OLD WANGANUI.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 22 July 1926, Page 8

OLD WANGANUI.

GREAT MAORI CENTRE. EARLY SETTLEM EN T. Flow Wanganui retained its ancient Aluori name, in spite or an effort to call the place Retie, was described by Air. ,J in. Jiiunet, in an address to tiie AN angaiiui Rotary Club, says tli-e Wanganui Chronicle. ... ‘-Wanganui is the Oldest 1 town wehave in -New Zealand,” .said Mr. Hornet, in pointing out that long before the coining of tlie pakehn. Mangauui had been an important ami populous native centre. Upon the hill now clowned by the Rarjeant Gallery lay that refined .-tincture-\s barbaric antithesis. a Maori pah called IbiKe.Hgaliu.— “.Sandfly H ill.” In the Alnori iaiignage W'aiigamii lias a common enough teim. signiiymg “wide harbour.” .It wits also applied lo Wellington and Napier, Napier- being known as Waiigaiiui-Otutu. but these names had Long sunken into obseeiirity , so that Wanganui now held almost tlte exclusive rights to one ol the oldest a lid; most picturesque .Maori names. Tracing the processes of settlement Air. Burnet told how a party of five, including a trader in smoKeil heads, byname Rowe, " another man named Rower, a negro, and two seamen, came to Wanganui in 18T1. They landed at, the Enndgnar.cl Bluff, and were promptly butchered by the i.M aor is. Power alone escapin'!;. Rower returned later, and until his death wa.s employed as a storeman I>y Taylor and Watt, who had a store on Taupo Quay. - Ji The Wanganui territory. 83, DM) acres, which."included the site of the city, hut excluded certain extensive reservations for file Maoris, was purchased by Sir Donald McLean for £■looo. ' . . , . This, .tran.siaeltio.il was completed when McLean, then, a young, man of 27, w'a,s’ Gh,ief of Police for New Zealand. Already he .was loved- and respected by the Maoris. He and Major Brasisey left a record of a- trip overland from W&itara to Wbangamiomoiia. over picturesque country still -almost untouched, anti down tbeAVangaiiiii Rllver. the now deserted .settlement of Gala-tea then .sheltered ’2OOO odd -Maoris, and aloiug the coaisit. there were eon'ospoiKl-inu-Ly populous villages. When -the first -settlers drifted Either well-known names, began to appear. Air Scott, who gave h.i« name to Scott s Ferry, Rangitikei River, started a flax business, aiul farmers and tradeiis folloavgcl. The ?sew &G-<vl ; ciiid Jjuikl piaiiy, will,iicb, sponsored the early wet-tle-inent of the locality, named the rnei the No leal ev, and called me to-" 11 Pot-re. Neither name found; favour, and the Government was petitioned to change them. Signatories- to the petition were Dr. Wilso-n, J..P. (altei vbom Wilisom Street iis named), Richard Taylor missionary AT. Camjpbell (father ol Mr Ewen: Campbell), John Nixon, G. Reeves.. J. Alexander, J. Duncan, A\ . Bell, Watt, Vaughan,, -and Alc.G regor. But how narrowly the noble Wanganui escaped being known as- the Nines ley’!