REPORT OF THE EXPEDITION.

New Zealand Gazette and Wellington Spectator, Volume I, Issue 30, 7 November 1840, Page 3

REPORT OF THE EXPEDITION.

WHICH PROCEEDED TO .TAUANAKI BY LAND-. TO THE SURVEYOR-GENERAL. < Sir, — I have the honour to inform you of our return from Wanganui and Taranaki. As the principal object of our journey was "to collect such information of the nature of the soil and general resources of the country as might be most useful to the colonists," and as our knowledge of the nature of the country between Port Nicholson and Nga Motu, previous to this expedition, was very general and imperfect, the route between the two places having been but rarely traversed by white persons, it may be the more desirable that our report should be in the form of a narrative of our journey, accompanied by such information relative to the Company's districts and the surrounding country, and tne means of internal communication, .as we were able to procure. On the 27th August, in obedience to our instructions, we left the Company's storehouse at Petoni ; the expedition consisted of Messrs Park and myself, assistant surveyors, and Mr. Heaphy, draughtsman to the New Zealand Company ; Mr. Deans, a volunteer on the occasion, and six men to carry our blankets and provisions. We had the advantage of Mr. E. J. Wakefield's company and assistance as far as Wanganui. The road to Porirua from Port Nicholson is > through the bush, and for the first eight miles a succession of hills ; at this point the highest elevation is attained, and a commanding view presents itself of the Porirua valley and river with the sea in the extreme distance ; the path now leads down the side of the hill through the valley, crossing the Porirua fourteen times. The valley is well but not very heavily timbered, and the soil very good; the stream is in no place where we forded it more than six yards wide or knee deep. On the following day when we reached the arm of the sea into which the Porirua falls, and which is geuerally considered as part of- the river, it was high water, which lengthened our walk considerably ; from this point to where the river communicates with Porirua Bay the distance is from three to four miles, and the width at this place from three quarters of a mile to a [mile; at low water it is much narrower. Near the whaling station another arm of the I Porirua river runs for a considerable distance ! .inland iv a nor-th-easterlyjdirectioi^, The dis^a tance Irom Petoni to Capt Daniell's whaling station is about twenty miles. Here we were hospitably entertained by Lieut. Thomas, and remained for the night, and on the following day we resumed our journey ; at first the road skirts the N. E. shore of the Porirua harbour, we then turned off to the right into the bush ascending a hill till we came to a small piece of open ground covered with fern ; on passing this we re-entered the wood and crossing a small stream at the foot of the hill, continued our way until we reached the potatoe grounds on the hill at Puki Rua: here the natives have an extensive clearing from which there is a very picturesque view of the island of Kapiti. The pah of Puki Rui, of which Tunia, or Wild Fellow, is chief, is a short distance beyond the potatoe grounds on a hill near the beach to which the pathway now' descends. The beach is stony and rugged: beyond Puki Rua are two projecting points of rock which are washed by the sea at high water, the last one having a rude opening or natural archway, through which we passed, and arrived at Pari Pari, a small pah situated on a natural terrace close to the shore, and about twelve miles from Porirua, where we | remained for the night. From Pari Pari to Waikauai, a distance of eight miles, the road lies along the beach : from Puki Rua to Pari Pari the hills rise abruptly from the shore, but at this point they trend inland. We passed Puki Karite, a deserted pah ; the next pah to this is the Wai Nui, by the side of a small stream of the same name ; beyond this is a Wari Rua, a small pah on a hill by the side of a stream rather wider than the Wai Nui; next to this Wari-Moka, the pah of Wide Awake ; then Urui, a small pah with a stream of the same name, after passing which we arrived at Waikanai, and crossing the river stopped at Arapawaite, a small pah on the east bank of the river, and a quarter of a mile beyond the principal pah. It was just beyond this place that the battle commenced which was fought between the natives at Waikanai, the Ngate-awas, and the people from Otaki, the Ngate-raukawas, shortly before the arrival of the " Tory ;" since then it has been nearly deserted by the natives, who have concentrated themselves in the principal pah, which is the largest we had the opportunity of The population we were informed was about seven hundred; of these the proportion of children to adults is very small, and very few of the former are under twelve years of, a!ge. It had rained heavily during tlte day, and when we arrived at Waikanai our clothes were completely, wet through : in the afternoon I

