water were the first essentials. . After the place got settled the Government built the school at Warepa. We did not go in much for cropping. Everybody had cattle and horses, and when sheep prices became high wc went in for . them. I was the first to fence my land for the sheep.. It was more profitable than cropping to sow land down in grass and let the sheep eat it off. At first when. I was there Mr Kettle's sheep were badly infected with scab, and hence he got all the men he could to look after them. I had 200 acres of what was knewn as the Kaihiku Bush farm, and this I sold to Mr Jas. Browhlie before leaving for Balclutha, where I have settled over 40 years. We had no coaches in those days, and I had to tramp oat from

Dunedin to Kaihiku. Bullock waggons were the usual means of transport, but these were often delayed at creeks, swamps, etc. Mr Dalxiel, it may be mentioned, came to Sydney in 1853, in the Benarcs. After staying about a year there he came to New Zealand in the brig "Thomas and Henry," landing in in 1854, coming to Otago in 1855, and on the 12th March of the same year he started with Mr Kettle at Kaihiku.

He crossed the Clutha ferry in a small dingy, skilfully steered by Black Peter, the subsequent discoverer of gold at Waitahuna and Tuapeka. Tho township of Balclutha thon consisted of one small bark hut in which Blade Peter lived along with some members of the original McNeil family. .. A.t the "Ferry," Mr Dalziel met Dr Schmit, the German naturalist who was lost some years later in the Catlins bush. The Doctor asked him to join his survey party to go to Waitahuna, but Mr Dalziel did not care to break his engagement with Mr Kettle. Mr Dalziel was in Wellington at the time of tho great earthquake in '54, which made an ugly chasm up : the only street in tho town then, ■ and from which blue mineral matter was oozing up. There was a big scare in the. place that night and the residents of tho town rushed for refugo on board the "Thomas and Henry, •

The five settlers who were at Kaihiku when Mr Andrew Moffat - went there were Messrs Jnmos Morris (who was married to a sister of the late Mr David Lindsay of Invcrtiel), Dalrymple, McNeii (Kildervan), John' Barr (Craigielea), and Mr Dalziel (who sold out to Mr Brownlie).