The Muka Muka Rooks.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 17

The Muka Muka Rooks.

"Well, wo got l along very well-until wo readied tho Muka Muka Rocks, which were, tho in our road. There wero three- points, of rock jutting out into tho sea, two of which could bo passed'.. Ury-footcd. at low water, ..but tho third was always washed by tho sea. Though Colonel Walcefield, the New 'Zealand Company's agent; could not sanction the squatters going to the Wairarapa, still ho did not seo why he should not make a

hole in a""rock' which they might, iiso if they Kkcd, so shortly previous a party had been, employed to make it passable They had done very little good', and tlio rocks could only be passed at low, water,.and.then only. by.get-, ting a ducking if a wave higher than its fellows-caught you.-' 'Indeed, whenblowing, from. tho. south-oast,: the place was impassable for.days. _As the liill at tho back' was "too precipitous to 'r.d-' rnit of being climbed overhand manyan unlucky traveller had been detained thcro for days" together. ' Subsequent-' earthquakes -have,- 1 -! understand, .so raised the- beach -that- this spot is passablo at any time... .'... ...... ■. . When wo. arrived there we had to catch every,sheep, and- standing in the" water'rpass them' from hand to' hand round the point, a. work of time, but which was .accompanied ;with loss troublo than. wp.,.,ospectcd, ,and without any loss. ,':",,,• .' ... -.- We camped'that'higlit at' Wairarapa' Lake. During'ltjlie uighV'it rained in torrents, but'"this; however, did not prevent sleeping, so-thoroughly, tired out was.t ■-I remember waking* with a stream of water running under me, and your father--sitting with his-blan-ket over Iris head, ar.d saying to me in.a very injured tone of voice, "Well, I never did[see .snch a beggar to sbep !.". Next morning we. found that the lake had opened.,its passage into the sea, and that' thereforo there was no chance of getting across even in canoes, . as the rush of water would bo for some timo too. strong to. do .so with safety. We therefore moved to the edge of the lake, to. where, ; I believe,Matthews's property now is, and from there your father returned to the Hutt for some few cattle. ■ : ■• , : Mr. Wold Appears. Whilst, wo wero thero Weld came with his sheep,' as mentioned in his ;letter, • and camped at Wairarapa,' eo as-not to .intorferoiwith us. Now, the dato of our both being so far on our journey ■ iis'.'fixcd' by •' ■ his .twenty-first-Vycar 'wliilst oampcfl 'thofe, .and.;his: i a's)dngV v mb/ : tb^..dme;}vi|lii.4?J l ?- , . 3Vhat ,t'lip''di.rin'pr, ; consisted of I ;!do':not ' i'cincm.l)er,''-'cor ; iain.ly r "riot : . much' inoi'O than damper, ■ -tea, J arid : bacon, l perhaps an.eel. .-'.At 'all.,events tho repast.was not, sumptuous. ..Your father did. not rtturii "until'..after _ Weld' had crossed thoUake wit!v' , )iis; I 'sheepV but as-soon as hodid,'we'lfolloived, and 1 proceeded up the valley., ..I .do. not remember.; tho stages' wo .made,..or,.that r wo kid any difficulty moro remarkable than another. -The difficulties we're all'about the same; size,, and-wcro thick, i • although wo had;the..benefit of AVeld's preceding, us. - ..Thero .was next to.no Native track, and in trying to avoid places whore wo could seo Weld had been in difficulties, wo got into worse. This was especially. 11)01 case in finding crossing-places to the swamp gullies and creeks for . tho two pack-mares, Weld having had none, but raore_men to carry necessaries. Our first camp for the sheep was a little further up t'he Wharc-kaka-.. Plain than where Weld's" sheep were, and where tho Natives had partly put up a bark and toitoi whare for Weld, oil tho bank of the Riiamahanga. . . Short naticr.s. Wβ stayed with Weld for some- little time, and we're, as he says, very short

of provisions', indeed; so short that one pannikin'of tar at a meal was the allowance. I remember once upsettiug mine, "and having therefore to go , without. 'Your father and Weld never wont out without their guns, and as it was winter, and the swamps full of water, they always ibrqught : home somo ducks, but from haying no dog to bring them but/of thq'-jvatbr 'when shot, one or otber;.ha'd;'to act as'retriever.' Little, or nothing could be'got in tho way of, provisions', from' tho Natives, as they.had no" settlement"'or cultivations higher, up,tho valley thati.Turauganui. On ono occasion Weld made his. way up ...the. Valley as 'far as tho Hungarua R iver, and there found a few deserted huts and small potato patch, aad in grubbng about discoversd jo in the croundj _