called on the Rev. Mr. Hadfield, the church missionary at this place, from whom we received every attention. The next morning we left Waikanai for Otaki, crossing in a canoe the rivers Waikanai and Waimea at their confluence, the road lay along the beach ; we passed the Kuku-tawake, a small stream about 2^ miles from our starting point, and half a mile further the Maihia. which flows to the beach in two small branches about five hundred yards apart, and arrived at Otaki, a distance of 12 miles from Waikanai. From beyond Pari Pari to Otaki, and indeed to Wanganui, the land near the beach is all sand, after passing the sand the land about Waikanai is light, improving in proportion to its nearness to. the hills which are not at this more than from three to five miles distant from the shore j beyond the Kuku-tawake the the hills recede further inland, trending E.S.E., and afterwards to the N.E., leaving a considerable portion of flat land, about 20,000 acres, in the neighbourhood of Otaki covered, towards the hills, with pine, totara, und other valuable woods. Between the hills i!nd the rivet,^n the immediate vicinity of the pah, the natives have cleared a good deal of the land, and brought it under cultivation, and the view from the principal pah in this direction is exceedingly interesting, the cleared land contrasting its bright and vivid green with the sombre hue of the surrounding wood, and having almost the appearance of a bit of English landscape transported to the foot of the New Zealand hills. On. our return 1 had the opportunity of passing through a portion of it by a mouri path leading this way to the beach ; it appeared to be of the best description, and I am informed that wheat, barley, and species of pink clover grow wild there in great profusion. On arriving at Otaki we crossed the r^ver opposite a small 1 pah, built on the further bank ; at this point j it may be nearly two hundred yards wide at ! high water. The principal pah, which is very considerable, and next in size and importance to Waikanai, is about three quarters of a mile from this. It is built on a hill, which seems i to be a favorite situation, the natives always | availing themselves of some rising ground, or commanding eminence whereon to build . their pahs, whenever the district in which f ihey live will allow of it. At this place we had the use of Mr. Hatfield's house, which is' ; about a quarter of a mile beyond the principal pah ; he had written to his boys directing require. Wata-nui is thecfiief of Otaki, "but he generally resides at Orewenua, a small pah about nine miles distant. The following morning we continued our journey, passing the Wai-to, a small stream about one mile from Otaki, and two miles further the Wai-e-rongo-mai (literally, water listen to me) and arrived at Waikawa, about five miles from our last resting place. As it was high water, and the wind was blowing rather fresh, we determined to remain here for the rest of the day. There are two rivers at this place, the Waikawa running from the the south, and the Ohau from the north, these unite near the beach, and flow to the sea in one channel half-way between the two pahs, which are about a mile apart. The Ohau is the larger of the two rivers ; it winds very much in its course, and about a mile from the beach may be twelve yards wide : near the beach and towards its junction with the Waikawa the ground in the neighbourhood of its banks is very flat, so that at high tide a considerable extent of it is covered with water ; at low water we ford3d the river half a mile beyond the pah, and found it not deeper than to our waist, though opposite to the pah is six or seven feet deep. As we were detained at both places, I had the opportunity of going some distance inland through the potatos grounds of the natives ; the land in the immediate neighbourhood of both pahs is sandy but improves at a mile from the beach; the potatoe grounds at the Waikawa are in small patches in the fern or in the wood, hut the soil appeared very light. The potatoe grounds at Ohau are situated on the banks of the river, the soil is better than at Waikawa, having been formerly covered with wood, but is still light. It may not be considered altogether extraneous to our report to mention the cause of our detention at Waikawa, which was rather whimsical in its nature, and characteristic in its result. In the evening we had been surrounded by many of the natives (as was the usual custom when we rested at a pah,) they had been giving us information respecting different places on our route, singing their wyates or native songs, and indulging in their j wonted easy familiarity of intercourse with the pakeha. The following morning, when on the point of starting, we found that three shot belts; one shoe, one stocking, and other articles had been taken, including also as they themselves afterwards informed us sixty heads -of tobacco. On this a korero ensued : — we insisted on immediate restitution, declaring we would not leave the place until the ra\ss-

