THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1924. TESTIMONY TO OLD TARANAKIANS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 3 January 1924, Page 4

THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, 1924. TESTIMONY TO OLD TARANAKIANS.

I It fe just upon eight/'.three years since . the firjt settlers landed at Moturoa, to be followed six month.? later by a second contingent, alse principally from Dey^n and Cornwall. These sturdy pilgrims w.ere the first to se# the sun rise on a New Year in Taran&ki —the , year 1842—a»4 it is safe to conjecture . that they had no thought of the immensity of the foundation of future j settlement they were laying. The J Maori was uncivilised, and his very nature revolted against bringing his ' vast possessions into a state of cultivation. So long as he had sufficient ' ground cleared for growing potatoes, , kumarag and taros, he was satisfied; tsthe sea and the* fivers provided him i with an ample supply of fish, and the bush with plenty of birds. What more , did he want? He had no roads to make and keep in repair, and no taxes to payj his lot was cast in pleaafent places, j But with all these advantages his insatiable desire for a fight with something kept him in a state of preparedness, for he never knew when a warMke tribe might descend upon him. There were iribal wars in Taranaki after the landing of the pakeha iv i i 1841, particularly around Bell Block, j but strange to say the few families that had made their homes in that j locality were never molested, although j fighting took place all around them, i These few facts go to illustrate what ! manner of people the early settlers of Taranaki had thrown in their lot with, ; and looking at what took plaoe twenty j years after the first landing, it is some- ' what wonderful that the handful of • pioneers were allowed to witness even the dawn of one New Year. However, Providence was on the side of those who were not only seeking to establish homes, but were also desirous of civilising a people who possessed great possibilities. It was a hazardous work, but there was no looking back, and as if to the tune of that grand old hymn, j "Onward, Christian Soldiers," they marched on to victory. Eightyj three years ago Taranaki was prae- ' tically terra incognita as far as Euro- . peans were concerned—virgin bush everywhere, no roads—in fact, a country that required grit and perseverance to bring it to what it has been aptly | lermed, the "Garden of New Zea-

land." Raupo wharcs had, to be resorted to at the outset, Vstt*c so soon as the material came to fraud for pit-saw-ing, wooden buildings with shiugle roofs took their place. Nothing but the best of timber was used, and residences that were-pclled down forty or fifty years after were found to be as sound as the day they were erected. The early settlers worked hard for posterity^ "hut they were happy and contended withal. What a contrast betveeV* the New Year of 1842 to that ' 'if 11924. A deep sea harbour now takss Itfre place of the open roadstead; ftarsealed roads run through every pait of the province; railways ■a*nd motor itartiffie have ousted the bullock dray and. hoßse cart; news is Sashed hy wire in, a few minutes that once took nfoiitbs to obtain; in fact, 'Tai'&naki is mo^ modern than many 'connties in 'the Old Land. It is a g"pca't 'achievement, and to the few wh© *em'ain 'of those avlio started this mfc*men*to"tf!j 'work we wish all happinsfefc 'and joy in this year one thousa3id*n'ijK)ihundfed and twenty-four.