AUCKLAND TO TE AWAMUTU, NOTES BY THE WAY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 541, 7 August 1865, Page 5

AUCKLAND TO TE AWAMUTU, NOTES BY THE WAY.

[Written for tho New Zealand Herald] " The town by the town forgot. 1 ' We started one morning, not very long ago, to visit tho most advanced post of civilized life, To Awamu tu and its s.irroundings It i* n»t our int-nliou to tell everybody what our business was, wejuit might have l)H*m a special commission fo investigate and make all right the present state o r affairs, or wo might hive been of tho clan f-lnomo — anxious to obtain a few preserved pigeons, or an ol 1 w itch from Rewi—or wo might have "been—well, it's nobody'* business what we might have been—we went to look round us—and feeling kin I as on their coronation day, wo will just tell you how we got to To Awimntu, and what \*o saw by the way. Well there is not a great deal to bo sa : d in refinance to our trip from Auckland to Queen*B Redoubt for that district has been very frequently described, nevenhcl ss for the i'tfornwiun of intending travellers we may say that with th« assistance of Cobb and Uo.'s F.ipress we arrived at the redoubt at or about 4 o'clock p m., having left Auckland at 8a m. W» were kindly permitted to pav the s'»m of one pound each for tVn assistance u? bv Messrs. C »bb an«l To. and eonsid-rin' t'ie difficulties of the road, i* i* a re isonable charge 'faring sauntered Hoiv i to Maungatawhiri Creek, we had a go »d vi«»w of the Koheroa, a place which wil niwav* be conn-cted with the name and f »rtu es oi the ga hint x ir Duncan Cameron. It was heret'itt :t regiment of young sol Hers, unused to Maori warfare. a, p a red fo waver for ainojuen when ordered t • harge. It w 1 he in the memory of many how Si Dunc»n obs rving this rushed totheh-nd of the regi ment, with bur a whip in one hand and rap in th» other. gallantly cheered on his young soldiers to th» charge We need hardly say the charge was a most successful one Having gazed upon the scene fr h time, we were reminded that our journev wns not it an end, and a colore i gentleman with hi* boat having made hi*» ai-peurauce. we proce ded down the to tho ►•luff <hir boatman (who by the bye should have had a do *,) was an intelligent son of Africa NVo harnt from him many intere>ti g particulars con eerniug Hie American W»r Heh-ul not Ions; lef America and secme I to very much regret the fill <d I incoin, a d ascribed to him many of the Acts passed f«»r th»» benefit of the col red raeo ITe insisted, how ever, that there wa* a great deal of bunkum mixed up w th the "Northern >ym|»athy with his colour.

The wind ha' ing risen and fill- d our sail, away wc -hot down the stream, our little craft s'ealing through the wate- a - if like the boat of tho Witch o: AtUs, some fairy influent e—

Had lit A liviner spirit "i'hin an iN fmme Breithini; t 'C soul of swiftness into it.

Arrived at the RlutT, liimcrpr dispelled the rommtic haze that had gathered around us, and we mad<

i fierco charge upon an enormous sirloin of roas' provided bv Mr. Walker, tho landlord of the Ulull Hotel. What queer morta's we are. one moment discoursing glibly ab tit the Witch of Atlas nnd fairy influ nee. and the next talking ahout r ast beef

-ucli is life, made up of opposites and extremes It is ve-y fortunate that the propri 'tor of the hotel is n civil nhiel, for wore he a churl he might -end yon next door with a vengeance, but to get there y u would need t > be amphibious, seeing the hotel is ny island entirely surroundef bv water. Surely it ou*ht to be a Temperance Hotel.

