WINNING MOKAU.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1235, 18 September 1911, Page 7

WINNING MOKAU.

- 9 THE WORK OF JOSHUA JONES. PIONEERING IN '76. SOME EARLY EPISODES. A long and complicated course of litigation has niado the narao "Jlofcau" familiar to tho public ear, but there avo probably many people who know little of ;ho manner in which the Jlokau country was originally opened to European settlers ny Mr. Joshua Jones. It is, nevertheless, »n achievement that may fairly claim an Honourable place in the annals of New Zealand colonisation. Tho account which follows is tho result of a brief conversation with Jlr. Joshua, Jones, better known, perhaps, as "Jlokau'' Jones,.' and aii occasional reference .to official docu- ( ments. Before Mr. Jones entered the Mokau country, it was regarded by thoughtful lUen as a possible storm-centre in future troubles with the Natives. The rugged character of much of the Mokau territory made it in somo degree a natural stronghold. It was peopled by a numerous and warlike tribe, and it lay within easy striking distance of European fettlements. Tho result of Mr. Jones's pioneer endeavours was' to' open the country to settlement, and to pave the way for a much 1 hotter understanding with tho Natives than had previously existed, thus removing' a > serious menace which had threatened his fellow-colonists. Entor the Pioneer. Mr. 'Jones came from Port Darwin to New Zealand,in 187 G. In Australia ho ' had been general manager to a liumber of mining companies, and ho mig'ht have continued his career in that continent but for the fact that tho "health of his wife and children suffered in tho torrid climate. The ship that brought him ovtir •was the old Arawatta, which has long done service as a coal-hulk in Wellington Harbour. It had been his intention to proceed from New Zealand to America, bnt after a brief stay in Wellington he journeyed to Taranaki, and, liking tho look of. the country, determined to settle in that province. He took up a thousand acres of bush land' from the Provincial Governpwint. His selection was near the , sito of .the. present town of Inglewood, but at that time it lay ,seven miles in' advance of the belt of settlement. It was here : that Mr. Jones first heard of tho • Mokau Block, which has since become so ' intimately associated with his name, as fit w ; as not long beforo his pioneering inV stincts. mado him determine to pay it a visit.' Tho enterprise was looked upon 35 somewhat foolhardy, for, although the wars:of the 'sixties had already become mattcr...of post history, there was room for speculation as to tho spirit in which the Native inhabitants of the Mokau region ivonld receive alien intruders. Beforo finally determining to visit the block, Mr. Jones!telegraphed to Sir George Grey, who was then at Adelaide, asking for his advice. Sir George replied counselling him to'-be'very .careful about going into Moknu, as he was, not acquainted with tho temper of the Natives there at the time,' and urged Mr. Jones on no account to take any families there. It dies not appear that these considerations greatly troubled Mr. Jones. Accompanied by a partner named M'Millan he rodo-to White Cliffs, where there was a camp of constabulary. Here the pioneers' left their horses and had a ronzh and toilsome climb up a 400-foot cliff, • which they surmounted with tho assist-• ance. of a rope that had been s'nspcnded by the local Maoris. -From this 'pqint two days were spent in traversing sixteen miles' of rugged virgin Country, and, on i the second night, Mr. Jones and his companion slept at tho Maori pa at Mohakatino, Tho journey was mado in July, 187 G. The head chief, Wetere,' and his i people, received the visitors very kindlj- , being, no doubt, Mh ; ' l Jpnes sugg^ts, :; ttotri-J | ated by a desire' to cement peace with | tho Government. He describes Wetere as tho most powerful chief of his- time ' in'the whole King Country. His grandson, Tommy King, is Alive at. tho present, day, and t'epeno Eketone, whos« name has been 'mentioned of lato in connection with the Jlokau Inquiry, married one . of Wetere's grand-daughters. . A Warrior-Chiof. Wetere was known to fame as a warrior, as his father had been before him, but ho hail also, been more or less concerflod in somo dark deeds at the timo of the war. He was credited with having been a member of tho party which committed the "White Cliffs massacre (in 1869), when eight white people, including j a wo'man'and several little children, wero murdered by the .Maoris; Physically, \Y otero was a fine-looking man, "and he had great influence and power over his people of the Jfaniopoto tribe. It is set down to the credit of this Maori ■ potentiate that ho tried to save the life • of tho Rev. John Whitelv, one of tho victims of the White Cliffs massacro. ' Tho story goes that Wetere was down by the shore when tho missionary rode, on higher ground, inknd, towards, the. party at whoso hands'he met his death. The ! chief called to his followers .that Mr. 1 Whitely was their father,, and asked ' them' to turn him back uhhanncdj but 1 the lust for blood hud awakened in tho 1 savago warriors;, and the gallant mis- ! sionary paid for his eo.il with" his life.' J There were a lot of armed men--as-sembled in' a big house in the- pa when Mr. Jones and his partner arrived, but, so far from any hostility being displayed, • tho were treated with tho great- : est hospitality. A wharc was placed at • their 'disposal, and Mr. Jones remarks that the Natives seemed glad that the white, men had come. Apparently thev 1 had had enough of-fighting, and wanted : , peace., . Their . enterprise thus prosperously inaugurated, the pioneers, as Mr. Jones puts it, "knocked about for a few • days, and then went back.", The'man who eventually opened Mokau I did not allow the grass to rtow under his'fret. Ho went up to Auckland, ai)d ! to Kawaau, to visit Sir George Grey, then Superintendent of Auckland, and again : sought. his advice as to entering Jlokau ! as a settler. "I then formed a relationship with Sir George Grey," .Mr, Jones relates, "which lasted till tho day of his funeral, and I attended his funeral in ■ London." Sir George Grey told him that 1 the question as to whether ho should •! settle at/ Jlokau was one. that depended : upon Mr. Jones himself, but that tho ! people of New Zealand and himself in ! particular would be very glad to see : Jlokau opened, for ho considered that it was the key to the whole King difficulty. Sir Donsld M'Lean and Sir Harry Atkin- : son held similar views. ■

