Levin Is Interesting

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 242, 9 July 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

Levin Is Interesting

LEVIN is somewhat a country town with picturesque surroundings. On the east are the beautiful bush-clad Tararua mountains, where wild pigs, rabbits and the lovely timid deer run wild, enjoying every moment of their freedom. In the north there is the well-known Manawatu River, up which cargo ships pass. There is beauLfiil scenery. In the west is Lake II r whenua, which will always be remembered in history as the place where re Rauparaha took refuge. The two tiny islands’ in the middle of the lake, where he hid, are still there, and it is very delightful to go ' out to these islands in a launch, yacht, rowing-boat or canoe, and to have a very pleasant swim. In the south, as well as the picturesque Ohau River, there is ye<» another lake, Buller Lake, or, to give it its proper name, Lake Papa tonga. This, too, like Lake Horowhenua, has two or three islands situated near the centre of it where Te Rauparaha sought refuge. Not far from its western shores is Kapiti, this, too, being famous as a place of refuge for Te Rauparaha, so that Levin, as well as being beautiful, is also historic. These are not all of its historic features, however, for a little south is a tiny, town called Manakau. It is not marked on the map. It was here that a great chief flung himself from a tree on the top of Pukehau Hill to the bottom of the steep hill to escape from his fast pursuing enemies. That very same tree still remains on the topmost peak of Pukehau Hi IL Then there is the “Hyderabad,” an Indian trading ship which was wrecked over 60 years ago and which all this time has remained in the same place. As the sand near the bottom of the ship has been washed away, at low tide there is a stretch of water surrounding it. while around that is dry sand. Only the iron framework of this ship remains, and the mast has fallen down across the stretch of water on to the dry sand, s o that you can climb up the mast on to the ship and fish for “spotties," which are plentiful in the water in and around the ship. I have often climbed up that mast into the ship and caught these pretty little fish, w-hich I sometimes keep as pets. This is only so at low tide, for at high tide the water completely surrounds the ship. It i s situated exactly between Hokio and Waitarere. This is not only a place -to fish but also a well-known landmark. We often qay we will walk as far as the Hyderabad and back, so that you can imagine what a shock it was to us when we saw a photograph of it in "The Dominion” and read below that it was to be chopped up and sold to Japan as scrap-iron, tint it is al! right now. as this is not going to be done. We have two beaches near at hand. They are both about seven miles away. They are Hokio and Waitarere. Hokio means in English “whistling wind.” In fact, we have three beaches, the third being Wairere. These beaches I are- some of the few beaches of New Zealand to have toheroas.— Whispering Pines (11), Levin.