A. HALE OLD PIONEER:

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19028, 27 May 1925, Page 15

A. HALE OLD PIONEER:

ADVENTURES WITH MAORIS. | SERVICE IN THE MILITIA. INTERESTING REMINISCENCES. "Different! Change! Why I can remember when, where that house now stands, was tho guard room, and hero (pointing to tho concrete road) whore wo used to do son try go." Tho speaker was Mr. Jame3 Murphy, of Otahuhu. a hale and hearty well-built man, in his 80th year. Ills back is straight his hearing, keen and his eight fairly clear. Ihese, remarks wcro ma do in reply to a question whether much change was noticeable now at Otahuhu. Mr. Murphy has been through stirring times and has iiad many interesting experiences during his long lifo in New Zealand. As a young man ho joined the militia, and every day had to do two hours' guard duty, the pay being Is all hour. Every week ho had to go on quarter guard for 24 hours. For this ho received 3s 6d in each instance. No food or clothing was provided. In tho early part of tho war Mr. Murphy went to tho Wairoa, now known as Clovedon, and was in camp for several months. In 1878 Mr. Murphy was sent to Taranaki and later went to the Waimato Plains. At that timo the Maoris had withdrawn all their offers of land for 'Sale and they harried tho settlers so much that many gavo up their holdings. Tho two chiefs, To Whiti and Tohu, then issued instructions to their followers to plough up any land under cultivation held by pakehas. Mr. Murphy, on coming to the homestead ono afternoon, was surprised to find about twenty Maoris with' threo teams of bullocks and ploughs,, ploughing up tho lawn in front of the; homestead. Nothing that could bo said would induce them to desist. They con-> tinucd on till nightfall and recommenced; next morning. Information was sent to! Hawera, and 50 mounted police soon, arrived. They immediately unyoked Urn oxen and lifted tho ploughs on to car(.s and drove tho Maoris and ploughs over the Wyangora Bridge which was the dividing lino between Maori and Pakeha lands. That night only Mr. Murphy and a boy slept at the homestead, and by daylight the Maoris wcro ploughing again. The same process was repeated, and possibly more exacting measures were taken. At any rate it proved sufficient, as tho farm was not invaded again. Later Mr. Murphy wont to tho West Coast in the schooner Rifleman, on which the notorious To Kooti made his escape from tho Chatham Islands. Mr. Murphy landed in Now Zealand in 1848, when he was 2 years and 5 months old. He has spent the greater part of his lifo at Otahuhu.