WHANGARA.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXV, Issue 10392, 9 May 1927, Page 6 (Supplement)

WHANGARA.

H! STOR.IO ASSOCIATIONS,

(Specially Written for Times” by E. J- Smith.) The hot dry atmosphere cf the town compelled our thoughts in t.ie direction of some spot .where sm.acs and quietness would have u chancc vo.k out their beneficent olfaces. We settled on a visit to 'Vlmngara. To reach our destination, it to°L cx X of.an hour Lo£ vine Gisborne at 10.30, wc 3 • along the wide dusty By the way, i wondm that no one has taken steps to convert that load into a pleasant avenue A ion o -trees on either side of the road, anc with the beach with its high sea at the further end, would make it an ideal drive. Proceeding to A\ hangar,, the traveller bugs the coast as much as possible. How blue is the sea! Pure extra ultramarine, without the least sensation of purple or green. The dav we drove along Nature had gone out of her way to centre the full force cf her. glory oil V'c scaAbove, the space was one umuterrupted gray, while the fawn fcilU and sandy banks furnished the puAme with the necessary mm or-tones. ■ At Whangara proper, the load takes a sharp turn to one right, *J-ia, for a distance, runs along the banh o. an old creek that pathetically sports its pristine energy bv paving its ecu with bleached and thirsty drift-wood. The cur crawls op a gentle incline. Nestling within the croak of the* elbow and almost beneath our loot is the little coastal settlement, with its triple hill island. Opposite and acro-s the Bin* are the white e,.fts or Gabie End Fa,eland and the por.oct pyranr'dic lighthouse- island. Noting a clump of trees in the di:--tanoe, we made ior the'spot and tao order of the dav was bathing and •ating and roaming ; and , roaming and eating and bathing again. For myself, I have formed a habit of wandering off on my own. and., strolling down to the beach, I made for the dark rocks spread out beneatn the feet of the Foreland cliffs. These were intensely Happy moments. A moving speck appeared m the distance, growing larger and taking form. A man, a gig and a horse. “Where are you going?” was the question asked. The voice was kind

and the smile full of friendly concern. “1 am a wanderer,’’ I replied. “Won’t you come down and introduce one to the spirit of this wonderful place?” He came, and these'are the stories he told. PARI-NUI—TE—R A. “That is the cliff of the sun,” he said, pointing to Gable End Foreland. ‘‘lt is the watch tower, the sun dial of our days, and the calendar of seasons. The moonlight dances on the cliffs and turns its pale face into a thousand living beauties. Do you see those men out there on the rocks? They are capturing our commissariat. To-morrow we will eat and the next day we will barter for clothing and more food.” We turned and walked along the wet sand. ‘‘The scene is placid now.” remarked the wise man, “hut it has not always been so. I have seen those waters dved purple with the blood of slaughtered whales: and many, many times out there near low water mark'were anchored by their huge tails the white-bellied carcases waiting to be beached by tlie full tide.” After a short silence, the old man continued: “We are walking on fine sand that comes from inland; further along the sand is coarse and dark; that is the scouring from those rough rocks in the distance. Those rocks contain specimens of quartz. Embedded in the larger rocks are some very hard stones: second-class axes were made I from th»m. ami. if miu pay attention.' you will notice numberless smooth! holes with some of these hard round

stones at the hot tern. Tim „ the sea with the help 0 . thesn i‘,Lf smooth stones beat the holes * cauldrons, and troughs, -mil „ shapes. We had ou r first lesson f carving from the sea.'’ k By this time wo had come i u di reel line with the triple-hill i s i.. n i' the narrow neck of land that i.V; it to the mainland. I mentioned the “tap,,” s.tory ,»j related how ;i Iriend of mine drawn for me vivid pin, ires 0 f nil of dry human bones scattered n ’ along the beach. 311 A'sly twinkle gleamed in the So i emu eyes. “You liavo your burial grounds” he tensely remarked, and the dropped with characteristic Native in telligc-nce. ,n ' „ THE STORY OF THE Tlllpi HILL ISLAND AND ITS TAIL I “But I w:i! tell you Lite s t orv of the triple-iiill island and its pirn ,j concluded the natuiidKt and iiistor” inn. * | “My words shall be few; yonder k my ‘home and my peoph- .-.ait. jj ur tug the very early times, before the King of the Sea had thrust the water, across the land and divided tf,. pie of the North from those of the South, two great sp’rits met on the 1 highest peak of tin; Kimutaka J>an-

■‘Benue Kaka was a quiet and sil- • cut sp nt. but Kongo Matanga was m eve-v sense the opposite. : "One dav, Kongo Kaka got aek of j Rous-, d..tanga/s eternrj boasting. S Spirit* - verv like human Wings all the’ wo id over, so these two spirits made a wager. They were to seewho would get to Eaurnki first ano tile prize -as the guaiaranship of aIL the hard to the North. ■‘Bath started from Scratch- Onewas to lake the East road and one' the West, and Rcngo Kaka s lot folii on the East. ‘‘Rot:go Matanga started off mgreat style, but lie was ignorant on the fact that, while he was busy mosnierising the humans. Pc ngo Kakahad employed His time in stepping out the distance between the earth and Ra The sun). Consequently. RongoKaka was very fit. "One mighty step landed Kaka hr Hawke’s Bay and the weight of bis: body mede the fine depression wherethe Waiotikurau lake now is. The second step struck the ridges of Ma—tauri.Mnui (Cape Kidnappers). Ha—ngawae cherishes the imprint of Kongo Knka s third step, which imprint may he seen on the papa rocks there. The fourth step forced fiat the moistsand and rocks at the southern edge* of Whangara. . “So now we know why the sea at high tide covers the neck of land and tiie triptf-hill island remains for theer< air : ■ to? the time isolated! Inc’ v i-t- :b- mention that Kongo Rule.: won the prize.” it , amazing, here among the rocks at random known” with the* puise o' t’do heating throimh ovetts mnmu-n dwni!. the everlasting RhjL [lnn moves on, moves and has icing.