ing articles were returned, and among other arguments used to enforce compliance, we told them, that if they persisted in retaining our property, on our return to Port Nicholson we would give the place a bad name, and no Englishman would in future visit them. This appeared to give great concern to the chief, a mild looking man, who promised to do all In ' his power to obtain for us our property, but the men who had taken the things he said, were not under his control, and had gone to their potatoe grounds up the country. During the day many of the articles were brought back, one by one, and laid on a canoe by the side of each other. 'In the evening the chief mounted a raised stage and made a long speech urging the natives to bring back those things that hadnot yet been returned,* telling them that these pakehas were different from the pakehas along the coast, and were not angry or violent as they were. The following morning every thing was returned but a portion of the tobacco, and utu was demanded for restitution. This. we refused, as, we had still a long journey before us,' and the news of it preceding us might act as a premium on a repetition of the offence. We therefore proceeded on to Ohau, and waited for the remainder of the day there for pigs and potatoes which the natives of that place brought us from their potatoe grounds. Two miles from Obau we crossed the Wai-wira, a small stream with a pah on its banks, about a quarter of a mile from the beach, behind the sand hills ; and a mile further the Orewenua ; at the pah oil this stream, as I have before mentioned, Wata-nui the chief of Otaki, generally resides: three miles from Orewenua is the Wai-te-rawa, another small stream, and five miles beyond we arrived on the banks of the Manewatu river. The road lay along the beach which from the Wai-wiri to the Manewatu is covered with driftwood, principally large trees of totaraand pine that have floated down the riverj and we saw a greater quantity of drift wood in this distance than in twice the same extent of any part of the coast during our subsequent journey. The Manewatu is one of the most considerable rivers on this part' of the coast, and if not superior to the Wanganui is hardly second in size or importance to that river. • 'It -was a little after the turn of high tide Kvheri " we reached its banks, the river appeafed'^o ;be about three hundred and fifty yards^across^ at %11 - spring,, tides it 'may f j|>e. ,o^:^u»dredl. yards vkpfr: T' -* : A- few -riakrVeSWre -for innately in the. pah ;on seeing us they launched' their canoes, and ferried us over to the opposite side on which the pah is built. Tins is not very large, and seems to be used chiefly as a fishing station, their principal pah is at some distance up the river, near to their cleared grounds and potatoe fields. The banks are strewed with great quantities of drift Wood, a great portion of it totara, of which .wood the fence of the pah is composed; this is the most massive of any I have seen, many of the posts being at least twenty feet out of the ground and twenty inches in diameter. On landing we observed large pieces of blubber lying on the ground, which the natives had cut off from a whale that had washed ashore, and which they intended to use as food. Inside the pah were some eel pots, called by the natives hinaki, hanging on the fence ; they were about four feet long and two feet six inches in diameter, and made of a species of ground creeper or root called teaka. During the night it rained heavily, with a strong gale from the west. It may not be amiss to state here the information I received at different places about this river. It has its rise according to the natives at Rangitiki at or near a place called Rotuataaraa, in the district of the Erratongwa, in the. country of the Ngate-kahuni, and flows through the open country between the ranges of the Tararua and the Rua-wahine to the west coast; near its source another river called the Tuki-'tuki rises, and flowing in an opposite direction falls into the sea at Our id i, on the eastern coast. This information was confirmed as to the Manewatu by a native at Wanganui, who Mr. Matthews kindly examined for me on this and other points, and who was said to be well acquainted with that part of the country. He added that at Rotua-taarea was a large lake celebrated for its eels, to which the natives of Manewatu were accustomed to resort ; that there is a way or mouri path from the Manewatu not far from this place to the Tararua range, and thence to the Erratongwa, and that canoes can go up tl c river the whole distance to the point where tl c mouri path commences. The natives at Waikawa also informed us of the mouri path leading from the Manewatu to the Tararua. They all agree in stating that the land is very good and level, in some places clear and open, in other parts covered with totara, pine, and other valuable native woods. When "at WaLkanai on our homeward journey I found Mr. Hadfield had just returned four days previous from Jen excursion forty miles up the Manewatu

