EARLIEST PATEA

Hawera Star, Volume LI, 13 October 1931, Page 8

EARLIEST PATEA

At the Heads PIONEER’S REMINISCENCES The traveller, rushing through Patea in his motor car and seeing. only the broad highway, the bitumen road, the shops and residences, and the many signs of a town which has progressed far, little dreams that some 60 years ago these business thoroughfares were masses of flax, fern and tute, without any 'indication of the fine town which was later to be established. Nor would he realise that the town owed its first foundations to the need for protection to settlers against the marauding Maoris, who under their enterprising and commanding leaders, were threatened to drive the Europeans off the coast altogether.

For the genesis of Patea one has to go to the tiny military settlement made at the Patea Heads, where a military camp was established way back in 1861. The regiments there in barracks included several whose names have been writ large in the history of the Empire—the 18th Koval Irish, the 57 th and the 65th, and others —and who took part in many of the fiercest, engagaments in South Taranaki during the Maori War. Their being settled at the mouth of the Patea River brought in their train many civilians, storekeepers and others who- supplied the wants of the soldiers.

Among those who came to the infant settlement was one who has been since those earliest days a resident.of the town, Mr H. Locker, and from him was obtained by a “Hawcra Star” representative some reminiscences of the life and times and incidents connected with the first settlement at the Heads. They serve to give people of the present day some idea of the life lived by those who first settled in the town and how it came to be moved to its present site.

“There was a navigable entrance to the river long before harbour works were erected,” said Mr Locker. “Little steamers and timber scows traded here regularly. When the Maori trouble developed, the Government dis-| patched troops on one of their, steamers, the “Sturt,” the commander of which was the late Captain Fairchild, perhaps one of the best known of coastal commanders in those stirring days.

Into that cosmopolitan little colony came as a child Mt H. Locker with his parents, liis father being a storekeeper. The homes of the inhabitants were principally tin houses, sent up by the authorities and erected in./sections, with a number of tents. Mr Locker naturally cannot recall anything of- the first year or two, except .fromwhuf his parents told him, buf, ho recalls 1 ;-the names of the best known men iri command —General Cameron, Colonel Lyon, Major Noake and others.

MAORI TERRORISM. In those days Titokowaru was terrorising the coast and the Regulars under British officers did not know how to deal with them. So serious did matters become that the question of abandoning Central and South Taranaki to them was considered and the women and children of infant Patea were sent for safety to Wanganui. Then a drastic change was made in the military policy. Men who had had experience in guerilla warfare were brought from other centres, and the famous Armed Constabulary, Mounted Police, were enrolled. One of Mr Locker's earliest recollections is the arrival from the Waikato of the dashing irregular, Von. Tcmpsky, with his troops, inured to hardship and .'trained in forest warfare. The popular slogan was that he would “make Tito run.” The force was pushed forward to Norman by, where the Waihi Camp was established, and there You Tcmpsky was settled until his death at Te Ngutu-o-tc-Manu. One of the men who fell in that engagement was Captain Palmer, first schoolmaster to the Patea settlement. TITOKOWARU’S BOAST.

The outlook was gloomy and Tito made the boast that he would advance and take Wanganui. He did como down and inflicted a defeat on Whitmore’s forces at Moturoa. Then he was besieged at Tauranga Ika, near Nukumaru, and when the troops got inside they found the wily chief and his followers had abandoned the pa in the night. Tito, whose rnaua had been so high, was losing caste because of internal disagreements, and he was pursued inland through Waitotara, getting away inland up the Patea River and cross country to Whakamara, and then to the Ngaere Swamp. He was captured, but pardoned, and lived for many years at Omuturaugi Pa, near Okaiawa. fie came down periodically to Patea. where he was given a great reception. CHANGE OP SITE.

.About- said Mr Locker, there was expressed a desire for a change in the settlement of Patea, and it was decided to move the little colony to a location further up the river, near where the present town is now located, but at first most of it .was situated about the site of the bridge. The settlement. was called Carlyle, and it is laid off on the survey maps under that ) name. A feature of the new settlement, as it developed, has been the intensely English nomenclature, practically all the streets being called after English towns, counties and livers. The sections were submitted to auction on tw'o occasions, but few were sold. It was decided therefore to vest the remainder in the ruling local authority, the Town Board, as reserves, and this explains how it is that the town of to-day is so rich in reserves. There are few better endowed townships in the Domiinon. Business conditions were steadily improving and the town forged ahead, and in the course of a little more than, ten years after the cessation of hostilities a demand grew for the formation, of a borough. This was accordingly brought about in 1881, Mr G. F. Sherwood being first Mayor. It was said Mr Locker, a close contest, but Mr Sheiwood excelled his opponent on the hustings and was a clever speaker. The iron huts at the Heads were sold, in most cases to farmers, and did later very useful service on the farms as houses or sheds. Most of the timber used in building came from the South Island, and the tirnbci scows traded regularly to Patea, coming up the river when tiio tides and winds were favourable. ,

The nearest Maori settlement was at Hukatere Pa, near Kakaramca, but. later the Maoris obtained permission to come south and they formed the Pariroti Pa, which is still inhabited by their descendants.

PRINCIPAL COASTAL TOWN.

