ROUND ABOUT NEW PLYMOUTH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12657, 10 September 1904, Page 1 (Supplement)

ROUND ABOUT NEW PLYMOUTH.

[BY E. M. dttnlop.} Though an ever-increasing traffic makes use of the West Coast route between Auckland and Wellington, transferring at New Plymouth from steamer to train, there are doubtless many stay-at-home people wno are not thoroughly familiar with Taranaki and its points of interest, and who may care to read a brief sketch of the district, where so many important scenes in the. history of our colony have been enacted. On several days in every week a passenger boat leaves the port of Onehunga, on the Manukau Harbour, for New Plymouth, chief port and town of Taranaki, the passage occupying from ten to twelve hours. The landing of the passengers at New Plymouth thus gener- , ally takes place in the early morning, either before the god of day has' illumined the scene or about sunrise, according to the season. There is a massive breakwater, which makes the landing easy in these days, unless the weather is unusually rough. V POUTUTU. '.' " I A very peculiar - elevation is « landmark at- the harbour of New Plymouth. It 'is a precipitous, rug-, ged rock rising in. solitary grandeur to a height of many hundred feet, and commanding an outlook over the whole surrounding district. Steps have been cut in the granite substance so that persons can ascend to the summit to enjoy the view. There is a level space on the summit, and traces of <.;arly Maori habitation are still to be seen in pits and mounds, showing that natives had been glad to take refuge on the elevation from the savagery of their foes. Here, doubtless," they could fortify themselves, and hope to exist- in security* and repel the attacks of an enemy. Poututu, as this eminence,is, named, has ever been a favourite lookout point, either with whalers searching for their prey, which abounded in these waters, by the early settlers on the watch for recruits to their numbers arriving by early emigrant ships, or by Maoris scanning the; district in dread of the approach of an here* ditary foe. The aboriginal inhabitants were ever in a condition of venomous tribal warfare, conducted with a savagery difficult to realise. One reads of. an old chief slaughtering fifty warriors with his own hand, and seated on the ground amid the scene of slaughter, he cracked their skulls one by one with his mere or club, as though cracking cocoa-nuts, and piled them in a gruesome heap beside him. Bold, savage, fearful attacks were made by one tribe upon another. One reads of five hundred women and children precipitating themselves over a cliff to avoid falling into the hands of the foe, and of cannibal feasts of a most revolting and hideous character. The earliest European settlers were witnesses of such scenes, and had adventures of an almost incredible character in encounters with the aboriginal savages.

WHITES IN CAPTIVITY. The story of Mrs. Guard and her children must ever live in the history of the district. We read of this good lady in after life receiving andwelcoming the* early settlers, to whom she was able to relate the marvellous tale of her captivity among the Maoris and her astonishing recovery from tomahawk. blows upon her skull. Her husband was the owner of a schooner, called the Harriett, and she/ with her children, accompanied him on ; a trading expedition. Their little boat cable to shipwreck, and her crew and passengers were thrown upon the hostile coast. They found what shelter was possible, but were attacked by natives, and nearly all were slain. Mrs. Guard was tomahawked on tfe head, and dragged with her children to the r chiefs hut to form part of "a cannibal feast. Captain Guard succeeded in making his es ; Ape in the melee." The chief's wife protected Mrs. Guard, and bound up her wounds. One child was left to her, but the other, a boy, was removed from her and kept as a prize by a different tribe. The white woman lived six months among the natives, being provided with but scanty food and clothing, separated from her child and enduring all the anguish of terror and suspense. Meanwhile her husband, having discovered that his wife was still alive, invoked aid and made desperate efforts to recover her with her children. After lengthy negotiations they were delivered in safety to European friends, the eldest boy being marvellously recovered with extreme difficulty and bloodshed. The Maoris had spared the lives of the party in the hope of reward. MOUNI EGMONT. The earliest description we possess of Mount Egmont and the surrounding district is from the pen of Captain Cook, who mentions in his diary that at seven p.m. on January 9, 1770, he sighted "a very high mountain, in appearance resembling the j peak of Teneriffe." He moved about the coast for several days in misty weather, and discovered and named the Sugar Loaves. At five a.m. on the 13th he saw the peak for a few moments towering above the clouds, and covered with snow. He gives the bearings of the mountain and says: — "I named it Mount Egmont, in honour of the earl. Tho mountain lies near the sea, and is surrounded by a. fiat country ot pleasant appearance, clothed with verdure and wood. The shore forms a large cape, which I named Cape Egmont." This grand, solitary, snow-clad mountain is indeed a magnificent landmark, and much has already been written both in prose and poetry in description of its charms and of the effect of its solemn and stately grandeur upon the mind Bracken writes of " Egmont, monarch of the mountains, bold, majestic, solemn, grand." and gives expression to the charms of its changing glories from the sunrise to the sunset. His description of one small cloud " sleeping on the mountain bosom," gradually extending itself: creeping upwards, yearning towards the summit, failing to reach the' topmost heights; curling downwards again, wreathing the mountain, "like a silken scarf of grey," spreading over him a fleecy coverlet, is particularly happy. Another writer says: " For the eye of a Salvator Rosa, there is the snow-crested Apollo of mountains, Egmont, showing up from a sea of forest, 8270 feet, against the brilliant sky." The emotions of Bishop Selwyn on viewing the mountain for the first time will doubtless be of interest. He says: "On going out into the garden in the 'morning the view burst upon me of the whole mountain, towering up in a white cone above the. clouds still clinging to it/ midway. All around the fresh foliage of a New Zealand spring, tipping the evergreen with a bright and sparkling verdure, form a base upon which the white peak of the mountain reposed. The favourite verse came to my mind, 'The lot is fallen unto me in a fair ground, yea, I have a goodly heritage' Taranaki is indeed a lovely country, distinguished even among the many districts, whose natural beauties I have now seen.''

