SEVENTY YEARS AGO.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 587, 16 August 1909, Page 8

SEVENTY YEARS AGO.

ARRIVAL OF FIRST COLONY. , AN ANCIENT RIVALRY. WELLINGTON AND PETONE. /- , m. ' It is well known even to the younger gen-" 1 eration 'that an early conception of "Wellington rity was a township to be called Britannia, situated on the Potone beaoh. The contemporary journal 01 Colonel JWiUiam WakeheW. -founder of the New Zealand Association's colony, shows that he' was strongly ' jmbned with tie idea that Petone, as the Bite of a future commercial town, offered ' many advantages over Lambton Harbour, Which was the site ultimately chosen. For months tho questionoosf s "Petone or Tnorndon?" when, the future of a city hung,in the balance, had' an importance m the light of whioh the modern question, "Petone or Evans Bay?" in relation to the site of big industrial undertakings becomes a very humble counterpart. , • An Ambitious Scheme.

Under date February 27, 1840, Colonel Wakefield writes that for various reasons he has been'obliged "to-give up tho idea of placing the first settlers at Thorndon, and to select the lower.end of tho valley of tho ' Hutt for the site of the city, behind which will extend the country sections fho m- "* structioas given by the company to iw sur-veyor-General (Captain Smith) were to piovide for the future, rather than the present, Mid that the public convenience should bo ■* consulted, and tho beautiful appearance of the future city should be secured, so far as these objects could be accomplished, rather than the immediate profit of the company It was also provided that "ample reserves for ' all public places, such as a market-place, wharfage, a botanical garden, and probable pubic buildings, a park and e\tensive boulevards, should be made." The dominant factor in inducing the opinion that tho city should be built at Petono, and not at Thorndon, was the belief that tho land at the head of the harbour was insufficient for theso r purposes. From the first, however, tho Petono beach was found to be a very lnconvemv ent place for, landings, and Wakefield admits that the decision to lay off tho town on that Bite produced "a slight degree of despondamongst the settlers who had armed. He adds that "notwithstanding tho decision as to changing the site of the town . . it is mv opinion that, at somo , period of time, Thorndon must becomo tho sito of a commercial town Die landing-places, along »its whole extent, tho / vicinity,, of tho safe .harbour, which must, * even, under present circumstances, bo the anchorage 'of* largo vessels' during tho winter, and its line surface of five or six hundred acres, with gentlo eminences , on which residences may be erected ab its back, point li out as a future shipping town of the city s to be created at the t opposite end of the'port, to which a road along the beach may be made'without difficulty throughout its" whole length of six miles." ' Between 20 and 'SO , men were employed in a eurvey of the town lands, and contiacts were made for "cutting lines in the ,wood" on the town Bite. p The wages paid to la- ' bourers were £1 a week, with rations pf flour, meat, tea, and sugar, this being the , ruling rate m JSew South Wales. , FirSt Colony Arrives. On March 22, 1840, Wakofield writes- ,"I have "now tho pleasuro to inform you that the vessels conveying hither 'the first 'colony,' ✓ have arrived in safety. The Aurora," January 21, , Oriental, January 31, the Duke of Roxburgh, February, 8, the Bengal Marchant, February 20, the Adelaide, March 7, the Glentervie, March 7. The first four are discharged, and the last will be clear in a fewdays. The detention of the Adelaide - "" two , *'dayS at Teneriffe, and two days at tho Cafe i ;'of, Good Hope, will put that ship'on' demurrage here, which otherwise would , not have been the case A lamentable state of /'disunion among the passengers, and between somo of them and the master of the ship, during the wholo 'oyage, and continued here, seems to hare been the occasion of this delay On. the arrival of the Adelaido, a question was raised of the propriety of the selection jof the site of tho town Many of the passengers by that ship, and others,'were of opinion that Thorndon was a preferable site "A meeting of holders of orders of town sec- % tions was called by Colonel Wakefieldj but us their opinions wero divided, and Wakcv field could not afford to risk "tho immediate 1 establishment of two rival towns," he adhered to his decision in favour qf the Petone nte He explained that if the Hutt Valley Bhould be found impracticable upon further survey, no harm would be done by the survey operations, and the Thorndon site could be surveyed and allotted in six weeks. ' "In the meantime," he writes Home, "a town ihas actually sprung up on temporary locations along the beach, where stores and iesidencos will soon aflord great accommodation to shipping and immigrants " "> Two large from Sydney and Port Phillip brought a valuable addition to tho colony in 600 sheep and 100 bullocks and cowq A third ship, bound for Wellington, - wae totally wrecked in tho sandspit off Cape Farewell, and 1000 sheep were lost

