THE OTUNUI DISTRICT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14947, 21 March 1912, Page 4

THE OTUNUI DISTRICT.

WHERE THREE PROVINCES

MEET.

A THRIVING DISTRICT.

BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.

The headwaters of the Wanganui River, with its earlier tributaries, lie in the King Country—that land formerly so mysterious and even now so little known. The spot where the Ongarue falls into the main river is almost the centre of the North Island, and here three provinces— land, Wellington, and Taranaki — In the angle formed by the Wanganui and Ongarue Rivers lies the OtUnui district, tioned counties lies the Otunui district, which has been opened for settlement only within the last few years, but which will soon be an important farming centre. Though within easy reach of river and railway, its progress was long hindered, first by the difficult navigation of the higher reaches of the Wanganui, entailing heavy freights, and secondly by the want of means of communication with Taumarunui.

A year ago it was a common sight to see flocks of sheep for Otunui farmers swim across the Ongarue River at Taumarunui, and seldom was this done without somo of them being drowned. Then, too, the early settlers would ford the river, carrying their goods on paokhorses. Now, however, the Ongarue Bridge, opened a few months ago by the Prime Minister, affords easy access to Otunui, and, as mentioned recently in these columns, the road has been formed so far as to allow the first bales of wool from a distance t>f 12 miles to be brought into town by waggon. Recently I rode for the first time through the Otunui, accompanied by a bank manager, who wished to become acquainted with the quality of the land and the pi-ogress of settlement. For the first few miles we passed through fern or manuka land—probably " sheep-and-a-half country"—that is capable of wintering an average of a sheep and a half to the acre. After this wo struck into the bush, a considerable part of the land on our left being native-owned and the rest on both sides being Crown land, and taken up under the O.R.P. system. One fine section had been forfeited through non-resi-dence. It was not re-offered, being reserved for milling purposes. With this exception, and that of the native land referred to, the country was pretty well all occupied, though naturally only a small percentage of it has, so far, been cleared and grassed. The district having been settled from the Ohura side, those sections which we first met with were the newest, and, owing presumably to their greater proximity to the railway line, the purchase money (unimproved value) on which rentals are based, was higher than for that of the sections farther inland which had been taken up earlier. Of the latter the price was something like £1 an acre to the first settlers, and of the former it ran up in some cases to about £2. The bushcovered portions may bo safely reckoned on as two-sheep country, while in favourable seasons it may be still better. In fact, I met with a settler who has had 600 sheep on 200 acres of grass for 12 months, and he has still abundance of feed. But then last season was an exceptional one for growth.

Improving the Roads. Tho road winding through the hills is as essential to. the life of the backblocker as the air-pipe is to the diver, hence the pathetic monotony with which it is referred to by country speakers and writers. This Otunui road was fill quite recently a mere bridle track, and a bad one at that; but lately Mr. Williams, the road engineer in charge, has been making vigorous and determined effort to render it fit for wheeled traffic —at least for the narrow, low waggons called here " street" waggons, and in other places " scandy" waggons, because they were introduced from Dannevirke. The more difficult portions of the road have been, rightly, first dealt with, and we came across several parties of roadmen blasting the papa rock and literally carving a shelf out of the hillside. In each of these more difficult spots the full width of 12 feet was secured. The task of widening the remainder of the track to the same extent will not be one of any remarkable difficulty or expense. Some of the Settlers.

For mile after mile we rode through rugged bush-covered country, with occasional patches of clearing and' roughly-built homes, some pitched on spurs and each having the beginning of a garden. Nino miles from Taumarunui is the home of Mr. Cameron, who keeps the post office, while his daughter conducts a small aided school. Here we halted and received very kind and welcome entertainment. Several of Mr, Cameron's sons are settled in this neighbourhood on farms of their own, and his relatives by marriage are also in the district. In fact, it is a small New Zealand outcrop of the Cameron clan. The land here is better cleared and stocked than what we had recently ridden through, and the road is also better.

Soon after we had left Mr. Cameron's rain began to fall, and after riding through it for a few miles wo sought shelter at •the home of Mr. Street, who has made Substantial improvements in a short time, erecting, a woolshed and laying out a garden and orchard. We were most hospitably entertained by Mr. and Miss Street, and reluctantly left this pleasant bush home, intending to get to Aukopae before nightfall. (There is a boardinghouso at the Aukopae River landing, where we intended to put up.) The distance from Mr. Street's appeared from the map to be some seven miles, but the road was so winding that it turnd out to be twice as much. It was late in the afternoon as we rode by Messrs. Goodwin Bros.' section, the country being all well settled in this neighbourhood. We next mounted a rather lofty ridge, covered with heavy bush. The scenery here was very wild and impressivechasms of profound depth lay below us, smothered in greenery, through which came the sound of a hidden stream. In places a slip had carried soil and vegetation and all from the solid papa rock, and the bare bones of the earth showed through, smooth and glistening. The driving rain and the mist filled up the glens, and the more distant hills, halfshrouded, -revealed, took fantastic shapes. As our horses picked their way along the ledges which formed the road, while water trickled down our backs, my companion and I agreed that men who farmed this land deserved their unearned increment.

A Fine Manhood We did not get to Aukopae. Sixteen miles out from our starting-point, according to strict measurement —a mere promenade for a bushman, but quite long enough for us in the circumstanceswe were taken possession of by Mr. R. White, who was " batching," in the absence, through illness, of his wife. In 10 minutes our rain-sodden garments were hanging before his stove, while our host's wardrobe had been ransacked to provide us with dry clothing. Next morning, the weather being still very unsettled, we rode heme again, and though our trip was cut somewhat short, we saw enough to convince us that before very long Otnnui will be heard cf as one of the most thriving and independent districts in the North Island. Its settlers, little known to fame—their toils "obscure and a' that"—have nevertheless the gold of a fine manhood in their composition. They and their good wives are braving the isolation and the hardships, but they are founding a fine yeomanry, which in future generations will probably be looked upon as the distinctly New Zealand type.