THE BAY OF PLENTY DISTRICT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9285, 12 February 1889, Page 6

THE BAY OF PLENTY DISTRICT.

TE PUKE SETTLEMENT.

Going down the coast from Tauranga, the traveller can go either inland or along the sea beach. Going by the beach, the distance to Maketu is about twenty miles, and gome sixty from there readies Opotiki. The ride along the beaches down the coast is a very delightful one in fine weather, being generally undertaken when the tide is out, as the lower the tide the harder the beach to travel on. The surf breaks in a thunderingroar jusfcoutsidethe horse'shoofs, and the stretch of blue ocean far out to sea has a beautiful aspect, with the passing effects of light and shade. On the other hand, the picturesque forest-clnd ranges stretch for miles in eaoh direction, and add variety to the view. The inland road is also a very interesting one, as at places it goes through very picturesque scenery, with glimpses of the ocean peeping between openings in the hills, and at times wide and extensive views of ocean on the one hand and the inland country on the other. The distance by road from Tauranga to the Te Puke settlement is about seventy miles. The road runs a distance of from a mile and a-half to three miles inland from the sea beach. The country between the road and the beach consists mostly of swamp land of very good quality, that could be readily drained, and- is principally owned by the natives, a block or two only having been acquired by the Government, and these are situated near Maketu. MAORI FARMERS.

The land j ust opposite the town of Tauranga is the best part of the whole, and here the natives have large and extensive settlements, and an area in crop of wheat this year that puts to shame their European brethren. The principal chief here is the well-known Hori Ngatai, and he bears the reputation of being one of the best practical farmers in the district. In addition to having a very large area under crop at his own settlement, ho has an additional area in wheat* at Otumoetai, where he owns a valuable block of'land. The other natives have also their crops of wheat, and the total amount of wheat that will be produced this year by the natives? will more than surpass that of the European settlers. The yield of wheat obtained by the natives has been the best in the district, and the quality is fully equal to the yield. The extensive stacks of wheat belonging to the natives are plainly to be seen on tho opposite side of the harbour from the township of Tauranga, and so successful have the Maoris been with their wheat crops this season that they purpose putting a very much larger area in crop next season. The average in wheat opposite the town is about 150 acree, of which nearly 50 acres belong to Hori Ngatai, and is estimated to yield fully if not over 40 bushels to the acre, whilst the balance is calculated to go between 35 and 40 bushels to the acre. Outside of this 150 acres the natives have 350 acres, or very little short of it, in different parts of the district about Tauranga, the whole of which has been well saved and is of the best quality, and i 3 estimated to go about 30 bushels to the acre all round. It will be seen by these figures that the native cultivation of wheat in the district is already assuming considerable proportions, and the yield will more than cover their home consumption.

MAIN COAST ROAD AND OLD PAS.

The main road down the coast after crossing the harbour at theHarim Bridge passes Mr. JDimthan Brown's fine property, where a reaper and binder has been used to harvest the crops. Considerable interest was taken in the progress of the machine, as it was quite a new thing here to see the combined machine at work, and the result was most successful and satisfactory. The land between here and Te Puke, is open country of good quality, and broken, but all fit for settlement, especially a large block called Papamoa, of some 12,000 or 13,000 acres, the principal portion of which has been acquired by the Government. Along the road small native cultivations are passed, and it appears a pity to see such a long stretch of country left lying comparatively idle. There are some beautiful views along the road, especially about half way, where a very pretty view of the harbour, with Tauranga lying an ugly in the distance, can be obtained. This part of the district appears in past ago.? to have been very thickly peopled by the natives, and to have been very keenly contested, if a person may judge by tltrs remains of numberless pas that crown every eminence of any size all along the road. In every direction the remains of old pa? can be seen ; some in strong commanding positions, others on very slight eminences Nowhere about the district are the remains of old pas so numerous as between Tauranga and Te Puke, and in the days gone by there must have been an immense native population settled in this part of the district. As the road reaches Te Puke ifc crosses a large swamp that lies between the hills and the sea, and which is as yet turned to no account, although it is the best of land, and could be readily drained. And here it may not be out of place to mention that one beneficial -effect of the Tarawera eruption was to consolidate all the swamp lands down the coast to a great extent. The swamps were covered with the discharge from the mountain to a depth of from a few inches to over a foot in places; and the effect has been that in many places cattle get readily about now, when before the eruption it was too soft for them to venture.