Mr. Jones has in his possession a copy of a letter written to the Public Petitions Committee in 1885, in which Mr. F. A. Carrington states that in IS7G, when ho was Superintendent of Taranaki. he told Mr. Jones that the. opening of Mokau in any peaceful way would be one of tho greatest bcons that could be conferred on New Zealand, and that ho would bo delighted to hear of it.9 being done. Mr. Jones had told him that he' thought he. saw his way to attaining this moclwlesired object when ho (Mr. Carrington) had further remarked: "If you do you will bo deserving of tho consideration nnd thanks of all wiw really.-desire tho well-l>eing and happiness •of the Natives and tho prosperity of this 4ai;t of tho country." Sir Harry Atkinson, while agreeing that tho enterprise was desirable, declined to giro any assistance to Mr. Jones, on tho ground that if war should break out again ha would blame himself and tho colony would blame him also.

It was not a position calculated to encourage a weak man, but Mr. Jones was not weak, and determined to push on with liis enterprise. In his own words, ho felt it safo to charter n steamer to go to Mokau. To do this lie and his partner hud to deposit a bank-bond covering the value ot the steamer. The vessel was chartered' at'Waifara. Slio had made one previous trip to the Mokau Ifiver without misadventure, but her owners had been advised not to risk another trip, and they demanded a full indemnity against her loss before they would -undertake tho charter. A Story of Ballarat. At this stago in lus fortunes Jlr. Jones had a stroko of luck, and reaped tho fruit of a good-natured action he had performed years previously'and forgotten, lieforo ho left Waitara Jio met in that town a Maori named lOpihr:. a large owner in the Mokau Block. This ma;i was ono of iv party of four, whom Mr, Jones

