"KAITOKE."

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1031, 21 January 1911, Page 17

"KAITOKE."

!A PICTURESQUE HOMESTEAD. . THE TRIALS OF THIRTY YEARS AGO MR. COWPER AND THE MAORIS - " Kaitoke;'/ the'homcsteadrind- farm of Mr. tFAG/JCfcwpbiy^^ ed as one of the scenlc : and, picturesque; .spots .in., the Datnicvirkc district. .It ' .lies soriie four miles .oiit ;of ,t<)^vn: and lias had thoTadyaVitago : o thirty-: -three ;Yeafsier..m&r6',.6£":&tt.lementj;aijd.; • tlio fields? of/. waving •; corriy . y.ff ell-wqolled; •; ;shceiS>,and on a.?slight, eminence -jiii-iat'. gardenisyi-) 'rounded/fiffi' lawns' ; a back-ground, of lead into: .and .away ' the; place," .and wij;h ; fore!^VflcaE;'ij}x/.! .casting,';. ')ss££ 1 Srjßapc,-; brush(®brids^:h]u6^^(jfc^ straight .up/, ! ing near which has, been reproduced maiiy a time by' the principal photographers of the Dominion. Thirty-four years, ago the place was fern scrub and dense forest, and was said to be so poor that lambs could not thrive here. It was found out afterwards by the present owner,who, had then newly taken possession that- the -reason lambs-could notthrivei' was .bbc'aus'e there' was no grass' for them to eat. ''Kai^S^.!rp6^nt7)''ifnerr'jg~Mf."'P."' G. Cowper,: who .came ■'.over here.fromSouth; 'Australia * •land in '^ionjiWct.ibii.J;.;Vritfei-;i>":-lVIo's"sr5>'" : Knight >.BrpsOy ; :?lri\;th^fe;. ! days;r r ''^iX; toke" ran'.into"l6,'ooo;acres of'-f ern : and; '• bush,/and . jilaori vleasev of ■' it vitas', purchasficUfrom,/lr. IY/Grani/' The, ; whole" .country' liddv.no''-[. iiip'proyeiiiaitsl and very 'little/,grass,/ i at that' 1 tinio oii it, 'literally' starved:/* Natives Against Improvements. 1 - Some t'roiibie'iwas; experienced : at/the ■ out.sct .AntlL. the ;Maoris/vho,'objected; : to any, improvements- Being .iniide.; ' -It;.; appears tjiat, there, -wasan nient claiise .in- the 'lea'sey/buti .the- Na-': i tives forqibly protested', against /any-';.' thing'.being, done. At l , the • time .fhere ; was very.Hittle settlement, in. tho place., 'Thera'-.was .no-, i-oad -to' -Dan'neyirke;. 'only.j; to Tahoraite/ where there w'as'-.a- 'neigh-.! - bour, Mr. M'Master. Tho Maoris at- first would not giveup possession of .the "Kaitoko"'.stock,, .. then they pulled'out the new fencihg ' posts, while they . also abstracted the bullocks from tho plough, with which 'an attempt was - boing~mad6""to~break" up tho ground. However, the . difficulties were eventually got over, mainly through the. Europeans. taking..thp mat : ■ ter coolly, and the Maoris'giving in. One of the other troubles which assail-, ed Mr. Co'wper' Vas "the' fact that'he ivas burnt out, and the timber for the new -building hadjto. be pit-sstwn. . Some. . idea of the arduous naturo of this work may be-gauged by the fact, that it was twelve-months beforo the building was completed. . ;An Arduous Task. ~■» >• Th'e'work'of pit-sawing'is "almost,forgotten in . these' days;. but, some; tliirtv, - or ' forty, " years , -'these/'saw/piu;. could,' inalTlplacss tlenieht- /was : » Was .strtngly;' - jthq treadmill.. . A tree would be cut" down-and brought. along»to a -holfe.-dug, ;• bu'lj .in. tlio -fom^o^iS^iii^lleli^fsonir' t. .Thi '.timber would then" ibq.''.placed:-'over' l . tilt! ■ tioti'and '*W-.mbtt';'.Tronla';^a'^'-'^-. : i. 'it. 'down with .a/longj/croK-cuti/srtwi' .' 'Onp- man, stood p.n;tOp :; of'\thenog, 'the' ' tottier 'underneath,'' aiid\ it'was: uiuaily " ;thb 'man below,-; who ': had the roughest - s jtimo" from .the falling- sawdust. : It' hot. . k>F )a philosophic'..'Chri'stiari'.disposition : . /his' remarks, during tho/period were';;.a" '; •'lurid.' anathema" on all :saws;! sawdust," : i land pits, in "particular,. and : >' heartrerfl 5 .prayer ; that;somothiiig would :j ; tlve...-.systeni/;out,-pf,'exist"-; ? ienip. ' It, is- estimated: that two ; ;ineh j !coukl.cut 'ffbm i ',lop,,to:,2oC)' , feet -per-day."; iTh'o plaining. was .also,.dpnc/by.-haiid,; jbut this was ■ a.pleasant' \ |] conipared \rith pit-saSiiig.' '"Mr? Caw- ; per's house, built. in this way, num- j bered four'rooms. . 1

J''<■> »'"j v XMh.?. . • ', j ni .i-erhl}io; tilings: ' !bf.^cDV7 r -^i£K'-* 'could -Have 'taken lip" •Tho bush- tracks . were. in a .'terrible . jState,, and lor fear, thati these paths might be utilised later for military purposes, the Maoris'objected' to\ . any . : ■ bush being cut down in order 'to ■ let '. .• " get.a chance .t<r"&yj.up]~'l'fie l^ ■ ground. ■ There wero no bridges oyer the rivers, and' twice Mr. Cowper near- ' >.. : ly r l6s£ .hiss life-iii; attein^^'^<^asaPi' > .. • •. .. .erpus, river which. ris&s-inVtbe ' On . botli. occasions, tho young ; cqlornsti;^ was .washed off. his horse*' • ha>held.-'on'."to" • ;., ; gotashore.' .The .'. [middle '■ bf the roaming :, &vef. v " : a'ri(i'.i''th : e':'?<; .'. rider ihatL, ' t#lTOi»in& :w?ie , Clearing tha Country."' 1 )' .{;■■Wtfiouiit^was'i^ f. " ; : ;tjpi^j?^3?|ffie:§. V.\ : i •',< feet high which was cut down and tha ". land ploughed thirty years ago. It ' _ • had not-.been..touched: since, and had - : since grown up to that size. It .may ..: be mentioned that the patch was de- .'•...: . signedly left to.itself after some.years ; -;■':[ in order to provide sheep shelter. At the present time tho place' carries . about one and a half sheep to the acre ; :andfpnc;l^t ; deal'of cultivation .is ;done every, ; ; ye^i;fe' : : .Miv Cowpor 'inpking •' i.t' ; a"" •policj: ; :-'t<£3' ,:" Turn" bver'"3oo~Mres~a'nnuallyri<S ; TilySv7 •" ■ own use., The ,oat.:'orops .are • : ranHj.th&prc^nt . ' ".caji;'^'- 4 tKro%li ; s%£■ss(' v •years' "it : has.', been r . .RoninVj>ljincol l r %: -f jiboiit'i'jlJOO s piff'SOM. s ito, ; tlib'3fr^^g;worte]':»^C^e r^)&g^s •'tfojs/£ancl is .•liio ; /; ?y^i^Vroalii^S ; 'jtt4f,.\apd; : p6p^r^&!^li^B^Jm|^^