TOUCH AND GO

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 10473, 31 December 1927, Page 5 (Supplement)

TOUCH AND GO

MR. H. WARREN’S TRIP TO GISBORNE.

v it EDIT SYSTEM IN FELL SWING

WORRIES OF l i-iX EARLY ,MU j filial ft.

With so many terrible tales of tragedy aioot with reference to Gisborne's early days, it was hardly the place one would imagine anybody in search of a, quiet ana peaeelul life Mould hasten to settle in. Yet it was that incentive winch brought the late Mr. fly. Warren, Salisbury Rd., to settle here away back in 1873. Ho had come out from the Old Country to Auckland and had been engaged for about live years in a sea-faring life on the coastal vessels which traded along the East Coast from Auckland. He then settled in Gisborne and, like most of tiie eariy residents here, was able to throw some interesting light on the Jile of those early days.

A DISASTROUS TRIP.

“My last trip on the coast,” said Mr Warren to an interviewer, “was the most exciting of them ail and -was what, finally decided me to settle in Gisborne. 1 thought it was quite time I left the sea. We came down from Auckland in a small cutter which bore the name of ‘Wall.’ On hoard was a load of miscellaneous stores for Alahia and we made a good trip down, passing safely through the passage between Portland island and the mainland and heaving-to for the night. A southerly gale sprang up and we were ioreed to run before it. Wo coukint heat outside Portland and had to ran the passage inside in inky darkness. It was a wild time and olteh wo thought hop;; was gone, hut, finally, we got through, damaged hut afloat. There were several big holes in the hull where we had touched the rocks and our position was serious. The distress signal was run up but, for about five days, we saw no other vessel that could help/ us. By this time, wo, were nearly opposito Waipiro Bay and, at last, managed to draw into shelter close to the land. Meantime, our .owner had given the cutter up as .lost and was travelling along the coast in search of some survivors. Our skipper went ashore, borrowed a horse and set out towards Gisborne. Just below AYaipiro Bay, lie met our owner and there was quite a celebration when the true state of affairs was explained. Anyway I had had enough of the sea then, and decided to try Gisborne for a time.”

Mr. Warren went ashore at Waipiro Bay, where there were one or two pakehas and a number of Natives. Mail day was the only excitement for the settlers and that occurred, roughly, one? a fortnight. The Coast road then was a mere fcottraek, starting at the Gisborne end, on the eastern hank of the Turanganui river—across which travellers had to swim thefr horses—and moiling along the foot of what arc now known ns the Kaiti hills.

TROUBLE OVER- LAND TITLES.

Working conditions in Gisborne, Mr. Warren went on to say, weic really good, though the pay was very smali. Food, clothes and rent were then far- more reasonably-priced and a man could keep a wile on about ltd per week. Land could ho bought very cheaply, but the trouble was to get a safe title. Time and again, big sales were put through, hut it would be revealed, perhaps months or years later, that the seller hadn’t the slightest claim to the land and was just making a little easy money out of a trusting pakclia. Land with secure titles was also very cheap and sections where Messrs. Williams and Kettle now have their premises sold at, £BO. When the Validation of Titles Court was set up. there was a great improvement and prices naturally became firmer.

Mr. Warren was present at Tolaga Buy when the first sitting of the Laud Court was held there., The Miacris made a gala day of the occasion. but some of them were much sadder, when the dav closed and they had found that hrwJwinkii’ir the white man was not possible on all occasions.

NEW ARRIVALS HAD TO REPORT TO POLICE.

Every newcomer had to report to the police within twenty-four hours <jf .arrival, or he was haled before Magistrate Nesbitt and fined a guinea. He had to take his rifle along with him and swear allegiance to the Crown and also promise to attend drill at least once in every three months. The Court House was-:then situated on the site now occupied by Adair Bros. Almost every resident had a horse and .these were allowed to graze anywhere, for there were no fences. IVhn some mounts were required, it was necessary to borrow an animal from a friend and round up all the beasts about the particular place, -where tho required mounts were thought to be. The whole bunch would thcn.be driven into tho fshnmrock yard,- the required ones picked out and the rest set free again. The ‘‘Shamrock” was a boarding-house on the site of the present Gisborne Hotel and was first run by a Captain Daly. Later, Air. Andrew Graham took it over and tinned it into licensed premises. All banking was dene through Napier and., as it often look between five and six weeks to get a rop’v from that town, the credit- system was largely in vogue and a great amount of dealing was carried out supply on the strength of a man's word. Captain Read’s bank-notes were often seen, but of real cash there was very little.

FIRE etov'ttvG T7NDER DIFFICULTIES.

Outside the town, h-uscs were few end far hetwc"". One og the fireball nil' 1 M- A 1” TibbV«, who owned the Mu’-iwA Fot-I. was in town an ’ pr-md wpV ptliys looking fe'- fh-> }•!"*©. He located if, and immediately -beeamy vp™ ,t - r a it.a ted, savin" th"+ if y'; l'ic. place burning —end SO ‘t rvrevod. to b".

“0"r fire-bell ,r - emit)lined Mr, Warren, “was situate*? in the middle

:of Gladstone Road just opposite where Mr. F. Hall’s shop now is. We had an old manual engine and everybody joined in to give a hand. There was sometimes a shortage of watm, but there always seemed to be plenty of beer. Occasionally, at a fire, me tanks ran dry and there was no further supply of water near at hand. We had to stop and wait for me tanks to fill up again, if they weie connected with a well, or, if they were simply filled by rainwater, we had to wait around and see that the blaze did not spread. Jn either ease, that was when the beer came in and we certainly needed it too, after slogging away at the old pumps.

BIG BLAZES.

“There were some big blazes at times. A building on the site of Redstone’s block in Lowe Street caught and a heavy wind carried the flames and sparks to places nearby. We stopped ail these before they got going properly, hut some sparks lodged in the shingled roof of the old Masonic Hotel. That started and we put a ladder up to get at the flames. An old man named Dawson climbed up and somebody else got ready to send buckets of water up to him. When Dawson got half-way up the ladder, he became worried about the height and stayed there clinging tight. \Ve couldn’t get the buckets past him or get him down until it was too late and the flames were beyond us. The hotel was burned completely. Another big blaze was when the block now occupied by the Loan and Mercantile Co. down to 'Adams’ shop went in one flare-up. Mr. Andrew Graham owned a large place on Messrs. Williams and Kettle’s site and that went one night. This particular fire spread right through to the Masonic stables, hut wo saved those and other places round about.

TE KOOTI SCARES.

“To Kooti worried us a little,” Mr. Warren remarked in conclusion, “but he never actually got hack here, though there wore plenty of rumors of his intended return. At one time, troops and volunteers were guarding the whole road from Mnkaiiri to Ormond. Settlers out in that direction all left their homes to the care of the forces and came into town. Had the old rebel reached here, it is doubtful if he would have got away alive. One man, now living at Mangapapa, who had lost relatives in the Massacre, stated publicly that he would shoot the rebel chief on sight and d— the consequences. He would have done so ton and nobodv would have blamed him in the slightest.”