EARLY MANAWATU

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 303, 18 November 1930, Page 2

EARLY MANAWATU

CONDITIONS IN SEVENTIES. ADDRESS BY MR L. R. BRYANT. Coinciding appropriately with the city celebrations was the address deliverd to the Citizens’ Lunch Club to-day by Mr L. R. Bryant, who snoke on Manawatu in the seventies. iUr M. H. Oram presided. Mr Bryant, who was for manv years an old and much-respected resident ot Palmerston North, where he took an active part in municipal activities, is now living in Nelson. Mr Bryant recalled that in the summer of 1877 he and. Mr G. N. Stephenson were engaged on railway works in the Ihangitikei district. Their first visit to Palmerston North was a shoit holiday trip. They came across on horseback following a Maori track t Feilding, whence the trip was finished by rail. On the return trip, from Feilding, which was undertaken in the dark, there was an amusing diversion when two men were discovered in the midst of a dour battle m the bush. The speaker related a long trip by horseback to Gisborne from to undertake bridge work. It was < lonely ride, with trackless wastes to traverse, rivers to ford and precarious passes where the horses had to be leu. The trip of 270 miles occupied five Describing early Palmerston North, the speaker said that at a korero with the Rangitane tribe at AA hakarongo in 1868 the Manawatu block had been purchased. The boundaries were from Linton to Pohangina, thence to the watershed of tho Taonui to the Aorangi Swamp close to where ilr D. Collis now lives, from the south ot the swamp to the bottom of Mr Tanner s section and then in an easterly direction to the starting point. SETTLEMENT IN 1869.

Palmerston North was surveyed and settied first in 1869, although there was a prior settlement at le. Alatai. His first work was construction ot footways and roads in the Square. Another milestone in the ot the district was the sale oi the Kairanga in 1881 by the then Commissioner ot Lands, and also a portion of r ltzherbert. The Kairanga land sold readily in small sections. In the early days of the colony there was a great demand for stock. Meat was scarce and dear. However, in the seventies there was an excess. Slxeep were only worth their fat and skins. Legs ot mutton were sold at Id per lb, and beef was sold at about tho same price. It was the cheapest food of all. Flour cost from 17s to 20s, and bread was dearer than meat. Exporting frozen meat started in the south and gradually spread, until freezing works were established all over the country. Another impetus to industry was given by the separating machine. The first was imported by Mr O. Monrad’s uncle, and was demonstrated in Mr Snelson’s salerooms. KAIRANGA LAND. Stating that he was one of the early settlers of the Kairanga, Mr Bryant said that the land was loaded by the Government and drained into the Aorangi swamp. This suited the natives in that area, and it was a famous fishing ground. Later this block was subdivided and sold, but there were endless disputes about drainage. After several lawsuits and a lot of bickering, a drainage board was formed and an outlet was obtained by the Oroua bridge to the Manawatu river. The value of the land increased threefold, and now it was among the finest land that it was possible to find. Referring to a large photograph depicting an early scene in Palmerston North, Mr Bryant said that the site of the railway station was formerly in the centre of the town and the goods shed was opposite where the Courthouse is now situated. The post offie was located on the present site of Coles’ building. DEBT TO EARLY COLONISTS. Drawing a comparison with presentday facilities, Mr Bryant said that in the seventies the country was hardly opened. There were few roads and none of the transport facilities that were now available. “The young men of today don’t know how well off they are,” said the speaker. “They owe a great debt to the early colonists.” Concluding, he said that it was hardly conceivable that such vast progress should be There was now living on Rangitikei Line Mr T. Rodgers, who was born on the day that the first expeditionary ships reached New Zealand. A hearty vote of thanks was conveyed to the speaker by Mr C. F. Spooner.