WAIPUKURAD TO WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1031, 21 January 1911, Page 15

WAIPUKURAD TO WELLINGTON

The-late :Mr. Hcchab Harding, whose | father founded the Mount Vernon Homestead, lias left an interesting description.of n journey overland from Waipuknrau on the way.to. Wellington,. nearly : fifty years ago. The only means of. locoriiotion woro oil horseback or on foot, and. Mr. Harding adds that even when .one had'a.horse, 0110' was forced to walk, a great, portion of tho■ way. There . was then a. track through the v Forty-mile Bush to, Wellington, via Foxton',';' hut every, traveller. had to carry; a l Hatchet in order to cut his. way round fallen trees,-andi to. clear undergrowth .from : a path which' was ■ seldom lisod. - 'Ono', of . Mr. Hardingls -niost. eventful-journeys "was taken just.'after the '.Christmas of •: 1865.. Accompanied by two friends, lie says; lio'left Wai--pukiirau/'and spent the night •'afciMri Onvir] Gruickshank's station,. after-wards-taken. over,.by Messrs: Cowper and Knight; ; The ■ travellers expected •to -find -Nativo /settlements; all' along, the', route, and anticipating no trouble in . getting , food 'thejp.y did not intend to .burden .themselves.. with. any. The. host, howo.veiy in accordance with the hospitable custom of ■ the times. prevailed upc-n his guests to take a supply,.; which , included . tho. remains .of his':. Christnias pudding. Directly, they, left the ; flat; land', near Tahoraite, the pilgrim's'found that tliey were, not going to 'have' a good time.. Tho road' had befin •abandoned, owing ' to' tho Maori War ...troubles,■.'•and the'; Natives given up-using the track.', Hatchets had to,bo brought .into.'..frequent requisition to jejear-a. path for the horses. In places - thero' was' so much overgrowth ■that,the.path was quite indistinguishable, and 'ono of tho party would stay on ]tho cleared .roadway while the'othoi's explored ahead,..so -that. tho trail was not "lost altogether. Tho Mosquito Scourge. About noon the pioneers attempted to. sit still'and cat some lunch, but tho'■ air,' says the was fairly black qvith mosquitoes, and although it was-'mid-day the. bush was so dense and dark,'that the little pests buzzed about as iif .it were night. Some idea of the intensity of ;tho', invasion ■ might bo gaiiiod from , tlic fact, that the horses wero bleeding from head, to foot. Tho travellers pushed en their way over v the " range's, arid' although 'it bad been four o'clock'in the morning when they left Cruickshank's;it was' sunset before : tliey struck 'the bed of the "Pohangina River. ' As -there -were, still ■ no'signs of; any Native':settlements,; Mr.: Hardling, and his party determined to camp. Tho .6pot'selected was the middle of tho river-bed, supposed' to bo freest from mosquito's?-. They were present, however, in battalions. A wind forturi•ately arose and partly clcared away the itpriii'entqrs.' 'Next. morning •, the ' journey Wqs''rencwed,. the ' party having , finished, all tho provisions. ' ; Losing tho Track. . .' To their dismay the travellers found that they could not find the track. Time after timo they went back to the place 'where tho track reacSicd the

stream from the Riiahine side, hut there was. no trace of any pathway 011 the opposito hank. For hours- they passed up and down, hero and there penetrating • into the dense scrub, but 110 sigh of a trail could be found. At last it was decided to follow tho courso of the river, hut owing to the rough liaturo of the banks of tho stream repeated fordings had to be made from side to side. This proccduro was attended with 110. little danger, and at length as the river became moro rapid and unfordable, except for swimming, arid as one of the party could not swim a stroke, the travellers crossed to'"tho northern bank of tho stream, and' turning tho horses loose, decided to. walk? down tho banks of, the stream until, some kind of help was procured. After walking 011 for some miles a track was struck which showed signs of bavin" been recently, used, and at last at airabandoned Maori pa called Galilee, the wearied travellers camo upon a party of surveyors who were engaged 'upon surveying the road upon winch Palmerston -North now stands, ■from these, men, Mr. 1-1 aiding and bis friends procured some lea and sugar .and a little Hour, and then, after making a. little "damper," they persuaded 0110 of the surveyors to go with them .Did help to cut a track to the horses. When found, (lie nnor brutes were fairIv covered with blood from mosquito bites, while the saddles .were quite