to Te-rewa-rewa, a pah of which Te-Ota is the chief. He described the course of the river as extremely winding, at one part in particular it takes a wide sweep of several miles, returning again to within a hundred yards oi the same spot ; through this narrow tongue the natives have dug a small channel connecting the two portions of the river, through which they drag their canoes, and probably at some extraordinary rise or sudden fresh the river, may break through this little isthmus, if I may so terra it, and form an island of this part. The banks towards the sea are low and sandy, near the bank on the south side is a range of of low sand hills; beyond, the land improves, and becomes very rich, occasionaly intersected by swamps; further inland the banks are higher, and as has been mentioned, covered with the most valuable native woods.. The river is stated in no part of this distance to be less than eighty yards wide, deep in the centre, and flowing with a strong current. The natives in ascending the river kept close to the bank on either side to avoid the current. Mr. Hadfield also ascended the Orowa, a tributary stream falling into Manewatu near Te rewa-rewa, a distance of ten miles from its junction with the main river, and he describes the land on its banks as being equally rich and valuable. From the Manewatu there is said to be an easy communication with Hawke's Bay on the opposite coast; ascending the river for six days in a canoe, and then travelling by land for four or five days' more: — the land is stated to be level the whole way ; the natives at Waikawa say there is also a road from Manewatu to Wydirup. • The river has a bar at its mouth with six feet , at low water, the tide rising from six to eight ! feet. Fifteen miles up the river a few Europeans are building a small vessel of thirty-five tons. From Manewatu we walked across the sand hills until we regained the beach near the Paramauwe, about five miles from the former place: halfway between this and the next stream, the carcass of a small whale lay on the beach, and on the banks of the Waimauwe two miies from the Paramauwe we saw the carcass of another whale about thirty-five feet long, and a little beyond the skeleton of another whale. I may also mention that on our return we saw the carcass of another whale about three miles from Manewatu, near which the natives had erected stages for the whale- , bone, and for hanging portions of the blubber ; ; it was from this whale the blubber we had teen at Manewatu had been taken: two miles andahalf from the last stream we crossed the Wai-taka, and three miles and a half further arrived at the banks of the Rangitiki. This river at its mouth is about fifty yards wide, and like most of the New Zealand rivers, has a bar at its entrance ; at a short distance from the shore it widens considerably nearly in the form of a circular basin, and beyond this may be *ne hundred yards wide, continuing for some miles of this width. There are two small pahs, one on each bank ; like that at Manewatu they appear to be used by the natives for fishing stations during the summer ; the principle pah near the potatoe grounds being ten miles up the river. The Rangitiki is said by the natives to take its rise at the Para-para, the northern extremity of theßua Wahine range; (according to the natives at Wanganui it has it source at Tonga-rito.) It is broad and very rapid but not deep, it may be forded at low water a short distance above the pahs, and near the principal settlement the river is broken by shallows and small banks into five or six streams. The land in the neighbonrhood of the fishing pahs is mostly covered with sand and pumice stone, and Mr. Matthews of Wanganui, who has visited the principal pah, describes the land near the river to be nearly all sand to within a short distance of the cultivated grounds, and this is the general character of the land between Manewatu and Rangitiki for some miles from the shore. From the fishing pahs the prospect is of a gently undulating kind, and embraces the most extensive and level district we had yet seen. The distant hills below the Tararua and Rua Wahine range which bound the level country are of no great elevation : in the extreme distance, and at the least fifty miles from the coast, Tonga-riro rears his massive head and extended sides covered with snow. This mountain bears due north from the fishing pahs, the northern extremity of the Tararua bearing E. by N., and southern extremity of the Rua Wahine E.N.E. Through this opening between the two ranges as I have before mentioned the Manewatu flows. When we reached Rangitiki there were no natives at the pah, but a few soon joined us from the opposite side, supplying us with .what provisions we required, and taking us across the river in their canoes the following day. These natives are of the Ngate-apa tribe, few in number, and distinct from the other tribes through which we had passed, and from the Wanganui tribes. From Waikanai to Rangitiki we found the water at high tide brackish in all the riven in the neighbour-

