THROUGH UREWERA
TRAMPER'S IMPRESSIONS
Under the auspices of the Tararua Tramping Club, Mr. J. A. Baine delivered an interesting address on Friday evening on a recent trip through the Urewera Country—a tramp from Lake Waikaremoana to Eotorua via Whakatane, a number of interesting ;lantern slides being screened, showing the extremely rugged nature of this highland region.
Mr. Baine explained that Colonel George Whitmore, after transferring his armed constabulary field force from Taranaki to tho Bay of Plenty, in 1869 organised a threefold expedition' against the Urcwera hostile tribes.' He consulted with Mr. J. C. Richmond, and came to the conclusion that the only sound military policy lay in. boldly entering the Urewera forests, destroying all food supplies and Native strongholds and forcing Te • Kooti into the open country. It was over this country that Mr. Baine and his party travelled.'. After spending two delightful days at Lake Waikaremoana, the tramp commenced from Hopuruahine—the members of the party carrying packs, which, iv some cases, exceeded 551b. The destination was Maungapohatu, the home of Rua, where the trampers were hospitably received, thence- to Ruatahuna and Mataatua, where Te Kooti's famous meeting house was inspected. It was particularly noticeable how very retiring the Natives in this district were. They showed no signs of having been spoiled by tourist traffic. The continuation of tho journey down the Whakatane River was an interesting course, and the Natives right through wer© most friendly disposed. After a tramp of over 150 miles Rotorua was eventually reached. Mr. Baine was emphatic that' this tramp should not be attempted during the winter months or during a wot season, and that the condition of the Whakatano River should be carefully studied before commencing the trip. The upper reaches of the river, he said, are treacherous indeed.
Mr, Bainc was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his address. Mr. A. N. Smith presided.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19290429.2.161
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 97, 29 April 1929, Page 17
Word Count
313THROUGH UREWERA Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 97, 29 April 1929, Page 17
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Evening Post. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in