FIFTY YEARS AGO. FRQfB , BUSH' TO SETTLEIEMT. A STORY:OF PROGRESS. :

1 black with inscets. With some diflicull ty tlie horses were put up for the night \ in"*a" clearing' arid" next" day "a passage was cut through to tlie old tracl;.' "So far as I can remember," says Mr! Harding, '.'Galilleo - must bo near the present Longburn Railway Station, jixcept.for'-a clearing where tho town of I'almcrston North now stands, and .which was poor light-soil'covered With stunted fern, it was a land of dense hush all tho way from Pohangina Yal- ' ley'to Longburn. Twenty-six years later,, when Mr. Harding again passed through,'tho same.country was described' by. bim as', cf luxuriant pasture, and • covered with sheep and cattle. The soil was light and moro adapted for grazing than for cultivation, the abundant rainfall .and humid atmosphere causing' tho grass, to grow'".moro luxuriantly than ■on the'Hawke's Bay • side.'of the', mountain range. ' 1 Foxtpn to Paokaharikl. The old track near Longburn led to Foxton, whero thero was a large .punt that was utilised in. transferring passengers and horses and coaches over the river. The. road then ran along a . very wide sandy, beach for .about forty riiilss ,t'o, Paekakariki, where thero was a succession of. sandhills always on the , rnove, and apparently being blown by, every, westerly gale, farther and farther inland, and -in many places covering homesteads and cultivations. Along tho beach one. .would pass wliat'.appeared to bo .ranges of small hills which, wero nothing but cocklo shells piled up by Natives iri by-gone,days...'Referring to tho coach ride along 'the-."beach on tho way' from Foxton to Wellington thirty odd years ago, Mr. Harding stated that at first the drive had an exhilarating effect. . The . horses seemed to ..en-joy-tho scamper, .: and this . travellers wero interested in the flight of tlie seagulls, . and- tho, booming- of tho waves, but very soon]tired of tlio monotony, and Kapiti Island. ,011 tho right-hand sido seemed to keep exactly opposite tho-coach for many, a weary mile. .It was impossible to get over tho feeling, declared Mr. Hardisit;, that the island was following the vehiclo out of sheer , perversity. Some places along tho beach : would be very heavy, especially | so at high tide, ,and; in pity for the horses, the passengers would get out and. walk. In:this way many a tired , mile was trudged along,.in the heavy ; snnd. Oil arriving at tho Paekakariki Hill and 'locking, up' at the succession ! of zig-zags on the almost, perpendicu- - lar'face, one could not.-help .speculat- \ ing'.as to what, might •be the result if a .strap !or, a. bolt were to . break, and 1 .travellers'-wero not disinclined to accept ■ tile flint of ■ tho. coachman, that. : no timo'would bo lost by walking up the hill. Then thero was the bcauti- ' ful Ilorokiwi Valley and one went on walking, lost in admiration of the bcau- [ tiful scenery at tho bottom. Through 1 Paremata, Porirna, and Tawa Flat '. ,thero was sufficient level road for the passengers to rido while the conductor collected the fares. Then began the, rise to Johnsoriville, whero ono could repeat tlic previous walking experiences, .' and so on till Wellington was reached. Those good old days, concluded Mr ( Harding, aro gone for ever. We now rido in a comfortablo, scat in a stuffy

compartment, and all tho way never think of pitying tho engine. Thirty Years After. Sir. Harding made a similar journey this timo by train about thirty years later. He was of a, particularly observant nature and his remarks are decidedly interesting. At a quarter past oho o'clock, ho says, on May 25, 1891, wc took our scats at Waipukurau in the express train for Wellington. As one journeyed 011 in tho train it seemed hard to realise that only a lew years ago most of tho country that the train passed through was denso forest inhabited by birds aiid wild pigs. Every year made a great change 111 tho country, and Mr. Harding correctly' surmised that before very long people would wonder why the placo was called "The Seventy-mile Bush." Takapau, ho cdntinucs, is soon passed. At OrmondviHe there are it number of empty houses,'-but one admires the blue mountains which look so near tho ground. Tho new Anglican Church next occupies. Mr.' Harding's attention, and lie says that when completed it bids to bo'one of the prettiest country churchesin the provincial district. Faces 011 the railway platform lire recognised as those whoso owners have lel't civilisation in order to carve out homes for themselves in tho bush, lho bush, which was a feature of Southern Hawke's Bay twenty years ago, iu Mr.

