JOURNAL

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 57, 4 July 1846, Page 3

JO URN AL

Kept by Two British Oiticers, on their Overland Route fkom Wellington to Auckland.*-*-1816. Wellington, March 16.— Owing to the state of affairs on the Hutt, theie was considerable difficulty in getting natives to go up the coast ; however, by the influence of the llev. Mr. G , missionary, at Waikanae, we succeeded in engaging four natives to go as far as Wanganui. 17th.-*-Started at half-past eight, a.m., in company with the Rev. Mr. G— — , on our road to Wanganui. At about eleven, arrived at Johnson's clearing on the Porirua road, where about 40 of the Volunteer Militia were stationed, under the command of Captain Clifford, and were constructing a stockade as a protection to the few settlers in the neighbourhood* The road thus far is good— afterwards there is a mere bush path to Jackson's ferry, fourteen miles from Wellington, at the extremity of the Porirua harbour. We got a boat, and proceeded about four miles to the Whaling Station, where we halted for the night< There were several natives at this place, who said that they had been on the Hutt while the soldiers were firing, and who seemed to think it rather a good joke. They described the way they avoided the balls, and gave the soldiers credit for being very bad shots. 18th. — After breakfast, went to Rauparaha's pah at Parramata, about a mile further along the beach. Rangihaeata was in the pah close at hand, but did not make his appearance, and we had no wish to pay a visit to that amiable individual. We stopped at Rauparaha's place for about half an hour, and found him very civil, although his countenance is a true index of the treachery of his character, for which he has ever been distinguished among the natives. He had only a few men with him, and had rather a singular appearance, being clothed in a dirty mat, and his grey hair adorned with two peacock's feathers. There was a human jaw-bone lying before him, which we were rather curious to know the meaning of. He gave us a letter to Heuheu, at Taupo, of which the following is a translation :— " Friend Heuheu, — This letter is from your father. Listen to me. I have put away this disturbance that good may come among men. My son, there is no one of authority, save you, myself, and Te Whero-Whero. Listen to this letter. My son, these foreigners are going to see you. Let your love for them be great These foreigners have come from England. They belong to me, [to the Queen, and the Governor. This word is enough from me to you. "From Te Rauparaha." The disturbance he referred to, related to tl\e affair at the Hutt, about which it is doubtful whether, he is not playing a double game. He also dictated a letter to his son at the Bishop's College, and to the Bishop. On leaving Porirua, we proceeded seven miles through wood, and then came out on a shingly beach, along which we went for about four miles, and then along a good beach for about ten miles to Waikanae. The native church is well worth seeing, as an example of maori ingenuity. It is 40 feet long by 30 broad ; the ] inside is neatly fitted up with reeds, and a kind of ara- ' besque painting on the wood work, has a good effect, l and is executed with some taste. 19th. — The natives we hired at Wellington to go to Wanganui, changed their minds, and refused to go on. Remained the whole day at Waikanae, being unable to get carriers, as the natives were giving a feast to 300 people, who had come from the south side of Cook's Straits, about Queen Charlotte's Sound ; there were several pigs, and six canoes full of flour and sugar, besides potatoes and kumeias, laid out on the beach. However, about live o'clock, we succeeded in persuading four men to go on to Otaki, ten miles distant. At Waikanae, we saw a most extraordinary looking being, a white man ■with red hair ; we were with difficulty convinced that he was not an European, but Mr. G— — said that he was a true maori. 20th. — The men we got at Waikanae not being willing to go on, we engaged with some Taupo natives, who happened to ho starting, to take our baggage on to W anganui. They had brought pigs down for salej intending to go to Wellington ; but owing to Rangihaeata having stopped the road at Porirua, they were obliged to sell them at Otaki for very small prices. Raugihaeata had a notice stuck up on the hill above Porirua, piohibiting pigs and cattle going on to Wellington — as he said, war was going to commence, and the soldiers should not be led. The country as far as Otaki seems to be thickly populated, as there are several large pahs ; but they bay, that a great part of the population of

