BACK TO THE FORTIES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 658, 8 November 1909, Page 8

BACK TO THE FORTIES.

HAIF-UGHT MEMORIES, CHAT WITH A WELLINGTON PIONBEK. ' Reading the. other day in tho subdued light in the rooms of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce sat an.olderiy gentleman"with:whito silken hair, a plenteous crop, grown jloiiG after the manner of the early Victorian poet?. '. The fact: in. itself seemed nothing ■■ remarkable,;, and. m ig:ht have passed unnoticed.-What did catch. the eye, however, was the likeness of the ; benigii old gentleman engrossed in a "weekly'!, to an old photograph on.the wall, an old tinted'portrait —the only one of ' its. kind, ; in" the. ; gallery— which hnng -oh" ,tlie' wall. three yards .' distant the reader.'- Looking: at .the portrait, tho .identity, of which is not widely known, and then - at the figure sitting with his back' to the borrowed light, the conclusion forced itself that , they were one and. the, same ', porain/Yct hitherto the portrait, familiar enough through frequent visits, ' had always .'scemod .to be ■ an antique" — one ' of : Wellington's merchant princes who had long since gone ..the . way of all flesh. Discreet inquiry. disclosed. the dual idonti ty. It was Mr. J. J; Tame, a pioneer of pioneers— one of the tiny lit He. b'and left; who., were pro-, sont at the birth of Wollmgton. I-introduced myself. do' you do, Mr. Taine?" "Ah—oh—how are you?—oh, .well, I- really, believe I am feeling old. at last." .. : "You're looking splendid l " "Oh, yes—l'm well enough, in. the main, but. my eyes are.wearing out—:they. i But you are reading without spectacles; - "Yes,. spectacles are ho-'good . to', me.;'-They.' don't improve my sight.: I .can" still read-well 'enough with these'. old eyes'if ther light is-iiiot too ■: bright—but tho glare,, oh" the;.';: paperSrit.' makes them tired—tired!" ' With ~ this', "he, rubbed his .eyes,"'as' a man does .when .he wakes. . 01?.. a morning,. and .then . rubbed his lean hands genially together, as though to shako oft" the thought of- life's, litclenoss. . Memory pretty good?-.--' j V. , "Oh, yes,; bless jou." Tell m«, about yourself and your-coming.'. to. .New Zealand. ■ "I. was born in 1817, and came out when quite.a.young man on ;the' Adelaide—you know, one of the. New Zealand Company's .ships. We arrived here in March, 1810; with a. lot. of notable people on board, I 1 cant tell you. You ' see;.' when we .left,-' England' hivd refused to' take ■ over.'New Zealand as a o&ohy, and they tried' to- dissuade us' from coming—didn't knov: any-' thing about, the pljice,, of course. '..But we were ' set on founding a colony 1 of. our own! So'we hid on'board Dr. Evans, who was to bo judge, and a-, chief' 'constable,'- 'who • was- to .preserve law and'order.' Oh, bless yoh, .we- were going 10-manage fine: Of course 1 was'only a .yovtng .man-at' the"time, and wasn't .deeply concerned in I .,affairs of Stnte^it'was,-a .ffiie adventure to me.: We bronght/ oirt -with tie tho first 1 number'of: the-'"Spectator,'* and brought. Mr. Sfekt;s,;:who''was ;to.-print it :out here. I noticed. the other-.day .that' Stokes's old' liouso is'still, standing, up -at 1 the.-end-of Ghpznee Street: (near' Woolcombe." Street); there they are : 'tbrdayy' Stokes ind Strang's 'houses. " ; . Strang was the first Registrar: of the./ Court. : Tom: M'Kenzie (who lives.' just below, tho old houses referred tn) 'was an apprentice to-Stokes, and . afterwards' ran the paper. He' would remember 'more;.-,than . 'I; could.' . He. Had' the political' mind,' and was .-.connected : with., the papej\' '-'I ;didn't trouble much about'things— took:-everything as'lt'caine." i' " , "Looking back.'bn 'those early days," is. thero anything';that .'sticks''out'as",a-'feature'of' the times?" s ' ; 7' . ; ' , "Do you"know,. I've of ; that. T .think. there 1 , are two; things '. that : were, remark-, able .iii ' different waya.";-Oiio thing-was the extreme chterfißitess; of everybody.' They' wei-o cioi iobted -with tlio place, and though there was littlo money. 