LIFE IN A LITTLE TOWN

Hawera Star, Volume L, 10 April 1930, Page 9 (Supplement)

LIFE IN A LITTLE TOWN

(By E. G. Betts.)

When The “Star” was a “Four-Pager”

i wore often as low as £1 per mo nib. I ; recollect that tlie proprietors of the r Royal Hotel, which in thoso days was : on the corner of Wilson Street, offered » to take the lot of us at 15s per week. ; At Christmas time all the Hawera busi- ! ness people went to a lot of trouble in decorating their premises, and very • pretty they looked, too. In ■ close prox- . imity could be obtained any number , of nikau palms, tree ferns, etc., and these, interspersed with Chinese lanternsj wore most effective. The "Star” office printing room was one of the most attractive, and the machinery at work always proved a source of attraction to the general public. After being on the staff of the "Star!’ for nearly seven years I left it to go back to the land, where I have remained ever since. In the year 1005, however, the position of the Okaiawa correspondent became vacant and I was asked to fill the place, and have continued to do so ever since, thus once more again becoming associated with the "Star.”

In delving into the past the writer if somewhat at a disadvantage in having to trust to memory, not having at any time kept a diary. However, to begin: I cannot go back quite fifty years sc far 'as Taranaki is concerned, having arrived here in the year 18S4. Our journey from Lyttelton occupied six days, the boat calling in at Wellington, Picton and Nelson on route to New Plymouth. The reason for taking this route was that the railway between Wellington and Hawera was not complete, and, my father having brought most of his personal effects, the cost of transport via Wellington would have been much more expensive than via New Plymouth. After a. few days’ stay in Hawera we came to the township of Okaiawa, where we stayed for a year while a house and fences were erected upon the section which my father had drawn in a ballot. Upon the section there was no bush, but it was covered with fern

4 ‘SMALL BEGINNINGS” Ileverting again to the early days, there were several incidents.of a more or less humorous nature which I can recall while working on the “Star.” One day a man who had ‘‘had a few” wandered into the machine room, and after gazing round the room remarked to ■ the printer (Mr C. 0. Ekdahi): ‘‘Small beginnin’s, printer, small beginnin’s—small beginnin’s lead to a—what* s the name of that thing they keep in the zoological gardens?” The printer suggested “Jumbo.” “Ah!’’ replied the inebriated one, “thatls him —small beginnings lead to a Jumbo. ” Seeing that the “Star” was at that time a four page publication with a circulation of about 1000, run by steam power and all type set up by hand, it must be conceded that the “Star” at the present day, in comparison with the “Star” of that period, is steadily progressing towards the “Jumbo” stage. For the information of tlie young x>cople who may not have heard of “Jumbo,” this was the name of an out-size in elephants many years ago. Now for No. 2 incident. The upper storey in the old “Star” Office commanded a good view of High Street, and also the backyard of the Commercial Hotel, and it was here an event occurred which caused a temporary stoppage of work in the “Star’s” composing room. On the stall’ of the hotel was a Chinese cook of heavy build, and for an assistant he had a small irishman named Paddy Conway. It was the morning of St. Patrick’s Ha}', and Paddy strongly objected to being asked to work oji that occasion. An argument between the pair led to blows, and then to a rough and tumble on the ground. The combatants were finally separated by the town clerk and a cab-driver. Neither showed any outward marks of the encounter, but they were still full of fight, and told each other what to expect on some future occasion.

about eight feet high, tutu anti flax. jLitt.lo of the surrounding country was fenced. and ‘‘roads’’ were simply tracks through the fern. This description also applies to the township of Okaiawa, two blocks of which —those upon which at present stand the Joll Company’s buildings, Mr Barclay’s store, the town hall, the Anglican Church, and a number of private residences, on the one side, and the post office, saddler’s, butcher’s and baker’s shops and some private residences on the other—were covered with high fern, through which residents had made ‘•'short cuts” to the store which is now occupied by Mr Deare, or to the hotel, which was also on the same site as at present. The school was a small one—one room and one teacher.

