An Early Road

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 196, 16 May 1936, Page 26

An Early Road

An account of early road construction, given by Felton Mathews, in his report to Governor Hobson in 1841, was as follows:—“A track has been cut through the forest as far as Porirua, which is looked upon as the principal outlet from Port Nicholson, and the great means of communication with the interior of the country. The ascent, which commences at the northern extremity of the town of Wellington, where there is a native pa called Kaiwarrawarra, is exceedingly abrupt and difficult, so much so as to be very laborious even for a horse; and it could never be made available for a wheel carriage of any description, but at enormous expense. A better line for the ascent may, I think, be marked out, but the rise from the beach is so sudden, and for the first mile and a half so steep, that great labour must be expended in the formation of a tolerable linei’of road. On reaching the summit of the range, the track descends with almost equal abruptness into .a deep and rugged ravine, which forms the channel of a creek, whose waters flow into the harbour of Porirua. The track is carried along the side of the ravine at a greater or less deviation until it terminates at Porirua.” Evidently the Ngahauranga .Gorge route had not been thought of at that date.— (G. C. Avery (Trentham). Tom Scott of Scott’s Ferry A fine example of the pioneers who helped to civilise the West Coast was Mr. Thomas Scott, who gave his name to Scott’s Ferry on tho Rangitikei River. Mr. Scott came to the colony in 1837, where he soon secured the office of dispatch carrier for Sir George Grey, conveying the mails from Port Nicholson to Taranaki. The Maoris were hostile, and Mr. Scott could not swim, but he was a man of fine physique and courage, There were no available horses and he covered the distance regularly on foot, making rafts to cross the many rivers. When the Maoris under Te Rangibaeata declared war on the colonists, he joined the armed police under Major Durie and distinguished himself by rushing a pa and capturing single-handed the rebel Te Taringa Kuri. After the war, Mr. Scott, with his wife and family, settled at the mouth of the Rangitikei River, where he opened a store and traded with Maori and pakeha. He owned the canoe which carried all the traffic across the river at that point, giving it the name Scott’s'Ferry. One day, a passenger was ordered by Mr. Scott to “sit forrard” to trim the canoe. The passenger was not accustomed to Mr. Scott’s peremptory style of speech and he replied, “Are you speaking to me? I am Captain Fortesque.” Scott bawled in reply: “Fortesque or fifty-sque, or any scue. Sit forrard. I am captain of this canoe.” —Hori Wliiti (Ohakea).