LOCAL BODIES' EXPENDITURE. Just before reaching the Tu Puke settlement there is a curious evidence of the way local bodies spend money when local interests are allowed to influence the expenditure. The road originally went in a comparatively direct line across a creek to the first hotel. However, the road was voted unsafe in time of flood, and for this ostensible reason a semicircular deviation was made of about a mile, and at the cost of several hundred pounds. The result is that all the traffic goes by the old road, and the new road sband6 as a monument of country folly, as a quarter of the money spent on it would have done more than was required to make the old road safe enough even to satisfy the obtusest of County Councillors.

TE PCJKE : EARLY STRUGGLES. Immediately on entering the settlement of Te Puke the road passes the only hotel of the district. A short distance nearer is another building one time rejoicing in a license as an hotel, but the license has been allowed to lapse, and the house to retire into private life. It is evident Te Puke folks don't go much on public-houses, as the one closed had a very short career ; bub, truth to say, the surviving house is ample enough for all requirements for some time to come. To Puke is the second of Mr. Vesey Stewart's settlements, thegemof thedistrictaboutTauranga, and being a thoroughly successful settlement, established on special lines, its formation is of general interest when so much attention is being turned to settlements of various kinds. The settlement was the outcome of the success of Mr. Vesey Stewart's Katikabi settlement, and it will be seen that, unlike other settlements that have been aided and fostered by a paternal Government, Te Puke, like Katikati, has been left to work out its own destiny. A long price was paid by the settlers for their land, and stringent and harassing conditions of improvement and cultivation imposed, and no assistance given by the Government in any form or shape ; and, in fact, promises to make roads to the settlemont from Tauranga were only fulfilled after persistent importunity. How different to the treatment other pet settlements are receiving up North, where even in one case an allowance was asked to be made for his fencing by one settler ! So far as successive Governments are concerned, this district seems to be completely ignored, and Minietors can visit any other district in the colony, but when the Bay of Plenty is mentioned, the only thing that can be obtained is an intangible und dolusive promise to visit it eome other time, and at a more convenient season. And yet with all the neglect of tho Government, and other causes to retard its progress, the To Puke district is one of tho most brilliant examples of a settlement left to achieve its own success that the colony ocn show. Tho Te Puko settlement was started by Mr. Vesoy Stewarb in the early part of the year 1881, the first party of settlors arriving by the Lady Jocelyn, followed a few months after by the May Queen with another party, and after this many more came in smaller parties. The area selected by Mr. Stewart from thoOovernment was about 15,000 acres, of whioh 8000 acres were taken up, exclusive of about 1500 acres of swamp land, and flOmo four or five thousand acres of bush land. Tho price paid to Government for the land wue twenty-six shillings

and threepence per acre all round, a deposit of £3000 being required on the bargain. Iti addition to this, Mr. Stewart had to pay for all surveys, and the area taken up by roads, To facilitate the development of the district as a settlement, Mr. Stewart proceeded home, and sold his concession to the New Zealand Land Corporation, which assumed the entire control and direction of affaire. The intention was to more completely settle the block, and establish steam communication between the settlement and Tauranga. Mr, Stewart had begun to dispose of the land at £3 per acre, but when the Corporation took over his concession, they raised the price to £4 per acre. Dissensions, however, broke out between the Corporation and Mr. Stewart, which resulted in Mr. Barton being sent out to inspect the settlement, which he condemned in unmitigated terms, describing it as an impenetrable forest and impassable morass. This had a very bad effoct on the settlement, but it survived it, and many other adverse influences, and gradually went ahead. The settlers who bought land at Te Puke had to pay £3 and £4 for their land (cash), and, in addition, the original conditions were that they had to reside on the land selected continuously for five years, ar.d bring at least onefifth of the land into permanent cultivation. These conditions were subsequently modified, and settlers were allowed to obtain their grants on bringing one-fifth of their land into cultivation and erecting a house. Ic will be seen by this that the settlers, after paying for their land, could not get their title till valuable and permanent improvements had been effected, and could in no way raise money on it, not having their Crown grants, even if it was essential to complete their improvements. The settlement itself is very. pleasantly situated, sloping from the bush in a northeasterly direction towards the sea. The upper end of the settlement, near the bush, ie about 600 feet above the level of the sea, and as the block extends a distance of some six milea on a gradual slope to the main road, extensive and varied views of both forest and ocean scenery are to be obtained from any of the selections. The shape of the settlement is oblong, being some six mites long by three miles wide.