The writer attended the school for twelve months, and then, on August 31, .ISBS, at the age of fourteen, joined the staff of the “Hawera and Norman-

The third incident, which was the most amusing of all, occurred in High Street. A well-known character named Bill Marshall was employed at the Commercial stables, but when business was slack he was invariably to be seen standing like a statue on the street corner. One day when Bill was occupying his usual position a swarm of bees settled .upon him, covering up the seat of his pants and both legs down to the knees. The effect was most grotesque, Bill’s appearance being likened to that of a performing bear. Bill, however, was quite unconcerned, and when the bees hail finally' settled he sent another man for a box, into which the bees were brushed. No sooner, however was this operation completed than a resident !

of Regent Street put in nil appearance and claimed the bees. A verbal battle between the pair ended in Bill picking up the box of bees and throwing them at his opponent. The latter had a generous growth of liair and a long beard, to which the bees clung in large numbers. At this stage a large number of amused townspeople who had gathered to watch the fun ruelted away with astonishing rapidity.

s by Star.' 7 This date was impressed - upon my memory because of the fayt i that that was the date upon which my v birthday was supposed to be, but in later years, when I sent to England for - my birth certificate, I found that while e the month and year were correct, the v date was two weeks out. At this time - the “Star” had just discarded horsey power for steam in working the machinery', and this power was in use during the whole of my term there. All the ty'pe-setting was done by hand. Wages in the early days were very low, and a man in receipt of £3 per week was conu sidered to be a lucky individual. On v the other hand living was a good deal s cheaper than at the present day r . The - writer rode to and fro to work for some t five .years, a distance of 23 miles per - day, and then joined a number of others in a “batch.” Here our living costs

“THE BATTLE OF HASTIE’S” An event of widespread interest, known as the “Battle of Hastie’s,” occurred soon after I first became associated with the “Star.” This was the occasion upon which the natives took possession of the late Mr Andrew Hastie’s farm at Inaha. It was on a Sunday' morning, so that I happened to be at home. The Maori pa, the home of tlio famous Titokowaru, from which the expedition started, was close to my home, and we saw a long cavalcade of Maoris wending their way down the Inaha road. Our curiosity aroused, we followed them on foot, so that we were among the first of the Europeans to arrive at the scene. The Maoris held the gate, and it was some considerable time before the whites were sufficiently' strong to force their way in. Directly'

ter was J.P. and swore in a number of special constables from those present. The loss of the" horses took the sting out of the Maoris, and when the chiefs were arrested that ended all. resistance. Among the arrested chiefs were Titokowaru himself; ,and just here I might mention a peculiar incident in connection with him. He had only one eye; so had his wife, and a poodle dog and a working bullock which belonged to him, and, whether by accident or design I cannot say, it was the same eye in each case which was missing. I offer my congratulations to the “Star” in having attained its jubilee, and trust it will still be going strong and “not out” when it roaches its century, although I do not expect to be present on that occasion.

the Maoris arrived they commenced to build a whare and prepare food for a meal, and the whare was nearly completed before the whites were strong enough to force their way in. Among the Europeans present was Mr J. C. Yorke, one of the proprietors of the “Star,” who lived only a short distance away. Mr Yorke placed me upon his pony to act as mounted messenger, and I remember that I felt quite important. The Maoris had brought their ploughs and teams, but before they could make use of them their horses, which were tethered in the paddock, had been stampeded and the majority of them driven off to the Manaia pound. A lot of them, however, got. away to Hawera, and the next morning when I rode into work the South Road was littered with short pieces of rope

which had been broken off by the gal" loping horses treading upon them. The leading chiefs were also arrested and taken to the lock-up. These operations led to a battle royal between the two parties, the principal weapons used being the long poles brought by the nativesThe Maoris gave nearly as good as they got with these, but-when several horsemen who had come armed with stockwhips brought these into action the end came quickly. The Maoris could fend off’ a pole, but not so the whip. Fists were also flying, but luckily no other weapons except those mentioned were brought by either party. Among the most prominent of the whites whom I can remember as beingpresent were .1. C. Yorke, J. J. Patterson, Fred Bayly, ooad, Geo. McLean, J. D. Mitchell, and -T. Livingston. The iat-