hood of the respective pahs. After leaving Rangitiki we continued our journey along the sandy beach, and three miles from that place we saw the carcass of a large whale sixty feet long, which had been recently washed ashore ; the natives had cut the whalebone out of the jaw, and collected it on a raised stage. Two miles further we crossed | the Wai-patiki, and four miles beyond this last stream the Wai-kakai : three miles further we crossed the Wai-kopuku; and encamped for the night among the sand hills by the side of the Wai Mohora, four miles from he Wai-kopuku and sixteen miles from Rangitiki. We arrived at our resting place about sunset, and this evening for the first time we saw Mount Egmont in the extreme distance. The next day two miles and a half from the Mahora we crossed the Turakina, a broad river but not very deep : we forded it at low water, and found it a hundred and sixty yards wide, with a strong current and about three feet deep ; it had a yellow turbid appearance, and felt very cold like snow water ; the banks are very low, and at high tide the width of the river is about three hundred yards. We now crossed the sand hills, and four miles further forded the Wangaiho. This river Jias its rise at the base of the Tonga-riro, and is very similar in its character to that we had previously passed. It is about three hundred yards wide with a strong current, and like the Turakina had the same appearance of being swollen by the melting of the snows near its source ; we found it about four feet deep, the bottom was a soft yielding sand, which with the rapid current made it a matter of some difficulty to keep our footing. Five miles from the last river we reached the Kai-toki which empties itself into the sea by two mouths, and leaving the beach passed the second branch of this little stream a mile from the first, and at length reached a hill from the top of which we looked down on the Wanganui halfway between the mouth of the river and E-kuru's pah. A semicircle of hills extended from the spot on which we stood on the S. £. bank to some high sandy cliffs at the end of this reach of the river, enclosing a large portion of flat and swanpy land covered with fern, flax, and towi towi. Towards the sea were barren sand hills, on the opposite side and to some distance up the river were extensive flats bounded by hills, and covered with fern and towi towi, but with little or no wood. There are several pahs on both sides the river built in a straggling manner alcfjjg its banks. The jßev. Mr. Mason, cKuAb missionary, resides on the S. £. bank near the pah of which Turoa is chief, and Mr. Matthews, the other missionary, on the opposite bank, beyond the pah of E-kuru, who is the principal chief of this district. We crossed the river and slept in a house which E-kuru had built for Mr. Wakefield. It was about sixty feet long and thirty feet wide, and high in proportion, great pains had been taken in its construction, and altogether it was the best and most substantial native wari we had yet seen. The natives at Wanganui since the purchase of their land by the New Zealand Company, have been anxiously expecting settlers among them, and have lately been in some measure preparing for their reception ; a wari of similar dimensions to that in which we slept was nearly finished on the opposite side, and many houses of smaller size were built or were in progress in different parts along both banks. E-kuru informed us also that the Wanganui natives intended to clear more ground, and plant much more this year than they usually did, to supply the pakehas as well as themselves. The whole distance from Port Nicholson to Wanganui is about one hundred and thirteen miles ; from Pukirua the road is mostly along the beach which at low water is hard and firm : we accomplished it in twelve days, in which time is included the two days we were detained at Waikawa and Ohau. , From Mr. Matthews we learnt that a battle had been fought at Wai-totara a short time previous to our arrival, between the people of that pah assisted by their allies from Taranaki, and the natives from the inland district of Taupo. A tribe of the Taupo natives had left their country, accompanied by their wives and children, in a bady, in number one hundred and forty, on a war expedition, determined to exterminate all the tribes along the coast who were missionaries or opposed to the native superstitions and observances; on arriving at Wai-totara they rioted for some time on the pigs and provisions of that tribe, which gave them the opportunity to collect their strength and receive assistance from their friends, so as eventually greatly to outnumber their opponents. Mr. Matthews was present at the engagement ; he went there to endeavour if possible to prevent it, and vainly used every argument to persuade the Taupos to desist and return to their own country. The battle, which took place at pah Tokah, about two miles from E-puka, the principal pah, was very sanguinary in its results, eight

