WESTWARD HO!

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIX, Issue 11537, 25 March 1898, Page 7

WESTWARD HO!

£Bt “ Impressionist ” ik “ Canterbury Times.”!

IX. FACTS, FIGURES AND OPINIONS —NOTES OF ■ ’ TRAVEL PERSONAL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS — CORRESPONDENCE THE CONCLUSION OP THE WHOLE MATTER. To close properly my series of articles —in American backwoods phrase “to bring • the two ends of a long trail together”—l must revert to Greymonth, and give some ’ particulars to show the importance of the : metropolis of the West Coast, and through . it Of the whole district. The town of Grey- • mouth, though it labours under grave dis- • advantages of site, and is further hampered ; by the fact that Maori landlords draw ! some .£4OOO a year as ground rents for town : allotments, is making solid and satisfactory : progress. During last year between forty ■ and fifty new buildings were erected in the ' borough, and this valuation keeps going up steadily. The trade of the port also goes ! oh expanding, and the Harbour Board . does its best to make the harbour sufficient for requirements. During 1896 no fewer than 549 steamers and 40 sailing vessels ■ visited the port. Generally speaking, only vessels of 17ft draught or under • paw enter the river, as the depth of water ■ on the bar varied during the year named from 15ft to 23ft. To show how the

training walla and reclamation works have improved the bar I may quote the average depth of water, for some years past. In 1884 it was 13£t Sin, which was increased

•by 1890 to 18ft Bih. In 11395 it was 20ft < 3in, in 1896 19£t 3in and in 1897 20ft loin, : The bulk of the export trade from ! Greymonth consists of coal. In one I year, some time back, tbe Brunner, ; WaUsend and Coalbrookdale mines - sent out no less than 180,000 tons, j That quantity has decreased owing to the ' closing of two of the mines, but the Black- - ball mine, which has only been opened ! tome three years, is developing a large ■ output. In 1897 there were 42,989 tons of ' Blackball coal sent out from Greymouth, ! and that mine’s output is an increasing 1 quantity. As showing that considerable ; cargoes can be got, it may be stated that I ©n one trip the a.s. Pukaki took away 1700 .> tons of coal. The gold exports, though not !to bulky, are of greater value. For 1897, i the gold shipped from Greymonth was : valued at £151,854. This was practically to ; the middle of December, but as at least ; SOOOoz of gold wore brought in by the ■ diggers - after that. date, the value of the December .quarter’s output of gold would reach the total of £60,000. ■ Tho Customs revenue collected at Qrey- . mouth past year was £23,335, being a

larger sum than for any year since 1892. The Greymouth Harbour Board, with a debt of"i8290i000, has assets and endowments valued'at nearly .£300,000, an annual income of about *817,000, and an expenditure that aeoma to be kept well withinthatj amount.. , ' The municipal- government of the borough is hardly in such a satisfactory state as the harbour control. There is no organised water supply-for domestic purposes, and there is hardly any drainage. The ratepayers will not authorise the loan 'necessary to get a gravitation water supply, which could be provided at a cost of *BIO,OOO. As they have, however, recently voted for the adoption of the system of rating on unimproved land values, I am hopeful that they will ere long pursue an enlightened policy in the matters of drainage and water supply. It is true that Nature is very generous to the "West. Coast with regard to watsr "supply. In the year 1897 there was a rainfall at Greymouth of 114'46 inches, ’which was seven inches more than that of : 1896, which, again, was fifteen inches in • excess of the downpour of 1895. The rainfall is evidently not diminishing as the years roll by ; but it must not, therefore, be concluded that the climate of the West Coast is disagreeable. Speaking from my .experience of it in the month of January, I "should say that no more delightful place “could-, be imagined for the dried and roasted denizens of Canterbury’to revel in for a month or so of the hot season; There is a softness, afreshness and a bracing strength about the atmosphere of Greymouth or Hokitika which are absent from that of the arid east. The moisture cannot, however, be ; depended upon to extinguish conflagrations like that which I witnessed at Greymouth, to which I refer for the purpose of showing the inadequacy of the means of coping with , fire. A fir© broke out in the Public Hall, ' and the brigade was promptly on the spot with all its appliances; but in spite of the utmost efforts the hall itself and a work■ahop adjoining it were burned down. A steam fire-engine and a manual engine were unable, with the water at their k disposal, to extinguish a fire which was not, when discovered, of serious proportions. A number of the men—volunteer firemen, I suppose—who worked the “manual” in 'front of the Post Office Hotel seemed to look upon the occurrence as an exceedingly funny one. They, at any rate, were in high spirits, and as they applied themselves, with a will to the pump they extracted huge diversion from the appearan:eof a number of gentlemeU en dishabille on the hotel balcony. One was speedily nicknamed “Old Pyjamas,” another (from the shape of his