RAVINES AND RANK VEGETATION. The settlement is intersected lonpitudinally by deep ravines that extend from the bush down to the main road. The deepest of these ravines is four or five hundred feet deep by ten or twelve chains wide, and is somewhere about the middle of the block. The sides of this ravine are exceedingly steep and precipitous, and clothed with bush, having a clear, running stream at the bottom. These ravines cause much inconvenience in getting from some parts of the settlement to another. For instance, up at the head of the settlement, though only a few chains distant, settlers would have to go twelve or fourteen miles to reach each other by vehicle. Tracks are used across these ravines, by which they can be paced on foot, and in places on horseback, but to get across them with a vehicle is out of the question. The main road runs through the settlement just where the level land meets the swamp. At right angles to this, and between the main road and the bush, the settlement is broken up by four roads, which are called respectively the Number One, Two, Three, and Four Roads. The whole of the land in the settlement is firstclass agricultural land, comparatively level, except where broken up by the ravines. It is very bare of any kind of timber, until the bush is reached, but the settlers have planted numberless clumps of shelter and forest trees that are growing with great rapidity, and adding much to the picturesque beauty of the block. When first settled, the block was covered with a very heavy growth of fern and tutu, the latter being of unprecedented growth, it being no unusual thing to see the stumps a foot through, and from that down to six inches. The fern in places was so high that a man on horseback would disappear in it, and could not be seen at any distance. This will give some idea of the quality and richness of the soil, and the first crops of clover and grass that were taken off the farms literally surprised everyone that saw them. At first the settlers experienced some difficulty in obtaining water on their selections, and it was feared for a time that this would be a serious trouble, as it was thought the deep ravines would drain off all the springs. This, fortunately was not the case, and as the farms got better settled numerous springs were discovered that afford an ample supply of water, in addition to the running streams that pass through the block.

A LOVELY CLIMATE. Like other settlements in the Bay of Plenty, Te Puke enjoys a lovely and equable climate. In summer it has pleasant breezes fresh from the sea to temper the heat, and in winter it suffers very little from cold, blighting winds, as it lies surrounded almost in a semicircle by the high forestclad ranges in the directions from which tho severest and most stormy weather is experienced. Close under the range heavy winds are sometimes felt, but they never continue for any length of time, and the neighbourhood of these ranges induces frequent refreshing showers in the middle of summer, when rain is so much wanted, and so welcome all through the country. DEFERRED PAYMENT SETTLEMENT. At the time of the formation of Mr. Vesey Stewart's settlement at Te Puke considerable agitation took place at Tauranga to have a portion of the block set apart for colonial settlers. The agitation resulted in a portion of Te Puke, containing some three thousand acres, being set apart as a deferred payment settlement. This portion is alongside the main road, and comprises the most valuable part of the settlement so far as position is concerned, the Stewart part of the settlement lying further up and between it and the bush. The deferred part of the settlement was c.ut up into small farms of from fifty to a hundred acres or so, and was promptly taken up by settlers who had gained great colonial experience at Tauranga and Katikati, and tho neighbouring districts. This portion of the settlement has been exceedingly successful, almost the whole area being in crop or permanent grass paddocks. Lying between the Te Jfuke settlement and the sea beach there is a large area of valuable swamp land, a portion of which belongs to the Crown, and a large area to private owners. So far very little has been done to utilise theee swamp lands, though it is certain they will in future years form one of the most productive parts of the settlement. MESSRS. LEE BROTHERS' FARM.

Messrs. Lee Brothers have a farm adjoining the main road, of which some four or five hundred ticros consist of swamp, and this they have been gradually reclaiming till it is now just about fit to crop. The land has been drained thoroughly, and after settling down, has been found to subside some two or three feet. The grass is astonishingly rich, and on this small area Messrs. Lee Brothers have had at one time as much as 2500 sheep and over 100 head of cattle grazing. A small area is in crop this year, and next year a large portiou will be put in maize and wheat, when something surprising in the way of crops is confidently expected. Considerable interest has been taken all through the settlement in the result of Messrs. Lee Brothers' experiment in bringing the swamp lands under cultivation, and now that it is practically that they can be drained so readily, and turn out so rich, it is certain owners will turn their attention to utilising their swamp land that has so long lain idle. MR. RAYMOND'S FARM.

Adjoining Messrs. Lee Brothers' ewamp land another settler, Mr. Raymond, has a portion of swamp reclaimed and in crop with wheat, oats, and barley, and this'crop is quite the pride and boast of the district. The barley has done especially well, and quite bears out the opinion of Mr. Jagger when he visited the district, that it was especially suitable for the cultivation of barley. It takes quite four years before the swamp land can be brought into a state fit to grow crops, but when they are once in that state they will, it is confidently stated, bear crops year after year without requiring any manure, or with any diminution of yield or quality.