'and plenty, of .tard work to do, everybody "seb'med to be 1 thoroughly; happy : and. contentcd—they ,had. cast oft .tho shackles :of the. Old Land; and' had"a 'fair field before . them; ■ ' '"''.V:,,:' '■ V\*_"We. in the Adelaide landed a-t , Petone, then Britannia, which' then a strip of. sand and tussock, between the; sea and'.the bush. That wais in March, 18-14). They had already marked off: some of tho sections of the proposed township, and were going on 'with' the survey, though there was some difference of opinion as to the fiite:-.. About a week , after we arrived a big flood came down the Hutt River—the water was overyw-herel . That, decided the fate of tho township,: for'afterwnWs no time "was >oH in shifting to: the- southern end of the harbour th« : present sito v of Wellington city, 7l ; Hobson's Choice. . | •; b 9(( Ba ' when' we left : England New Zealand'had. not been taken over as a .Bntish colony, but .it appears that, soon after we left, the Government must have changed its mind, .aft: orders were- dispatched to Sydney to annex New Zciiland; and Governor Hobson came to Anckand to take over the country' m the.name of tho British Governmsht. About a year after we arrived Governor' Hobson arrived ;in -the harbour. The impression I'have - F** Captain Hobson had • some' sort of idea that we: we're rebellious' subjects to the Quern, and wanted, to. govern ourselves. Of course, •we were nothing of the'kind-we welcomed the news of the annexation, and readily gave up the reins of .government .to the Queen's representatiTOs. This belief as 'to the regard m. which we were, held by Captain Hobson was (strengthened by his actions. When he arrived the.anchor was-dropped off'Evans Bay, instead, of copiing right into the harbour, •as was usual. . ' , Mr. Taine,'as a shareholder'of the-company receiyed':.one-.acte. in town : and "100 : in 'the • eoratiy.; His.'town acre was at, Newtown,'and gw..country' block.• "through .the : b'ush"',at hilverstream..; He parted with > both—all too .years' ago. ::. Can- the reader • 'tie Hutt Valley in 1840? Mr.: Tame says that the . whole of- the valley was heavily/ timbered,' as- were the em,bracing,'hills. Bed 'and;white pine arid ' matri grew on the rich fhlts.so well,watered by the river, and the gres.t patches of shingle that now scat; the valley. licro and there were nonexistent. Soon after 1 the first ships arrived, the surveying..'parties commenced to make .tracks through the bush, but. so tliick was tho. busll and so " encumbered were the rough tracks, with logs and roofs that it was easier' to wade-up the river for the'greaiter part of the way. That was tho manner in which Mr. 1 Taine first made his way to his block of land at Silverstream. For the . last twenty, yiiars Mr.. Taine has .been' nomadte in his habit.'. He never envoys better health (ian when at sea, and he has visite'd the Old Country 1 several times. f , He visited . Monte Carlo last yeaj—at .92 years of age. ■ , . T / n 'y ho Tias seen much—ho has watched the birth,'growth, and litter-day progress of Wellington, has , seen the nriroal forest roll back . before the insistence of man. He has observed of; maritime ■ transport, from the muffrblpwed; '"limc.iuicwi,'' whit®, with hundreds. of s<rals huddled- on board, would tnke fiye and ' six month's to battle half-round t]io world, to,tho modern liner, of the: lonic type; and.at. has'witppssed-thet 50-t«n , sohooneri displasid in .the intercolonial service such palaffal steamers as the Maratna and Ulimaroa. Ashort, the creakhig ox-team has been displaced by railways whioh speed the - length of, the .island, and. the faithful horse is in- danger of being .snperrad«d. (in- the' dtios at all events) by odorous motor-cars and. oyclos. 1 'eyes—the penalty "is a light 'one surely for. neaTly v a' onutlook! And as 'tM ' visUor -left' in Sie> dim light, the white-haired old geEtfeman resmired his paper..-