and these and others were adjured to get down and work the pump. Snatches of comic song and sallies of music-hall wit further enlivened the proceedings, and served to remind classical students of the reported conduct of Nero on a similar occasion. It was no doubt very funny; but the “moral” of it all is that if Greymouth is to be made secure against total destruction by fire, it is necessary to have a gravitation scheme of water supply provided without delay. A fire on Mawhera Quay on a windy night would, under existing conditions, simply sweep away nearly the whole of the business premises in the town. , Is it not “ penny wise and pound foolish” to run such a risk in order to save an expenditure that would not add more than .£IOO a year to the municipal rates ?

A word or two may be allowed me on the subject of hotel accommodation on the Coast. I have already mentioned incidentally one or two places; but I slept ,at eight different hotels during my visit, including, those of the lowest as well as of the highest rank, and I wish to say, generally, that the accommodation provided is in every case thoroughly up to requirements, the hosts most attentive, and the cuisine and other arrangements admirable. It is, nevertheless, amusing to observe the gradations of comfort, cookery, convenience and style at the different bostelries, according to their situation. In Greymouth or Hokitika, hotel management is an art that has been mastered as completely as in any of the large cities; such towns as Zumara and Eeefton are not far behind; but, when you penetrate to the “back-blocks,” there are sundry subtle changes perceptible, getting more marked the further you recede from the centres of population. You find the bedrooms getting smaller, and notice that they are on the ground floor—for the sufficient reason that there is no “ upstairs ” on the premises. The final stage is reached when 'you have to share the sole bedroom with a stranger, and are only saved from having to share the towel with him by his generous resolve to dispense with a morning “ wash.” The dining - room, too, gets smaller and the chairs of more homely pattern, until at last you find yourself sitting on a hard form at a deal table, waited upon by a lady who combines in her sole person the hostess, the cook, the chambermaid, the tabiemaid and the maid-of-all-wort. Table napkins endure to the end, like tablecloths, and no fault can be found with these in the matter of cleanliness ; hut the supply of spoons and cutlery becomes limited, and you learn to show no surprise when you see the tabiemaid taking the knife and fork wherewith you have helped yourself to potatoes and meat, washing and wiping them in your presence, and solemnly presenting them to you, so that you maytackle the bread and butter and “plumduff’’—most likely using for the dessert the same'gppon that did duty for the' soup. Then, the 'menu shows a decided tendency to contraction. Whereas in the large towns you have had the choice of several joints, four or five entrees and'i its many varieties of pudding, you discover that the dishes diminish as your appetite increases with the country air, until at last you find yourself reduced to a simple choice between roast lamb and corned beef. Everything else is decided for you ; it saves a lot of trouble, too! The food is everywhere wholesome and good. You do not wonder so much at this as you do at finding fresh meat, oven-made bread, and all other necessaries of life in abundance in places that seem almost inaccessible. As you get among the hills, you may find the menu practically reduced to one kind of meat, viz., lamb; but still the tabiemaid manages to roll out ...the alternatives—“ Eoast lamb, boiled lamb, or cold lamb?” —as though she were conscious of having an attractive hill of fare. A gentleman who was my companion during part of my wanderings had a habit of calling every table-maid “ Mary.” I fancied I discovered the reason for his choice of that name when I struck those hotels where, in every case, “ Mary had a little lamb ” to offer to the hungry traveller. The lamb, like the toffee one has heard of, was excellent; but lamb for breakfast, luncheon and dinner is apt to pall on the taste.- However, the West Coast wanderer may count himself lucky to find, wherever he goes, that there is an hotel or house of accommodation convenient, and also Words- 1 worth’s “ snow-white mountain lamb with a maiden by its side.” Of the character of the people of the West Coast it is impossible to speak too highly. Their hearty hospitality and their kindness to strangers are indeed proverbial, and I can only add my corroboration to what previous visitors have said on this aspect of West Coast life. I must confess to a thrill of disappointment at finding the Coast so decorous, so civilised and so sober. True, if I had read my O’Kegan as I ought, I should have known better than to harbour vain expectations of witnessing anywhere a survival of the “ good old times” when men would—

Plea with a billy and bluay To the spot where their springtime they spent, ’Mid the wilds, with the weltaand tui. In tho days when they lived in a tent. For the youthful bard of the Coast —dead, alas! before his powers were fully developed—has told in graphic verse that

tho glory has departed from the diggings now. Listen to his retrospect and his "sketch of things as they are; — What days of cheerful toiling, what wild,

uproarious nights, What happy days, what glorious nights were then: , Such mirth and merry-making, such drinking and such fights— Old mate, we’ll never see such times again!