Had we been of a musical turn we might certainlv have been tba honor -d quests of a pirty of gallan' m li i imen who wt re e-i rutite for A lexand ra, an : hud determin-d to m-ike a "'liiaht of it" at thISlulT. We had. however, retired <o our bedere 'hese gcntlnnen their "night." Th. ■ ntertnin'jjent was opened by a chorus song: we Ml asleep, but only to start up. think - in® the house had moved from its piers—-ind was bumping against the steamer—but no—it »'«' 'he frightful chorus again. sleep again, and again a spring up. Surely the house is on fire, no, it was ■illy "'night made hideous by the abominabl' 1-horus"—mado up of the f"ll >wing parts: 50 catserenading, <5 cracked human voices, '20 tumblers, a number of g-urulin;-; sounds sonr-t ing like. " Mary Biain." " Funny Fr-iil," rum " -orrow Annie." whiski.y, " -Vorah," half-and-half—and so on—until earh morn made drowsv ihes j sons of night. Then we slept. Ureakfa-t 'n board tlio Motnna puts us into good humor *ri : h ourselves and ev»rybodv else and we were enabled to enjov the rich and vnr ed scen-ry which continuallv presented itself to the eve a we elided quickly and smoothly along the bowm of the now deep Waikito. You may suppose it to be a river with mounta'n banks its bosom studded with smft'l green islmds covered with the most lavish verdure an 1 foliage. Then the ■wooded chores are so near and so and the islands an so munv and so buried in leaves, th'it as your boat runs through the narrow channels, it seems as if rou were floating among rl-uds, tho shadows of the tre=4 in these w iters remin ling ycu of Wordsworth'.swan—every gem of tin island " Foats double, isle and shadow." With these general features, we leave the re°t vour imagination. No doubt the cloudg wdl Boon vanish, for just now it would take a Tan ee shadow to show upon the waters of tbe Waikato; thick and dirtv is the stream. In summer, howev-r, the foregoinir description would not be overdrawn. The Motoua epe i her way on to the old seat of rovaltv, now, to use an Trishism. Fnslified inco New* castle," Here we found friends to welcome up, and not fearing a rep-tition of the diabolical chorus we m ide ourselves snug for the night. The next morning we hid an opportunity of again viewing the Wnikato delta, and alth 'Ugh we do not possess the far-seeing .pint of a fumming, we hesitate not to r.redicf a great future for Ngaruawch a, provide 1 the Waikato settlements are fostered and encouraged. At pr.-sent the opposite course is injuring the country very much. Since last we had the honor of viewing the late residence of his serene highness Potatau, a great na'iv improvements have been made in the township, and many very creditable buildings, public and private, have been erected Most conspicuous amongst the public is the Bank of New Zealand, a very handsome. and, as seen from 'he river, rather imposing building. Having business with the manager of the bank we had an oppoitunity of examining the interior ■ rrangements, and fund them to comport well with the appearance of the cxteri t. W- a'so found the igent to be exceedingly polite and atientive an.i -übsequcntlv learnt from f How trav-tdlr-rs t h ■ t- he is popular in the district, a qualification •vliir-h will doubtless increase the business of the institution. We a so ro'iced that a very neat littlo Church wain course of erection by the 12th Hegimsnt. This building, and the nervines of a faithful pastor, are very much required, for religion 6eemod to us at a very low ebb in Newcastle. Having received a passage to To Bori, by tho [viheroa, we movod on next day for that laving obtained an introduction to the captain, and finding him to be a j< 11* litils J cot<'hinan. we s-on bund"ourselves quire at home notwithstanding the rowled state of t'e Inat. We h <d the honour of I reakfa-iti' g wiih a number of ladies, wives of the <..n9 of w & r w ' l " w "re on th<-ir way to Whatawbata to " trip the light, fantasia " We here noticed an ■ ncident upon whi'h i>am Hick would have built a •'ood storv, but, as we are not in the building line, we give you only tho lact. Whil-t the good ladies ■nioved all the hospitality of our stats cabin, their ordi paced the deck, patiently waiting the second table Who would not be a woman ? From f>owca-tle to tho scenery is really magnificent, and the soil excellent. Wliatawhata townshi" is situnted on a bend of the Wnipi, and about 22 miles from Newcastle. Judging from the vast number of fruit trees around and about \Vhatiwbata, we would cay the 6oil is very prolific, and that at one lime there has been a very large native population in the n< lghbourhood. W hatawhata cossesses a goodly numbe;- of natural advantages, and under a wise Administration would amply repay labour and capital expended there™. At Wlntawhata we w. re kindly entertain, d (not detained) by the resident magistrate, and take this opportunity of expressing our thanks lot both b;es81CUur next port of call was Ngahinapoui, a email post about, eight miles from Whatawhata. Our stav hero was brief. stearring along another eight miles, wo f„und ourselves at To Hon. On our wav up from Newcastl, r-ome of . ur miht.a fnends who had n-t cot over th-ir elnrus, a-d having sore throats, found it necessary to ktep washing them with spirits. One of them, a tall Yankee, who had been rather tree Jiis libations to Bacchus, being desirous of dining ' with the captain and hi» gueate, preeent-ed tunißjlf at