WpM4'W?x<4 ThevCompiany;and-ThejkirigJ;W ?'??■: - ; ■' te-S.;-'^ , ': Gaipteia;:>Hobsony'>ii havingV-acquired : v -:tlie\'; fcVS v-jvi eovereignty.;of iihe, northern, .parts; ''of,' 'the, was :oii ;fiis;^jay'to'iWellingtpii:wWen ; ■' f-'/^= : -;S''V'hff ; iwa^?'rtize^;/at ; .;Thwnes : with .a paralytio , informed was -likely : ffeeigtiaiibn;.: >;"Tri,: !SWS ;^: theAevent'iof :; ;here I ; if^'^^'shallrnot jfail:to -attend:to. the" recominenda-,: .; Kvs';i= : ft i: tioiipf:-the' direcfcorsj.tai;'cultivate a,:goqd;,un--- .; IS^\,:'i : dejmnduig ;^with ' hiim.'''.;ln;tho'iabseniie-of \ f ! '::V' ; iU'/'esrepr,feseutativ,efqf-fthe L '. K Li the' Committee of ■; Sc«KS: : ;Colonists'w t'.V::v>'.'?,' .ianc'e,:.of. thej.peace'iVMd-for:the:'pa,ymentl of tr!S ; ,:> If;:'^piiibUc ! ■•works;,-'underjthe,'■;sanctipn : . of;-.,.the .who > are {about' toi : ',a : , iffiVni-^formal •'document 1 authorising'the white peoplef'SH;;'.:f'settled^ih';- theiri;terrii<)ry:. to govern-jtbenK S^S'^^i'selVes.-'Tho measure'!win;dn'sure the legality', piiS:i; : /:{rof:. ;: :the : agree-; £''&?: ■•/»•*';. in4kt : ' until'- these parts ; &/S;-.wiU;.:)^-;?c.3'u.JrW,^ -%£li "■; i vpeclslbii:; 'f or ;^Weljington,':: ; ; ;: ;i ;, ( ;;; ; ■'' : ';The >feelinfei'that\the "i Petone site■ was'■ mi- ' fi-:.; ..guitable" for^ S^: y^! ;Vwith',theV progress 'of . : the. suTvey.;: On■ April; fy<':W ' 2(ji Wake'field: writes:'to : the Surveyor-General. asking if his:exaininatioiis:have , convinced h;m : Krf'H'tiiat^settlers :co\ild:,:.be:ydcated; ? .:at:.;Jetpne. pvf;"^v,^<with^safety. : to' :Wi«r-tprop_erty, and without" far -J-'hihdrariiie of 'their: /lands P^S^-frbm?inundation; or' colleotion ,of [water , ; |and [S':':''y'jf'pre'VentiVe measures'.against these gangers K? : ?';S?X. cpuld : ; 1& takerii'with" the-;: small :fina.ncial, I A;/:' sr]neahs:at5 r ]neahs:at the'settlbment's command.'. , 'Wake-, p'fiW- :n : ;. fi e ld : . still-.held: the':6pinion>"thaf. tirs; end •_ of. l^' :ii ;:~ ; ithe)hafhbur (i.e.,' Petone): is :the .uatuxal site p; ; 6& : 'S■'■'of;a'city which will; -i 7- .,: some:day be made with the interior... whilst as J.a ap- : ;to 'the harbmir .ior, the', site; of a commercial^b'wrii'!-:''His"fear,;rhowever,.,was 0--. -■;:':.•'■; that, f if tie Pot6rie : site were chosen,*;, rlie o&% Snrsi'Bettlers'may. ;be-involved-in ruihCfor the t;'' I. :'*.'.-benefit'of -their, sucoessore, by .tibeirVeffprtste $? : 'Z£: overcome'xibstaoles! 'which '.multiply .at; every |?H' ; ;fv'fetep. '■' '• On the , other .hand,' if Lambton ;wero p-<'!•■ ■¥ ; -gelccted, % : reducing -.in;. some:, measure the fe '• '■■■:" scale; of•■*he : .■•-■.'capacioiie ■ ;projects / of; ; ; the IfvUV-a'ifectors^especting. city, # whioh l h-: '^•.:;^6re : fprnied::in. an erroneous .conception .of li&S-^'-thjs;part'.o'f the country,,we may, by-availing if':': x .'h' : . .oiirselyeslof the means'.within our reach,, osthe 'first ■ tbwii , ' and settlement in: p^-^ : prosperity:'!.: The' Surveyor-General.reported I:-.-S i :;;i adversely -to'tho Pe.tpno . site, >ud on April iioN;)f: 6,1840, Wakefie , writes:"The accompany&&;'>:■v'inrf'correspohdence"between- :the Surveyor-Ir&W-Gliieral' and myself -fill inform you that ;t to lie the town in f:5 ; S;i-v Lambtpn'..Harbour..;:This decision. has,given universal''satisfaction;" "' : ' ,-, [. ■ ■ i .

l*^fe: ;^;^ommy;;:"Mr/Yoiing, -my: astor.Laura; said {££: ■:-. t a ble tthismorning that she thought you &V^-:;^; hat J-.the:pretti^t:, : moii^aohe, ; tlmt she .ever iy:'^.-\/:'--^''.""-Wr.-i Yoiiifg: ' You;onj?htn t, to . tell isi:>S; w :3 : -4U!J C g-'tHatrTon' hear ~. at-.table,:. Tommy.i, |»iKM::Sj': -Babe's going/to; give me. a penny