Another generation has arisen in the land, New notions are the order of the day ; Men now live by their wits, Tom, dress fine and do the grand. For the age of diggers’ shirts has passed away.

But they can’t come near the old ones, scorners of despair and fear, Who roughed it by wild forest, craggy fell, And through swirl of roaring waters for many and many a year, , . , Daily faced the face of Death —and stood it well!

Such changes are inevitable, and not altogether to be deplored; it is well, for example, that men are delivered from the dangers of tjiose. fierce and treacherous ■ rivers, whibhj in their’ unbridged condition, caused the death of many good men in years gone past. The old-race of diggers is not altogether extinct, nor are their virtues quite absent from the West Coast, It is the conditions that have altered; but I am sure if the same exertions and the same courage were required to-day as in the past the same spirit would be found animati g hundreds of miners. I have, in a former chapter, referred to the many old diggers that are to he met with at Rimu, Kanieri and elsewhere, and also the fine example of self-reliance and independence which they offer. An extreme instance of this spirit came under my notice when at Upper Blackball. To the accommodation house there came one evening a man of seventy years of age, hut still tall and erect, who asked to he allowed to take an old sack wherewith to make “ cloths ” to save the alluvial gold he was washing out. “ Have two if you like,” said Mr Williams. “I will, then,” said the digger, “for I’m wanting another to make a mattress ! ” The old man, I was told, lives in a hut by himself and washes out enough gold by his unaided dahour to keep him independent of charitable aid. Looking, however, at his feeble frame and hoary locks, one could not avoid a pang of reproach at the thought of an aged worker having to subsist in this way, ,amid the isolation and hardships incident to life oh a lonely goldfield. May old age pensions soon be established for the sake of such as he!