EARLY SETTLEMENT AND WAR. The early settlement of the Taranaki district took place under the auspices of the ''Plymouth Company of New Zealand," of which the Earl of Devon was the patron and chief director. Colonel Wakefield selected the site, and the first pioneer ship to drop anchor under the Sugar Loaves, January, 1841. was the barque" Brougham, carrying the earliest Taranaki settlers, Mr. and Mrs. Barrett and family, who were en' tertained on landing by the friendly natives with a collation consisting of fern root and cold water. Other settlers followed, and the division, sale, and acquisition of land continued, the town gradually assuming important proportions, though "ever retarded by the difficulty of landing passengers and cargo, and the frequent privations and inconveniences thus caused." Prosperous years succeeded the arrival of our settlers, until the time when difficulties began to arise with the natives over the purchase of land. The. Maoris became more and more quarrelsome, and armed parties drove surveyors.' and settlers from their land. Demonstrations of hostility to the Europeans on the part of the natives came to a serious climax in the year 1860, when several treacherous attacks "were made upon, ©u>

settlers in the Taranaki district, and murders committed in the old native style of warfare by the club and the tomahawk. Messrs. Ford, Passmore, and Shaw were found dead by, the roadside, and two boys were also ■discovered' murdered in the bush while pursuing peaceful avocations. The settlers armed and prepared for defence and attack, and for a revenge for which many thirsted. The militia and volunteers, with marines from H.M.s, Niger, under Captain Cracroft, and e detachment of the 65th Regiment, •marched out against the hostile natives, fortified in the pa at Waireke, which was finally taken and destroyed, largely by the. assistance of the marines, who received an ovation as they marched into New Plymouth. • The disturbance' was by no means ended, however, but rather assumed the proportions of a war,- the natives fortifying themselves. in various strongholds, and assuming a defiant attitude. More murders were committed, homes were burned, cultivations destroyed, and women and children compelled .to.seek refuge in the town. Fortifications were raised and redoubts established. General Cameron was sent to conduct what had now become the war on the West Coast. Various important engagements took place, •in I which many prominent persons lost their lives. 1 The natives finding cover in the dense bush, the campaign was difficult and dangerous, and productive of slight results. Treacherous acts on the part of the enemy made travelling difficult and settlement impossible. After an almost fruitless campaign, General Cameron resigned the command, and General Chute was appointed in his stead. Pursuing a different policy he met with greater success, and succeeded in striking awe into the hearts of the discontented tribes, compelling thorn to allow the settlement of the district to proceed. General Chute successfully marched a large force through the dense bush, and round the coast to Patea and Wanganui, destroying all the native pas and plantations as he went, thus impressing the natives with his power and authority. The Government then confiscated the land of all those who did not come in to swear allegiance to the Queen. . Thus a. peace or rather truce was arrived at, which appeared to justify the Imperial Government in withdrawing the troops from New Zealand, which took place gradually, leaving Taranaki in 1867 without any Imperial guard. The natives, perceiving the lack of defence, again became bold, and fired at and molested various settlers. The volunteers and militia undertook military operations, culminatingin the affair at Te Ngutu o Manu, where von Tempsky and many others fell a sacrifice. Many fresh murders took place. Captain Gascoigne, with Ibis wife and four children, fell victims at the White Cliffs, and the Rev. Mr. Whiteley was fired on and killed with the horse under him as he was peacefully riding home after attending to his,clerical duties. Again the settlers of Taranaki were compelled to take refuge in their redoubts and fortifications. The war was happily brought to a close for ever by the operations of Colonel Whitmore, who scattered the forces of their chief, Tito-ko-waru, and with small exceptions there have been no further native troubles in the district »ince 1870. Since the advent of peace and the establishment of the breakwater the progress of Taranaki has been secure, the development of the butter industry bringing prosperity to the district. The town has been embellished with many handsome buildings. The recreation ground is a most beautiful place of public resort. _ Flourishing industries .have been established. The ironsand is a. peculiar feature of the district, and doubtless the time is not far distant when it will be utilised in a profitable manner, as well as the petroleum, which evidently exists and of which the Maoris had peculiar legends to explain the mysterious odour. In my next I hope to deal with the district of Taranaki .and the town of New Plymouth as eeen and known in cur modern times, " the piping days of peace and prosperity." >• ■--'■', ' »i minimal ii i "iii" - -'.