he cabin door, whore he was met by the steward with a most polite hint to change his quarters. Jhe steward, be it remarked, was a gentleman of colour. Phe Yankee fired up: " What! to bo treated thus by a riigger ! Darky," ho sni I, " know you not that I nn Amorican citizen ? ' and looked as if ho expected the hteward to sink int) everlasting obscurity. D irkv knew lie was on t'ritish waters (if not oil), and told the Yankee militi'un n so. Citizen Waik&toman ag.tin flared up. and threatened Darky if ever he caught, him in 1 'Id Virginia or up the Mississippi River, what he wouldn't do to him. Darky showed his ivoi ioand Citizen mov-d. An honest sin of Krin was in ihe mean timo—as if in tho way of contrast—displaying his powers ou " the light 'antastic toe," keeping time to his own music Won't, go home," etc ), alternating the jig with an occasional spin on the dock. At Te Rori we bado goo 1-bye to the master of the ICoheroa, Captain Simpson, but not without regret. ') he o trance to the Te Rori reboubt we found to he almogt a quagmire, and had lit--rilly to stoer our way through it. The rodoubt, a verv strong one, is garrisoned by tho 10th, under ' olonel Nelson. From a little dosertel breastwork, on the top of a rather high hill, about one and a-half miles from Te Hori, we had a fair view of the surroun ing country, and was very favorably impre sed by what wo saw, the 'and apparently being suited for all agricultural pur poses. Tho shades of y ening—however —were gathering close anmnd us—indeed,the dark mantle of night had already begun to enfold the distant hills, and having so ured our steo.ts. thought it advisahle to push on at once for Te Awamutu. Before we got a •nile on our way, it was pitch dnrk and the rain was tumbling down, we will therefore, be excused giving a description of the scenery. On, oil, ov-r hill and lale, through mud and stream sometimes losing our >v iv, and anon i-ticking in =l hole, after a threi h airs ide, tiied, weary, and wet, we found ourselves at awamutu.

Seeking out tho enmp of our old friends, the " JTiekitv-fifth," we found most hospitable quart ts with an old a id highly valued friend, tho ulj ctant of lie regiment, who, placing at our dispose' liiscom'ortable whnr.i, with a supply of wirm clothing, and hi nbundant spiead of £.ood tilings, to n fr*.-h the inner-maii, soon made us fo'get the annoyance of •he past, in tho pleasure- and omfnrts of the present, md indeed, the morning glow worm (if there bo any at Te Awamwtu) had 'gun to a; par E*er nur eyelids snnk for want of rest And slumber ileupcamco'er us. However, morning calls and morning parades soon brought us to our waking senses, and unving partaken of a hearty breakfast, we w.re kindly invited by our host to have a lo k roun t t 0 camp. Th» chief object of attraction to us just • hen was the little graveyard, filled with the graven of many old frion 'B—chief amongst them that of tile 'ate adjutant, of the (>sth regi., Lieut. Lewis, over vhose retinitis the officers and men of the regiment 'live placed a handsome slab This grave, tog ther vith that of the yaUar.t young Chayl"r, is endued !>v a handsome iron rai'ing The 6otli regiment ?o horoughlv uppreci ted their late adjutant that, not sati-fied with erecting a monument to his memory in Vew Zealand, they lia»e forwarded some to his native town to have a momim -nt erected 'here Many brave men of the 6")tli and other regiinents have found an earthly resting-place around the little church which stands in tho centre of the grarov >rd. It is to be hoped that no vnccillating policy of 'he Government will ever give the natives an oppor- ' mitv of desecrating this sacred -pot. The little hurch (the property of ihe Church Mission) has been 'ran-f'rmeil from a mere slcll into one of the pret tie-t little buildings wc Imve seen for some time, '''ho alterations have been effected by the fiotli and 40fh and reflect great credit upon both corps. T;io inner M-ft I? Imre been stainod and varnished, and the whole building has a warm and comfortable appearanceThe little organ (a h irmonium) is played h\ air. 'nness, ind service is conducted by the Rrv Mr. Collins for 'he Episcopal*, and by the Rev. Jlr. Paisley for the Roman Catholics.

