THE GOVERNOR AT DARGAVILLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7001, 25 April 1884, Page 5

THE GOVERNOR AT DARGAVILLE.

A VISIT TO THE BUSH.

FELLING A KAURI TREE.

■-•■•- Daboaville, Thursday. One Wednesday the s.s. Kopurn was placed at the disposal of His Excellency for a trip up the Wairoa as far as Atiria. At a' very early hour the sun broke through the morn- , ' ing mists, and heralded a bright and glorious day, and at nine o'clock the steamer was waiting at the end of the Dargaville Wharf to' receive her distinguished .passenger. At half-past nine. His- Excellency, with : hie Private Secretary (Mr. Pennefather) and Dri. Campbell, stepped oa board, accompanied by the following gentlemen: Messrs. J. M. Dargaville, M.H. R. ; P. W. Matthews, MeVay, B. M. Williams. H. T. Smith, H. Celts, W. B. Jackson, J. Mitohelson, .J. Sheehan,'. Dr. Norton,' Messrs. J. Dennie, W. Marriner, and M. Harding. As soon as the party had embarked, no time was lost in getting under way, and as we steamed up this fine river, ever'and anon at every bend bringing some fresh and charming bash into view, His Excellency was delighted, and several special points of interest were transferred to his sketch book. After two hours' steaming the wharf at Atiria waa reached, and the party disembarked, and found that.preparations had been made to take them into the bush, along (I think I may safely say) one of the best bush tramways in New Zealand. It is three miles long, and was not completed until £1500 had been expended in labour in its construction. Mr. H. Smith, the contractor, had in readiness four truoks, coupled together, and made exceedingly comfortable by conveniently arranged seats, covered with gaily coloured rugs, and after a few minutes a start was made. We were drawn by three fine horses, decorated with rosettes, and the journey was eonduotod by the subcontraotors. Baker and Keys; who acted as guards on the occasion. The whole ronte was through dense bush, and the many stumps alongside were evidence sufficient to show that an immense amount of timber had already found its way to market. It. is estimated, however, that at least twenty million feet of kauri still remains in our bush.

Having reached the end of the tramway, the party proceeded on foot for a short distance through the bush to a spot where two large kauri trees had been prepared for the purpose of showing to His Excellency the method of felling. They were both fine trees, but one was a perfect specimen, measuring eight feet in diameter and one hundred and fifty feet high from the ground to the topmost branches. The trunk alone was over forty feet in length, and contained seventeen thousand feet of timber. The trees haviDg been duly prepared for felling by the bushmen, the party had not long to wait before the first tree fell, but previously to its falling His Excellency rapidly conveyed the image of this beautiful tree to his sketch . book. It was a grand sight to see this huge monarch of the forest, after tottering for a second, crashing through the surrounding trees, carrying everything before it, and shaking the very foundations of the buah.

The party then walked to the hnfc— a substantial slab building, about forty feet long, ■where lunch was provided by Dr. Campbell. No more welcome sight could be seen than this excellent lunch, for the appetites of ail were thoroughly sharpened by the trip on the river, the ride on the tramway, and tbo walk in the busb. The appearance of the viands wae also improved by the profusion of flowers interspersed among them, and the whole arrangement does credit to Mr. McLean as the caterer. Not much conversation was indulged in during lnncheen time, as everybody seemed to be fully employed in appeasing that importunate part .of his construction—the. appetite. . Luncheon over, an important departure from the general cub torn was indulged in— namely, there were no toasts, consequently nobody was bored. His Excellency then visited some of the huts, and addressed a few kindly words to the bushmtn, who showed their appreciation by giving three hearty cheers. The return trip then commenced, and en route His Excellency was taken to see a curiosity in the shape of a large kauri tree, with a set of false roots starting at a distance of 12feetfromthegroond, which, in their endeavour to reach the soil, had assumed the most fantastic shapes. After His Excellency had partaken of the heart of a nikau palm, the party proceeded on the journey, halting to see the men jacking large logs on to the staging, preparatory, to their being loaded on trucks. The Atiria wharf was reached in a ihorfc time, where the steamer was waiting in the stream, and, all once more embarking, were soon-steaming home-, ward, reaching Dargaville wharf at seven o'clock.

His Excellenoy, with his Secretary (Mr. Pennefather), left D»rgaville wharf by the s.s. Durham this morning at one o'clock, en route for Auckland, lea"ing behind very pleasant recollections of his visit to the Northern Wairoa. .

On returning to Dargaville from the trip to the forest, His Excellency paid a visit to the old chief Parore. The Governor, in the coarse of conversation, pointed oat to Parore that he had been out to see the place where the railway was going, and that instead of doiDg his houee any damage, it would be of very considerable benefit to his property ; but that, of course, according to the law no land could be taken for a railway or any other object without proper compensation being given, and that there were legal means of assoseiog. compensation. There were a number of chiefs preeent with Parore during this -risit of His Excellency. Yesterday. morniDg, Parore and other chiefs dame down to Raynes' Hotel, where the Governor was staying, to say farewell. The parting was mo3t cordial. A short distance down the river a number of Europeans and Maoris collected and fired a salute, and gave a hearty cheer as Hia Excellency passed in the. steamer on his way to Auckland. The trip to Auckland was a thoroughly enjoyable one, the only drawback being a delay caused by the tide being very low, and the steamer did not roach Helensvillo till five o'clock. The Governor left at once bj speoial train for Auckland, and came on at a rapid pace, so as to arrive in time to Open, the Society of Arts Exhibition. The train arrived about sevea o'clock.