Nelson Evening Mail SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1927 NELSON IN 1842

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 26 November 1927, Page 6

Nelson Evening Mail SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1927 NELSON IN 1842

ONE of the earliest desecriptions of Nelson is that of E. Jerningham Wakefield, who visited the settlement in March, 1842, some few months after it was founded. From what he wrote it is possible to form a fairly clear picture of what the beginnings of the little colony were like, and of the place which had been selected for its growth. After describing'the Boulder Bank, the "Arrow" rock, and the old entrance to the harbour; he says: A little way inside this last narrow, We saw a group of wooden houses, • tents, rough booths and sheds, dis- ' posed about a small hollow in the side', of tlio hill; and Captain Wakefield (his uncle) greeted us as we jumped out, of the boat. ' The eastern shore of the haven is formed, for a'mile .from its entrance, by a low but steep ridge of .hills that are bare of wood. But, beyond tliis, the haven expands to the eastward into a broad space, which is a lake when covered with the tide, and a mud flat at other times, intersected by the branching channels of a small river called the Maitai. An amphitheatre of about 1000 acres, shelving from the southern shore of this lagoon to the base of abrupt mountains on the east and south-east, seems made for the site of a town; and here. Nelson is situated..lt is only . separated from the entrance of the haven by the ridge of hills which I have mentioned ; and a path over its summit forms a short cut between the haven and the town. Wakefield Quay has yet to be formed, but it will be seen from this description that the natural features of the town were very much as they are to-day. The Port Hills probably have more trees on them to-day, v because as houses have been built on them there has been a tendency to beautify them by embowering them in trees. In what is now (he centre, of the town there was a certain amount of swamp, raupo, fern, and manuka, which last also grew on the surrounding hills, and Maoris came and cut it, and sold it as firewood to the immigrants. E.J.W. continues:

The little village at the haven was all life and variety. Two wooden stores find a house for immigrants, belonging to the Company, were the centre of business,' as labourers came for their rations, or rolled casks and bales into the store. The "Lord Auckland" was discharging immigrants on the beach; the two Deal boats of the Company were being launched or hauled 'up by their weather-beaten crews, or making trips to the. shipping; and knots of whalers, who had come on a cruise to the ne.Sv settlement, were loitering about on the. scattered cannon, ploughs, and-cart-wheels.

As yet there were no woodon houses, except such as had been brought out, ready-riiade, in tho ships of the expedition. The houses of the settlers were mostly mere whares made of manuka or raupo, or were tents; but as the weather was warm this was no great hardship. Captain Wakefield himself lived in a tent, which was pitched near the highest "part of the path which led from the haven to the town, at a point but a few steps from the flagstaff, by means of which he was able to communicate with the shipping tby signalling with flags. The description continues: In the midst of the great amphitheatre was a low isolated mound (what is now known as tho Church Hill). Here a long range of wooden ' houses served as hospital, survey-of-fice, and emigrant barracks; and a constant stream of immigrants, with their bundles, was flowing either way between the summit of this small Acropolis and the nearest point of the lagoon to which the tide would allow the large boats to ascend the channel of the Maitai. (Presumably that would Tie at a point above where the new bridge has been built.) Wooden houses,' tents, sheds formed by boughs, frames of clay walls and thatched roofs, and heaps of goods and chattels of various kinds, were scattered over different parts of the flat. Here and there a newly-arrived party might be seen cutting a square encampment out of the high fern, and erecting their sheds andgipsy fires in the space thus formed. But the principal cluster of population was along the banks of the Maitai, and on the edge of the wood.

The surveyors of the Company had marked out the proposed streets of the town by cutting long avenues through the fern and scrub, and marking out tho acre sections by means of the usual surveyor's pegs. As the visitor walked down those future streets of Nelson, quail, either singly or in coveys, frequently started up before his steps. They were a native quail, which at that time abounded in this part of New Zealand. They were known to the Maoris ns koreke or kororeke, but seem to have completely disappeared before the advance of civilisation. What E..T.W. snys of the climate will interest Nelsonians of to-day: During the month that I remained hern (that is in Nelson) the climate was certainly magnificent. There were onTy three or four days' rain; and the rest, of the time cloudless skies and calm air glowed upon the landscape. If 1 hail any complaint, to make, it. was that T thought, it- too dry and hot in the. day-time; and that, the nights were on the contrary very cold, when a light air breathed down from the lofty peaks inland. Rut. I remembered (hat. all these things are to be judged by comparison, and that I had just come from the more temperate tract of la.nd near Wellington, which receives its temperature from a sea-breeze, whichever of the prevailing winds may blow.