I.ea ing the church we stolled abMit the lines, not verv far in truth, for the previous day's rain had rather middled the roads, and t>r a dainty " cit" it wmid have been to travel far, so we returned to enjov agam the bounties of our host. The w,-ather in tho meantime had ihvged from wet to fr 'st, and the roads had dried up so quickly, we were enabled to stroll away from camp towards Hangiawhia, a post between three and four miles distant from To Awamutu. On a floe day a more pleasant walk coull not "Hsilv be found.

Thi country all about here is etccedinglv :ich and •Vtile, and gave evidence of having been frequently ■ultivated. The Comniie»amt department with the view of prndding forago for tho horses in their sorvice and in the service of the the tro -ps generally, fenced in and cultivated a larg ■ tract of land near To Awsmntu. These cultivations gave a homely aid English appearance to the country. About a mile and a half from tho camp we had an excellent view of Te Awamutu. Ihe suu in his mid-day strength ■ihone full upon the camp, giving to the little church a golden spire, nn I 1 ghting up the windows of the vhare? ns if their iumates were preparing a grand illumination.

Te Awaniutu presents all the appearance of a large Engli-h village, with an onctmpinent in reur; the whares o f the officers an 1 men being <*ic edinaly well '•uilt. a d with their whitewashed chimneys, look just like thatched Knglish cntta.'es, whilst the little huri-h with it« su'rounding graveyard completes the nr tu e. However we are on our way to Kangiawthia midway between which and Te Awamutu we came in vie# of a very pretty little lake—a | ortion of which had been cunningly turned into a middam by the natives. All round this spot we found traces of SfaTi occupation, portions of mill's, mil! stones, pieces ot agricultural instruments. &c. We did not learn the name ol the lake, but learnt that it whs the bathing place of the tr 'ops in -ummer. From this point oa to Kangia"hia the country appeared to be cov-red with peach grove-. I'he approach to the redoubt is a very extensive str tell of fine rich soil, gradually inclining upwards until a hijjh crest is formed, commanding a fine view of the surrounding country. Before arriving at the redoubt however we stopped to look at. the little Catholic Chapel erected by native subscriptions, we suppose. Close 'oy the hapel we noticed two gravi-8— ono a soldier and the a Maori, side b> tide and strange to say, e ,ch had killed the otber—one of the f-trange episodos of of war Tho soldier was on sentry—the Maon crept up and idiot him, but the sentrv ere he foil, fired and killed his assailant. They died together, and now lie side by side on ths spot, wnero they Ml Not far from the Chapel stands thj liitle Knglish Chun h ; but hoth Church and Chapel appear to be out of

repair. Wo now passed on to the rehoubt which is a most fjimidable p"St, and r Set a the greatest credit upon C; pt.iin fsluwitt of the detachment 6nh K gimont, by whom it was erected. It is sti l held by the detachment of the Both Heeiment under the command <>f Lieut. Toker, who would, we doubt not, ably continue to h"ld it against halt Maoridom. Duri g our ,-tav at this post, which extended ove" a day and a night, we wore rao>t hospitably and kindly entertained by th« officers of the garr son, Messrs. Toker, Wrixon, &nd Hela <re, and we take this opportunity of expressing our grateful sen*n of ill- ir kindness.

Returning from Haugiawhia we had another opportunity of viewing the fine paßture land wlii^h -urrou rids tha* post. Bidding farewell to our kind entertainers who had ac ompin : e l us part of the way we returned to '1 e jiwamiilu. and after spending another very pleasant eVeni g there prepared to return the following morning, to Newcastle via Alexandra. Vf e cannot however take leavo of Te Awamutu and our host without expressing the pleasuro and satisfaction we derived from ou" visit, and offering our heaitv thanlis to those who made our stay so pleasant. We hid proceeded but a stort distance fr tn Te Awamutu when we came upon the fifty-acre blocks of the 2nd Wuikatos, which extend from about two miles from To Awamutu right down to Alexandra. The bio. ks of land appeared >o us well laid out, and the Eoil seemed very superior. We do not profess to be judges, but our opinion is that the 2nd Waikatos have every reason to be aati?fied with their land. We notice one i xtens-ive tract, cout iining some 300 hundred acres (probably an officer's block), well fenced and drained and under cultivation. We trust tho proprietors of these blocks will have the good sense not to allow greedy speculators to deprive them of their well-earned land, for tho sake of a few pounds, but that, if mil-government compels them to sell, they will demand full v&lue for their land; thus make purchasers desirablo to obtain a return for their investment. Some distance from -Alexandria we notic. d a very serviceable tramway, which extends for some considerable distance into the buch, whe 3< an enterprising company have eiected a saw-mi 31. The timber cut at this mill is sentdown to tho township of Alexandria by means of this tramway . Having arrived at what appeared to us to bo the 1 suburbs, we halted at the Alexandra, a substantial