Harding's time, is now gone, and the faces'of pioneers are up on tho Main Trunk lino where the' samo process of evolution is being pursued. In the course of another" ton or fifteen years, somebody will wonder why tho Main Trunk hue was ever called a saw-mill district, and. by that time -the faces of pioneers will be on the platforms of tile new railway stations which will be opening. up in the Bay of Plenty and tho I'overty Bay district. At Ormondviilo tho mail train from Wellington is met. According to Mr. Harding this, train left Wellington in those days at half past six o'clock in tho morning. If this were so the service must have been about eighty minutes slower than it is now—eighty minutes..cut down in twenty years. • ...

At Dannevirkc, remarks Mr. Harding, everyone exclaims and wonders at t'hq sizo of tlie hotels, and asks l'.o\y tliey -can all ho supported. After referring. ..to. -the.. fact, that ■ Dannevirko was . settled at'.the timo, of the: great •Vo.icl boom, Mr. Harding deplores the wanton obstruction of totara timber around the town area, - and comments upon its possible worth in years to come. After leaving Dannevirko, tho traveller notices - tho rapidity with which the bush . was disappearing. Woodvillc, hoy says, was . still fairly busy. ■ - . Tho Mrx.awatu bcrge. . A few miles' farther oil, was tlie Manawatu Gorge, which woir Mr. Harding's extreme, admiration, lio does not think the element of danger sufficient to mako the journey less fascinating. Years ago, .lie says, the coach used to dump one down on tho banks of the Manawatu River; and the travellei; was'then invited to get astrido a stick which was suspended above his head from a largo treo on ono bank to another tree on the, other bank. It was- a remarkablo experience, especially if one looked' below and saw, tho river tearing and foarping'; amongst the rocks eighty or ninety l'ect -beneath. Tho nightmare was intensified by . the rapidity with which- the stick was whirled from one sido of the river to the other side. Still later, when the magnificent bridge was e.rcctod over the river near Woodvillc, the crossing o! it .per coach was a novel experience. Tho bridge towered sixty-eight feet above tho ordinary water level, and at flood-water time, .tho, sight war. magnificent as one drove through tho. gorge. Tho towering v'erdurc<lad cliffs' and rocks, high above on either side of tho river, tho! cataracts white With foam, and tho river itself at times a hundred feet beneath on the. narrow road made the' travellers think' liow much depended upon'tho steady hand of the coach driver. It almost seemed a miracle that tho coach could negotiato the many corners .of tho gorge with four horses, but to Mr. Harding's recollection thero was no serious accident witn tho coaches, but there was no sleeping, the excitement of tho trip always kept one awake. Now, concludes Mr. Harding, a traveller may £0 to sleep at Woodvillc in tho train ,and not becomo awaro that there is a Manawatu Gorge.' , Referring to tho railway lino through tho gorge which had then just be'en completed, lie says that it does not cross tho Manawatu River at the gorge as was. originally intended when the bridge was built to carry a train,; but engineers conceived tho idea of keeping: to'tho north bank, all the way and thus saving two crossings of the river. It was'a bold undertaking, declares the narrator, as the cliffs on. the north bank wero much moro precipitous- and continuous than those on 'the south bank and in several places'for, considerable distances tho road had to be built up of, solid concrete, while in other parts thero wore..iron viaducts to carry the rails. ' In parts the original desij:: had to bo abandoned o'wing to the rotten nature.'of tho rocks. 'Mr. Harding thought "then that it was. tho most. solid picco of railway lino work in Now Zealand, and absolutely safe, and so far his opinion lias been proved to bo correct. Ha admits, however,