Waikanae is about to remove to Taranaki, from whonce they formerly came. We only got on about ten miles this day, and halted at a place called Waiwetu, where theie were the remains of some deserted whares. 21st. — Tbe natives would not move on to day. An European employed in the Whale fishery said, if we came back to Otaki, he would get a crew and take us to Wanganui in a few honrs. We went back with him but had our walk for nothing, as he could not get a crew. 22nd.— Remained at Waiwetu. The natives began to get troublesome by continually begging for tobacco. The principal chief of the party, Ehare took a piece of green stone out of our box, and was going quietly to appropriate it to his own private use, when, one of us squeezed it amicably out of his hand, which lie took in very good part, asking us to give it to him when we got to Taupo, which we agreed to. 23rd. — Started at half-past seven along the beach : on our way met an European servant of Mr. R' 's, a settler at Manawatu, going towards Wellington. "■'While he was talking to us, the natives took the opportunity of picking his pocket of tobacco, &c. It was very amusing to see his face when he found it out, as he had just before been boasting of his knowledge of the natives, and seemed to pity our helpless situation among such a set of thieves and rogues, as the Taupo natives have the character of being. After a twelve miles walk, wearrived at the Manawatu river. The man that ferried us over' was named by the Bishop, " Wellington," as he had been a great warrior in his youth. His native name however, wasKai Tangata, by which it would seem that his prowess in man-eating was as great as in fighting. He had now adopted the more civilised occupation of keeping a ferry, and extorting a price for crossing his river, that would shame even a Gravesend waterman. We were hospitally received here by Mr. It , a retired officer of the Indian navy, who recovered in the climate of New Zealand the health he had lost by a long residence in the Tropics. He told us, that three years before, he had gone overland to Auckland, by way of Taupo, in company with a Mr. Harrison, a Surveyor of the New Zealand Company, and that at a place named Rotorua, they had been robbed of every thing by a chief named Te Wetu and three others. They were in considerable danger of their lives but were protected by the chief Heuheu, at Taupo, who kept them for a week, in order to try and get back their clothes, in which he was not successful. They afterwards got to Kawhia, on the west coast, in a miserable plight, and were two months getting to Auckland from Taupo. 24th. — Very rainy day. Remained at Mr. R 's 25th.— Still raining. A chief we named the " Ogre," from his size and ugliness, came this day to try and get a native slave boy, who was dying of consumption at Dr. B— 's house, about half a mile trom Mr. R 's in order to take him to Taupo with him. The poor boy had heard him and refused to go, as he said that they had taken a sick boy with them before and left him to die on the road. Dr. B— , with great humanity, had kept the boy for some time without the knowledge of the natives, or they would assuredly have taken him by force. 26th.— The natives suddenly came to the determination of starting at twelv? o'clock, when we went about six miles only, and halted among the sand hills. 27th.— Went six. miles to Rangitiki river, where there were remains of a pah ; some good pasture land near it, Mr. R 's cattle run extends to the river, and he' has sixty head on it, he pays rent for it to the natives. At about nine miles further on we stopped for the night on the beach. 28th. — Moved off at daylight six miles to the Turekina river, which is dangerous, on account of quicksands. Mr. Mason, a Missionary, at Wanganui, was drowned here about three years ago, while trying to cross it on horseback. Three miles further on we forded the Wangaehu, which was nearly five feet deep, and after a walk of nine miles arrived at Wanganui, one hundred and ten miles distant from Wellington. Near Wanganui some men passed us, carrying the remains of a man who had been drowned crossing the bar, a few days before, nothing remained but the head and hands, the rest having been destroyed by fish. We slept at. the, Rev. Mr. T 's house, who was kind enough to accomodate us. 29th. & 30th. — Rainy weather, unable to move out. May Ist. — Went across to the -so t called town of Wanganui, which consists at present of some tenor twelve small houses, and a rather pretty little wooden church. It seems placed in a good situation, although from there being a dangerous bar, there is little chance of vessels of any size getting up to it. The inhabitants however already talk of cutting a canal, the chances of which, in the present state of affairs, seem very remote. 2nd.— Went over to see Mr. B— , a settler, who has got a good deal of land in cultivation. He lives about two miles up the river ; and by his energy and perseverance, has succeeded in overcoming considerable opposition, both from' the natives and from the nature of the giound he has to cultivate, and has now his farm in a nourishing state, with very little assistance except from his own strong arm. Mr. T— — spoke to a Chief, one of the i principal men at Taupo, named Herekeikei, who was going to start next day, and we made a bargain with,, him to give us four men to carry our baggage to Itotorua, for £5. 4s. He told us that he was one of the most deceitful natives he knew, but that he would treat us well. He added, also, that he had been informed that he himself was only going a few miles up the river, and that he would strike off to the left, by a path w'lich leads to a pah called Waitotara, on the coast, intending to surprise it. The natives at Waitatora had been informed of his intention, and were fully prepared for him, and would most likely annihilate him and his people, as they had done his father and 50 of his men some years before. 3rd.— Poled up the river about eight miles, the banks on either side level, for a mile or so inland all the way, and seemed very fertile — covered mostly with fern and shrubs, and some few trees. 4th.— Heavy rain, the river much flooded. Sth.'-rContinued rain and flood. 6th. — The rain having cleared off, but still flood in the river, we started ; the river shut in by ranges of high bare hills on either bank ; , passed two large pahs ; we landed vat Kanihiui, about nine miles, where there was a large pah and considerable number of natives ; the pall is built on a very strong position on the top of a hill. 7th. — Flood too heavy to move on. Bth. — Still heavy flood; the natives had a secret consultation, which we suspected related to what Mr. T told us at Wanganui. 9th. — Some of the natives asked us this morning for powder and caps, on which we told them that if they went to Waitotara they would most likely come badly off, as they were prepared for them. They seemed greatly surprised, and were very cuiious to know our informant. After a little talk, they said they would move on, and that by and by they would come down to Waitotara. They said they would have eaten them, if they got the better of them, and offered us some of the j flesh, which we fancied was an idle boast. They had | only four or five guns, but I believe they would have got others at the pah; and we were informed, that they had forty baskets of dried kumeras, (a favorite food on a war expedition). We then embarked, and proceeded on our voyage up the nver, still among high hills, which now became wooded, and the scenery very fine. There were several rapids, winch required a good deal of labour to get up. At nightfall we landed at the foot of Taupiri, a mountain, visible eighty or ninety miles off. 'Iheiv