Another pleasing illusion regarding the West Coast has also been dispelled in my case. I had somehow imbibed the notion that everybody there spoke with an Irish •' broguethat Englishmen were few and far between, and that Scotchmen were altogether unknown. As a matter of fact, the Coast shows as good ablendof “the three kingdoms ” as any other part of the colony. The western Celtic element predominates, but it is largely composed of a colonialbom generation, who do not, save by the names they bear, betray the land of their parents. As for the Scot, I found him übiquitous, and his broad accent was more marked than tho “brogue.” And, of course, thistles and bagpipes mark the progress of the stern and wild Caledonian. As I was coming down from the Paparoa range, I met Mr George Brown and a “brither Scot” on their way over the hill to the Tenrmile Creek. They were each carrying a “ swag ” big and heavy enough for a packhorse, up. a path so rough and steep that it took me three-quarters of an hour to traverse half a mile of it without any load whatever. Yet, when I stopped to exchange greetings with them, I saw peeping from •one of the bundles a set of Scotch bagpipes, all complete! These men were taking three months’ provisions into a wild country, and one would have thought they would have saved every pound of weight that was possible, and would have confined themselves to the bare necessaries of life. Bagpipes are, however, perhaps prime necessities of the expatriated Scot. It is a striking example of the persistence of national habits—this fleeting image of the Piper of Paparoa ready to show the small band of gold-seekers in that isolated spot, four thousand feet above sea-level, “ how in the noon of night the pibroch thrills, savage and shrill.” While generally acknowledging the kindness of all with whom I came in contact during my tour on the' West Coast, I must not omit to make . special mention of those gentlemen who put themselves to trouble, in order to afford me information or other assistance. Mr Skoglund, the Mayor, and Mr Lord, town clerk of Greymouth; Mr M’Kellar, Collector of Customs; Mr Thomas Allen, treasurer to the Harbour Board ; Captain Connor, harbour-master ; Mr George Cray, district manager of railways; Mr Piper, traffic manager; Mr P. F. Daniel, M.E.; Mr Wicks; Mr Guinness, M.H.E.; Mr J. L. Doogan, and Mr Eevington all placed me under a debt of gratitude to them by their readiness to help and advise. Nor must I forget the noble band of Greymouth newspaper men—the Hon J. Kerr, M.L.C., Messrs Petrie, M'Carthy and Zilgour—who all extended a fraternal hand to me. May their shadows never grow less ! Mr H. W. Young, A.M.1.C.E., &0., gave me valuable aid also; and I must again mention Mr Fred Shury, who piloted me to Barrytown; Messrs Walter Brown and Alexander Aitken, of Zumara; Mr Grimmond and Mr Churches, of Hokitika; Mr Healey and Mr Bruce, of Boss. It is a genuine pleasure to recall their personalities as I write and to record my appreciation of their kindness. And when I remember that for a knowledge of nearly all these gentlemen I am primarily indebted to one man, I simply cannot find words to express my indebtedness to the one who was emphatically my “guide, philosopher and friend ” on the West Coast. I allude to Mr Thomas Pavitt,, an .Did .Canterbury settler now living in Greymonth, and representing the Midland Eailway debenture-holders. It was Mr Pavitt who journeyed up the line to Jackson’s and welcomed me on my arrival in Westland; it was he who travelled with me to Beef ton and Hokitika who gave me valuable introductions all round the Coast, and secured for me that consideration which his own genial nature commands wherever he goes. I must not say all I feel lest I should be accused of fulsome flattery; but to the hundreds of people both in Canterbury and Westland who know Mr Pavitt no eulogium of him is necessary. If his sixty years’ experience of the world had not made him proof against the evil effects of popularity, I should say there is no man whom I know who is in greater danger of the “woe” that is foretold for those of whom all men apeak well! A word or two must be said with regard to correspondence that has been received on the subject of these papers. “ A New Zealand Native,” writing from Greymouth, deplores the fact to which I referred of white women being married to Chinese. He evidently feels very keenly that this is a degradation of the Caucasian race, and he draws a lurid picture of the sort of life led by Mongolians in Greymonth. It is, of course, regrettable that there should he degradation of any kind; hut that is no reason why I should have done as this correspondent suggests, and omitted all reference to the Chinese bn the Coast. The evils arising from the intermarriage of Europeans and Chinese are not so flagrant as to call for a law prohibiting such unions Anything like racial deterioration must be guarded against; but a few " mixed marriages ” would not justify heroic legislation. Another long letter to hand deals with some detail matters in connection with the position of the Waiwhero Goldmining Company at Barrytown, which I failed to embody in my remarks, owing to Mr Davies, who had arranged to meet me and show me over the ground, being detained in Greymouth. The promoters of that company are entitled to share in the credit of the Barrytown revival. The new policy of working the Barrytown deposits on an extensive scale was inaugurated in August, 1896, when Messrs Edgar and Davies placed their claim in the hands of Mr H. W. Young and took steps which led to the floating of the Waiwhero Company. That company, too, has been actively carrying on operations, and these are progressing most satisfactorily. The shifting of the company’s “ intake ” for water to a higher point on Canoe Creek will entail only a nominal ■expense, and this will be more than made

good progress i lo by this company and the fine “claim’ which it possesses osght to place it very soon in a dividendearning position, and for this Mr Young will be entitled to all credit and praise. My acknowledgments are due to those gentlemen—personal strangers to me—who have written to express, their appreciation of the “ Westward Ho !” series of articles. Ho man is insensible to approbation; and, impressionable -as I am, these marks of approval are very welcome. I can now imagine I hear the reader exclaiming, “ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter!” As briefly as may be, I will state it. In the West Coast district there are vast mineral stores and enormous water-power, which, with capital, enterprise, skill and labour can he made to yield wealth to the investor, employment to the labourer and artisan, and happiness and comfort to the community in general. Government aid and company enterprise are required to develop these resources. The West Coast is just now at a transition stage, between the rough old digging days and the era of wholesale operations by large companies. Its decline is only temporary, and the Coast is destined to carry a much larger population than it now has. My firm conviction is that the people can do much to hasten or retard the coming revival of prosperity. They are not numerous, hut if they were to unite in issuing publications showing forth the large and varied resources of their district —and this would cost but a trifle—they would exert a great influence for good. Let them realise that the time is past for individual working, for exclusion and for boncealment. Let them invite outside capital, and treat it well when they get it. And, above all, let them use their political influence to get the Midland line carried through to Canterbury. In the latter work they may rely upon the hearty co-operation of the people of Christchurch and of the greater part of Canterbury. If I should he privileged a few years hence to revisit the West Coast, I hope to be able to record a great advance in the prosperity, of the district, in its population, and in the development of its resources.