EARLY SURVEYORS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 15 April 1939, Page 9

EARLY SURVEYORS

SAMUEL STEPHENS FOUNDING OF RIWAKA AND MOTUEKA MONKKRIXfi DAYv “T RIWAKA < By Robert Pallic) No record of the early settlement of Riwaka can be complete without special reference being made to Mr and Mrs Samuel Stephens. Mr Stephens was one of the expedition surveyors who arrived with Captain Arthur Wakefield and took part in founding the City of Nelson and was placed in charge of the survey parties j and others who did the primary work j ir founding the settlements of Riwaka and Motueka. Very few will know that] the first foundation work in the founding of Motueka was directed by Mr 1 Stephens from Riwaka. Records left by Mr Stephens state j that by the beginning of June 1842. stir- | vey operations were in progress. Mr I Thos. Brunner, surveyor, with Mr C. - Pelicket, assistant, and six men were I working in Motueka and the main party under Mr Stephens and Mr Torlese as assistant, were engaged surveying Riwaka. Mr Stephens also states] that on the 23»-d June. 1844. he agreed . with Messrs Mickle and Fry to pit- 1 saw timber for building stations at the; Maaitu (Motueka4. Thus it is clear that! Motueka was founded from Riwaka 95; EARLY SURVEY WORK Mr Stephens had completed the suv-1 vey of Riwaka and Sandy Bay prior to| the 30th September 1843. On this date he terminated his engagement with the New Zealand Company and his survey party was disbanded from that date. Mr Stephens by this time, although a young man was in failing health: hav- i ing developed a great liking for the Ri-i waka Valley he took up a portion of what is now the Dehra Doon estate! which at that time included most ofj the level land on the north b*nk of : he j Riwaka river. Mrs Stevens had arrived o- Riwaka i on the 25th November. 1842. They had J timber pitsawed and a home built, near a fine block of native bush. This, similar to so much of our beautiful native bush, has since disapoeared. Here Mr and Mrs Stephens settled down to liver the life of typical country gentlefolk j of the early Victorian era. Mr Steph-} ens being possessed of considerable j means started operations on a fairly I large scale to improve h>« property.) He had in his employ from time to time most of Riwaka’s first pioneers. The late Mr Henry Fry was his first, manager. Mr Fry left Mr Stephens’* employ to commence work on a farm | of his own. being one of the first to! move from the Riwaka Valiev out on to} what was then known as “The Plain." My father followed Mr Fry as manager j of Mr Stephens' propei'y ard contin- j tied to manage the estate up till after! the time of Mr Stephens’ death which ! took place in Nelson in 1854 or 1855. j The estate was then sold to the Roch- i forts who sold out to the late Colonel 1 Thepie Thomas, the fine old military! gentleman who was later accidentallyj killed by being thrown out of a conveyance in High street. Motueka enns-f ed by a bolting torse FIRST DOMESTIC j Mr Stephens's estate was known I throughout the early days of Riwaka! as “The Farm" it being the only pro-j perty at that time possessing domestic' animals in limited numbers. These ani-j mais came from New South Wales., They consisted of cattle, sheep and j goats. All of the stock throve remark-, ably well but the eoats acting up to

mm■■■■■■m■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ their ancient traditions proved to be the bane of everyone's life who *it- ’ tempted to control them. Being essentially a creature of the wilderness almost impossible to fence either in or out. much more in their element on rough steep rocky country than in cul- ' tivalcd paddocks they found to their delight a goat paradise adjacent to the ■ farm in the Riwaka Valley. "THE GOATS CAME BACK" Shortly after the first winter frost the j goats would disappear into the wilds of the inaccessible mountains and there j amidst perfect surroundings for them .they would spend the winter months. ; A fine crop of lusty kids made their 1 appearance while the mothers were in the bush. The goats were lacking in j society etiquette inasmuch that they I never announced the date of their return to civilisation, but very early some morning after genial spring weather had j prevailed for some time, the farm popuI lation would arise to begin their daily duties and soon realise to their loss and j vexation that the goats had come home, j The fruit trees were barked, the vegej table garden was bare ground, and the ! flower garden a wreck. If any wash- | mg had been left on the line or any of | the children’s clothes or socks left on the fence to air or dry, all were pulled clown and chewed to fragments, resulting in as many curses being bestowed on the goats as ever there was Israeli tish sins carried away into the wilderine by their scape goat in ancient ! times. It was decided that the goats i were unprofitable, destructive stock ! and they were to be got rid of as soon j as possible, but the goats themselves I solved the difficulty by taking to the I hills one winter and never again comi ing home. They founded the goat , population which now infest the mounj tains from Collingwood away many miles to the south where they even outr'vni the deer in tne far-reaching deduction being wrought among our native hill forests. Mr and Mrs Stephens took a very 1 kindly interest in the Riwaka pioneers j who as long as Mr Stephens lived the I pioneers regarded them as being their j benefactors and lenders. Mr Stephens I supplied the pioneers with foundation | stocks for their farms on easy terms. . The firs, team of horses to enter Riwaka j w bought on Mr Stephens’ behalf by . my father from the pioneer. Mr Mcßae, Mho formerly owned a considerable

slice of Richmond now occupied by the Special School and adjacent properties. FINE RESIDENCE DESTROYED During or about 1850 Mr Stephens had built what was for the early days a very superior residence situated on a commanding site on his estate. The ruins of this building were to be seen not many years ago. From this site could be seen a beautiful panoramic view looking down the Riwaka Valley and out over Tasman Bay to the distant blue hills above and beyond NelThe carpentering work connected with the building of this house was supervised by the late Mr David Goodall, who excelled in panelling, fine finishing, and stair-case building. Several rooms in this house were beautifully panelled with mottled totara, while the stair-case was a masterpiece. The late Mr Thos. Rowling did the whole of the masonry work required in the building in his usual perfect manner. As is the usual case when houses are designed and built one or more errors are commonly made. Mr Stephens to more closely emulate the country houses in Hampshire, his native county, had his new house thatched. This was a fatal mistake as much of our New Zealand firewood can send very live sparks up the chimneys. One night, sometime after the household had retired to rest, the thatched roof took fire, quickly reducing the whole house with its beautiful contents to ashes. The loss of his new house and all it contained was a serious disappointment to Mr Stephens who was in failing health at the time. He gave my father full charge of the estate, he and Mrs SteDhens going over to live in retirement in Nelson, where he passed away a few years later. Mrs Stephens returned to England where she lived to be quite an old lady, retaining her interest to the last in the Riwaka pioneers with some of whom she corresponded for many years. There was no family. CAMPING AT KAITERITERI It is worth recording that even during those early days Kaiteriteri v/as a favourite seaside resort. Mr Stephens owned what was for many years known as “Stephen’s Bay.” the first little bay next to the tapu ground. Mr and Mrs Stephens accompanied by Mrs Stephens’s maid regularly camped at this bay for several weeks during the late summer season, so camping at Kaiteriteri is not a late development.