NEW MANGAROA BRIDGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21909, 19 September 1934, Page 15

NEW MANGAROA BRIDGE

HOWICK-WHITFORD ROAD PIONEERING DAYS RECALLED STEPPING STONES IN CREEK ' The present construction of the new span bridge across the Mangaroa Gorge on the main road between Howick and Whiiford, to roplaoe the old wooden bridge, which has been considered unsafe for a number of years, recalls the vicissitudes experienced by the pioneers who took up land in the district.

Preparatory work on the new bridge, which will be of reinforced concrete, is now completed. The design provides for an arch, 20ft. wide, in one clear span of 85ft., with a 3ft. parapet. The structure will cost about £4OOO.

The old bridge, built over 50 years ago, to replace another washed away by flood, is of sentimental interest to* the early settlers. Mr. and Mrs. L. White, Howick, who are over 80 years of age and now live in retirement at Howick, can remember when their parents and themselves used steppingstones over the Mangaroa Creek to reach Howick. The creek runs between bush-clad slopes, and the brilliant gold of gorse and kowhai is reflected .in its waters. Marketing the Produce

In reminiscent mood, Mr. and Mrs. White recently recalled how the early settlers round Whitford Park, and as far south •as Brookby, brought their butter and eggs to Turanga Creek, crossed by ferry at Clifton, and mado their way to the Mangaroa Creek, where their arrival was timed to take advantage .of the tide. Stepping-stones were used to cross the creek, and the produce was taken to Howick township, to be transported, sometimes by dray, to Auckland. To walk into Auckland was all in the day's work to these pioneers, and on the return journey a 501b. bag of flour, carried on the back, would replace the eggs and butter .brought to market. With the march of progress and the construction of the first bridge, the stepping-stones wesre forgotten. It is thought they are now covered with mud. •

Although the work of clearing the land was. progressing steadily in those days, large areas were in a wild state, and homes were established in country akin to wilderness, timber being cut with pit-saws. Mrs. White's father rah the ferry at Clifton, the mode of transport being a flat-bottomed boat. In those days the Maoris were still belligerent, and Mrs. White recalled that when she was a : child every family sought safety in Howick at a period when hostilities were occurring in the Wairoa.

Kail in the Early Days The arrival of mail was an eagerlysought event in those days, and Paddy Smith, who conducted a carrying service between Howick and Whitford with an old jzrev horso and buggy, three tinies a week, was a familiar and beloved sight. Paddy Smith was the successor '-to Mr. John Evans, .who brought mail twice a week on horseback. Now the mail is brought from Manurewa daily by car.

v One of Mr. White's memories is when, in later years, transport by sea came to Howick and Whitford. The small boat Planet was the first vessel to enter the trade. A small wharf was built, at Mangaroa Creek, but -road transport was soon available and the structure - was not put to much use. Then came the steambonts Hirere aud Minerva, which ran to Whitford, Howick. Ma raetai and the Wairoa. Mr. White said several of the descendants of the first settlers in the district siill worked on the holdings won from the Virgin bush by the saw and I the axe. •' * ■