had met and assisted years beforo on the liallnrnt goldfields. The Maori quartet were iu sore straits when tho acquaintance opened. They had gone to the field intent on sinking a "golden hole," but had met with ill-fortune and been reduced to road-mending work in order to earn enough to keep soul and body together. They were very despondent, and keenly desired to get back to their native land. Mr. Jones, as ho puts it, "went up tho gully with a hat," and, heading the list himself with a. small nugget, raised a sufficient number of similar subscriptions to send the Maoris happily home to New Zealand. Epilia remembered his benefactor with gratitude. lie accompanied tho in their journey, and rendered valuable assistance iu subsequent negotiations. Arriving at Jlokau Bar, tho visitors were greeted by a Maori, who waved a whito Hag from a bluff overlooking the river., The chief, Wetere, was himself on the beach with a ilag, and assisted to pilot the steamer in. A Maori Navigator. It turned out that Wetere prided himself upon -his nautical skill. When questioned ,by Mr. Jones as to how ho had acquired his knowlcdgo of matters'per- ' taining to navigation, he told a story that will bear repeating. Before tho war broke out Sir Donald M'Lean presented AVetero with a schooner, tho Paraninihi. 'In this vessel the chief was cruising with four Maori companions, off North Cape, when n gale sprang up, which blew tho little vessel out to sea. Her crow ultimately, by some mysterious means, managed to make Sydney harbour. Tho story goes that the Maori chief was made much of in the New South Wales capital, and feted for a .week. . Then his schooner was towed to the Heads and he was dispatched, on -his homeward voyage rejoicing. Ho steered by compass until he sighted Cape Egmout, and the rest of the trip was easy. Tho conclusion of tho story is sad. When tho war broko out, and Wetere led his into tho field, Sir Donald Jl'Lean confiscated the schooner, which was then lying at Waitara.. Wetere was grieved at his loss, and roundly described Sir Donald M'Lean as "a big thief!" Whatever may be said of his skill as a navigator, Wetere was undoubtedly a good pilot, for he safely steered the steamer iu which Mr. Jones and his party •had arrived up tho Mokau Eiver for 28 miles, as far, Mr. Jones now thinks, las a steamer is ever likely to penetrate on tho Mokau. _ The travellers found much to admire in tho river scenery. The water-way is about a chain wide, 28 miles from the mouth, and the banks are clothed in magnificent foliage. Wetere showed his visitors a couple of coalseanls on the river-banks, but asked them not to talk of what they had seen either to his people or to the pakehas. He did not want people to como and take his country. Nevertheless, having established friendly relations with the chief and his tribe, Mr. Jones succeeded, after negotiations, which need not be detailed here, in obtaining a footing 111 tho district for himself and other settlers who followed. The' pioneering of Mokau may appear at this distance of time to havo bee'i a simple affair, but many similar enterprises, faced by no greater initial difficulties, havo been carried through only at great cost in human life, suffering, and privation., Important Services. ■ That Mr. Jones's enterprise had an intimate relation with the national affairs of New Zealand was again exemplified soon after Sir George urey became Premier in 1877. At a conference which he had with Mr. Jones, Sir Georgo Grey said, "Get Wetere in 'to meet me, anil the whole 'Kin.;* difficulty' is settled." Mr. Jones accordingly went Up to Mokau intent on inducing Wetere Ito meet Sir George Grey at New Plymouth. The chief allowed himself to be persuaded, and set out accompanied by ICO of his tribesmen. He left his band at Waitara and accompanied by Mr. Jones and threo Native companions rode on at speed to Now Plymouth, whero he arrived at midnight. Sir Georgo Grey was. roused from sleep and an _ informal conference took place, at which the basis of a friendly understanding was laid. Mr, Jones relates that Sir George Grey and the one-time fighting ,chiof indulged in a. little fricfl.dly chaff. •Wetere told how, onV.'bne'^oc'iasfoh - ,' during the war, he manoeuvred to capture an officer in the belief that ho was "Hori Grey." He got his prisoner, but it was the wrong man, and lie dismissed him as not worth powder and shot to a warrior who had been out after bigger game. "I'd havo hung Hori Grey on a sour apple trco if I had got him that time," declared Wetero with a twinkle in his eye. Sir Geo. Grey, according to Mr. Jones, contented himself with tile retort: "Two can play at that game." Next,day tho friendly understanding was formally concluded at a public meeting. In the same year (1878) tho chief Bcwi came down to meet Sir Georgo Grey at Waitara, and peace, at anyrate in tho Taranaki end of the King Country, was assured. A great meeting held at Kopua in the following year proved, at the outset less successful. Tawhaio, 1 "the King," and Sir Georgo Grey, failed to como to terms, but Wetere aud Rcwi, in.turn, stood up and "asserted theit mana." This was tantamount to breaking away from "the King," and was regarded as a strong assurance of continued peace. Terminating a Feud. Mr. Jones remarks thafctho meetings of Sir George Grey, with Wetere in February, 1878, and with Uewi, at Waitara, in June, 1878, may be regarded as.among the most important events in tho history of New Zealand. . Theso meetings marked tho termination of a long-standing feud between tho races, and created a peace between the Kingites ' and tho Government that has not since been broken, and never will bo. The Armed Constabulary surrounding tho King Country as a protection, at various outposts, to European sottlers and the whole community, became gradually disbanded, and tho internal Defence Department, which was costing the Colony several hundred thousands a year, was abolished. Tho country saved millions of money by this peacemaking, and settlers wero enabled to live in peace and confidence. Surveys, roads, settlements, railways, and telegraphs rapidly became established in that vast area of somo 11 million acres comprising the King Country, whero the white man had not been previously permitted to tread. Beforo tho peace, in fact, several Europeans were shot by the Natives for attempting to cross the boundary line.

In conclusion it may bo mentioned that Mr. Jones has in his possession a, letter datal April 29, 1879, from tho Hon. John Sheehan, then- Native Minister, recognising that Mr. Jones's lease had been granted as a concession in recognition of the many important services rendered by him and his partner in opening up the Mokau River tor settlement, and inducing tho Natives to allow and encourago European settlers amongst them. Assistance which the Government could lawfully render, Mr. Shoehan added, would bo given in respect of survey and investigation of title.