WAITAKERE PIONEERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20740, 6 December 1930, Page 16

WAITAKERE PIONEERS.

STRUGGLE AND FAILURE.

TONIC FOR THE TIMES.

VOICE OF THE OLD CLEARING. 'A tonic for the times is supplied in the story of the pioneer settlement of tho Waitakeres, related by a proud descendant of heroic people. The original settlement of Auckland's ■"blue mountains," he says, was probably carried,out by emigrants, who received Crown grants in the 'sixties. Whatever the system, the whole of it was synonymous tvith failure from a pastoral and agricultural point of view. When the settlers saw the heavy bush and dense undergrowth- they naturally believed that the land would be capable of carrying the richest' grasses. They were cruelly deceived. They found that English grasses ■would not hold for more than three years. 'After that time the pasture ran out into danttyonia, which was quickly followed by fern and "second growth." In addition hosts of caterpillars appeared annually in February and made havoc in the exotic pasture. ' A Losing Effort. . As any farmer knows, danthonia is poor feeding for milking cows. The settlers' cows were soon forced to forage for themselves in the undergrowth of the standing bush. The undergrowth convenient to the clearings was soon eaten out, and the cattle -had. to move further away, until there was a constant danger of losing them altogether. It was then time to review the situation, says the narrator. Some' of the pioneers more favourably situated clung to their holdings; others packed their be longings on the family packhorse and trekked out to try their luck elsewhere. Defeat, but not failure, was written on their faces. They had played the game and lost, but they did not whine. The last thing in their minds was to go back to the Old Country and admit themselves beaten. They had come out to colonise, not to squander. Their spirit lived. Old Clearings and a Cemetery. Between the trig on Pukematekeo and the West coast are to be. seen the remains pt half a dozen homesteads abandoned long ago. At the top of Mountain Road, is a small cemetery, closed a few years ago by the City Council. Cutty grass waves and "second .growth" grows oyer the heads of a few grim heroes who rest there ' They were the type who fought on fearlessly and died with courage. Their code was upright and independent, and their example has shone in their descendants. And the pioneer women! "Hats off to their memory," says the man who knew some of them in boyhood. There were no cars, no railway. The roads were little 6ior9 than tracks. If a child had to be vaccinated it was carried on the pommel of its mother's saddle to Auckland—a day's journey each way. a ' Heroic Mothers. The breadwinner could not always be at home. In his'* absence his wife had to rnn the farm. It is one thing to round yp the cows in a properly fenced pad--5 dock, but quite another thing to hunt for them in the bush where wild pigs roamed and where there was always the danger of becoming "bushed." Tho "blue mountains" were not always blue. Often they ■were swathed in "cotton-wool vapour," and while the women were hunting for the cows in it the young children had to •wait at home. Think of a mother's anxiety under these circumstances! They were not gamblers, these hardly pioneers,' but they had to take long chances. • Fire, accident and life insurance were not to be found in their humble liomes. They knew nothing of •friendly society benefits. Few had a relative in the country to whom they could appeal in the event of distress. They Ayfere simply "out on their own." No Prills in Life. Their lives were necessarily narrow and restricted. Amusement there was none. Social/ intercourse was limited to an occasional visit from or to a neighbour. The Auckland Weekly News was their only reading, and their only means of keeping abreast Of the affairs of the world. Their greatest comfort was the big log fire on the open hearth. > The Maoris were few, but friendly, but hostilities were proceeding in other parts, and tradition epeaks of a blockhouse on the banks of the Waitakere River, and in every house there was a muzzle-loader capable of carrying ball or shot. After years of effort in such circumstances it was doubly hard to trek away and start again'. Hard was the lot of the children of these pioneers. The only schoolroom some of them ever knew was the homely kit-' chen, their longest 'lesson being studied by the fire on a. winter's night. Appalling burdens often had to be carried by children at an age when they would now be occupied with toys. But most of them made good and became worthy citizens. The qualities of fathers and moLhers do not run out in one generation. The sterling qualities of pioneer parents were their finest birthright. They inherited the stoic spirit, and they had a chance of learning by their parents' mistakes. "Pioneer children," concludes the narrator, "seldom distinguish themselves in financial or administrative circles. With their limited education it could not be expected of them. That must be left to the next generation, which has greater opportunity. But the city tripper may learn from the past. He may see acres of tall manuka growing where tho packhorse of the pioneer grazed. It may seem thp scene of hopeless effort, but can it lie said that the pioneer, even if lie did fail in the material sense, laboured in vain ? The nation pained strength from his struggle and from the heart that made It mi try." / THANK YOU. HUSBAND! THE BEST GIFT OF ALL. ''Any wife will bo "thrilled to the hackbone" when Mr. Husband decides upon the best gilt of all—the gift that will last a lifetime—tho gift that means added health and pleasure for all the family! There's only one such gift—Frigidaire Electric Refrigerator. A Frigidaire is the modern way to store foods such as milk, meat, fish, vegetables and so on. ' f Give your family better food this Christmas—next year—all the year round. Make every meal a delight. You can do these things and yet spend less than it costs you now for food which spoils. Once you start using Frigidaire, foodspoilage becomes a thing of the past. And Frigidaire keeps food appetising and wholesome—fresh for days on end. It provides temperatures below 50 degrees, day and night, using just ordinary electric current. Write for free booklet, "What a Frigidaire Will Do," to John Chambers ; and, Son, Ltd., P.O. Box 934, Auckland.