BAY OF PLENTY DISTRICT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9218, 22 November 1888, Page 3

BAY OF PLENTY DISTRICT.

KATIKATI. I The Katikafci settlement is the oldest of ' . the special settlements promoted by Mr. ' Vesey Stewart, and has been the subject of 1 very diverse criticisms. There is no : doubt, however, that the scope of country I occupied is certainly better as it is than as I a sheep and cattle station, for wmco it was ! intended to ue purchased by certain in- i tiuentiai parties in Auckland prior to its | I being taken up by Mr. .Stewart. The set- ' I tlemeut scretcnes from the oid biocK-nouse, I ! some twenty miles from Tauranga, to ' i Mount Stuart, opposite Katikati Heads, a ! distance of about eignteen miles, ana com- | i prises all kinds of soil, from as good as | ! could possioly be desired down to us poor j :as can be conceived. The settlement is ! now connected witii botn tne i'auranga and Thames districts by an excellent coaon 1 road, wiucu, unfortunately for tne district, goes tnrougu some ui tuo poorest land in tne settlement, ana has thus created an unfavourable impression on travellers who i have only had Due opportunity of loaning ! , tneir opinions from passing tnrougu. Mr. ' . Stewart selected Katikati as tne site of his i rirst settlement alter naving carefully in- j spected tne otner blocks that were ottered j him all tnrougn the colony. This was in I I the year 1874, and there was a great deal | ' of emulation at tne time as to Who could ! | secure Mr. Vesey Stewart and his pro- I ! jected settlers. When Mr. Stewart ! selected Katikati, it was a wild and ; isolated district, exceedingly difficult to i get about in, owing to tne numerous creeks and swamps that ran from the rauge down !to the sea coast. Roads, and even tracks, ! there wero none, and the only oommuni- | cation was by boat to Tauranga. A few | natives were settled on some of the river I tiats, and Air. D. Foley had a selection at | the extreme end of Katikati. The only ; other settlement was at the oid block- ; house, put up in the time of the last war to i obtain command of Thompson's Track, which was at the time the main tluroughfare between the Waikuto district and the East Coast. It was certainly a most out of-the-way place to pick upon for a settlement, when so many much more accessible spots were obtainable ; bur. Mr. Stewart had an eye to future possibilities, ana the event has quite justified his anticipations. The settlement, now that it has been developed, is admirably situated, and within easy reach of the Upper Thames and Te Aroha mining districts, and, wnen its capabilities become better known, Katikati will become not only a more thriving agricultural dis trict, but a favourite resort in summer ior visitors from the inland districts. To Aroha can be reached in three hours from Katikati, and the Upper Thames districts in still less time. vvhen a proper coach road is available between To Aroha and Katikati, visitors and tourists to tne former place will, in the heat of summer, be only too glad to exchange for a few days the stilling heat of the Thames Valley ior the fresh sea breezes and sea bathing of the Eust v oast. THE HOT SPRINGS. It is not generally known that the hot spring system at Te Aroha extends through to Katikati, but there are two distinct hot springs in the settlement. The most important of these is just on the edge of the bush coming across the track from Fe Aroha. The spring is an exceedingly strong one, as it gushes out of the earth in a stream that, alter running about fifty yards, falls in a cascade down the edge of a rock twelve or fifteen feet high that is a natural warm shower-bath. The volume of water is greater than all the Te Aroha springs put together, the temperature being just pleasantly warm. A much warmer spring is just adjacent, and both fall into a beautiful clear, cold creek, where one can jump in a few feet from the spring, and enjoy a swim to his heart's content. The bush surroundings are very beautiful, and a more pleasant spot could not be wished for, and, once the spring becomes well known, it will become a popular summer resort, as bathing there could be alternated with sea bathing if desired. SELECTION OP THE BLOCK. After selecting Katikati as the site of his future settlement, Mr. Vesey Stewart had 10,UU0 acres of the block set apart, comprising the best of the laud, on the points abutting on the Tauranga Harbour. The first party of settlers reached the colony in the spring of 1875, and the land became theirs free of payment on complying with certain specified conditions of residence and improvement. The best land in the block was that set apart for the first settlers, as it was along the edge of the harbour and on the river flats. Further up towards the main road the land gets mucn poorer, and beyond that again and the main range the general quality of the land further deteriorates. The first party had, however, excellent land, and most of them effected improvements far beyond those stipulated in the conditions under which they took up their selections. The second party of Mr. Stewart's settlers came out in 1878, and, besides residential and improvement conditions, they had to pay £2 an acre for their land, the Government having sold the second 10,000 acres to Mr. Stewart at 10s per acre. Tne profit to Mr. Stewart in the transaction was, however, more apparent than real, as a portion of the block was quite unsaleable and totally unfit for settlement. A further lot of settlers oirae out afterwards, and both the latter parties of settlors introduced a very large amount of capital. This was a vast boon to the No. 1 settlers, as they had a hard struggle with the want of communication witn outside settlements and the lack of any market for their produce. The advent of the subsequent settlers, in fact, assured the success of the first settlement, as it supplied profitable employment at once, a market for all their produce, and led to the road to Tauranga being completed and steam communication with Tauranga being established. The crisis oi the settlement was passed when the No. 2 settlers arrived, and the settlement has gone on steadily developing till it is studded with prosperous-looking cottages all through the district. CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, ETC. The settlers at Katikati are mainly from the North of Ireland, and have strong Orange proclivities, but not to any objectionable extent, or sufficient to make them obnoxious to those professing different tendencies. Katikati boasts a picturesque little church, three public schools, a public hall, post and telegraph office, with police office and court-house, cheese factory, two very respectable publichouses, three stores, a bakery, two butcheries, and other amenities of a civilised life. Very different to the state it would be in now, if it had fallen into the hands of an Auckland capitalist, and been turned into a cattle station. In addition, there is a brick kiln at the old blockhouse, where all the bricks used at Waihi so far have been made by Mr. Stephen Earl, an.l the quality has been very highly commended by those most capable of giving an opinion. A WELL-WATERED COUNTRY. Katikati is especially well watered, having no fewer than nine or ten consider-able-sized creeks running through it. It has also a most pleasant, genial climate, and its proximity to the main range causes it to be plentifully supplied with rain at the driest seasons, and, as the land is mostly of a light quality, this is a matter of importance. GOLD PROSPECTING. The position of Katikati and its vicinity to the mining centres oi the Upper Thames arid Te Aroha has naturally led to attention being paid to its supposed mineral resources, but so far without any tangible result. Numbers of reefs have been found by prospectors, and in some cases proving j by test to be aurifeious, but no find has I yet been made of sufficient importance to I lead to any systematic effort being made I to realise the riches that are believed to be hid in the Katikati Ranges. It seems, however, that some of the Tui reefs will be i found to extend on the Katikati side of the j range, and, if that held goes ahead, more will be heard yet of the mineral resources of this part of the Katikati district, independent of other systems of reefs that are known to exist in a more southerly direction. THE FISHING INDUSTRY. Katikati has also another latent industry in the shape of fishing. The harbour teems ' j with fish of excellent quality, and there should be good markets for both fresh and : preserved fish at Te Aroha and the Upper i Thames. Some spasmodic efforts have ::t . times been made to develop this industry, i I but want of capital or experience has been i i I a bar to success