Is if. that the climate of Wellington has altered, or was it- that Jerningham Wakefield never the full i'oreo of a Wellington southerly? As rogards Nelson, it may very well be that It* climate was hotter in 1842 than it is now. It. is to be. noticed that the. first settlers sought secluded and shady spots for their homes, and either placed them in' the shade of trees or in situations vhieh lost, the sun early. To-day, the

sunnier the''situation' the meno favoured it is. It has. been suggested that possibly today there is a greater prevalence of southerly winds than was th. case'in the early days of tho settlement, and consequently that to-day the mean temperature ia affected. .As regards the colonists themselves Jerningham Wakefield draws a pleasant picturo. Thoy were all young and in tho prime of life. Probably Captain Arthur Wakefield was the oldest man among them, and he was but 42 years old. , I was forcibly struck (says E..T.W.) by the strong colonising character, if 1 may so speak, which distinguished tho great majority of tho leading settlers at Nolson. They seemed to have entered upon their noble task rather with a wish to share in doing good to their poorer fellow-colonists, than with selfish and interested views. . . Their gallant ranks (he wrote in the year 1845) have been cruelly thinned by misfortune, and principally by the crowning catastrophe at Wairau. But in future days tho citizens of Nelson will .always remember with prido and sorrow the names of William Curling Young, George Ryecroft Richardson, Patchett, Cottorell, and others now no more, who assisted the first steps of the infant settlement with their manly energies. ' It is evident that the founding members of tho New Zealand Company were enthusiasts, imbued with the ideals of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, their leader, and that they communicated their ideals and enthusiasms to their sons, not a few of whom came to New Zealand with the ships of the first and formed the backbone of the new colonies. Edward Jerningham Wakefield was one of these bold young spirits, who played so active a part in establishing the cities of Wellington, Nelson, Wanganui and New Plymouth. The pen-portrait which E.J.W. draws of his uncle, the founder of Nelson, is very pleasing. He says:

If I speak of my own lamented uncle, Arthur Wakefield, to say that he watched over their united efforts (the efforts of the enthusiastic young colonists, to whom we have referred) and guided their expanding strength as' though they had been one family and he. their father or their elder brother, it is because I feel sure of being supported to the whole extent of the statement by every colonist who was under his care. He seemed to work all things among them according to his own will, by wielding a gentle parental authority; and they to follow his advice and suggestions, through a feeling of filial respect and love. When I relate that to .this happy art of persuading men to adopt a certain line of conduct, as though of their own unaided conviction, and by the softest strings of human nature, he added the great share of prudence, energy, and coolness in emergency, which was necessary to choose the line to be adopted; and when I say that in the most harassing circumstances his calm and commanding voice was never known to use an oath or a harsh word, I am sure that every officer in the Navy of his country will answer, that he could do no otherwise.

The Maoris, who came into contact with Captain Wakefield, were attracted by his personality as greatly as were the Europeans. His nephew says: "I have often fallen in with a travelling Maori (in the North Island) who had been describing: to a large audience the soft tongue and; great heart of Wide-awake (as the Maoris called Captain Wakefield) across the sea." From his nephew's description it is possible to form a- fairly correct idea of Captain Wakefield. His was evidently a very lovable character. He was quiet, gentle, strong, resourceful, a.leader of men who sought to lead by persuasion and suggestion rather than by force and command. We have the evidence, of Alfred Domett that Captain Wakefield's authority, rested in his personality rather than in his office, and that he was held in the highest esteem and respect by the settlers under his charge, . not because of any fear of the authority vested in him, but because of their affection for a. leader so capable and so lovable. It is difficult ,to realise that he lived in Nelson less than a year and eight months, before he met his violent death at the Wairau, and that in that short time he had founded the Nelson Settlement so securely that it was able to survive the loss of its founder and those who died with him, and

complete the plan of colonisation which he had begun to put into operation, in spite of innumerable difficulties, hardships, and disappointments, not the least of which was the turpitude or the Government of the day, which callously refused to give the settlers protection against savages such as Rauparaha and liangihaeata, and discountenanced the colonists' preparations to defend themselves. That the Nelson settlers were able to triumph, in spite of such discouragements, shows that, like their lost leader, they were filled with the great courage, and were inspired with the high idealism which, characterised him.