A COLONIAL ROB ROY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19798, 19 November 1927, Page 1 (Supplement)

A COLONIAL ROB ROY.

IN THE MACKENZIE COUNTRY.

BY TE K AKIN I

In a recent description of a visit to Mount Cook by a party of Aucklanders, reference was made to the Mackenzie Plains, across which the road to Mount Cook passes. Old memories of the silent solitude which pervades those vast tussocky uplands on the southern boundary of Canterbury, were thus awakened, and methought the story of the discovery of this strange country should not be forgotten. The great inland plain stretches from Burke's Pass to Lake Pukaki, a distance of some 40 miles, Burke's Pass being tieai'ly 90 miles from the Hermitage at the foot of Mount Cook. For 40 miles along a dusty clay track there was, upwards ol 30 years ago, scarcely one break in the dismal monotony of that dreary landscape. The country provides good grazing in the spring and summer months, but during winter it is generally either frost-bound or snow-bound. The homesteads of some half-dozen sheep runs, many miles apart, provided the only evidences of human habitation, and to meet a fellow mortal on the road gave one a distinct shock.

Wo read the other day of a district somewhere in the interior of Australia where it rains only once in seven years, and where water is obtained—between the showers —by sinking deep wells. A donkey attached to a mechanical contri-' vance pumps the water, and is kept mov ing to and fro by an intelligent dog. Something of a similar character, as far as the dog is concerned, used to be in operation in the Mackenzie country. They turned canine intelligence to account in this way. Where the road crossed the boundary between two runs, a gap was left in the fence, just wide enough to allow a vehicle to pass. There were no gates and no fences running parallel to the road. The dogs saved that expense, for without them it was an easy matter for Brown's sheep to pass through to Smith's run, or vice versa, resulting in a general mix-up and much bad language. This contretemps was obviated by chaining a collie dog to a post, giving him control of the gap in the fence, and those dogs slumbered not nor slept. No sheep ever came within a hundred yards of the gap. But it was pitiful to see those poor lonely, faithful animals lying out there for weeks together. in all weathers, practically condemned to solitary confinement, with little else to contemplate than heaps of dry sheep-bones, inedible reminders of past festive achievements. Only once a week were they supplied with "meat and water, but there they were, performing their duty with that fidelity which characterises their race, and saving their masters a considerable amount of time, temper and money. An Accidental Discovery.

The Mackenzie country has a history all its own, and a rather romantic one it is. Who and what was the particular Mackenzie to whom such a solitary tract owes its name ? It was discovered in 1855, almost by accident and in cir cumstances which shed a somewhat humorous light on tho early colonisation of Canterbury. The whole country to the north-west from Timaru was at that time occupied by Messrs. G. and R. H. Rhodes, uncle and father, respectively, ol Sir R. Heaton Rhodes, M.L.C. On several occasions sheep in large numbers were missed from their station. The Messrs. Rhodes felt convinced that the sheep were being driven by some unknown route into Otago, and Mr. G. Rhodes made a special trip to that province for the purpose of tracing his missing stock. But all to no purpose, and tho matter long remained a mystery. The country at that time was all open, and as it was the custom to place only two boundary keepers in charge of the flocks, sheepstealing became comparatively easy. One day, however, Mr. Sidebottom, the manager for Messrs. Rhodes, had occasion to despatch a Maori boy some distance inland to bring in some horses, and on his return the boy reported that he had seen a man with a pack bullock and dog driving sheep. Here, then, was the probable clue to the mystery. Taking the boy with him, Mr. Sidebottom started in pursuit, and discovered (he strange man asleep in a small tent, the pack bullock grazing nearby, and a mob of about a thousand sheep a short distance away in charge of the dog. The slumbering shepherd was none other than the notorious Mackenzie, who, on being aroused, leaped to his feet, seized a billet of wood, felled Mr. Sidebottom to the ground, and then made his escape. On recovering from the shock Mr. Sidebottom took possession of the sheep, still faithfully guarded by the dog, and despatched the Maori boy on foot to Purau, on the Lyttelton Harbour, to inform Mr. Rhodes of what had happened.

The Discoverer's Fate. Mackenzie had also made his way on loot to Lyttelton, with the object of catching a ship and getting away from the colony; but, Mr Rhodes having offered £IOO reward for his arrest, he was apprehended while ho lay in bed in a small shanty in Lyttelton. At his trial Mackenzie remained stolid and refused to plead, whereupon his dog was brought into court, and she, at once recognising her master, wagged her. tail and went whining toward him. Mackenzie was so overcome by these tokens of affection from his innocent companion in crime that he broko down in tears. The dog practically became tho chief witness for -the Crown, and her evidence sealed her master's fate.

Mackenzie was sentenced to five years' penal servitude, but before leaving tho dock he begged, with tears in his eyes, that he might be allowed to keep his dog in gaol. This, however, could not be allowed, and tho clog was taken south again. Whether it was owing to the loss of her master, her ignorance of any but the Gaelic tongue, or that the work now was bf too honest a nature, the fact is recorded that never again could she be persuaded to work sheep. For many years afterwards her progeny was much sought after by shepherds and runholders in South Canterbury. A Grim Pioneer.

Mackenzie himself was a native of Koss-shire, Scotland, having arrived in Otago in the late forties. An expert drover, with a taste for exploration, he was probably the first white man to penetrate the back country between lakes Hawea, Ohau and Pukaki, his only companions being his pack bullock and his faithful collie. He is described as a man of large stature, with red hair, high cheek-bones and piercing, ferrety eyes which gavo a look of extreme cunning to his whole face.

Within a year of his sentence he broke gaol three times, and gavo so much trouble to the authorities that a sort of compromise was effected whereby he received his liberty on condition that he left the colony, but with the proviso that should he ever return ho would be rearrested and incarcerated for tho unexpired term of his sentence. Mackenzie thereupon left for Sydney, but was subsequently seen again in Now Zealand. However, he took a hint from the police and also his final departure, since when all trace of him has disappeared. Thus the accidental meeting of the Maori boy and Mackenzie led to the discovery of the Mackenzie country, and later on to the Mackenzie Pass, leading to the fino grazing country further to the south and west, country which Mackenzie, with his bullock and dog, had already discovered and was actively employed in stocking on approved Rob Rt>y methods exemplified in the oft-quoted " They should take who have the power, and they should keep who can."