was a small pah there ; the old chief of which lamented the bad situation of his village between the hills, as he saw so little of the sun, and said he would prefer living' on the coast. 10th.— Went about two miles further up, when we halted at a large pah, it being Good Friday. 11th. — The river at this place was running like a mill race, and with great difficulty we got up the rapid ; however, we got seven or eight miles up by means of pulling ourselves along by the brandies on the banks, and poling, and landed at a potato field, where the whole tribe set to work digging potatoes and building warrcs, which they did in a very short time. In the night itvame oil a gale, and blew down most of the wanes — Ours 'among the number. 12th. — Heavy thunder-storm during the night. The old priest praying to the lightning the greater part 'of the night. 13th.— Received a letter from Mr. T— — , who had gone up the river before us, recommending us to return to Wanganui, and go up the coast, as the rivers in the interior were very much flooded. 14.— '■ The rain having fallen about ten feet during the night, we went on at two miles distance ; passed Operiki, a large fortified pah, from which there is a path to Taupo. The liver is still picturesque and wooded, but the sameness of the scenery becomes tiresome, as the hills seem never ending. Proceeded five miles further to Ikurangi, which appears to have been a large pah ; there is a path to Taupo from the opposite side of the river. % 15th. — Difficult rapid near this place;, the banks now become a good deal cultivated, and so on till we reach Pukeika, a large settlement, on the spur of a hill over the river, .with a good deal of cultivation all about it, and would make a fine spot for an European village. We did not stop, there, as - the .inhabitants were not very friendly to.the Taupo peopl°, but went across to Pateareho, another large settlement on the opposite side. ■ (To be continued in our next.)