Patea, or Carlye as it was until 1881, was the big place on the coast, Hawcra being hardly on the map at all. There were regular sittings of • the iMagis-: trate’s Court-,-.a Lands' Department office, and much business was transacted in that important centre. Mr 11. Cli.n-to.it. Hughes* of New Ply-, mouth, who is still practising his pro-] fession, used to ride--through to Patea, regularly to attend the District Court. The ‘first Magistrate was Major Booth, and then followed Major Noake, Major Turner and Captain Wray, father of Mr Cecil Wrav. later in Hawera a'nd now in Loudon. There was a redoubt at the Heads, and there, as was -the- case later at Hawera, the settlors took shelter on many occasions when there was alarm or a threatened attack by the Maoris. ROUGH DAYS, BUT HAPPY. “They were rough but very happy times ” said Mr Locker, “and we had a free and jolly life, without knowing or desiriiig the many attractions and pleasures of to-day.” Of roads, there were but few and those rough and badly formed. Mr Locker recalled with interest some of the men who. used to run teams between Patea and Hawcra and Nonnanby—Messrs King. Woller. Treweek, Spence, G. Dyer, bne and Collins. Drays mostly were m use, though there were a few waggons. RAILWAY EXTENSION. Then the railway was pushed north and the road partly formed through. Hawcra, Te Roti, Eltham, and to iStratford. This of course was the Ketemarao Road which goes along the eastern or inland side of Normanby and joins the Mountain Road along the famous track cut by 'General Chute in his historic march to New Plymouth. As a boy, Mr. Locker was employed at the Waihi camp, at Normanby and he recalls with interest Captains tapell Foster and Marshall. He had an occasion to travel with sums of money to Patea to reach the nearest bank. In his trips he met several of the earliest ilawera settlers and recalls with interest meeting IMr. M. J. Goodson, Mr. John Winks, Mrs. Shepherd, Mr. Qumlivan, Mr. Douglas, Mr. Middlemass, Mr. Livingston, and Mr. McMichall. Mr. Locker is and has always been an intense lover of nature and keenly interested -in the Maori and his histoii. He has read: all he has been able to secure and still is an omnivorous leadc: of Maori life and, character. He recalls with keen enthusiasm the country as- he knew it first on his many trips from Patea to Normanby and the wonderful beauty of the bush and fern.

THE MILITARY. The origin of the military settlers was touched upon by Mr. Locker, when 1 he recalled that many men were brought over from Australia after the failure of. the ’gold rushes and were taken on as soldiers ailcl, after the wai were given .land iiV return for their servicejt. They were real military, settlers >nd ML; LpCker'iustauced a parel- ' 'ltd •"case from., the old . Roman times, whe'n rhe extreme Eastern-borders of that great empire were policed, as it were, by settlers "who had to bear arms in return for grants of land. So, on this coast, land was given as a quid pro quo to men who had fought, Ka-, karamea, Manutahi -and Alokoiu being i | cut up into quarter acre sections ami : j given to these men. Pay-day for the] , troops was a feature of the life of the : little settlement at the Heads, said Mr. I Locker, looking back over the mists of sixty years to the infant settlement which was to become an important town with a varied and interesting his- j torv. “(The men got the munificent; sum of tcnpence .per day, but it meant a lot in those days. Unfortunately, a good deal of it went in drinking and gambling and pay day was a wild experience for many of them.” Relics of Ihe Maori occupation of the' fiats between "Patea" aiid the sea wore found by tiny, settlors in the form of cherries, .peaches. and other fruits on such places as "what is known as “Poverty Flat.” FIRST HARBOUR WORKS.

The Royer, in .the early days, went along the cliffs east and the first plans for harbour work were made by Mr. Blackett, a Mr, Dixon, having a contract given him foi formation of a wall. This man had the ill fortune to be killed just before the contract was begun and the work was stopped when Sir John Goode's report was made. That report planned well, said Mr, Locker, and. as was said many years ago by the late iMr. John Gibson, so long as Sir John’s plans were followed, so long did they get satisfaction. Any departure from them eaussed trouble. EARLY RACING.

In the community such as this, racing naturally formed one of the earliest pastimes and, though there was no organised club, much interest, was created by friendly meetings among the best known horses of the district, One man would affirm his belief that bis hoilse was the best and out of that arose events that were as keenly contested as any to-day in the biggest race meetings. The first events he could recall were a match to race from Patea to Waingongoro and back —there were no jspiiut events in those days and lasting power and endurance 'were the features of the horses. Ho recalled that later a racecourse was formed in what is now the centre of the town, past where now stands McCarty and Hunger’s and round behind the Church of England and the banks and back in a circle. That would be in 1867 or 1868 and many of the officers of the regiments owning fine, blood horses would back them against all comers. At times too a race would be made to travel to Wanganui and back.

Tin* horses and most, of the cattle brought into the district came largely from -Rangitikei, and it was acknowledged that the Rangitikei horse was harder and could stand heavy work better than the locally bred animal. Large mobs of cattle were brought, through by road aud formed much of the. first stock held by breeders in South Taranaki.

Mr. Locker was a keen Rugby enthusiast. and he recalled with delight many great struggles between 'Hawera and Patea, when the names to conjure with on the football ffekl were the Baylys, .Riddiford, Tonks, Snook, Jordan, Goghill, Southey, Whit?, Willy, Job, Fowler, Adamsons, Major, Hempton, Pearces, and many another good man of a gallant company/ many of whom have gone, but some of whom are still keenly interested in the great game.

Mr. Locker, though past the allotted three score years and ten, is still hale and hearty. Mr. Locker is now spending the autumn of his life in retirement in the town of which lie has' been so long a resident. His mind is as' clear as ever and his health 1 good, while his memory of -past events in the history of the town and district is remarkably clear and distinct, Tie feels groat pride in his home town and is one of the small and ever diminishing band of •pioneers whose good wishes will be ndth the promoters of the jubilee week.