TUK CHOICE DISTRICT. I At the northern end of the settlement; is situated Mr. Vesey's Stewart's homestead, of Mount Stewart, situated in a very pleat sant position, opposite the Heads. Cap- ' tain Hugh Stewart, Canon Johnston, Mr. ; Liniey. Captain Macmillan, Mrs. Stewart . (Mr. Vesey Stewart's mother), Mrs. Gled•tanes (Mrs. Stewart's sister), General Stoddard, and others are all at the north end of the seti-.ement. The finest houses and some of the most picturesque spots in i the block are situated here, whilst Mr. j Shaw has a charming woodland selection ! hidden away in a fertile gully close up to j the bush. From the Uretara down the ! best of the farms are to be found, as some of those along the rivsr flats are especially I fertile. One of the farms owned by Mr. I JLockinglas has a record of six tons of ' potatoes to the acre off a patch of three acres, nine tons of carrots to the acre off two acres, £10 worth of onions oti about an eigrhth of an acre, and equally good returns from about five acres of oats. And this is not an exceptional yield, as all tne river flats are equally prolific, if worked as well. Mr. Turner, on the opposite side of the river, has a farm that has turned him in an excellent living ever since he settled there ; and, like most of the No. 1 party that actively worked their land, Mr. Turner's place and himself, too, nave a thriving and I prosperous look. Not having sufficient I space to describe the farms in detail, it is i sufficient to state that all the points lying j between the main road and the harbour comprise excellent land, and, where properly cultivated, have yielded very profitable returns. Some of the root crops last season were quite a sight to see, and in all cases a good market was obtainable by settlers for their produce at Waihi. Foley's farm and Noble Johnston's farm are known throughout the district for the heavy yield of crops that have been taken off them steadily year by year since first the settlement was established. In Katikati, like most other parts of the Bay of Plenty district, the farmers have cropped their land with the most meagre use of manure ; but they are slowly awakening to the fact that attempting to crop without manure is very much like the proverbial making bricks without straw. DEPRESSION NOT FELT. Taking it all round, Katikati is in a satisfactorily flourishing state, and the bad times the colony has experienced has been felt to a very limited degree. The hardworking, practical farmers came out mostiy in the first party, and secured the pick of the land, and by it they have managed to make a very good living. The poorer parts of the block fell into the minds of settlers with money, and it is here the finest buildings are to be found ; but, as most of the proprietors are independent of farming pursuits, the quality of the land is not of vital impoitance to them. In addition to the capital circulated by the independent settlers in the way of wages, a considerable amount of money is distributed in the purchase of gum, large quantities of which are "obtained in the bush by the Maoris. If there had been more good land available, Katikati would have been a still more successful settlement ; but, after the second block was sold to Mr. Stewart, all the Crown lands were disposed of, and there has never been a sale of Government land since, or there would have been a strong demand for it, and much more extensive settlement would have taken place. CAPITAL INTRODUCED. It is difficult to form any idea of the amount of capital introduced into Katikati through Mr. Stewart's efforts, but it is estimated to have considerably exceeded a quarter of a million, besides the incomes of settlers of independent means. The scenery of Katikati is of a very varied and charming description, and from the higher points of the settlement extensive views out to sea are to be -obtained. From the top of the track crossing to Te Aroha an especially charming and extensive view is to be obtained in the early morning, or on a bright moonlight night, the visitor can get a wonderfully beautiful view of the Katikati settlement, with the Bay of Plenty beyond it, whilst on the other side the whole panorama of the Thames Valley stretches out as far as the eye can reach.