that if a train hccamo derailed when actually in the gorge, there'would lie a catastrophe, but ho does'not think there is nnicli danger of that happening. Ho remarks upon tho fact that tho gorge itself was losing its name as a scenic beauty spot, and ho instances the decrease of tho rata when in bloom from a small forest to a single stunted bush. Progressive Palmerston. ! At Palmerston, he writes, wo'found a crowded station, everything bustle and confusion.. Had the okl pioneer chanced to pass. through' Palmerston any day last year he woiild havo found 'tho same crowded station only more so, .and the same bustlo and confusion. ;Palmcrston is. described, as a thriving little . town.''which appeared to. be progressing more rapidly oven then itlian most 1 New, Zealand towns of the time. It- has a largo square, snvs Mr. Harding, .of :wliicli tho inhabitants are very proud. Most towns, . ho adds, have a square somewhere or other aboutthem, but 110 other town'that I. know has it so emphatically as Palmerston, .lor it appears, to be .'all square. In fact the square might lie shid to own Palmerston, for certainly i'almerstou appears to exist for the purpose of enclosing the square. The traveller comments upon the general discontent which prevails amongst human beings, taking as an exumplo the square and its relation to the railway station. At,

mio time, ho says, the < station "buildings ■ used'to-be in .the square. This was convenient to travellers, but it was an eye-sore to the inhabitants who complained that the unsightly buildings spoiled the square and petitioned for tlioir removal. This was done, with tlio result tlujt the square was more pronounced tlian pver, and then the inhabitants complained that the station buildings were so far away from most of the other houses. Were 111'. Harding alive now, his love of naturo would no doubt- lead ; him to justly. enthuse over the manner in; which the inhabitants of Palmerston North have made their, squaro one of tho. most notable inland town beauty spots'in all Now Zealand. ■ ■ ■ Frc;n Palmarstcn to Wollingtpn. The journey to Wellington from.Palnicrston was recomniouced at a quarter to five in tlio afternoon. Referring to the Manawatu Railway, Company.'s pro-; ject, Mr. T'larding'remarks that the line-was constructed more to give Wellington an impetus than for any direct profit, and" ho 'says that t'Uo company has been .well repaid for, its pluck and 'enterprise.. It- had given Wellington a splendid, help, which otherwise tho city would.'have been-a'long time in getting, and 'which 'was fast making it the first-city: in New Zealand, On tho journey down,- the'big swamp aroused thoughts in' Mr. Hardiiig's mind as to : the .future' possibilities of tho placc for 'farming purposes, 'and hp says that 111 ;tho-- neighbourhood tho train passes jthrough a'.great deal, of forest, winch • plaintly: shows,, hp. says,-.the effects of the humid• climate of tlie'-West. Coast. !' Mr.'Harding'dilates oil tlio first rail- ■ way 'refreshment car which, was put-on ! the train by tho: company.i Tlio l vehicle, he:says,,hiid:.no proper springs, so 'that .the vibration was .worse than ,be- . ing' cn board ship,'. and altogether the task of', eating and .drinking'.in' it was riot accomplished ■ with - the ease-. and comfort ■ which is now. a .characteristic 'upon all tho '.dining cars on our rail- \ At Otaki to \Waikanao-Mr. Harding . ' resurrcets some old ,aud interesting history. . .The', railway station,,-he,.writes, is' not- far. from the old settlement, whero jthe Eov. , Octavius'. Hodfiplcl. had ,a, .mission station,-and .where lie was assisted for some years by the. Rev. Sam-. ■ uel Williams who moved frpm .there ito To Atita aKouti 1850. The large ■ church at'. Otaki - built by .tho Natives 'in ISM, always aii object of interest to. travellers, is next touched upon. It was at Otaki, writes Mr. Harding, that. Governor Fitzroy visited tho old chiefs -To Rauuaralia, • and Rangihacta and pardoned them for-the. part they took in the massacre of Wairau. ;'Waikanac is referred to sis tho sent of oho of tlio early and most successful of the Wesleyan missions. Every! inch of the country down from Waikanac to'Paekakariki has its his- • tory, remarks tlio traveller, who next, refers,to the alleged exoloits of Rangihacta who was supposed to have fortified. himself on the hills above Paekakariki after'tho Wairau■ massacre,, and to have collected his tribesmen ' and held Wellington in terror for several yqar's. The negotiations with Te Rauparalia: and Sir Everard Home are also touched upon to tho disadvantage of tho Englishman. Regarding secret 'arrest .-of To Rauparaha Mr. Harding : says that many .authorities entirely condenined.it, whilo.on ihe other hand many conscientious ■ cottiers. entirely ' commended the deed and gave, great crcdit to those who planned and oxeeut- ■ ed it. At . that, time Rauparaha was tho most celebrated living warrior ill New Zealand, and there were few who would have attempted his capture. , This capture, adds Mr. Harding, was not made in the hour of victory, but after British soldiers' had been worsted, settlers murdered, and tho spirit of tlio friendly Natives depressed.:, i Many laments vero eoroDosed aud sung about tho capture, and one, from its beauty and political importance, was translated and printed by Mr.' A. .Domett. In it Rauparaha'is spoken of