of the Wai-totara natives and their allies were killed and two wounded: of the Taupos only forty escaped alive. Mr, Matthews described the Taupo natives as an exceedingly fine race. We spent three days in surveying the Wanganui from its mouth to Kau Warapaoa, a picturesque pah - very prettily situated at the foot of a high conical hill by the side of a small tributary stream of that name which flows from the neighbouring hills into the river at this point, and which is about twenty four miles from the mouth. We sounded the river the whole of this distance, and Mr. Park has made a careful drawing of it, as well as of the line of coast we traversed, and which if compared with the published maps will be found very valuable and add much to our previous information. The Wanganui is one of the most important rivers on the coast in this division of the island. There is a bar at its entrance with twelve feet at high water. Near the mouth at high tide the river is very wide; the banks are low and covered with drift wood and pumice stone, but they soon become of much higher elevation. ' Between the sand hills on the coast and E-kuru* s pah, there is an extensive flat, the greatest part of which is swampy, and overgrown with fern, flax, &c, but which when drained would become valuable land. Opposite E-kuru's pah which is four miles from the shore, the banks are moderately high, and the river about three hundred and fifty yards wide. On ascending the river the banks increase in height, on the north side for the first four reaches above the place last referred to they are mostly from fifteen to thirty feet high, on the opposite side they are lower. The principal extent of land available for country sections on the banks of the river is contained in these first four reaches, the soil is black, and in many parts deep on a sandy subsoil, and overgrown with fern, tutu flax, &c, ofteu five or six feet high. The last three flats are the most considerable, and contain about three thousand acres; there are swamps of some extent in each, which on a sandy subsoil I was at a loss to account for, but an examination of the strata along the shore when continuing our journey to Waitotara, explained the seeming anomaly ; there appear to be strata of sandy clay which in these parts retain the water and prevent its j soaking into the earth : the little rills and water courses which find their way from the surrounding hills are choked up by the vegetation andjrther causes, and overflow the ground near their banks, but. there is a fall from the hills to the river, and the banks are sufficiently high to fender the drainage neither very difficult nor expensive. The hills which enclose the flat ground on either side the river are from seventy to two hundred feet high, the sides are steep and clothed with wood, their tops level and covered with fern ; there are also two groves of pine on the two last flats above mentioned, in one of which some Englishmen are cutting timber to build a vessel of thirty-five tons. We slept the first night of our progress up the river at Topi-topi, where there are a few native huts and an unfinished building intended for a missionary school ; there is some extent of flat land here, and a small wood towards the end of reach. Opposite to Topi-topi is another collection of native huts called Otaura. Near Topi-topi the hills become higher and approach nearer the river, rising alternately from the water on each side, while the flat land on the opposite bank is of no great width, and the quantity diminishes in extent as we approached Kauwarapaoa. We -ascended a very high hill opposite this pah, which commanded a beautiful and extensive view, but there appeared to be little flat land beyond this point except on the immediate banks of the river. The river flows with a strong current at the rate- of four miles an hour, and the average depth is from' one and a half to two fathoms. On our return Mr. Mason told me that during our absence he had visited Pukehake, a large pah four days journey up the river, as the distance from the pah near his house to Kau-warapaoa, about twenty miles, is considered one day's journey, I suppose the whole distance to be between sixty and seventy miles. H e describes the river to be extremely winding in its course and after the first day's journey to be nearly enclosed by the surrounding hills, having very little extent of level land on its banks, that both banks the greatest part of the way are well timbered with pine and other valuable woods. The potatoe grounds are scattered along the banks of the river, and at each cultivated patch, where there is no pah, the family or few families to whom it belongs generally live, coming down to the pahs near the coast when not engaged in planting, and in the summer season to fish. In another month the fish, particularly the kawai, are very abundant in the Wanganui and other rivers on the coast, and continue to be [ so during the summer, ascending the river | with the tide, and the natives catch them in great numbers. [To be continued.]

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