PIONEER TELEGRAPHIST

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21876, 11 August 1934, Page 12

PIONEER TELEGRAPHIST

DEATH AT ROTORUA MR. ROGER D. DANSEY SERVICES DURING ERUPTION Widely known as the man who maintained communication by telegraph between the stricken district and the outside world at the timo of the Tarawera eruption, Mr. * Roger Delamero Dansey died at Rotorua yesterday. Mr. Dansey, who was 83 years old, was the first postmaster at Rotorua. For many years a keen angler, he liberated the first rainbow trout fry at Rotorua.

Born in Wales, Mr. Dansey landed in Wellington in 1870 and Avent to Rotorua two years later. Ho was attached to the Armed Constabulary detachment in the Taupo district, .and taught himself to become a telegraph operator by assisting the operator at Taupo. He practised the Morse code on the trigger of his rifle. Subsequently ho was placed in charge of the first post offico in Rotorua, then established at Te Ngae, on the borders of the present town. For 40 years ho served with the Post and Telegraph Department and settled in Rotorua upon his retirement. He remembered the construction of the first road from Rotorua to Tauranga. Duty Throughout Ordeal Mr. Dansey earned a reputation for the manner in which ho remained at his post of duty during the Tarawera eruption of 1886, and for his yeoman service among the refugees. Iho following telegram, despatched bv him at the time, conveys an impression of the feeling which prevailed throughout tho township:— "We have all passed a fearful night here. The earth has been in a continual quake since midnight. At 2.10 a.m. there was a heavy quake, then a fearful roar, which made everyone run out of their houses, and a grand, yet terrible sight for those so near as we wero presented itself. Mount Tarawera, close to Rotomahana, became suddenly an active volcano, belching out fire and lava to a great height. "The eruption appears to have extended itself to several places southwards. A dense mass of ashes caind pouring down here at 4 a.m., accompanied by a suffocating smell from the lower regions. This immense black cloud, which extended in line from Taheke to Paeroa mountain, was one continual mass of electricity all night, and is. still the same. "Between the, roar of the thunder, the roaring of the three or four different craters and the stench, and the continued quaking of the earth, several families left their homes in their nightdresses, with whatever they could seize in the hurry, and made for Tauranga. Others who were lucky got horses and left for Oxford (now Tirau). Judging from the quantity of ashes and dust here, I fear serious results to the people at Wairoa and all the natives round Tarawera Lake." Liberation ol Trout Mr; Dansey had many recollections of the liberation of trout at Rotorua, and Taupo in the "nineties." He used to recall that until 1873 the only edible fish in Lake Taupo was the kokopu. which was regarded as a delicacy by the Maoris. The kokopu measured from 6in. to Bin. when fully grown. The first fish to be introduced to Taupo was the carp, a number of which was liberated by Captain Morrison of the Armed Constabulary, m 18/o. llie fish were transported from Napier, the "package being relayed from each of the five intermediate constabulary stations between there and Taupo. It was several years later that rainbow trout were liberated at Taupo. Mr. Dansey believed they were reared by Mr. Park, a telegraphist, in a small pool on the opposite bank of the Waikato River at Taupo, just below tho pa. 1 First Rainbow Trout About 1890 brown trout were liberated at Rotorua, £5 being paid by the Rotorua Town Council to a hatchery at Tauranga for trout which were already hatched. They were put in the Utuhina Stream and multiplied rapidly. The first fish liberated by Mr. Dansey were American brook trout, which he obtained from Masterton in 1898. He continued to experiment with various kinds of ova at a prn ate hatchery he erected. In the same Year he made the nrst liberation of rainbow trout at Rotorua, fry from a hatchery at Okoroire being released. The following year further stocking of the lake with ova was done by Mr. Dansey, the eggs m this case being nearly hatched. An effort was also made to take six tins of hatched trout from Rotorua to Ngongotaha, but owing to the lack of facilities it was necessary to release most of them at Fairy Springs. . The Maoris at Ngongotaha evinced considerable interest in the stocking of the streams and willingly lent their co-operation in preserving the fish until they attained sufficient size. I rout thrived particularly well in the YVaihoto River, where there was such an abundance of food that the fish reached 81b. in weight within four years. At about the same time trout were released in Lake Rotoiti. Stocking TJrewera Streams

A tin full was distributed in Lake Rotoehu, but, owing to the fact that it was difficult of access, Lake Rotoma did not receive any. Two large tins full were placed in the stream at Taungataia Bridge, 15 miles from Rotorua, on the Atiamuri Road. Another was taken to Atiamuri, the fish being released in three streams in the vicinity leading into the Waikato River. Urewera was the next district to receive attention from Mr. Dansey. It was an exacting task, as the oujy means of conveyance was a buggy, m which two tins containing about 6000 small trout had to be carefully conveyed. Although it was five days before the work of stocking tho various streams in tho locality was completed, only 21 fish died. Trout were distributed in lots of 25 to 50 in a small creek at T* Whaiti running into Whiranaki, as well as in streams at Galatea and Rangataiki. No fry were placed in Tarawera, or the Blue or Green Lakes, as tho water was at that time still very discoloured following the Tarawera eruption. Lake Rotorua waa also affected for many years by tho eruption