with: which' he filled'an 'old basket^and"'.,.' -:/.'- all the availablo; pockets of liis shooting- ',•: ..;'.v coat. Ho returned •"triumphant, ai:d : .' •* ■'-;. joy was in.the camp;, hut, alas, tlio ,;.' joy was short-lived; for on boiling .' :' some of the prize, they turned out to/."- :■:>; bo kopuras, liard and watery from ■being; ■■ '...■'.:'; self-sowii and left'in tho ground. Boil- ; . ;;:f. ing evidently would,not cook them, so. ,',- ;v roasting in the ashes-was tried. Thil ... ■;■•: only cooked about an eighth of an incli..; . ; -; outside, so baying eaten that eighth "> they wero put in the ashes again until -'. -.'■.■; another.eighth was eatable, and so the '.'•■ -v

process 'was continued. . Tour. fa tier ;"'■-■ 'had two very good pig-dogs', ."Lumpy' , ;:. ; and "Venus," but there were not'many;;.':; , ;' pig's on; Wharehaka Plain, and. what. ,'i there . were' were chiefly ■ very ancient -\;\ boars, and quite .;uneatable. ■..' - , :.- ■•.",?■.■■ After remaining, some:little .time at T ';.;'; Wh'arekaka, we moved : uie 'camp'to- the'■';.-■ '■;. edge of tho bush at Dry River,.ahcl.tTie;s':;'o Natives .began to cut a road .through the bush from there'to'thebankof fe|r ; Ruamahanga; at Pihautea. . Tlio-cat-; , ; '- tie your father brdught..up;belor!ged l to : -.f•;•'--• Cootes, Crawford, and Ludlam, and"for.;.r ; - ! ,- tho grazing of -them-lie -was': paid, ; "l : ;uV.'think, 12s. -,per;. head; ;:per . annum..yy;.y Whilst camped at,tho. Dry.River,.fhey,,: were a. groat bother, as -teving' beeV;:.:: bred at the.'Peninsula and Evan's Bay.'.t,.:'; AVellington, .they" .■preferred; hills' level country, and every there:'.:.. they. would be at the top , o£' tbe"wfirst '.-■%::•" ridgo of. hills .opposite pur 'camp.,;;' A 5.;; ,,; I had the looking after'.them,''thereV;::: was a walk'for ine' directly,after breaks /> vI fast to bring them , down; onto .tho. plain..;-*:.; v ." They ivere, however,•' perfectly> quiet,■■ V.'.; and drove' very well: on foot, \vhiclil.was'-?:;i" fortunate, as there -was > "4,V spare, to ride after ,them....' ;- ; j '■.'.' -;' ' ' Staticn'Life-;in-1844:'*-a is ; ?S:r As soon as the road wasn'nished'jnwoi - r? : of course, moved info the station, , : and,'-■■'.':'.• as you know, made.the first homestead i.. : on the bank of the river. The-first ■;.-;■ and only hut we .h"ad-"thero wasVjust.;. : a common bark whare, or ratherj'^wpS,;; sido by side'j one to-live in ■ and'.'..the j.v.other to cook in. Tho'slieen'JVan'-oti' 0 ; tho flat, and were , 'generally '^brought , ?• :•. to, camp round the,, whare, aS . th.crey;' were marty wild about, Of course, •, tliere was rnuch work, to do- in' th'ff, way N. , : of fencing' a paddock , .on the flati'-and.;.";; a stockyard, sheep, pens, etc. These, ;.;■ however, were ■, done.' : by .cbntract, ' but;; : t wo cleared and griibbed up a patch-for ■■,■';: a garden, and also for wheat—the. last : ' must have been . during the 'following : ■ year. At first, beside, j-bu'riather" and "='.,. mvself,' , the. hands were only one: man,■/-/ who had co"tne from -Sydney -with" your ..'".. iathor, and a boy Avho i shepherded -the. , -;-"- sheep all day, and , brought-them: .;. camp at night. '. Soon.after.■a r y<mnger; ;, "brother of N. Levin cain'e to learn'. ; buMi° ■.'.-•. I life, but: lie did not remain. long;K; :tC",

A very interesting'feature of Hie Tows Planning Exhibition, ■'■' at the licvid Academy, is the collection of : from tho Oversea States. ■Thetfe'incli'iilo'" 'a set of plan's of Prince.Eupert, liritish. Columbia—tho very last word in .Canadiat' town-planning; plans by Messrs. •ilcrbcrV,' Ba,ker and Fleming' for. the. to the new Union Buildiiigs at Prcforia: and for a housing scheme at the Crown: Mines, Johannesburg; a view, by Sir' Charles Nicholson and Hr. Hubert C.\ Corlette, of tho Post Office and Treasury, block of buildings, Kingston, Jamaica;' plans of Old and New Khartum, and .of:, tho proposed reconstruction of Onidmy'man; and plans illustrating the: com>". missioner's report on a scheme for the';--jmm:aY_emjjjt_ef and ; ]ts 'suburb^ , ,'