A TRIP TO THE KAWAU.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 818, 15 January 1867, Page 3

A TRIP TO THE KAWAU.

(Prom the " Southern Cross," Jau. 1.) A trip to the Kawau, with admission to the private residence of His Excellency the Governor, has been set down as the pleasantest excursion provided for the Christmas holidays. Messrs. Holmes Brothers, having received permission from His Excellency to land visitors at the island, announced that they would run the paddlesteamer Enterprise No. 2 there on Thursday last. About fifty ladies and gentlemen availed themselves of the opportunity of visiting the place. The day was most suitable for the trip, and the passage down was a very pleasant one ; a gentle breeze serving to refresh the voyagers, and to counteract the effect of the scorching sunlight and beat which prevailed. The steamer left the wharf at ten o'clock, and a pleasant run of four hours, with an abundance of splendid scenery in prospective, and a so-called quadrille band to enliven the proceedings, brought the upward trip to a close, much to the credit of the vessel's steaming capacity. Her ample accommodation and smooth sailing were matter for encomium amongst the passengers during the trip. The party seemed bent on enjoying themselves, and nothing that could add to the hilarity of the occasion was overlooked. Arrived at the Kawau, they resolved themselves, by a sort of tacit understanding, into a gigantic pic-nic, for the purpose of enjoying the scenery before them, which was an especial object of interest to the many who had not previously visited this interesting spot. The secluded little bay which has been selected by the Governor as the water frontage of his future retreat, is so hidden by abutting rocks and hjlls that it is not observable until the vessel has fairly steamed round the overhanging rocks and anchored in the cove exactly in front of the Governor's house, and at high tide alongside the jetty reaching to the gateway. After a hasty walk around, visitors struck offin groups for the pathways leading to the summit of the surrounding hills, for the purpose, doubtless, of obtaining a full view of the island at a glance. They we're rewarded at the top of the hills by a splendid view of the coast, which stretches away for many miles around, relieved in the distance and beneath the spectator ' by a broad expanse of pale sea green, rendered all the. more valuable, in an artistic point of view, by those grand cumuli of clouds which cluster round the horizon. The foreground, as we have intimated, is broken up into a hundred little dales and hillocks ; and the lover of foliage need not search the •view in vain, as is too frequently the case in our antipodean home, for oak, or elm, or chesmit; Ib may truly be said that its sea is not without ships, nor its landscape without trees ; and there is no doubt that the, island., possesses a beauty of its own, and^'ja ;real picturesqueness too. All aiojn'g the paths and the ridge of the hill w,er^;scattered little knots of pedestrians, -JSyj^st i pt|ie f r,s, prepared an alfresco luncheon :snftfi(e: sloping .greeu sward, and groups of

happy parties studded the garden grounds adjacent to the mansion. But we do nofc intend to dwell upon the proceedings at the luncheon. We all know what young ladies' appetites are supposed to be at a six o'clock dinner, and what they really are at noon, especially after a four hours' ride on the steamer, with a fine breeze blowing over the water, and a good ramble in prospect before them. To the repagt, suffice it to say, each seemed to do duty with unaffected cheerfulness. A walk round the grounds which naturally followed, served to show how highly cultivated they were, and what an amount of taste had been brought to bear on their disposal and cultivation, as a means of solacing his Excellency after the cares of office have been set aside, and when he shall have settled .down in the quietude of this retreat. We found there were visible traces of the rude intrusion of visitors upon the sacredness of the spot, the most prominent of which was as novel as it was amusing. On the overhanging leaf of a gigantic plant, whose boughs swept the footpath, we noticed the following (we give the initials merely) :— " k L — B — , December 17, '66 ; in remembrance of happy days." It is needless to say it was in a lady's hand. There were likewise the names of several Auckland gentlemen upon the same plant. The house, which the grounds surround, is the principal ornament of the place, and presents a very peat exterior view. It is after the style of an old baronial hall, but is built .of brick, and plastered. It possesses a .side frontage, the drawing-room, with large l)ow windows, overlooking the bay. At the back there is a court-yard, with servants' houses, and every convenience fer the accommodation of a large retinue. The house itself contains about thirty rooms, and, we are told, was designed by, and built under the supervision of, the Rev. Mr. Thatcher, his Excellency's private secretary. Mr. William A very was the contractor, and commenced the work about two years ago. Its interior decoration is still in the hands of tho workpeople, and when completed will be. highly finished. The walls and ceilings are of polished plain and knotted kauri, with panelling, &c, throughout, and have the usual rich , appearance of this favourite wood when worked by skilful hands. The apartments are well arranged — communication being obtained with the upper floor by main and servants' staircases, the former leading from the entrance hall, which is at once spacious and lofty. The apartments are furnished with exquisite taste ; but their chief attraction consists in the large number of native, Fijian, and other curiosities which meet the eye at every turn. To attempt to describe the collection would be out of the question. There are also some rare oil paintings, and at the same time' others that are honoured with a place doubtless more in consequence of the pleasant memories they recall than of any intrinsic worth they possess. The sketches of South Sea scenery, manners and customs, and principal personages, together' with momentoes of visits, were generally admired. The meres of the Maori nobility and other trophies with which his Excellency has been favoured were objects of curiosity to the visitors. In the mineralogy, as well as mythology, of New Zealand, and the North Island in particular, visitors were afforded an opportunity of acquiring information and inspecting specimens seldom to be met with. There were silver trowels galore, but not all acquired during Sir George Grey's rule in New Zealand. Tho Cape Colony was well represented in the cluster, and psrhaps the most conspicuous was a silver spade with which his Excellency had turned the first sod of a railway during his Governorship of that colony. Maori carving, rude as it not unfrequently is, appears to have entered largely into the collection of curios. A large quantity of this has been honoured with a conspicuous place in the entrance hall of the house, whilst the grounds are ornamented with the figureheads of canoes and carved monuments. Maori mats, manufactured of clogs' skins, pigeons' feathers, and flax respectively, are very plentiful, together with other mementoes of old New Zealand, indicative of Sir George's admiration of the race. The libraiy appeared to contain a large and valuable collection of works, but as it was not ready for occupation they were lying in heaps upon the floor. The house is in charge of servants, and, with the exception of a steward, gardeners and labourers, and several European families who have obtained, his Excellency's permission to cultivate portions on the opposite side, there ai'e no other persons on the island. The locality which the native prisoners of Marion-hulk notoriety evacuated, after being duly installed by his Excellency's orders, was the scene of great attraction ; and the general impression left was that the men who could decline the acceptance of such a gift for the remainder of their days, and desert a pntron who had done so much for them, were ingrates, unworthy of the tokens of friendship bestowed upon them. Various other places of interest on the island having been visited, the excursionists returned to the steamer for the homeward trip, well pleased with their v'sit to the Kawau. Another hour's sail brought the day's enjoyment very pleasantly to a close,