as a canoe wliich lias been dashed to pieces upon tho surf, aiul begins as follows: — "My brave eauoo My decoration lordliest far My prowl canoe Amid the fleet, which fleetest flew, How were thou shuttered by the surge of war. I "lis but the fragments of tho wreck of my renowned eauoo ■ " That lie crushed on yonder warship's (leek." ' Referring to . his train trips into Wellington, Mr. Harding says that'tho place was settled by a joint stock company. This company, after malting various unsuccessful attempts to obtnin a charter from the British Government, at'length decided to treat New Zealand. as a foreign country and sent out Colonel Wadefield and a number of officers in tho ship Tory. They arrived in l'ort Nicholson in September, 1839.. Colonel Wakefield produced a chart of. the coast and by the aid of an old whaler named Barrett, who acted as, interpreter, made a nominal purchase of half the North Island from Natives who had no right whatever to sell tho. land. One cannot help feeling stag-1 gored at the audacity of these immigrants, remarks -Mi". Harding, in rom- '»]■' to a country' inhabited by lierce hordes of cannibals well armed, and skilled in the methods of warfare, but i whatever maj- be thouplit of Colonel. |

Wakefield and his friends acting thus in defiance of the Government, it 'is. undoubtedly due to them that New: Zealand was not a French instead of an English colony. Early Wellington. The lat'o Mr. Bcc-hab Harding's correspondence has an interesting , reference to first days in the settlement of Wellington. Mr. Harding's father, Mr: John Harding, arrived in Wellington in 1342, and he was as equally an observant man as his son who has chronicled hap-penings-of the time. By the end of IS4O thero -wcro 1200 settlers and .their families ill Britannia (Petone) where it was'first-intended to found a town. Tho Natives were delighted at the arrival of so .many white women, and. asked.- if tlio wholo tribe intended to como to New Zealand. At first there was no quarrelling, and both races lived ..together in mutual confidence. When it was found that Britannia was- so much exposed- to the sfouth-east winds," it. was derided at a public!meeting to move'.the new town, to tho. opposite .side- of the. harbour. The new,town was then called Wellington.. It was .laid out - upon tho two fiats—To Ai'O; and Thorndon. At first; tho■ liills '.between these two flats came r right down .to' tho waters' edge effectually separating thenr except at low water. A'road'was soon made round tho beach 'connecting the two flats, and this Was called Lambton Quay, after John Lambton, r Lord .Durham; . The Natives;.resented .the removal of, the. settler 'from Britannia to AVellinffton, and. contended .that tho land in the new town had never been -cold to tho Europeans.'. Froriv that tim'o ,tho whites'liad -many troubles to contend. with;. There w.ere'-tlin Maori -coiillicts with Eangihaeta - and then tho earthquakes. After the IS4B earthquake a' number of; tho - principal ' inhabitants took-passage in tlio Sobraoii,but - she ran: ashore outside the heads, .and-tho'.passengers had to .walk back to :toivn. .Another troublo was. the opposition"'to"the 'first'" Governor,' ' Captain >Hobsoh,*.who wished to remove all th.e : settlers 'to tho . Bay .of. Islands and its neighbourhood.. iTici old streets of Wellington ' woro very narrow (being ; fifty. feet, wide)-owing to the 'scarcity ■of level land. • --V. .'•