hotel —the first, we believo, in tho district. Hare wo obtained a substantial repast at the hands of tho landlady, who was exceedingly obliging, and very anxious to make her visitors comfortable. Indeed the hotel is rather an imposing affiir for such a young settlement, and as tho owner is making considerable improvements no doubt it will prove a comfortable resting place for travellers. Tho settlement of Alexandra extends along both sides of the river, on oac.h bank of which is built » strong redoubt, the redoubts and tho settlement being occupied by the 2nd Waikat >a. Wo were anxious t • have a Rood viow of the town allotments, and tbereforo mounted a rising knoll n»ir tho re loubts. and wore agreeably >urpriied to behold a large number f neat and in many instance! commodious cottages dotting oach side a large creek which flows into the tiver. Agn at many of the town acres are under cultivation, and in many of them fruit and other tees gave a homely and settled appearance to the place We had several opportunities of testing tho feelings of tho officers and men of the rpgiment, and in every case found the same complaint, viz., that it was out. of tho question for tho Government to expect them to do anything to thoir country blocks until they were euro of them. As it is, they ave no faith in the Government of the day, and, orefor o . wiil not expend labor and capital for per-

Ps the benefit of Rewi or Thompson. Give them me encouragement, they say ; ensure them posseson of their land ; help them by giving them roads to make and they will stick to their land. Continue to treat them as tho Weld Ministry have done, and "s soon as the\ get th ir Crown Grants numbers of them will soli and seek some other home The 2nd Waikatos might be very well employed in constructing a bridge across the liver, where a punt now p -rforms the duty of a bridge between the red.iubts.

We spent tho night in a very comfortable four roomed cottage, and built on the town-acre lot of the owner, who has bad his <cre ploughed up and a portion of it made into a garden, and appeared anxious to make the best of his position. Wo were very kindly entertained by himself and family. Whilst hero wo obtained a green-stone, carved and cut into something like the form of an Indian juggler. The stone woul 1 be considered valuable amongst the natives, and is called (we think) a Hikie, beine a token of submission presented by a conquered tribe to their conquerors. The s'one was tiken from a chief at < irakau. Alexandra boasts a brickfield, and the settleis are thus enabled to put up sub stantial chimnies. Our wanderings around this neighbourhood wero soon brought to a close by tho sharp shrill scream of tho motaua warning us that it wa< time to ho off Having embarked Mis. Carey and suite, wo immediately steamed down the river. Owing to the heavy rains, the river was some 30 feet above its ordinary level, and there being a very strong current to help ns, it was not I >ng bfore we again lay ofl'Te Rori and having taken an office of ths Transoort Corps on board, we pushed on for What a W ata, and thence on to Newca-tle, where we arrived about 4 o'clock, having left Alexandra at 11. Our stav at Newcastle was i-riof; and at about 10 o'clock s »me evening wo reached the Bluff, where wo spent tho night on board tho steamer. A gentleman on board having kindly placed the English papers at our disposal, wo got on pretty well tor a while; but the lively stories of another gentleman who had favoured us with his company, made reading Lest it should appear a breach of confidence, we forbear relating these stories, an't indeed as their chief virtue was in the manner of relating them.

Bidding poo l bye to our friendly story-te'ler, we started (in the morning) for the Queen's Redoubt, and, having obtained a conveyan o, arrived in Auckland same day, " wetter if not wiser men." When we publi«h the det ils of our commission, which is, in tho meantime, a secret —only known to ono o- two lad es, who can keep ..uiet —we may say something about the coal mines, the gold-fields the steamers, &c„ and we mav suggest something with reference to the' Weld Ministry, &c.; in the meantime th" public mind must not be distuvboH, and must be gradually prepared for tho great event. Should an\ body want us, wo are like Patty Beans' sweetheart—" daown taown."